Maximum PC

So now, computer science is becoming a boom again?

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/20 ... -tech-bust

This is just one of many articles in the debate.

My point of view? I wouldn't be surprised if there is a boom in CS enrollments, partly because of movies like "The Social Network" and recent news regarding LinkedIn, GroupOn and Pandora stocks (even if they did go down - significantly).

However, back when I was in college, around the 2000 tech-boom, many students signed up for computer science for all the wrong reasons (including myself). I enjoyed video games and putting together PC's, but the prospects of advanced mathematics and algorithms classes left me wondering. When I graduated, only then did it make sense to me.

I guess my concern is that people study computers for the wrong reasons. We have a recent hire here, Systems Analyst I, went to school at DeVry where I often wondered what in the world did they teach him. He seems to know nothing about computers, almost like his degree was just a puff of smoke. No one teaches problem solving the way problem solving ought to be taught, and by golly, we have students graduating from universities who are just as clueless about coding as my pet dog - who doesn't exist.

I'm just thinking out loud, when I attended EuRuKo, I immediately knew who were computer science grads and who weren't. The proliferation of new paradigms like Rails or PHP has made civilians think they're hard core "computer people". This was evidenced back in 2006, when I ran into a coworker who didn't understand why we used C# at a bank when PHP was free. He never understood that we used C# for computing interest rates on a per-client basis depending on their spending history for the past 48 months. Doing that in PHP amounted to suicide, C# was the way to go. Having had a CS degree provided the fundamentals I needed to succeed in this industry...but it seems that a many folks who can design web sites are going to CS.

Let's talk it out, what's your view point?

I haven't read the article yet... but I have read something along the same lines. From what I gathered the actual curriculum was changing too... more application less theory. Not really CS anymore eh?

I gave the article a read and I don't neccesaily believe it. Yes I did want to learn about computers for the wrong reason, but then the more I started working with them I came to the realization that I love solving problems, and the more complicated the problem got the funner it seemed to be for me.

Now the fact that it mentions the computer science boom due to movies, I don't believe that. My belief is that it came from all the gamer's out there who just got sucked into the love of games and wanted to persue a career in develping them.

Gaming is only one aspect of the boom. The problem I'm seeing is that the comp. sci. degree is being replaced by web development or info. systems degrees. Maybe movies don't have a huge role in the comp. sci. boom but nonetheless, there's a boom.

To me, it's sad that the shift in curriculum is more towards the "applied" rather than the theory. However, my philosophy in starting a CS program is to learn to program on your own, work for a bit then go back to school. The theories make so much sense when you can apply it to something, rather than memorizing by rote a theory that you eventually learn to apply years down the road.

Very true about gaming only being one aspect of the CS boom, but it is the biggest part of people's decision to start that degree. CS degrees are not getting replaced with anything, it is just merely adapting like everything else in the world does. With today's society everything is dependent apon advanced electronics. Their is a major demand for HTML designers and IT guys to manage all of it.

A good CS degree is where you have both applied and theory equally. Which many of the schools dont do this the way they should. Which is why I agree with you on that matter. I would love to see the curriculm to all of the CS degrees become more broad, and give just as much hands on as they do in theory. So yes there defently is a boom, what caused it has to many variables to say the least. It really is a good thing that the electronic careers are growing, hopefully we will all be able to see super computers manufactered to civilians that can perform quantum computing.

HTML designers should go into design, not CS. That's like learning carpentry by studying art.

There is a demand in technology, and I don't digress that this demands needs to be met, I guess my over arching concern is that we're filling the demand with low quality labor. There should be a difference between an IT degree and a Comp. Sci. degree.

For starters, Computer Science is highly theoretical and mostly academic. I had an analyst at my last job who is completely inept, and watching him struggle was painful. The boom in IT is causing schools to push out kids that are neither ready for the real world nor are they capable of doing the work. Honestly, it's a bit disconcerting...but kids are being pushed to pay $40K/year tuitions for sub-par education (*cough* DeVry *cough*).

That is true, they shouldn't lump every career field into one degree. Your concern is a good one, and if it isn't fixed the next generation of degree holders wont know how to do anything and we as the older degree holders wont be around forever to bring them up to speed in order for them to do a job correctly.

I can't say for sure how Devry is doing, but I do agree that most colleges and University's need to step up there game and give the paying student what their paying for....an actual education that they can use.