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When I started programming, there wasn’t such a thing as a computer science degree. Computers were built by Electrical Engineers and programmed by Industrial Engineers. They were programmed either with patch boards or flipping switches. Once you got a subroutine written and tested you burned it into ROM and memorized the start address. 2Kilo bytes of static memory and 16K of ROM, paradise. Now even “scientists” can program, not that they understand the scientific method or have ever run an experiment. I suspect very few of them even get taught the second law of thermodynamics. With all the graphics and such they ought to call it a “computer art” degree. They don’t even plan their effort anymore. Pathetic, they expect their testing to find their errors. It won’t be long till it becomes a minimum wage job.
Although, with the information wars starting up, the trend might reset. But probably not within the US, too many conservatives pushing for it to be cheapened into an “art”.
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My two favorite hobbies. 
I have a degree in Mining Engineering, but after 5 years and 7 jobs, I was looking for something a little more predictable.
Chris Meech
I am Canadian. [heard in a local bar]
In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. [Yogi Berra]
posting about Crystal Reports here is like discussing gay marriage on a catholic church’s website.[Nishant Sivakumar]
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Chris Meech wrote: Drilling and Blasting
That's just reorganising a different kind of "bit", isn't it?
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Chris Meech wrote: I was looking for something a little more predictable.
Oh yeah? How'd that turn out for ya? 
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LOL. Let's just say that the boom and bust cycles of the mining industry have a much higher amplitude than the boom and bust cycles of the financial services industry. 
Chris Meech
I am Canadian. [heard in a local bar]
In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. [Yogi Berra]
posting about Crystal Reports here is like discussing gay marriage on a catholic church’s website.[Nishant Sivakumar]
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In fact, I got 2 diplomas.
The first one I got in 2006 would let me code. In Montreal, we call it a "Technique" and last 3 years after our high school.
The 2nd one is a 4-year university course in Software Engineering which is mostly project management, requirements elicitation, quality management, etc.
In Quebec, not everybody can call itself a Software Engineer (which I am not yet because I don't pay to have it). So, I simply have a diploma in engineering without behind an engineer.
Finished all this in august. I'm still fresh out of school.
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Here in Ontario too. You don't call yourself an engineer unless you're certified as an engineer. We call all software guys "software developer" not "software engineer". That doesn't prevent us from doing software engineering jobs.
Best,
Jun
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I have been coding professionally in various languages for almost 12 years, and I do not have one single tertiary qualification (OK, I have a Microsoft Exam that my company requested me to do earlier this year, to make up points for our Gold Partnership). I have seen far too many people with all the degrees in the world come in with ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE how the "real world" works, they suck, they hate it, and eventually they resign.
In my experience, I'd rather have spent 4 years in the real world, getting real world experience, than have spent 4 years on "education". Experience trumps Education every single time, without exception!
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Experience + Education = WIN
They're both entirely different things and both are important. I've seen too much old crooks basing everything on experience and doing everything to avoid changes that would make them completely irreverent even if it made sense.
Mix both and you get total win.
School is far from the holy grail however. I've seen people getting the diploma and they really didn't know anything. Seriously. It's kind of a double-edge sword... With spikes on the hilts.
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I used to work in construction and just shook my head sadly when
the architects (fresh out of school) came to the job and started
to "explain" to us how things should be done... we just listened
then went on building it the way it would actually hold up.
Vast difference between book learning and how things really work.
My point: to be truly effect - both should be obtained, because
there are somethings that will get better with theory and some things
that will get better with experience.
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Subject said it all!
God is REAL unless declared int
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I have a bachelor of science in mathematics.
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It helped me get my current job but I learned almost everything that I know now from my mentors and on the job hard-knocks and not from my formal College education. As far as I'm concerned my College education was a waste of money in many respects (not all).
--My $0.02
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I went to university to study Development Studies (3rd world social and economic development) - it became clear that the course was a complete waste of time and as I wasn't a paid up member of the Socialist Workers Party my views were of no consequence so I packed it in and sold beer at festivals from the back of a van.
I have written award winning software.
I have interviewed many people with a computer science degree - many of them seem to have attained that degree by writing a small LOB app in QBasic.
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RugbyLeague wrote: many of them seem to have attained that degree by writing a small LOB app in QBasic
Well, a few years ago, that was the only course offered that would actually get you a degree. At least in the Netherlands.
It hasn't improved 
I are Troll 
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RugbyLeague wrote: many of them seem to have attained that degree by writing a small LOB app in QBasic
Lol, back in high school my first programming class was based around Visual Basic. I didn't like it however, so I spent most of my time using QuickBasic 4.5. Not sure if I preferred that just because my computer only had DOS 6.22 installed or because it felt lower level.
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RugbyLeague wrote: I have interviewed many people with a computer science degree - many of them seem to have attained that degree by writing a small LOB app in QBasic.
Wow, I was writing debugging harnesses for CGI apps on Sparcs in C, using nothing more than an emacs editor and the command line compiler. Fun days (and long, long nights - in fact I got very used to what was on the radio at 4am  ). Of course being a true developer I didn't write one iota of documentation (required) until the very end, in one 40 hours stint. Dropped it off at uni, went home and fell asleep on the bedroom floor - the bed was just too much effort!
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When I was interviewing these people I was writing a development environment hosted in Emacs and written in LISP for a programming language I had written in SPL (subset of PL/1 on Primos) - it was a bit galling interviewing numpties with their computer science degrees
I do get that not all degrees are the same though
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I have a Degree in Electronics.
Don't run after success, go for excellence, success will follow you. - Rancho Baba
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Same here. I reckon an engineering approach is a benefit to software design and construction.
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I have a B.S.E.E and I have no idea how I became a database programmer.
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What the hells a 'desgree' ?
"Benjamin is nobody's friend. If Benjamin were an ice cream flavor, he'd be pralines and dick." ~ Garth Algar
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." ~ Paul Neal "Red" Adair
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Probably one of those Internet Doctorates you can order
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I don't know, but I said I had one!
(I do have a CS degree though!)
God is REAL unless declared int
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If the Lord God Almighty had consulted me before embarking upon the Creation, I would have recommended something simpler.
-- Alfonso the Wise, 13th Century King of Castile.
This is going on my arrogant assumptions. You may have a superb reason why I'm completely wrong.
-- Iain Clarke
[My articles]
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