Does Learning To Code Outweigh a Degree In Computer Science?

[OCCAMS_RAZOR]

Yea it does man but some of it is just a fukking bytch to study for or to fully understand. It gets extremely complex.
I'd love to tell you that I am some genius who had some Rainmain moment where I grasped everything automatically but no. The struggle was very real.

I used to deplore discrete math & algorithm analysis up until i realized that my professors and the textbooks that we'd been assigned were doing me a disservice. bro, real talk, the shyt isn't that difficult, you just have to search for a textbook / instructor who's natural intuition aligns with yours. like i said in another thread you have to have a hustler mentality if you want to prevail in college. nobody give's a fukk about you so you have to be responsible for your own learning. does this textbook do a shyyty job of explaining graph theory? oh let me google for another one. go to youtube, khan academy, coursera, the resources are there.

but imo, the biggest thing is you have to cultivate an interest in the two topics, and sometimes i feel this is where the education system fails as it really doesn't emphasize just why math is so important or how ti developed. when you are actuaally interested in the shyt, studying will be effortless and youo'll naturally want to know more, and this will drive you to learn even more, etc. you'll get the same sort of high you get when playing a video game.

at the end of the day, you can't pour knowledge on someones' head. you could be a bright guy / gal but if you're not interested in the material or the instructor dosn't actively engage you then you will not go far.

 

[OCCAMS_RAZOR]

Alright, I've completed math up to Differential Equations and Physics III (the one that ends with Quantum Mechanics), finished my first C++ course (intro) and a Visual Basic course. Both of which used Visual Studio. After my first Data Structures class, how much will the knowledge gap in strictly coding be if I were to stop my education right there?Do the math and physics skills mean anything to an employer that gives me any kind of advantage over someone without schooling when it comes to coding?

It depends on where you work honestly. If it's a top tier business / organization (i.e. Google, Amazon, Facebook) make sure you etch that into your memory. Memorize the fukk out of that shyt. Tutor others on the topic, it will make you assimilate the knowledge better.

But the thing is this, even though you might hate it now, and it might seem pointless, if you do encounter it in the future, it will be much more easier to pick it up than if you hadn't been exposed to it initially. that's what happened to me with statistics. i used to hate it, but in my last job i had to know it like the back of my hand. it really made me gain an appreciation for the whole field.

knowledge is power brothers. if you are young, SERIOUS, and school is an economically viable option then go to school. the whole fukk school mantra in this thread is maladaptive & pointless.

 

[ADevilYouKhow]

Learn to code, lol

learn how to cut ounces

 

[semtex]

I've got some computer engineering books too. Only thing with that is that it isn't like coding where you can just pop stuff into an IDE and see how things work so it's harder to grasp

 

[Type Username Here]

I used to deplore discrete math & algorithm analysis up until i realized that my professors and the textbooks that we'd been assigned were doing me a disservice. bro, real talk, the shyt isn't that difficult, you just have to search for a textbook / instructor who's natural intuition aligns with yours. like i said in another thread you have to have a hustler mentality if you want to prevail in college. nobody give's a fukk about you so you have to be responsible for your own learning. does this textbook do a shyyty job of explaining graph theory? oh let me google for another one. go to youtube, khan academy, coursera, the resources are there.

but imo, the biggest thing is you have to cultivate an interest in the two topics, and sometimes i feel this is where the education system fails as it really doesn't emphasize just why math is so important or how ti developed. when you are actuaally interested in the shyt, studying will be effortless and youo'll naturally want to know more, and this will drive you to learn even more, etc. you'll get the same sort of high you get when playing a video game.

at the end of the day, you can't pour knowledge on someones' head. you could be a bright guy / gal but if you're not interested in the material or the instructor dosn't actively engage you then you will not go far.

Im all done with them fam. I passed all of them with As or Bs. It was just a lot of work and studying.

 

[kevm3]

I'd love to see more of you in that developers/programming thread so we can discuss things like algorithms and all such elements. Best way to improve is to share the knowledge amongst each other.

http://www.thecoli.com/threads/developer-programming-information-and-careers-thread.116488/page-15

 

[FreshFromATL]

You think the portfolio thing comes into play mainly when the position/company you're applying for has many people applying for that position/company? I've done work for banks and a hospital, but I've really just went into interviews, showed my problem solving process, spoke on experience, and gotten job offers like that. But the demand for those companies were in markets where they're weren't that many competent people applying.

For some people that portfolio stuff don't matter (these are those elite people that knows their shyt). I have been in interviews and I can tell right away whether a person knows their shyt or not. If I tell you about a problem we're working to solve and that leads into a quality back and forth conversation with you giving me different possible solutions and then you telling me CLEARLY how you've solved different problems in the past...I already know you're about your shyt. Most people go into interviews just trying to (or expecting to) recall generic answers to questions they looked up on the internet the night before. My interviewing process is strictly about you telling me how you have used programming languages/different technologies/theory/your communication skills to solve different problems in the past.

Edit: Hell, at this point, I can look at your resume/LinkedIn and know whether or not you're about that life right off rip.

 

[Type Username Here]

For some people that portfolio stuff don't matter (these are those elite people that knows their shyt). I have been in interviews and I can tell right away whether a person knows their shyt or not. If I tell you about a problem we're working to solve and that leads into a quality back and forth conversation with you giving me different possible solutions and then you telling me CLEARLY how you've solved different problems in the past...I already know you're about your shyt. Most people go into interviews just trying to (or expecting to) recall generic answers to questions they looked up on the internet the night before. My interviewing process is strictly about you telling me how you have used programming languages/different technologies/theory/your communication skills to solve different problems in the past.

Edit: Hell, at this point, I can look at your resume/LinkedIn and know whether or not you're about that life right off rip.

Ask to see a motherfukker's github or other repo. That, along with a resume, tells you damn near the whole picture. The big companies don't care though, they are going to hammer your ass in the interviews regardless.

 

[OCCAMS_RAZOR]

Im all done with them fam. I passed all of them with As or Bs. It was just a lot of work and studying.

that's cool man. clearly you're a bright guy as you got all As and Bs but yeah, working hard for little rewards isn't whats up. anyways i hope you put your talents to good use and best of luck in your endeavours.

 

[OCCAMS_RAZOR]

Ask to see a motherfukker's github or other repo. That, along with a resume, tells you damn near the whole picture. The big companies don't care though, they are going to hammer your ass in the interviews regardless.

+1

My GitHub is looking pretty dry right now, so I'm trying to populate it with personal projects i've wokred on in the past. also the thing with github is it gives you an instant, visual representation of an individual's productivity. if you commit daily, to a lot of different projects it's going to show up very nicely on your profile.

anyways, this is a great discussion guys! if anyone has any other controversial opinion they want to put out there then do so. we should be having more of these types of discussions here.

 

[Type Username Here]

that's cool man. clearly you're a bright guy as you got all As and Bs but yeah, working hard for little rewards isn't whats up. anyways i hope you put your talents to good use and best of luck in your endeavours.

Thanks breh. I'm heading there. Same to you.

 

[rapbeats]

You'll get used to it. That was something that was totally new to me but there are good change management/workflow tools out that that make it simple. With the advent of github, this will be addressed by educators in a few years (I hope).

And this is normal for everybody. This type of thing, change management, was new largely new to the industry some 15 years ago.

Are you disappointed that you are not working on more academic problems, such as figuring out the optimizing algorithms, graphs, hash tables etc?

My job as an embedded systems engineer, allows us to great creative with the algorithms we implement as far as using sensor input with consideration to their mathematical and physical meaning, so that is definitely gratifying.

However I would like to have more experience with optimizing data structures and working on the quickest way to query information - that sort of thing.

shoot i'm not considered a legit programmer by any means. but i will tell you this. the quickest way to query information... is to index it properly from the get go. or re-index it then use different types of methods to query the information.you can come up with all sorts of tricks on the front end. but if the back end (database) wasnt indexed properly. that will always become your bottleneck.

 

[rapbeats]

this is a cop out.

its like saying "oh why teach bio chem if you don't use it on a daily basis as a doctor"

no its not saying that at all. its saying we need better teachers/professors that can bridge those gaps for you to some degree. now i'm not saying bridge all gaps all the time. i'm saying introduce a breh to some gap bridgers.
lets make it simple.

fractions = algebra = chem

you learn first in fractions (what you do to the denominator you have to do to the numerator).

that same rule applies to algebra. if you're trying to solve an equation. "Whatever you do to one side, you must do the other!"

Thats the same as balancing equations in chem. its the same principles.

Probability and statistics
Probability became of major importance in physics when quantum mechanics entered the scene. A course on probability begins by studying coin flips, and the counting of distinguishable vs. indistinguishable objects. The concepts of mean and variance are developed and applied in the cases of Poisson and Gaussian statistics.

Do you realize how many non math/science majors duck and dodge math and have to take statistics but have no idea how it can link up with physics. This is what a great professor/teacher can teach you. he/she can bridge that gap. just by saying the above statement. and showing you an example or two. That alone would stop people/kids from running from math in general if they knew how it works for other things. perhaps they would also stop running from the sciences.

Logic outside of computing is the same inside of computing.

everything is True or False
its all binary = 1 or 0
on or off

its cause and effect

if you do this , then this happens.

sounds like basic programming to me. if then statements.

But most people dont know this.

 

[OCCAMS_RAZOR]

Probability and statistics
Probability became of major importance in physics when quantum mechanics entered the scene. A course on probability begins by studying coin flips, and the counting of distinguishable vs. indistinguishable objects. The concepts of mean and variance are developed and applied in the cases of Poisson and Gaussian statistics.

breh statistics is low-key one of my hidden passions. the way it teaches you to process and reason with uncertainty

the cold logic and preciseness of it all ...

when you realize that your natural intuition is probably the most unreliable way to determine the truth in this universe (read up on the monty hall problem) ...

Poisson clumping ...

Hypergeometric Distros. You want to know the likelihood of a moderately sized company employing 5 black people in a 60% black population? Let the Hypergeo distro be your friend breh ...

Monte Carlo sampling. The sheer paradoxical nature of it. Using uncertainty to create certainty.

& how stats is currently embroiled in one of the greatest beefs of all time ... (Bayesian or Frequentist which are you??)

Knowledge is power brehs

 

[Camile.Bidan]

I don't know why place so much emphasis on a degree. I Don't think that we even need a college system, we just need a personality test, an intelligence test, and a generally industry specific exam (cert). I think using college to identify good employees is a waste of time.

I would only hire extroverted, conscientious, leader types, who had a minimum level of intelligence and a minimum level of industry specific knowledge.

At my job, we teach nearly everything to the newbies. and I can size up whether someone is going to be a good worker within moments of meeting them. To be honest, GPA really doesn't seem to correlate with a good employee or high performing employing.


Honestly, I feel that there are people who are born to be winners. These people do what it takes to get the job done. Going to college doesn't seem to make people into goal driven superstars.

And in a professional environment everyone went to college, but I can tell you for sure, that not everyone is at the same intelligence level. Some people learn really fast and don't need a lot of coaching, while others seem to not every get anything and end up having to have me treat them like little kids.

At my job, I feel like I want to fire 80-90% of all the people that are working there.