Re: ANNOUNCE: Vacant Job Positions

The Water Walker (wilsonch@newt.CS.ORST.EDU) wrote: : I personally have learned more from reading books and : coding on my own than from any class I've ever taken. I've seen people : come out of thier first CS class, an intro to C++, writing program : involving polymorphism and not understanding what they were actually : doing. Alot of them barely even understood the basic syntax and what the : reserved words even are. The system is designed to just run you through : the material and be able to regurgitate enough info to pass an exam. : They don't care if you actually know what to do with the knowledge. Speaking as a university lecturer turned programmer, I think the universities *do* care that you know what to do with the knowledge. I know that a lot of the students who graduate are really pretty mediocre programmers, and there are a lot of them I wouldn't employ. On the other hand, I would rather employ a bright guy with formal training than a similarly bright guy who learnt by reading Microsoft manuals, and I would rather employ a dope who has been taught what to do than a dope who hasn't. I guess people who teach themselves are usually capable, as if you weren't interested and couldn't do it, you wouldn't bother to teach yourself. Having a degree shows some ability, teaching yourself shows some motivation. Programmers should have both of course! Programmers with just a degree should be treated as drones, and should work for someone other than me! John