Re: beginner's question on digital vs film SLRs


"David Dyer-Bennet" <dd-b@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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"qwerty" <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:

"Dave Martindale" <davem@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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"Bolshoy Huy" <bolshoyhuy@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
reminds me of colleges that teach Cobol, UNIX, AS/400, SQL; while
others teach VB.net, C#, Java, etc.
which ones would you go for?

Actually, I'd pick one that taught algorithms, operating systems,
AI, graphics, databases, numerical analysis, computational geometry,
discrete math, statistics, and other stuff that makes up a computer
science education.

Yes, this is important if you're going for a PhD in Computer Science and
want to stay in the academic world of CS. However, if you're more
interested in getting a practical engineering\developer job then this is
far
less important. As a retired Software Engineer with 25 years experience
I
can honestly say that numerical analysis, computational geometry,
discrete
math, statistics, & AI are completely worthless in obtaining & keeping
most
any software development position. Understanding databases would be
useful
though but not necessary.

The computer language (if any) used for each course
doesn't matter very much.

Not true. If you're going for a Software Engineer\Developer position
then
what language & OS platform is extremely important. Employers are
looking
for people to contribute from the first day on the job and if you're not
familiar with the language and OS they're developing on then it's very
unlikely you'll get hired. If you don't have a good handle on .NET, C#,
Java, C\C++, etc., you're not getting hired no matter how much you
understand algorithms, AI, statistics, etc.!

It depends a lot on what part of the field you want to (and are
capable of) work in.

Well most software development jobs that I'm aware of and have held over the
years didn't require advanced math, statistics or advanced theoretical
knowledge of CS.

A company advertising for people with "5 years C
programming experience" is looking for junior-level programmers -- the
people who take 5 years to get anything approaching mastery in C.

Well then if you have little or no C experience, with VB instead, then it's
unlikely they'll hire you no matter how much you understand numerical
analysis, computational geometry, discrete math, statistics, & AI.

Several of my best jobs and contracts have involved being hired to do
stuff using tools I'd never seen before, including my very first job.

Now that depends on the job and your previous experience. If I'm working on
an MFC ir DB project and need help I certainly want someone with a lot of
experience in that specific area plus a good deal of C++. Or if they're
looking for Unix C programmers and you've no experience with either then
you'll be out of luck. The same goes for .NET & C#, Linix, etc..

At the end, you're supposed to understand
computer systems and how to build software for them, not just learn the
current programming languages.

Understanding the development platform, how to build software for that
platform and the platform language are ALL important.

But the platform and language issues can be dealt with in days or
weeks by any good programmer, and the other things take years or
perhaps an original talent (I'm not sure I really believe in "talent",
but some people sure do lean some things fast).

I don't necessarily disagree with your assessment that a good programmer can
pick up things quickly, but that doesn't change the employers looking for
specific skills and will preclude anyone without those skills. Nor do I
really think that many people can really master new languages, new OS's &
new tools in days or weeks. Generally when hiring someone you're looking
for specific skills for an ongoing or upcoming project. If you don't have
those skills then it's unlikely you'll get hired.


.

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