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- From: Dick Menninger <Dick.Menninger@DaytonOH.ATTGIS.COM>
- Subject: Re: ANNOUNCE: Vacant Job Positions
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- References: <4fecgc$ar9@engr.orst.edu>
- Date: Fri, 9 Feb 1996 21:03:31 GMT
-
-
- > ==========The Water Walker, 2/8/96==========
-
- > In article <4fe3ov$pc0@qualcomm.com>, <nabbasi@qualcomm.com> wrote:
- >
- > >And why would you not want to have a college degree is the question
- > >I would ask. If you real an able person, then you would be
- able to get
- > >a college degree in the field you enjoy working in.
-
- > not necessarily. I had been pursuing a BS in CS untill last
- > term. Our CS
- > department here at OSU requires 3 terms of physics with calc.
- > and even though
- > (not to toot my own horn) am a very able programmer, I was
- > forced to change my
- > major (droping out and/or transfering are out of the question)
- > since I was unable
- > to do these physics classes. So you see, just because you are
- > good at something, and
- > enjoy it, doesn't mean that you can get a degree in it.
-
- Now, calc. is not that far up the mathematical maturity curve
- and the early physics courses are still rather concrete. So
- difficulty at this level says you are somewhat cut off from a
- considerable body of more abstract thinking that is germaine.
- The demonstrated ability to deal with abstraction over a wide
- range of subjects matters is a valid criterion. Although
- whether a CS degree insures your qualification is debatable,
- inability to clear some basic hurdles in related fields in order
- to get the CS degree should concern those employers that
- are dealing with problems where demonstrated maturity at
- thinking and working abstractly matters.
-
- In my experience, people who took readily to math and
- physics readily developed a high level of maturity in software
- development, as well. Coding is only a small part of modern
- programming. Creating an abstract model of things is much
- a part of it and is much like forming a physical theory. You
- must understand what is important and what should be ignored.
- You must be able to do theorem-like work to do many calculations
- in the most appropriate form. That happens in business
- problems as well as other contexts.
-
- So, a CS degree is a good filter for many jobs. You should
- look very hard at why you had trouble. Was it ability or
- attitude or inadequate background or lack of applying yourself?
- If you were inadequately prepared, it would be worth your
- while to go back and fix that. Life can be hard sometimes
- and each of us must be willing to take responsibility and
- control of ourselves and work hard when life is hard.
-
- Good Day
- Dick
- Dick.Menninger@DaytonOH.ATTGIS.COM
-
-