Misconceptions about computer science professions
I found this list of “High Paying Jobs That Don’t Require a College Degree” on Digg, and I decided to check it out. Some of the listings are accurate, but some are questionable at best. For instance, they list both “Computer Software Engineer” and “Computer Programmer” as jobs that you don’t need a college degree for! Seriously?
I’m about to graduate college myself and I’m currently looking for a job in the field. The minimum requirements I’ve seen are undergraduate degrees in computer science, math, engineering, or a closely related field. Many places would prefer Master’s degrees. I haven’t seen a single company that is interested in hiring non-graduates. The descriptions also make it seem like computer science is something that can easily be picked up. It’s not. Also, I question whether the difference between “Computer Software Engineer” and “Computer Programmer” is large enough to merit listing both as separate occupations. In my (limited) experience in the field, I’ve ended up doing both things simultaneously, and I’ve gotten the sense from my job interviews that it’s the same at other companies.
Some of the article’s listings are accurate. Yes, anyone without a college degree can go on to become a brick mason, air traffic controller, or telecommunications equipment installer. But not a computer scientist. You really have to know a lot of the theory (and especially the algorithms) to program well. Some people who never graduated college are good at this stuff because they’ve been doing computer programming for a long while (like a guy I know on Wikipedia), but for someone who’s never programmed before, this simply isn’t realistic advice.
March 4th, 2007 at 00:08
This is not as true now as it was, say, 20 years ago, but you do not need a degree to become a computer programmer. Some of the most talented and knowledgeable programmers I know have no degree of any kind. When the article says “computer programmers usually are hired based on ability and not education” this is quite true, but not for every company. One of my college friends hires computer people all the time, and he will test any applicant on their ability and mostly ignore degrees. This is certainly changing, and the info may be out of date. For instance, any company with an HR dept. will probably NOT do this. Smaller computer companies, on the other hand, probably will. However, there is a reason for this, and that is that your average programming degree does NOT provide you with enough knowledge and skill to work as anything more than a novice programmer. You need to have done all kinds of extra stuff in order to gain the skills wanted in the workplace.
March 4th, 2007 at 00:29
Well I’ve mostly been interviewing at companies with HR departments, so I suppose my outlook is slightly skewed. You’re probably right about the smaller companies; they’re just looking for the skills, not necessarily the degrees.
And you’re right about comp sci degrees not necessarily meaning someone knows how to program. I saw some scary stats that majority of applicants (college degree or not) don’t actually know how to program. Scary. Which is probably why one of the companies I’m interviewing for had me complete a scripting test before getting to the second round of interviews.