I'll keep it short, but have the people supporting this view heard of dams? Humans (and beavers) have been intentionally changing the course of rivers for millennia.
Most of the younger developers want to work with the newer languages, and they want to create rather than maintain. Many companies struggle to find competent COBOL programers, largely for maintenance work. If you are as adept at self-learning as you imply, it should be an easy language to pick up.
Check out this article currently posted on/.: http://developers.slashdot.org/story/13/06/25/1659247/join-cobols-next-generation
Good luck!
Your answer is why I still occasionally read comments on slash. Thanks for being thoughtful when you could have been flippant. Maybe there's hope left for reasonable disagreement on this site.
You're probably correct about most defenders. I could, perhaps should, have just said that most people who comment on Atlas Shrugged haven't read it. Couldn't disagree with you more on your assessment of the book, though.
I don't say this to be a smart ass, so please don't take it that way, but perhaps it was that simple to you because you read it when you were 16? Mind you, my youngest child is older than that and I spent half of my life overseas in the Army, so I am neither young nor naive. Give it another shot. You may be surprised.
I read most of the comments to this post. Some are good, some leave something to be desired, as usual.
As a current CITO for a decent sized public company, I employ two PhD's. One has a degree in Biology. The other, a degree in process (not exactly right; but, it's from an Indian institution and doesn't exactly map to US/European degree fields). Although neither of them has a PhD in CS or a related field, they both have extensive experience in CS-related work. So, I hired them because of both their proven ability to deliver in the real world and their proven ability to apply the scientific method over extended periods of time and effectively present their results. I really didn't care what their academic field of interest was years ago.
Based on my experience, and I have hired hundreds of people into CS-related positions, you'd be much better off completing your current degree and beginning to amass experience in a particular discipline. People like me respect the dedication required to complete an advanced degree (I have one, myself); but, we want to see real world results.
So, for what it's worth, I'd be much more inclined to hire you in 2014 with a degree earned this year and two years of demonstrated experience than I would with a degree earned in 2014 from a "better" institution, regardless of the field.
BTW, both of the individuals in question are doing amazingly well. One has worked for me in multiple companies for more than a decade. The combination of education and experience they bring to the table makes them enormously valuable, and I compensate them accordingly. Finish your degree and get out there. There's fun and reward to be had!
You are correct, and I hope that kdawson reads your post. Like you, I had an undergrad degree in CS. I then went on to get a MS in CS (about a decade ago). Without getting into the specifics, the changes in my income have been significant. In my personal experience, in the right hands a Master's degree will add many hundreds of thousands of dollars in lifetime income for its bearer.
In my current position, I employ a number of computer engineers. Those with Master's degrees earn tens of thousands of dollars more per year over their peers without that qualification, and are the first to be considered for the most challenging, and rewarding, assignments. They are also the first to be considered for managerial roles.
It seems that many of the responses are from those fairly early on in their career. At that level, it may not make much difference. When you are negotiating with senior execs over your compensation package, it is a meaningful factor.
Good Luck, kdawson!
I've been a geek managing people for about a decade now, and it's not as hard as it seems. Non-geeks don't understand how we can be fascinated with technological tidbits. Once you understand that, and then figure out what motivates them, you can appeal to them from their perspective. For example, you might call a friend to let him know that the latest release of X linux just came out, and the kernel tweaks are insane. They might call a friend to tell them they just got a certificate for being the best customer support rep. Be the guy/gal that knows what motivates that person, and who gives them the certificate. The bottom line is, if you take the time to know what motivates people, you'll be able to motivate them. Listen. A lot. Care about your people. Back them up. Demand the most of them, and reward it (little things matter here). Give them credit for their work, publically. Help them to feel good about themselves and they'll help make you a success.
I've used it every day for more than a year. It has been consistently reliable. Dozens of my friends / co-workers have had the same experience, and we all run KDE on Mandrake (various versions). Perhaps you should examine your configuration?
I read a lot of these answers, but not all of them, so sorry if I'm redundant. I have about 20TB of RAID 5 storage, most of which I've managed for nearly two years. For a least a couple of years before that, I managed storage in the multi-TB range. Hardware RAID 5 is the best way to go. If you're really concerned with safety, add as many hot/cold spares as you like. Performance is far superior to software RAID, no matter what anyone here may post. Good luck.
Low Earth Orbit. Once there, the cost of going further is massively less than that of doing so from the bottom of the Earth's gravity well (mass and distance being the relevant factors).
No, you're not screwed. I passed it the first time without any undergraduate degree. It was just really hard without the formal training. You obviously have the brain for it, and the Math background. Picking up the programming and terminology shouldn't be tough if you're self-motivated. Remember, you only have to pass. Take a practice test, then compare your results to the percentage they represent with respect to the percentage of their value (e.g., subject X is worth 18% and you got 90% of those questions correct). Figure out what percent you need to add, then focus on the subjects worth the most where you are closest to being proficient. If there's a time crunch, I'd ignore the areas of greatest ignorance completely.
I don't normally comment, but you've received so little meaningful help (IMHO), I thought I'd try. I've taken (and passed) the CS GRE. It was not an easy test for me Since then (nearly ten years ago), I've gone on to get both undergraduate and graduate degrees in CS and I've gained some understanding. The bottom line is that the CS GRE tries to test one's understanding of CS theory and it's mathematical or programmatic representation. In other words, you need to know numeric representation and manipulation (binary, hex, etc.), common algorithms/methods (recursion, sorts, etc.), CS terminology, discrete math (algebra's also a given, calculus isn't much help, trig doesn't hurt) and a sprinkling of graphics programming. Note that I did not mention any applications. Being a power user with some experience in VB will do absolutely no good. You must study CS theory and the math behind it. There are any number of good books covering these topics. I'd start with a good one on Operating Systems, if I were you. If most of it makes sense, you're on the right track. If not, consider taking some courses to prepare you.
I'm a bit amazed that so many people can reply to your post with so many recommendations when you provided so little information. A "decent" editor for "web development and system administration" leaves a lot of room for clarification. Do you need syntax highlighting? If so, for what languages? Do you rely on keyboard shortcuts, or are you a mouse maven? If using the keyboard is your thing, do you need keymap emulation? If mousing is your way, do you want to be able to configure the menus? Would having multiple files open in an easily accessible manner (ala Kate) be useful to you? Is version management important? Would you rate fast start-up over numerous features? I could go on, but I think I've made my point. There are literally dozens of quality text editors out there, each on geared to a different niche. Which niche are you trying to fill?
Pair programming is a great concept, and works very well at large companies. It is, however, not a good solution for small companies. In small companies (I know, I'm part owner of one), every person involved in the project has to contribute.
As a CTO in charge of a number of programmers, of various skill levels, I've found it's good to vary the method I use to define the problem. For really good programmers, it's enough to tell them to "solve x and produce y." For lesser programmers, it's helpful to write the steps out explicitly, i.e., "do step one and produce x1, do step two using x1 and produce x2...do step? and produce y." I personally write the steps (as comments) for these programmers. If needed, either I or one of my better programmers, will write tests for each phase to ensure the code meets the standard. You may find that, using this technique, "marginal" programmers are capable of producing good code. What they lack is the ability to see the big picture. So, break it down for them.
I disagree. You seem to be operating under the assumption that Linux--and Mandrake in particular--has a significant user base on the desktop. That's just not the case. Now is exactly the right time for all Linux distributions to move quickly toward the best technology available. Those of us using Mandrake for server operations will either upgrade (and deal with the issues, it's par for the course, regardless of OS vendor) or wait a while until commercial support catches up. Those of us currently using Linux on the desktop are, for the most part, capable of handling this change because we aren't typical desktop users. What's really important is that we have the very best OS possible by the time Linux starts to achieve critical mass on the desktop. At that point, your comments will be more applicable to the situation.
You pose an interesting question, and I've seen a wealth of valuable responses. What I haven't seen (having read a fair number of comments, but by no means all of them) is any consideration of how you learn.
After nearly ten years working in other fields, I chose to switch to Computer Science. As my first degree was in Sociology, I had a bit of catching up to do. A couple of degrees later, and after a whole lot of Math courses, I now know I learn best by applying principles. I need to understand the underlying theory, but more than that, I need to SOLVE PROBLEMS. That is not a universal requirement. There are those among us who can derive solutions from a purely theoretical base. I'm not among them. If you are like me, you will do well taking classes from any instructor qualified to teach at the level you find yourself. In other words, read the theory and then take a class at a community college (cheap) to practice the application.
On the other hand, if you are one of the fortunate ones who sees applications directly from theory, I advise you to go straight to a university near you. It will cost more on the face of it ($/CH), but save you time. Though it's trite, time really is money. If you intend to apply your learning (and I can tell you there are MANY ways to apply Math and make a killing), and are capable of learning this way, it's your best solution.
Good Luck!
Slashdot Mirror
I'll keep it short, but have the people supporting this view heard of dams? Humans (and beavers) have been intentionally changing the course of rivers for millennia.
Star Wars takes place "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...." Star Trek takes place in the relatively near future, right here in our galaxy.
Well done.
Most of the younger developers want to work with the newer languages, and they want to create rather than maintain. Many companies struggle to find competent COBOL programers, largely for maintenance work. If you are as adept at self-learning as you imply, it should be an easy language to pick up. Check out this article currently posted on /.: http://developers.slashdot.org/story/13/06/25/1659247/join-cobols-next-generation
Good luck!
Your answer is why I still occasionally read comments on slash. Thanks for being thoughtful when you could have been flippant. Maybe there's hope left for reasonable disagreement on this site.
You're probably correct about most defenders. I could, perhaps should, have just said that most people who comment on Atlas Shrugged haven't read it. Couldn't disagree with you more on your assessment of the book, though.
Good for you, Shark!
I don't say this to be a smart ass, so please don't take it that way, but perhaps it was that simple to you because you read it when you were 16? Mind you, my youngest child is older than that and I spent half of my life overseas in the Army, so I am neither young nor naive. Give it another shot. You may be surprised.
Most of the people who criticize Atlas Shrugged haven't read it, even if they say they have. It's a great book. I second the recommendation!
I read most of the comments to this post. Some are good, some leave something to be desired, as usual. As a current CITO for a decent sized public company, I employ two PhD's. One has a degree in Biology. The other, a degree in process (not exactly right; but, it's from an Indian institution and doesn't exactly map to US/European degree fields). Although neither of them has a PhD in CS or a related field, they both have extensive experience in CS-related work. So, I hired them because of both their proven ability to deliver in the real world and their proven ability to apply the scientific method over extended periods of time and effectively present their results. I really didn't care what their academic field of interest was years ago. Based on my experience, and I have hired hundreds of people into CS-related positions, you'd be much better off completing your current degree and beginning to amass experience in a particular discipline. People like me respect the dedication required to complete an advanced degree (I have one, myself); but, we want to see real world results. So, for what it's worth, I'd be much more inclined to hire you in 2014 with a degree earned this year and two years of demonstrated experience than I would with a degree earned in 2014 from a "better" institution, regardless of the field. BTW, both of the individuals in question are doing amazingly well. One has worked for me in multiple companies for more than a decade. The combination of education and experience they bring to the table makes them enormously valuable, and I compensate them accordingly. Finish your degree and get out there. There's fun and reward to be had!
You are correct, and I hope that kdawson reads your post. Like you, I had an undergrad degree in CS. I then went on to get a MS in CS (about a decade ago). Without getting into the specifics, the changes in my income have been significant. In my personal experience, in the right hands a Master's degree will add many hundreds of thousands of dollars in lifetime income for its bearer. In my current position, I employ a number of computer engineers. Those with Master's degrees earn tens of thousands of dollars more per year over their peers without that qualification, and are the first to be considered for the most challenging, and rewarding, assignments. They are also the first to be considered for managerial roles. It seems that many of the responses are from those fairly early on in their career. At that level, it may not make much difference. When you are negotiating with senior execs over your compensation package, it is a meaningful factor. Good Luck, kdawson!
I've been a geek managing people for about a decade now, and it's not as hard as it seems. Non-geeks don't understand how we can be fascinated with technological tidbits. Once you understand that, and then figure out what motivates them, you can appeal to them from their perspective. For example, you might call a friend to let him know that the latest release of X linux just came out, and the kernel tweaks are insane. They might call a friend to tell them they just got a certificate for being the best customer support rep. Be the guy/gal that knows what motivates that person, and who gives them the certificate. The bottom line is, if you take the time to know what motivates people, you'll be able to motivate them. Listen. A lot. Care about your people. Back them up. Demand the most of them, and reward it (little things matter here). Give them credit for their work, publically. Help them to feel good about themselves and they'll help make you a success.
I've used it every day for more than a year. It has been consistently reliable. Dozens of my friends / co-workers have had the same experience, and we all run KDE on Mandrake (various versions). Perhaps you should examine your configuration?
I read a lot of these answers, but not all of them, so sorry if I'm redundant. I have about 20TB of RAID 5 storage, most of which I've managed for nearly two years. For a least a couple of years before that, I managed storage in the multi-TB range. Hardware RAID 5 is the best way to go. If you're really concerned with safety, add as many hot/cold spares as you like. Performance is far superior to software RAID, no matter what anyone here may post. Good luck.
Low Earth Orbit. Once there, the cost of going further is massively less than that of doing so from the bottom of the Earth's gravity well (mass and distance being the relevant factors).
No, you're not screwed. I passed it the first time without any undergraduate degree. It was just really hard without the formal training. You obviously have the brain for it, and the Math background. Picking up the programming and terminology shouldn't be tough if you're self-motivated. Remember, you only have to pass. Take a practice test, then compare your results to the percentage they represent with respect to the percentage of their value (e.g., subject X is worth 18% and you got 90% of those questions correct). Figure out what percent you need to add, then focus on the subjects worth the most where you are closest to being proficient. If there's a time crunch, I'd ignore the areas of greatest ignorance completely.
I don't normally comment, but you've received so little meaningful help (IMHO), I thought I'd try. I've taken (and passed) the CS GRE. It was not an easy test for me Since then (nearly ten years ago), I've gone on to get both undergraduate and graduate degrees in CS and I've gained some understanding. The bottom line is that the CS GRE tries to test one's understanding of CS theory and it's mathematical or programmatic representation. In other words, you need to know numeric representation and manipulation (binary, hex, etc.), common algorithms/methods (recursion, sorts, etc.), CS terminology, discrete math (algebra's also a given, calculus isn't much help, trig doesn't hurt) and a sprinkling of graphics programming. Note that I did not mention any applications. Being a power user with some experience in VB will do absolutely no good. You must study CS theory and the math behind it. There are any number of good books covering these topics. I'd start with a good one on Operating Systems, if I were you. If most of it makes sense, you're on the right track. If not, consider taking some courses to prepare you.
I'm a bit amazed that so many people can reply to your post with so many recommendations when you provided so little information. A "decent" editor for "web development and system administration" leaves a lot of room for clarification. Do you need syntax highlighting? If so, for what languages? Do you rely on keyboard shortcuts, or are you a mouse maven? If using the keyboard is your thing, do you need keymap emulation? If mousing is your way, do you want to be able to configure the menus? Would having multiple files open in an easily accessible manner (ala Kate) be useful to you? Is version management important? Would you rate fast start-up over numerous features? I could go on, but I think I've made my point. There are literally dozens of quality text editors out there, each on geared to a different niche. Which niche are you trying to fill?
Pair programming is a great concept, and works very well at large companies. It is, however, not a good solution for small companies. In small companies (I know, I'm part owner of one), every person involved in the project has to contribute.
Spoken like a man who actually leads people!
As a CTO in charge of a number of programmers, of various skill levels, I've found it's good to vary the method I use to define the problem. For really good programmers, it's enough to tell them to "solve x and produce y." For lesser programmers, it's helpful to write the steps out explicitly, i.e., "do step one and produce x1, do step two using x1 and produce x2...do step? and produce y." I personally write the steps (as comments) for these programmers. If needed, either I or one of my better programmers, will write tests for each phase to ensure the code meets the standard. You may find that, using this technique, "marginal" programmers are capable of producing good code. What they lack is the ability to see the big picture. So, break it down for them.
I disagree. You seem to be operating under the assumption that Linux--and Mandrake in particular--has a significant user base on the desktop. That's just not the case. Now is exactly the right time for all Linux distributions to move quickly toward the best technology available. Those of us using Mandrake for server operations will either upgrade (and deal with the issues, it's par for the course, regardless of OS vendor) or wait a while until commercial support catches up. Those of us currently using Linux on the desktop are, for the most part, capable of handling this change because we aren't typical desktop users. What's really important is that we have the very best OS possible by the time Linux starts to achieve critical mass on the desktop. At that point, your comments will be more applicable to the situation.
You pose an interesting question, and I've seen a wealth of valuable responses. What I haven't seen (having read a fair number of comments, but by no means all of them) is any consideration of how you learn. After nearly ten years working in other fields, I chose to switch to Computer Science. As my first degree was in Sociology, I had a bit of catching up to do. A couple of degrees later, and after a whole lot of Math courses, I now know I learn best by applying principles. I need to understand the underlying theory, but more than that, I need to SOLVE PROBLEMS. That is not a universal requirement. There are those among us who can derive solutions from a purely theoretical base. I'm not among them. If you are like me, you will do well taking classes from any instructor qualified to teach at the level you find yourself. In other words, read the theory and then take a class at a community college (cheap) to practice the application. On the other hand, if you are one of the fortunate ones who sees applications directly from theory, I advise you to go straight to a university near you. It will cost more on the face of it ($/CH), but save you time. Though it's trite, time really is money. If you intend to apply your learning (and I can tell you there are MANY ways to apply Math and make a killing), and are capable of learning this way, it's your best solution. Good Luck!