I had exactly the same response when I was in college at Wesleyan University - why am I taking these theory classes - they won't do me any good.
I'm 10 years out - and the only thing that has mattered is the theory classes. I use the theory every day - I make my living doing contract work in multiple different languages.
If you want to be a master programmer - its not just time, and desire - its also theory. I've met programmers who have been writing code 10 years - who I consider incompetent - primarily because no one taught them any theory - like reusable code - like writing objects that encapsulate functionality, like recursion.
Theory matters
But having been in school facing the theory classes - its no fun. Hang tight - and my best suggestion is that you get yourself involved with an open source project and start writing code on the side. If you have 2 to 3 years of writing code, modifying code by the time you get out of school - you'll be heads above other people.
And yes you can make money programming - lots of it. You do have to do something to distinguish yourself from other folks. I have a double major in comp sci and philosophy - I strongly urge you to backup your comp sci with another field of study - preferably on the "human sciences" side....
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I had exactly the same response when I was in college at Wesleyan University - why am I taking these theory classes - they won't do me any good. I'm 10 years out - and the only thing that has mattered is the theory classes. I use the theory every day - I make my living doing contract work in multiple different languages. If you want to be a master programmer - its not just time, and desire - its also theory. I've met programmers who have been writing code 10 years - who I consider incompetent - primarily because no one taught them any theory - like reusable code - like writing objects that encapsulate functionality, like recursion. Theory matters But having been in school facing the theory classes - its no fun. Hang tight - and my best suggestion is that you get yourself involved with an open source project and start writing code on the side. If you have 2 to 3 years of writing code, modifying code by the time you get out of school - you'll be heads above other people. And yes you can make money programming - lots of it. You do have to do something to distinguish yourself from other folks. I have a double major in comp sci and philosophy - I strongly urge you to backup your comp sci with another field of study - preferably on the "human sciences" side....