Studying Computer Science - Worth It?

I'm fast approaching the end of high school (Friday's my last day :D/>) and I've been making university selections.

At this stage I've chosen a conjoint with commerce and computer science, but given that I'd imagine some people here would've had experience with it or similar I'm interested in hearing about it.

Essentially I'm wondering whether it's worth studying at all. Do employers generally require a degree or similar? For someone who has been coding for many years is it simply a waste of time, or are there better courses (I know software engineering is another one that seems similar). Alternatively, is it worth trying to skip a year or two?

You have to take into account that they expected noobs at the university. Given you have coded before I would skip already a year.

If it possible to take a test showing that you can code without actually taking courses, you should do that since you can learn it all from tutorials, which are free. Instead take something not so easy, like psychology, allowing you to develop in a third direction.

There can be things in the first year aside from learning to code that they will teach you. I'm doing a Computer Games Development course (which is essentially re-branded software engineering - game loop, event loop, same thing) and there was a lot of content that I didn't know as well as stuff I did. So while the first year/semester is for getting everyone on the same page, there may be things that you didn't know that you would need to know. (The maths lectures were boring until we got to matrices.)

If you have multiple computer languages under your belt will make learning a new one easier. Java and C/C++ are popular in industry so Uni will likely teach you one of those. (Knowing it already may cause an issue as they will want you to adopt a new code style or a variant of one - industry will do this too, each company will have a different style.)

Employers will be happy to look more than just your end marks from Uni. I'm sure that your work on Silica will look good to them. (Looking at another product from a video and being able to modify an existing product to clone the first.) However the degree will still be important as those show more real experience, such as work assignment deadlines and tasks assigned by managers lecturers.

Note that computer science at university isn't all just about programming! I took the first semester UNSW computing course and they had a strong focus on learning the bare concepts of how computers and programming languages (The C programming language) works. Such as pointers and memory, and even some other cool stuff like writing a HTTP server in C, and generating BMP images in C. And that's only the first semester for 1 course out of 6 for the first year I believe.

Also in many universities, you may not be able to skip a year as they have prerequisites for just taking a degree in computer science. For example at UNSW in the first year, you also need to take mathematics (which will probably contain stuff you've never learnt in high school!).

I would personally not skip a year, and just go for the full experience and start from year 1. The entire course is designed for me to start from year 1, and experiencing the first year will help me be better prepared for the following years. Remember, the first year at uni for computer science, or any subject for that matter, isn't only about super specifically what's inside the subject!

Absolutely. I pull on things I learned from my CS classes every single day.

Creator, on 21 October 2015 - 09:44 AM said:

You have to take into account that they expected noobs at the university. Given you have coded before I would skip already a year.

If it possible to take a test showing that you can code without actually taking courses, you should do that since you can learn it all from tutorials, which are free. Instead take something not so easy, like psychology, allowing you to develop in a third direction.

A good chunk of computer science is about the concepts behind programming. You can have tons of programming experience, but if you don't understand the concepts behind it (recursion and OOP are two basic examples) then skipping a year is going to hurt you in the end. Additionally, programming experience does not necessarily mean you write code well, which is one thing that early computer science courses focus on.

In some cases, you can take an accelerated curriculum - you still go through all the material covered in the courses, but at a faster pace (since you most likely already know most of it). This would be a better idea than skipping it entirely as you would get an opportunity to learn things you would have otherwise missed, while still practicing the basics.

Edit: As far as degrees go - at least here in America, many employers do not require a degree for their positions, but having one definitely gives you a higher chance of getting a job. If you later want to pursue a certification in IT, you will most likely need a degree.

apemanzilla, on 21 October 2015 - 02:56 PM said:

Creator, on 21 October 2015 - 09:44 AM said:

You have to take into account that they expected noobs at the university. Given you have coded before I would skip already a year.

If it possible to take a test showing that you can code without actually taking courses, you should do that since you can learn it all from tutorials, which are free. Instead take something not so easy, like psychology, allowing you to develop in a third direction.

A good chunk of computer science is about the concepts behind programming. You can have tons of programming experience, but if you don't understand the concepts behind it (recursion and OOP are two basic examples) then skipping a year is going to hurt you in the end. Additionally, programming experience does not necessarily mean you write code well, which is one thing that early computer science courses focus on.

In some cases, you can take an accelerated curriculum - you still go through all the material covered in the courses, but at a faster pace (since you most likely already know most of it). This would be a better idea than skipping it entirely as you would get an opportunity to learn things you would have otherwise missed, while still practicing the basics.

If there is such an option, take it. Or take a trip to Europe first. That way you will explore the world and maybe even find a girlfriend, if you don't have one.

Creator, on 21 October 2015 - 02:59 PM said:

apemanzilla, on 21 October 2015 - 02:56 PM said:

Creator, on 21 October 2015 - 09:44 AM said:

You have to take into account that they expected noobs at the university. Given you have coded before I would skip already a year.

If it possible to take a test showing that you can code without actually taking courses, you should do that since you can learn it all from tutorials, which are free. Instead take something not so easy, like psychology, allowing you to develop in a third direction.

A good chunk of computer science is about the concepts behind programming. You can have tons of programming experience, but if you don't understand the concepts behind it (recursion and OOP are two basic examples) then skipping a year is going to hurt you in the end. Additionally, programming experience does not necessarily mean you write code well, which is one thing that early computer science courses focus on.

In some cases, you can take an accelerated curriculum - you still go through all the material covered in the courses, but at a faster pace (since you most likely already know most of it). This would be a better idea than skipping it entirely as you would get an opportunity to learn things you would have otherwise missed, while still practicing the basics.

If there is such an option, take it. Or take a trip to Europe first. That way you will explore the world and maybe even find a girlfriend, if you don't have one.

…what?

Explore the world. Now where you live.

Formal education in a subject will cover things you won't have learned on your own, so it would definitely be worth it. I would also value the opinions of those who have gone through a college CS program (like Dan) over those who haven't.

Lyqyd, on 21 October 2015 - 05:39 PM said:

Formal education in a subject will cover things you won't have learned on your own, so it would definitely be worth it. I would also value the opinions of those who have gone through a college CS program (like Dan) over those who haven't.

Yes I'd agree, everyone who has had something to do with the course has unanimously agreed that studying CS is a good idea, so looks I will :D/>