Comment The Less The Better (Score 1) 631
I entered (1993) comp sci not because it promised a high paying job, I entered because I was curious about the field and felt the need to expand my knowledge with some formal education (data structures, os theory. Assembly was learned only to apply the theory, not to learn the language for the sake of learning the language).
My parents were pushing for accounting and business. They were seriously disapointed when I broke them the news. My mother said "You do nothing but play games on that computer, that's not a career!" Back then getting the game to work required REAL skill and knowledge of computer hardware and OS configuration, remember them IRQ's and mem extenders?)Oh yea they got the computer because they wanted me to learn spreadsheets lol!
So long story short, if you attract people with promises other than for the subject itself, you generate crappy employees with no will to follow technology. Some of these people don't know how to extend their knowledge after school. Unlike other fields which with a basic foundation of skills can work serve the employer for a very long time without any "continuing education" (How many ways can you turn a screw anyways)
If you are not naturally motivated, technology and its ever changing playing field will serious crush a non-geek. So those that do enter, however little, are the right people to sustain and serve the field.
My parents were pushing for accounting and business. They were seriously disapointed when I broke them the news. My mother said "You do nothing but play games on that computer, that's not a career!" Back then getting the game to work required REAL skill and knowledge of computer hardware and OS configuration, remember them IRQ's and mem extenders?)Oh yea they got the computer because they wanted me to learn spreadsheets lol!
So long story short, if you attract people with promises other than for the subject itself, you generate crappy employees with no will to follow technology. Some of these people don't know how to extend their knowledge after school. Unlike other fields which with a basic foundation of skills can work serve the employer for a very long time without any "continuing education" (How many ways can you turn a screw anyways)
If you are not naturally motivated, technology and its ever changing playing field will serious crush a non-geek. So those that do enter, however little, are the right people to sustain and serve the field.
