August 12, 2003

Things that they don't teach you in school (Computer Science, IT, MIS, CIS, etc. or whatever school you weant to so that you could show in some meaningful way that you know how to write software)

• Different programming languages and their uses.
• Anything about the web that matters.
• Anything about software engineering in groups. (throwing people together doesn't mean they are working together)
• Debugging techniques.
• Code conventions, proper commenting.(most places if your code runs they don't really look at it)
• Good system design concepts.
• Where to go for more information.(good books to read after graduation)
• Likewise they didn't tell you about the importance of continuing education. (the fact that you need to go somewhere for more information)
• The fact that most places that you will work care about making money, and will therefore not act like anybody in the academic world in many important ways.
• That there is a history of our craft that dates back a long ways - people have been programming for years and just because it was on some archiac system doesn't mean that the lessons they learned don't matter anymore.
• How to find a job.
• How to act on some basic level in the business world.
• The fact that you don't really know much, and having a degree doesn't change that much in the long run.

August 12, 2003 03:56 PM