Should you go to school to study software development or not? and between IT, Computer Science, and Software Engineering, which one should you take? Software Engineers talk
He may be right but where am I driving at? I have severally told any student I have had a chance to advise that compared to other courses, software development is quite a different thing! Universities and colleges will teach you computer science and IT and software engineering but NO University or college will teach you to become software developer! Hate me or love me...This does not mean I am against someone studying. Study and earn that degree or diploma or whatever it is. But take your time to learn how to write advanced programs. In school, you will be told to write programs that do simple things but remember this is not the case in the real world. In the real world, you write programs that deal with like, hundreds of thousands of users daily if it is a web app if it is a social media app like facebook, there is complex logic going on behind the scene like relating users to their posts, denying others the permissions of editing or deleting others posts, detecting the user location and run ads on the users profile based on that location, detecting the devices they're using and make the contents respond to the device width among others. You have to think about how to implement such logic. Let me not speak much. I was shocked to realize that around 60% of software developers have degrees in other respects and studied software development on there own. Some never stepped in college but they're working in top companies developing advanced applications you probably use on a daily basis. I happen to be in many software development groups and there is a question that came up about which course is the most appropriate for one to take in order to become a software developer. This was the question:
Replies:Hello guys I was here once before to ask something but I ddnt get a clear answer..
Since all of you here are programmers am sure you went through some kind of institution..so which institution is the best to learn this and which course is this exactly is it IT,ICT,COMPUTER SCIENCE....Am sorry I really need your help to understand this..
-You can go through computer science...but CS is more computer theory...
Am not sure what is in IT or ICT...
Best advice i can give you is that most skills i have dint come from sitting in a CS class... The internet will teach you all the programming you will need to know.
-Well not every programmer went through a formal institution. But if you want to go through one, take computer science. But whether ot not you go through a formal institution, you must invest time to learn, explore and practice on your own. That is usually a key differentiator between those who succeed and those who give up.Regarding which institution to go to, I don't know which to vouch for.There are many free online courses on introductory programming and computer science on websites like Coursera, Udacity, MIT OpenCourseWare, etc. that you can use as a starting pointOr a free book like Think Python by Allen Downey if you want to start with python
-Go for software development or software engineering if you wanna get the practical part of it.... Otherwise CS is tiresome theory for 5years, IT is nolonger marketable.... Infact most schools are scrapping it out and then ict is a mere certificate
-I think you're wrong about CS. Also theory and practice are not mutually exclusive. You don't need CS to get a job in the field. But if you want to be in the field for the long run, understand of CS concepts comes in handy. But anyway, different ways to reach Rome.
-True CS trains a graduate on more abstract principles, data structures, algorithms,and such fundamental principles in Computer Science.But if you have a sharper focus on software development I think SE degree is better for you than CS. Go for CS if you have a wider interest maybe data science, database stuff, AI, etc
-Programming is mostly self-taught no matter the credentials, that being said a "technical" degree or similar academic qualification is good for employers, so BSc in Comp Science or one of the many Engineerings or a diplomaor I.T, BBIT
-Go to JKUAT and do CS and some math if you can. While you're at it do some self study. It's gonna be difficult to juggle but it's worth it
-All those courses degree/ diploma gives you an overview high level kinda knowledge. What matters are SKILLS. SKILLS are self taught. You must be driven like a machine on steroids. Pick an area web, apps, networking, security, DB, Data Science, devops etc and be the best....when you reach that level, you come back and deliver a testimony
-I disagree with "forget about I.T", If going to college, pick a course that you can pass with ease (The I.T's are easier than CS/SE) and allow you a lot more room to self teach, getting employed with a First Class/Second Upper in BBIT and a bunch of self taught skills is easier than with a passing grade in CSHowever, If you are really interested in Computers and society (not code, the whole how computers have affected society and will continue to in the future) then CS is the route, but be prepared, It is theoretical, builds on a mathematical base that just about no-one i this country gets
-You have difference in opinions but I will do my best to sieve through the information you have so generously given to me and take out what is best for me and what will give me a good chance in getting a job afterwards..thank you all
-Not opinions but experiences. Wait till you enter developers interview and meet graduates from economics, sociology, mathematics (very good programmers), statistics (very good data scientists), all engineering disciplines etc that you shall remember
-And there isn't much difference in I.T and C.S.. the course units are online.. compare them.. the difference is minimal... Same course different packaging.The best advice I can give you as a person who went through that process is get a domain knowledge course.. Stats, sociology, engineering etc.. then self teach on the programming side of things.. you will still have to self teach even if you take those tech courses to survive.. there's no escaping it.Is a degree course essential? No, Helpful? Yes. Some of the best programmers you'll eventually meet are just guys who took their laptops pressed on the keys and solved code problems after problems till they worked out. With no degrees.. There are people working for Google Kenya with no degrees.
-CS teaches very little programming. programming is just how you test your knowledgekind of like math and physicsIf you want to program fro a living and be taught how to, you are better of picking a "software egineering" coursebut all of them will pale in comparison to what you will learn on the job with your own motivationThink of the software engineering as HOW and computer science as WHYlots of overlap but different goalsAll these is theoretical thoughMy advice is be flexiblePick a course you'd enjoy and pass with ease, teach yourself what you needLots of what you'll be taught will be obsolete by the time they teach you, let alone graduation
-If you study CS in order to "learn programming" you will feel cheated4/5 years in school is a long time, spend it wisely, learning how to approach problems, understanding the theories that underpin computing and developing a sense of where we are headed"programming" is a craft, akin to wood or metalwork where you gain most from practice than theory
-I am going CS and it is what you do alone that really counts here
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