Why a Computer Science Degree Isn’t Enough
Challenges in programming career preparation.
There exists a significant gap in the current approach to teaching computer science to aspiring software engineers and the industry’s expectations of them upon graduation. While recent graduates may excel in understanding algorithmic complexities, such as the O(log(n)) for a binary search in a sorted list, many struggle when tasked with designing comprehensive systems from scratch.
I recently had a conversation with a friend who get a computer science degree from the University of Maryland. He shared his interview experiences, highlighting a specific question he faced: designing a system to monitor the positions of all trains in the Washington D.C. subway system. This scenario underscores the challenges many graduates encounter in applying their knowledge to real-world, complex system designs.
He elaborated on his response, discussing potential data structures such as binary trees and linked lists. However, when I inquired about the practicality of transferring data from the trains to the computer running his software, he struggled to provide a solution. I asked whether there should be a computer at each station communicating with a central computer via HTTP, to which he had no answer.
It’s worth noting that this individual was an outstanding student, consistently earning straight A’s. He had enrolled in some of the most challenging computer science courses available. Yet, he faced difficulty in addressing what I perceived as basic questions. This highlights the limitations of relying solely on academic exposure to computer science and computer engineering.
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