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Discussion on: Why I did my master's in software engineering instead of computer science

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Jennifer Konikowski

Those topics should be promoted - if you are getting a bachelor's in software engineering. If you are getting a bachelor's in computer science, then you should be focused on CS. A university is not a trade school and the whole point of it is not to get students ready for careers.

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Thomas J Owens

You're absolutely right that a university isn't a trade school. There's also value in computer science undergraduate education, for some people.

People who want a university education and to go into industry afterwards aren't typically served by a computer science degree, though. Completion of the program doesn't leave these people with the knowledge and skills needed to work in teams to build large and complex software systems.

There are far more undergrad CS programs than SE programs. Many students don't realize the difference and industry is worse off for it, since experienced engineers are now teaching university graduates things that they should have learned in the classroom.

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Jennifer Konikowski • Edited

I 100% agree with you. Part of the problem is trying to figure out a degree before you turn 18. It often does surprise me that more schools don't have SE degrees. I went to an engineering school for undergrad (did not do SE or CS) and my university didn't even have a SE degree, BS or MS.

Edit: Though part of me also thinks that maybe we shouldn't be expecting new grads to be ready for the job, in any field. Apprenticeships and formal mentoring should probably be bigger across the board. If you get a CS degree, you have a lot of knowledge that is very useful... but you still need more and, really, most of that is best learned on the job.

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Thomas J Owens

100% on apprenticeship, formal mentoring, and I'd add internship and co-op in university education.

Not every software engineer will have a university degree. But even those who have taught themselves or go to a boot camp can take advantage of apprenticeships and mentoring. In fact, I think that companies that offer students 3 to 6 month internships should be more open to people outside of degree programs participating.