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Discussion on: Computer Science fundamentals are still important.

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jankapunkt profile image
Jan Küster

I think there is still a fundamental issue on how CS is perceived and what people expect from it. Computer Science is primarily not about writing software but, as the name implies, a science. The goal is not for graduates to necessarily become great software engineers.

There are Universities that understood this issue and splitted into Computer Science (lots of theory, algorithm design and verification, lots of maths, science methodology, computing, conducting studies, formal validation etc.) and Software Engineering (applied science, creating software on a professional level, knowing algorithms and which ones to use when / not, software architecture, patterns, design, more empirical work etc.)

Many Universities and Colleges still have no distinction between them so it's up to you to check their curricula and see if the education will match your future career expectations :-)

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mrtillman0000 profile image
mrtillman0000

wow! this is a good one! seriously great point @jankapunkt . I think it's the same difference between pure mathematics and applied mathematics: there is a clear separation between abstract concepts and the application of those concepts to real-world industry. this separation is not well-defined between computer science and software engineering.