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Discussion on: College is still better for coding

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rvxlab profile image
RVxLab

I went to college in the Netherlands from 2010 until 2014, graduated with a diploma. (MBO-4 for those wondering).

It put my foot in the door to become a full-stack developer, but no more than that.

What I learned in college:

  • How to code in general
  • OOP
  • Scrum
  • SVN

SVN did give me some prerequisite knowledge to learn Git, which was nice.

By the end of it I still knew nothing outside of knowing how to somewhat program, the rest came from jobs and internships.

I can only speak for the Netherlands here, college is definitely worth it to get started, no more. The rest of learning on your own, through internships and through jobs.

In regards to Haris' comment:

College is nothing, teachers are something

He couldn't be more right. Teachers really make or break college for you.

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martinrojas profile image
martin rojas

I think that is exactly correct. It gets you in the door and gives you fundamentals. One of the best examples I can come up with is the realization that most web developers are having in JS after working with Typescript. That is a language that enforces good CS practices that pay off in bigger or more complex projects. I feel is the same with college, when you mature in your career a lot of concepts will click and make sense in the real world.