A somewhat more positive story about software development and gainesville/uf.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120327/articles/120329611 On Apr 23, 2012 5:39 PM, "A.Padilla" <[email protected]> wrote: > Can't look at it as a trade. CS is a good degree but it won't > guarantee you riches. It's what you do with the degree that > determines how you'll end up. > > On Mon, Apr 23, 2012 at 4:45 PM, Tim Holloway <[email protected]> wrote: > > I went 1 term at UF and never did do a CS class there. I left because > > while there are a lot of appealing things about a large and complex > > school and I enjoyed the academics and cultural facilities, the student > > were entirely too grim. I could have found a friendlier crowd in > > Manhattan at rush hour. Of course, I was also pushing 30 at the time, > > which meant that by the reckoning of most students I was in the advanced > > stages of mummification. > > > > Even back then, their programs struck me as a little odd, being split > > mostly between the engineering and business schools. They also hadn't > > yet discovered the C Programming Language, even though I'd been teaching > > it at FJC a year or so earlier. Still, my jaw dropped when I read the > > news about UF dismantling its CS department. > > > > I first heard of UCF at a meeting of the UF ACM chapter. Every year > > there's a programming contest, and UCF was considered a Force to Be > > Reckoned With. Later, I moved down to Orlando and transferred to UCF and > > found out why. While I'm not a big fan of programming contests as a > > measure of ability, the UCF ACM had a well-honed machine, and it > > routinely did well against big-league competitors like MIT and > > Singapore. > > > > I have a lot of respect for UCF's CS and engineering programs, even > > though circumstances kept me from ever graduating. UCF also established > > a proper research park in its vicinity. UNF tried to, but about the best > > they could manage was an AOL call center. Speaking of which, I'm sorry > > to report that I haven't exactly been inundated with volunteers on my > > own little pet geek project. Are we really THAT primitive around here? > > > > Anyway, regardless of the relative merits of various colleges, the > > brutal fact is that CS is not the best of career choices anymore. I > > think we've pretty much bottomed out on the offshoring thing, but that > > doesn't mean that Happy Days are Here Again, or likely to be so anytime > > soon. While it should be relatively easy to enter the field while you're > > still at the bottom of your earnings potential and willing to work > > insane hours, age discrimination and the Wal-Mart effect on salaries > > mean that paying off that student loan may prove difficult. Not that > > there are a whole lot of other professions that can offer more hope > > right now. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Archive http://marc.info/?l=jaxlug-list&r=1&w=2 > > RSS Feed http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml > > Unsubscribe [email protected] > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > Archive http://marc.info/?l=jaxlug-list&r=1&w=2 > RSS Feed http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml > Unsubscribe [email protected] > >
