On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 at 21:51 -0600, Michael L Torrie wrote: > Seems like BYU CS program is pretty good preparation for a CS graduate > program. It's probably not as good of preparation for general industry > stuff, except that I felt I was taught the algorithms and techniques > necessary to be successful in any programming paradigms I was placed in, > rather than being trained in just one language-de-jour. One thing in > regards to this that really killed a lot of my associates who had little > computer background was that the BYU CS program expected that you > already knew how to program, and could do so in any language with > minimal language-specific training. I personally felt, and still think, > that this is a good thing, but it all depends on your needs and where > you plan to go in the future.
Tell that to my CS 142 instructor. I knew a hint of C++ and good ol' GW-BASIC, so I breezed through the class, but it was very obviously geared at never-before-programmers and honestly I wasn't too far ahead of that pack either. If by "know how to program" you mean "has had some minimal exposure to thinking like a computer" then I may agree, but by no means do you have to have any real, useful experience in programming. At least, not in 1997 and 1999. > If you're planning to get a BS and then just go be a software developer > in the industry, you probably don't want the BYU program. But if a > masters is in your future, maybe consider it. Or PhD. :) I for one feel like my BYU BS in CS has done an excellent job in preparing me for grad school. It's hard to match BYU's level of bringing research to the undergrads (those that want it, anyway). If you're any good and have half an inkling to, you can get a job as an RA and even publish as an undergrad. This isn't very common, though I admit I have no idea if other schools in Utah do the same. -- Hans Fugal ; http://hans.fugal.net There's nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself. -- Johann Sebastian Bach /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
