Kristina Anderson wrote:
You have a valid point about the state certs...which could be problematic...however, I do take exception with your characterization of liberal arts courses and degrees as "garbage"...as a non-CS major who is now in the field and also as someone who believes STRONGLY in the "non-vocational, liberal arts model of post-secondary education" (i.e. the university is NOT a vocational school).
Well, I've looked at programs from state universities for mainly science and engineering programs and depending on the university between 1/3rd and 2/3rd of the courses required have nothing to do with the major. My point is that after 12 years of public schooling a student shouldn't need yet another English or history course when studying biology or civil engineering. I did not state that liberal art degrees are garbage, but the same would apply to those when an English major is forced to take an introductory physics course unless it is for the sake of studying the language used in science.I just don't think it is applicable to give someone a BSEE degree when the majority of courses attended had nothing to do with electrical engineering. That absolutely devalues the BS degree, but I squarely blame the universities for that. See, I consider a university not to be a continuation of high school. A university is supposed to train interested candidates in a field of choice with the goal to make them subject matter experts in that field. This is how many other university systems in the world understand "higher education". One reason why foreign specialists are so attractive to US businesses...and the fact that under H1B via the employees are tied to the company and can be made to do the same job for less money. I think the liberal arts model is purely used for the reason that most high school graduates are not ready for university studies. As a student I want to become an expert in the field and not have to learn about the geography of the former soviet union or learn polish to cover the foreign language requirement (this is what my wife took while getting her BS degree).
Just to make this clear, I did not evaluate and test study at all US universities, but I did look at the bachelor programs offered by several state univerties in the northeast. I eventually got my MS degree at CCSU and compared to the courses I had to attend at the University of Applied Sciences in Düsseldorf, Germany that MS level courses were a joke (except for Production Management). See, as a young person who goes into deep debt to finance a university education I'd want to get some kick ass training and not a bunch of fluff courses that make me redo what was covered in high school already. Why spend 1,000$ a course to take Art History 101 and Power Walking 058 when going for a CS degree? I admit that there are courses that are not on-subject, but still very important, such as ethics (ask yourself if it is really OK to build the next nuclear bomb or the next 800hp, 8 ton version of a Hummer), human relations in organizations (be creative and do something else other than fire people), and maybe even basic business accounting. And if it is has to be a hisry course, provide one that applies to the major. I rather have a CS graduate who knows who invented the first applied programming language rather than one who knows all about President Hoover (no, he did not invent the vacuum cleaner). Maybe with better trained university graduates the need for certifications would be a moot point.
Also, I am in no way intent to ridicule BS/BA degree holders or suggest that they didn't work hard for their degree. I just think that especially CS graduates should rather read Complaint Management by Stauss & Seidel rather than Huckleberry Finn for the third time.
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