On Feb 17, 2004, at 2:32 AM, Stephen Davies wrote:
> Perhaps I expect to much - but shouldn't people who think like that
> about their university education should rather be at a vocational
> school?  Or just go to "Java University" or whatever.

Exactly. An awful lot of CS students seem to think that they go to 
university to learn the list of tricks needed to get a job - and 
nothing else. I dare say the same would apply in a lot of other 
subjects but after twelve years in the coding mines of sillycon valley 
I don't know many non-CS people in the younger age ranges. And I dare 
say my perspective is further skewed by reading slashdot fairly often.

Just for starters, CS is not the subject to be studying if you want to 
work in making software anymore than theoretical cosmology (not seen 
too many applied cosmology courses yet :-) is the best course for 
someone that wants to work in mechanical engineering. CS is (or at 
least should be) the subject for studying the science of computational 
ideas, processes, devices and workgroups. A course for learning how to 
write good software ought to be Software Engineering and would be 
_hugely_ different to a good CS course. Engineering is very different 
to pure science; I would characterise the difference along the lines of
a) a compsci grad when given a problem to solve involving sorting data 
will try to invent a new sorting algorithm because after all they know 
everything about sorting and can devise a newer better way to do it 
before coffee.
b) an engineer will look in a catalogue for a standard answer because 
that way you know it is approved, certified and repeatable.
Yes, I know it's a shallow characterisation but it is based on multiple 
real experiences.

As Alan said, part of the problem is the commercial need of the 
universities (at least in the US, where money rules all and public good 
etc is completely irrelevant) to attract paying customers. There is 
also the push by industry in most countries to squeeze the educational 
system into churning out trained monkeys that can do the job they want 
done today. No matter that the job they wanted done when the currently 
'graduating' batch started the course was utterly different.

Ah. I should stop ranting. I'm pretty sure I'm preaching to the choir 
on this list.

tim