Oh yay, can't wait for that class now...


Do you think that was just your professor, or is that kind of how most networking classes are taught?

When i had networking, it was over a decade ago. Networking implementations have become MUCH more prominent since then. I would hope they would teach the application of networking theory, but I would suspect things haven't changed much as they probably hold that back for their Masters Degree courses... which are a waste of money imho. Your best bet is to prod your professors into going over implementations of modern techniques or starting/joining a network programming group in college to get things moving.

I'm not "self-taught," I just find the right books and web sites to get a fairly good knowledge on the subject. I still stand in the shadows of a professional, but at least I am doing (programmers never finish learning, notice the present tense) pretty good for a DIY-er. As for hobby, I am all hobby. I think that since there is no risk in a hobby project, game ideas would be 500% more original if it were more of a hobby for more people, even though the content and quality would be 500% poorer or non-existing at all. Even if I do end up actually finishing something for once, I would still sell it, but it would not be my job, even if I were to become a millionaire (so unlikely, that Michael Bay would direct the next romance/drama/feminist masterpiece before I made something sale-quality). Do I have patches and holes in my knowledge? You better believe it. Despite being (as the rumor goes) built for "bad videos", the internet has proven to be more than an invaluable tool. I wouldn't want to have making stuff on the computer (in particular games) as a job, as it would lose its enjoyment value and actually carry a risk. I'm becoming an electrical/chemical engineer dual major, if you are wondering how similar my career is to programming (not similar at all, I'm not even interested in the PC industry, more like specialized machinery).

Okay I have another question for the programmers without the degree. With the knowledge you have accumalated over the years, if you went back to school for a CS degree, would you breeze through it?

Okay I have another question for the programmers without the degree. With the knowledge you have accumalated over the years, if you went back to school for a CS degree, would you breeze through it?

No. The CS program do not only deal with programming. CS programs also deal with the math like discrete math, Linear Algebra, Algorithms(hence the math to prove that your algorithms are correct and works) and stuff like how to cooperate with others(groups and group work) and even more theoretical stuff.

It all depends on what you worked with as a self taught programmer. CS programs also demands that you can write reports in order to document your work etc. A CS degree is not about making games or learning to program it is about learning the history of Computer Science and hence learning the Algorithms and math that a computer needs in order to carry out the many tasks we the human beings are making it do every day.

In my country very few people(even the self taught ones) finish their CS program within the nominated time(only around 10-20 percent manage to do it) and these people where not only self taught but also had an extremely high IQ(very gifted people). To study CS is suppose to be fun and something you like. If you rather wanna program and do not find the math behind it fun, do not feel like programming a CPU core, don't feel like inventing a new programming language(or least wanna know how a programming language is made), find it waste of time using math to prove the correctness of an algorithm, then CS is really not the right path to take.

Hence that is why some people choose trade schools(game degrees) and not the traditionally road of CS. In fact the CS degrees deal very little with real implementation and more with theory and math(it is a degree that prepare people to become CS scientists). Engineer degrees are more about implementation and I would advice people to go for a Software Engineer degree if they wanna become good at programming and implementation.

I'm "self-taught" insofar as learning off my own back. I started graphics programming in the mid-90's and didn't have Internet until 2004 so I had to figure a lot of stuff out from inpenetrable books and offline docs. That was good grounding for my problem solving skills which I took to university and finally to the Phd I am currently doing.

Uni taught me a lot indirectly as I got a taste for best practices, methodologies and real-world software builds but all of this can be achieved with initiative and Internet resources in my opinion.

Programmers starting today have a wealth of tools and resources at their fingertips, which of course is great in the right hands buy I believe that resources like this site with "instant answers" can play to people's laziness when people look to others for a solution rather than researching/experimenting themselves first.

However, I can empathsize with this mentality to a degree because learning any new discipline can be overwhelming, although I'm not so empathic towards those who ask before doing the moat cursory amount of research (I.e. Searching/googling).

Okay I have another question for the programmers without the degree. With the knowledge you have accumalated over the years, if you went back to school for a CS degree, would you breeze through it?

Succeeding at university has far less to do with knowledge than it has to do with self-discipline. Just look at the first year drop out rates to see how people bail once the workload cuts into party time. You don't so much as get a deep uderstanding at uni as giving you the skills and discipline to apply yourself, such that a decent degree is more a certification that you're a safe pair of hands in terms if motivation and applying yourself to see something through more than anything else.

I started out just hacking around without really having a clue what I was doing, but I've been formally qualified for over 20 years now. Was it worth it? Yes. Is much of the stuff I learned actually relevant today? No.

I believe that for many (most, even) people there is value in taking a combo approach. Get that training under your belt (it need not be a qualification) and you get some shape on your knowledge, you get to see bigger pictures you may otherwise miss, and you're forced to learn all the nasty little nooks and crannies that you may otherwise choose to ignore if you don't have the interest or self-discipline. Then take off on your own and shoot for the sky.