Oh my garsh overwhelmed with what to do for my kids for each of their degrees?- HELP

[sanantone]

I love alternative education, but if I were starting at a young age and wanted to be a programmer I would be looking at traditional routes. There is so much to being a good programmer that is missed being self taught. If TESC is definitely the choice for your son, he should seriously consider the BA in Computer Science and choose the electives based on a traditional Computer Science degree. There are plenty of general education testing options but very few testing options that will serve him well for the computer requirements. Engineering and Computer Science both require a rigorous academic approach. There are many programmers coming out of traditional education both domestic and overseas. He will be competing with these folks for jobs. Combine a homeschool background with a non-traditional college education and most employers won't be interested. For those who live within tight communities (like some of the Mennonite groups) this wouldn't be a problem, but outside of a tight community, he will likely struggle to find employment. Just so you know I am not speaking from a bias against home schooling, I was a home school parent.

The basic education in a computer science program can be important for higher level jobs, but a common criticism of computer science majors is that they don't know how to program. They might learn a couple of languages at a basic level. They will have to practice on their own to become fluent in them. Being able to learn new languages and new technology on your own is crucial to surviving in the IT field. A language that is hot now might not be hot in 5-10 years.

[UptonSinclair]

The importance of computer science is easily understood by a quick search on indeed.com. Many of the better paying IT jobs require a computer science degree rather than an IT degree. The reason for this is the foundation of a higher level math, calculus based physics, and the rigorous theory courses taught in traditional computer science curriculum. I am not saying one needs to learn everything in a formal setting, but I am saying that being a good programmer depends on far more than hacking away at a language without a background in theory.

[sanantone]

The importance of computer science is easily understood by a quick search on indeed.com. Many of the better paying IT jobs require a computer science degree rather than an IT degree. The reason for this is the foundation of a higher level math, calculus based physics, and the rigorous theory courses taught in traditional computer science curriculum. I am not saying one needs to learn everything in a formal setting, but I am saying that being a good programmer depends on far more than hacking away at a language without a background in theory.

There certainly is demand for the degree even when it's not required (credential inflation), but there is a computer scientist on another forum who thinks that programming is below being a computer scientist. He thinks it's a waste of skills for someone with a computer science degree to settle for a programming job. Recent graduates of computer science degrees had a surprisingly high unemployment rate in relation to other majors in 2010. It was almost as high as criminal justice and psychology. My belief is that the unemployment rate was (and still may be) high because the graduates didn't have fully-developed skills. They have the theoretical foundation, but they don't have the programming knowledge to put their education to practical use. You might have taken calculus and physics; but, if you don't know Python, then you can't program in Python.

[UptonSinclair]

There certainly is demand for the degree even when it's not required (credential inflation), but there is a computer scientist on another forum who thinks that programming is below being a computer scientist. He thinks it's a waste of skills for someone with a computer science degree to settle for a programming job. Recent graduates of computer science degrees had a surprisingly high unemployment rate in relation to other majors in 2010. It was almost as high as criminal justice and psychology. My belief is that the unemployment rate was (and still may be) high because the graduates didn't have fully-developed skills. They have the theoretical foundation, but they don't have the programming knowledge to put their education to practical use. You might have taken calculus and physics; but, if you don't know Python, then you can't program in Python.

This is one of those issues of the purpose of college. A lot depends on what one wants out of their education. A Computer Scientist should be able to roll with the punches as changes come along like the change in demand from C++ to Java. Far too many employers expect college to be a trade school. It is a very short sighted approach. Knowing the theory behind what computers do should allow a computer scientist to easily become a python programmer. I believe the unemployment rate for Computer Scientists has far more to do with cheap H1B visas distorting the market. It is still up to a programmer to keep current with their skills. Things change rapidly in the computer industry and require continuing education whether traditional or independent. The guy from the other forum who believes programming is beneath him sounds a bit too arrogant for his own good.

[sanantone]

This is one of those issues of the purpose of college. A lot depends on what one wants out of their education. A Computer Scientist should be able to roll with the punches as changes come along like the change in demand from C++ to Java. Far too many employers expect college to be a trade school. It is a very short sighted approach. Knowing the theory behind what computers do should allow a computer scientist to easily become a python programmer. I believe the unemployment rate for Computer Scientists has far more to do with cheap H1B visas distorting the market. It is still up to a programmer to keep current with their skills. Things change rapidly in the computer industry and require continuing education whether traditional or independent. The guy from the other forum who believes programming is beneath him sounds a bit too arrogant for his own good.

Well, he is very snooty. He discounts distance education because it doesn't facilitate tacit learning. He also doesn't think people should even bother with college if they aren't attending a top 50 school.

[UptonSinclair]

Even though we have hijacked this conversation, hopefully it points out that even within a focused community like this one there are differing opinions on the importance of traditional classes for a given discipline. For an investment like education, it pays to be as well informed as possible when making these decisions and degreeforum.net is a great place to start.

[Photog]

My son wants to work with supercomputers. He wants to build them to have them function. He doesn't program, but is working on C++, he is more interested in C# though. He's in the process of building a game with my husband. My husband is a programmer. Hoping they can complete in 2.5 years or less.
What makes me nervous is having the institute accept the credits, so that we don't waste time and money. My kids dive in and are determined to finish. They both have set goals for themselves.

If he is really wanting to work on building supercomputers, then I personally think he may be better doing real courses. He will need a lot of math and physics (possibly with labs), and he should be looking at Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a Physics degree depending on what area he wants to be in. A degree in IT is not suitable for building computers, computers are built by huge teams of engineers and researchers with different skills.

I'm not sure that blazing through a degree using credit by exams is the best option here, he will certainly be able to do the general education that way, but he will need to do a lot of courses to fill out the upper level. A better option may be to go through a traditional route, or at least aim to do a masters through a university tied to a research center, simply because he will get hands on experience working with supercomputers during his studies. He will also be making connections with people he will be working with in the future.

An example of this is the university my sister attended, it had a massive virtual reality center, which is staffed by full-time professors, research fellows and assistants (other students). They do research for the European Commission, on medical VR, artificial intelligence, and they also do a lot of gaming research and interactive theatre projects. They have a virtual cave system which students can use and do projects with. This type of experience can only be had at university, because they are funded by research projects, many centers where your son may work in the future will already have ties to universities.

It may be worth chatting with, or if you can, visiting one of the supercomputer research centers, many offer education and research programs through universities, some even offer workshops for high school students.

[Photog]

A quick look at jobs working at supercomputer centers in the US:

University of San Diego (San Diego Supercomputer Center)
Job: Senior Java Web Developer
Qualifications: MS in Computer Science + advanced experience

Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center
Job: Network Engineer
Qualifications (preferred): BS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science + 4 years experience and 4 programming languages

Job: Data Anlytics Specialist
Qualifications (preferred): Masters or Doctorate in computer science, applied math, a computational science discipline, or equivalent combination of training and experience + Peer-recognized expertise in data analytics, machine learning, computer science, or a computational science discipline and applying data analytic methods, software, and systems obtaining quantitative insights from big data; attested substantial personal contributions to publications, awards, and grants for research in these fields.

NERSC (careers are through Berkley Lab)
Job: Computer Systems Administrator
Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Management Information Systems, or equivalent experience + 3 years experience.
Additional desired qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in a science discipline i.e. Microbiology, Biology, or Physics, or equivalent experience.


The other side of supercomputers is working with companies like Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Accelrys, EM Photonics, SCH, Tech-X or Cray Supercomputers.

If you search the job database at Cray nearly every job requires Computer Science or Engineering

https://rn12.ultipro.com/CRA1002/JobBoar...29EE425AEF