Josh Coates wrote:
but the short answer is, your course load will be very, very cs heavy once you get into the major - but if you are just starting out as freshman, your first year may have a bunch of non-cs courses. this is not a big deal, it's part of a university education and you should try and enjoy the opportunity at being 'forced' to take rhetoric, history etc. while you are pursuing an engineering degree. part of the difference between a university education and a self-education is that you are 'forced' to take courses you hate, but that are good for you. another part of university education is that you are surrounded by people that are as good or better than you, and they are competing with you. you just can't replace that with evening and weekend study on your own.
I agree! I also remember being at the stage of thought thinking "why am I needing this class?". It sounds like Eric is very much in the same situation as I follow this thread more.
Tech schools lead to obsolesence in the long run. They are designed to get you into the workforce quickly and the output is geared towards local and immediate needs. Most of the time (90-95%), though, the quality is lacking in the skill sets. Typical University tends to leave you engrained with patterns that last longer that can be used to expand your skill and knowledge sets. It sounds like you (Eric) already have most of the GE out of the way and that it might be minimal entry for you to plunge into the major. However, you will find once in the program, that most will also try to make you well rounded within the discipline (ie taking robotics and upper end mathematics courses versus just strictly programming languages).
I believe in self education but with the proviso that it is in addition to formal education. Don't cheat yerself by trying to "enter" the work force early with a skill set ... as others have previously indicated. I can only add upon that confirmation pile now. I have multiple degrees and I'm still going to school to satisfy my array of interests, yet I read/study to fill in the holes on the subjects I want to improve upon (such as PERL). In the end, I have found that even my humanities classes have helped me directly and indirectly in other areas of study that I would nhave not have guessed at while taking the various GE courses
... - so i can't help but go off about it, especially when people actually have options and consciously opt *not* to go to a university.
well hopefully it sticks in those minds comtemplating such decisions (now and in the future).
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