[dsilver]

I don't think the article is an argument that as a hard rule CS majors are predetermined to be great job candidates. In fact, the author draws a line between students who take on side projects and are passionate about the material and students who are doing it for the supposed payout.

Recruiting software engineers is about finding the passionate engineers who are proven problem solvers regardless of programming language or given tools. Those people might be computer science majors, and they might be non-majors (or non-students) who have a passion and skill for problem solving.

I've worked with and learned from great engineers who did not formally study engineering and those who have devoted their life to it. It's ultimately about having the drive to pursue (software) engineering. Those people tend to self identify by enriching their education with their own side projects.

Ultimately, Computer Science education is (and should be) exactly what it says. The science of computing. It doesn't require a computer, and it isn't software engineering. By studying great algorithms, data structures, design techniques, etc, you are well on your way to skill set of a successful software engineer, not because you know about splay trees or automata, but because you have practiced advanced problem solving, which is at the core of any engineering.

[Tomte]

Am I the only one who always feels that the search for "passionate engineers" really means "cheap, doesn't know his value, works for rent and pizza"?

What about competent? Professional? Experienced?

Nobody looks for a "passionate lawyer", that would even be a red flag, indicating that he can't evaluate a legal situation objectively.

Nobody looks for a "passionate basketball player". As long as he shoots those three pointers, who cares whether his secret passion is really boardgaming.

[brenns10]

This is a very good summary of my intent in writing the article. I didn't mean to say that CS majors are inherently superior, but I wasn't pleased that the original article seemed to imply the opposite. I believe that computer science education the way I described it gives you a better chance, but doesn't necessarily make you better.