[jstrom]

At the last place I worked, we were looking for an entry-level developer and routinely turned down computer science graduates. They knew their theory, big-o, algorithm names, and such, but could not code at all in any medium. (And we weren't looking for any specific language--just enough background that they could learn our internal test scripts.)

There is a sharp difference between "Computer Science" and "Computer Engineering" though colleges often conflate the two. The article's author sounds like the latter, and with his personal background in programming, I would expect him to do fine in the position we were trying to fill. But many other graduates with CS on their diploma will have written just enough Java to pass their one programming course and have no interest in learning any more.

You don't need to know everything about the field, but you do need the ability to learn the practice. "Computer Science" on a resume (without some sign of personal projects) is too often a flag that the person lacks that ability.

[herge]

> There is a sharp difference between "Computer Science" and "Computer Engineering" though colleges often conflate the two.

Whenever I've seen "Computer Engineering", it's in reference to the engineering domain of building computers, chips, etc. Software Engineering is the "practical" version of Computer Science you are probably referring to.