[nodamage]

I've always wondered why we (as an industry) regard CS degrees so highly. Not because the information taught isn't useful, but it can be learned with or without a formal degree, and the way things are taught in school aren't exactly conducive to retention and applicability.

Consider the difference between:

1. The person who learned these concepts as an 18-21 year old so they could pass a test and get a good grade. They don't really know how to apply these concepts to solve real-life problems yet, and often by the time they encounter such problems they might have forgotten what they were taught anyway. How much knowledge do you really retain as a teenager in college trying to pass a test?

2. The person who learns these concepts because they need them to solve a real-life programming problem at their job. I would wager this person learns these concepts more thoroughly because they need to actually understand them in order to finish their work. Their retention will be better because what they're learning has immediate real-world applicability that they can reference back to in the future.

In many circles person (1) is valued more than person (2), which just seems kind of backwards to me.

[BadassFractal]

Totally with you there. I've actually appreciated my CS textbooks dramatically more once knowing their content made a tangible difference in my ability to build our product. For me having practical needs force me to learn more about the theory has always made much more sense.