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by imperialWicket 5696 days ago
You make a valid point, and I probably should have centered more around CS majors seeking software development positions. I have not investigated this, but I have to assume that a large percentage of CS majors end up working in software development at some point or other; thus it seems a slight modification to the CS major could prove fruitful.

This also touches on the ever-sensitive recruiter/hiring manager issues. So many recruiters seeking a software developer have a mandatory checkbox that indicates Computer Science degree; which (as you point out), just is not an appropriate fit; but why not?

Also, Dijkstra was a bright guy, but I don't think the distinction between Computer Science and computers is at stake here. There are plenty of skilled software engineers who couldn't replace RAM if their project depended on it. However, I don't think the jump from the theory and foundation of computer science to software development techniques is a large one. Wikipedia (citing numerous sources) calls Computer Science - the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation, and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems. I think your CS distinction is the first clause - and I think it's important. Nonetheless, my point falls into the second clause, and learning the "practical techniques for their implementation" seems more economical for most individuals.