[rcurry]

This. I think the problem is that schools need to have separate tracks, and now days some of them do, that differentiate between the archetypes of people that work with software. A computer scientist is different from a computer programmer - sure, there are times when the different areas may overlap, but some people want to work in discovery and others want to work in application.

And to some degree, isn't the job of science to make life easier for the rest of us? I know some people scoff at people that don't have CS degrees, but it's important to be realistic about science's role in industry: thanks to the combined output of a lot of very talented computer scientists, computer programming is getting easier and more approachable with every passing year. It's not uncommon now for people with very little knowledge of computer science to build all kinds of complex applications. I see that as a victory for computer science, not a setback. And I think the people that want to apply science are just as important to the success of our industry as those who want to develop it.