[Mandatum]

This has been my experience too, but I don't work in research or specialised areas. I work in CRUD code and API development. Hardly need a CS degree for 90% of software development. I'd prefer they taught these grads engineering principals.

[md5wasp]

Yeah I'm also in the CRUD/API/just another web-app space; albeit the "high" end (high salaries, very well-known companies; not necessarily the most sophisticated technology though).

When kids ask about undergrad I say, 'Do a degree called "software engineering" if there is one, otherwise "computer science" is the same thing'. Some unis just have one general coding degree and pick the name randomly out of those two, some have both with either an industry or research focus respectively.

eg in my CS undergrad degree I got some theoretical & research stuff (simulations and queuing models, computer vision being two of the research focus areas), but also some good old Operating Systems, compilers, databases, practical programming, software engineering, etc. Vocational stuff; has been very useful!

Masters students (back then at my uni, and seemingly now too) mostly wrote essays and had the option of doing very, very little coding at all.