Computer Science - going down with the dinosaurs...

This alarming article shows that enrollment of Comp. Sci. majors are down about 50% since their haydays of 2000. The article summarizes the main reason for this is the dotcom bust and the need to make the courses more relevant and fun for beginners.

I agree.

Thinking back, oh about 20 years ago, I was still a child in China. Don't remember when I first started but I was hooked to arcade video games at a young age. I remember my mom got really frustrated with me for not being able to leave Space Invaders...

I remember also when the glorious Nintendo came out, friends from the elementary school would gather secretly at this guy's house who is renting out time on the console by the hour. I had a really hard time trying to get that little Italian guy on the screen to eat some mushrooms instead of getting hit by random turtle shells...

I remember my first computer, the beautiful hand-me-down 286 from Samsung with a 10 inch yellow screen and an adorable beeping noises when it processed. I learned how to program in QBasic on that.

I could go on and on about my memories with the computer and how I fell in love, but the point is this: computers are fun! You can not be a good programmer if you don't think working with computers is a tons of fun.

Unfortunately most of the current Comp. Sci. curriculum seem to be better suited to suck the fun of computers. This mostly happened in Computational Theory and Testing(yuck!) classes. I am firmly convinced that those were thrown in so those who are on the fence about grad school will leap for joy and sign up immediately.

For the rest of us, a shorter, maybe 2 years Comp. Sci. degree is enough. Most things I know now I have learned from working anyway. It is a disciple that is changing too fast to be locked up 4 years in a basement lab for. It is important to learn how to be a life long, self-start learner, THAT was the most important thing I got out of college.

Oh and keep it fun!