Newsgroups: comp.edu,comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.c++,comp.lang.modula2,comp.lang.scheme
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!bb3.andrew.cmu.edu!nntp.sei.cmu.edu!news.psc.edu!hudson.lm.com!news.math.psu.edu!news.cac.psu.edu!newsserver.jvnc.net!newsserver2.jvnc.net!howland.reston.ans.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!news.sprintlink.net!in2.uu.net!psinntp!psinntp!psinntp!psinntp!ss3!usenet
From: smosha@most.magec.com (Steve O'Shaughnessy)
Subject: Re: Dismal state of CS (Was: Comparison of languages for CS1 and CS2)
X-Nntp-Posting-Host: smosha
Message-ID: <DDvnA9.n27@ss3.magec.com>
Sender: usenet@ss3.magec.com
Organization: MESC
X-Newsreader: WinVN 0.99.2
References: <3srsn5$q8d@galaxy.ucr.edu> <403rf1$i1d@seagoon.newcastle.edu.au> <4092db$n3n@martha.utk.edu> <40jbpr$j6r@steel.interlog.com> <40ucle$8tt@tiber.uoknor.edu> <40vf1e$vv@tokamak.viewlogic.com> <qqhh3bawo8.fsf@tartarus.ucsd.edu> <41d38p$k51@ornews.intel.com> <41f6r8$75k@tokamak.viewlogic.com> <19950823T125635Z@naggum.no>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 1995 17:30:08 GMT
Lines: 26
Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.edu:14022 comp.lang.ada:34325 comp.lang.c++:145993 comp.lang.modula2:12453 comp.lang.scheme:13571

>
>[Przemek Skoskiewicz]
>
>|   Well, what about medicine?  How far do you have to study medicine
>|   before you discover that there's as much magic and gut feeling
>|   diagnosis going on, as there are "accepted standards for software
>|   development"?  Yet CS practitioners are not subject to three day long
>|   USMLE exams at the end of their studies, they don't have to be
>|   certified separately in every state of the union and don't have to
>|   submit to the grilling specialty board certification if they want to be
>|   anybody in their field.
>

I have two brothers, both of whom are MD's.  One is a cadiologist.  He started practice 
last year.  Since kindergarten he has spent 27 years full time in school.  My other 
brother spend 26 years on education.  It is not so much *gut feelling* as rote 
memorization that define their craft.  Perhaps when CS practitioners spend this much 
time on education the state of software will improve.  So too might the salary we can 
command.

Because of the seriousness of their jobs, doctors cannot be very creative.  I don't 
think I would trade my creativity for 27 years of school just to make the kind of money 
 they make.

Steve O

