Beware I.S. population surge

[SagaLore]

When I started taking classes in 1998, I was a geek among geeks. In programming classes, most students asked questions beyond what the curriculum was meant to teach, and teachers loved to get into these brainstumping scenarios. The student dorm rooms consisted of walls stacked with computer parts and whatever the newest electronic toy was.

After taking a break for a few years, I started taking classes full time again to work towards my bachelors. Six years later I have noticed a new trend. I am now a geek among... slackers. These kids don't care what they're learning, they just want a degree they think is an easy ticket into the real world. They can barely grasp the introductory curriculum. If they miss a question on a final, instead of learning from their mistake, they argue with the instructor about the wording or whatever to get that extra point. Instead of questions like "how can we modify this data structure to process all primes within this array" you get "why is this answer wrong, this is right" or "you never covered typecasting in class".

So sad.

 

[Platypus]

Originally posted by: SagaLore
When I started taking classes in 1998, I was a geek among geeks. In programming classes, most students asked questions beyond what the curriculum was meant to teach, and teachers loved to get into these brainstumping scenarios. The student dorm rooms consisted of walls stacked with computer parts and whatever the newest electronic toy was.

After taking a break for a few years, I started taking classes full time again to work towards my bachelors. Six years later I have noticed a new trend. I am now a geek among... slackers. These kids don't care what they're learning, they just want a degree they think is an easy ticket into the real world. They can barely grasp the introductory curriculum. If they miss a question on a final, instead of learning from their mistake, they argue with the instructor about the wording or whatever to get that extra point. Instead of questions like "how can we modify this data structure to process all primes within this array" you get "why is this answer wrong, this is right" or "you never covered typecasting in class".

So sad.

That's the same problem I've run into with my degree, old 'back to school' adults who think that if they get a job in computers they can get a real job. I'm glad they've all but disappeared by this time as the work load killed them since their knowledge of computers doesn't extend past solitare

 

[iotone]

i agree... the funny thing is now that i'm a grad student, i see how spoon-fed most undergrads (myself included i will admit, when i too was an undergrad) are with what they're learning...

sad... so sad.

 

[mugs]

The worst part is companies actually hire those people because they interview well. It hurts my head.

 

[PoPPeR]

while i agree for the most part, don't forget that teachers have also gone downhill. Like in my intro to computer information systems class, our teacher argues that Windows ME and Windows 2000 are the same thing, and didn't believe me when I told her there was such thing as Windows 2003. We spent the entire semester learning about the creator of the first microprocessor and how to convert binaries and crap, when the course outline says things like learning HTML, Javascript, etc.

She's been teaching computer classes for almost 30 years now too.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: mugs
The worst part is companies actually hire those people because they interview well. It hurts my head.

And people who actually know it get shafted.

- M4H

 

[LordSnailz]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire

Originally posted by: mugs
The worst part is companies actually hire those people because they interview well. It hurts my head.

And people who actually know it get shafted.

- M4H

Not necessarily ... those folks who actually enjoy the subject tend to do better, so they get better grades, which translate to more interviews.

Unless you have a really really bad interviewing skills you should be fine

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire

Originally posted by: mugs
The worst part is companies actually hire those people because they interview well. It hurts my head.

And people who actually know it get shafted.

- M4H

There has to be a balance - many of these "slackers" are good at socializing, so they can talk well at interviews. I've met some very intelligent systems administrators that can't properly talk to end users without either degrading them or writing a book in geekspeak.