[racket] "The Disadvantages of High School Programming"

Yes, it would be nice if everyone developing software had a better 
grounding in Computer Science.

As a practical matter, not enough employers are willing to pay for that 
skill.  They are fine hiring Java *technicians* rather than software 
*engineers* or the exceedingly rare *scientist*.  (This is part of why I 
generally encourage students who want to be more than technicians *not* 
to focus solely on CS.)

It is also not unusual for a technician to be more skilled at procedures 
than an engineer of the kind who developed the procedures or 
technologies that the technician uses.

Then there are the employers who *are* willing to pay for developers 
with breadth&depth CS backgrounds.  Sadly, some of them then go and bias 
the interview quizzes towards people fresh out college, with CS 101 
questions that almost no one remembers precisely, even if they've 
internalized the gist of it.

-- 
http://www.neilvandyke.org/