Computer Science graduates have the highest unemployment rate

[BlasterBates]

Well well...

Computer science graduates have the highest unemployment rate of any undergraduate degree, at 14.7%.

Britain's computer science courses failing to give workers digital skills | Education | The Guardian

Graduate statistics

Do something useful instead like "Meeja studies".

[Joeman]

Not suprised - they dont actually teach them anything useful anymore..
Got an intern working here at ClientCo who's a 2nd year CompSci undergrad on a work placement. When we started asking him what they actually tought in Uni these days we were amazed!
they guy had never even heard of "Assembler", and the only programming language he had seen (not coded in) is Java... He's a nice guy, but the stuff they are teaching undergrads these days isnt worth Sh1t...

[Freamon]

Not suprised - they dont actually teach them anything useful anymore..
Got an intern working here at ClientCo who's a 2nd year CompSci undergrad on a work placement. When we started asking him what they actually tought in Uni these days we were amazed!
they guy had never even heard of "Assembler", and the only programming language he had seen (not coded in) is Java... He's a nice guy, but the stuff they are teaching undergrads these days isnt worth Sh1t...

How many graduates are actually likely to need to know "Assembler" during their working life? I've never used it. He may have the opportunity to learn the basics in his final year if he picks a particular module option.

[Joeman]

How many graduates are actually likely to need to know "Assembler" during their working life? I've never used it. He may have the opportunity to learn the basics in his final year if he picks a particular module option.

probably will never use it, but if youre going to learn about computers, IMO you should know how they work, ie how the processor is working, and the low level stuff thats going on in there to make your FaceBook page load. They dont do hardly any Web stuff, apart from creating simple web sites in HTML, so no details about FTP/HTTP/TCP/IP, etc, just high level stuff. These poor kids may as well be using alien technology as they have no clue whats going on inside a PC.
Contrast this to a course like Biology for example, it would be like a Bio undergrad neve learning about cells and stuff, just looking at plants and animals, and ignoreing the inner workings...

I did more Computer Science in my Physics degree than these guys today are doing in compSci courses... we studdied semiconductors, super conductors, i did machine vision, and digital electronics and learnt at a fundamental level how a computer is working, and from day one we were expected to be fluent in the C programming languge to code up experiments and simulate complex mathematical stuff... Good luck to the current bunch of CompSci undergrads who only get to do HTML and look at Java code, and dont learn anything about Logic gates or low level workings of a CPU... its not computer science, its a glorified 'Basic IT' course - the course reading material is probably the ".. for dummies" range of books...

[Old Greg]

Well well...



Britain's computer science courses failing to give workers digital skills | Education | The Guardian

Graduate statistics

Do something useful instead like "Meeja studies".

Does anyone actually know what is taught in media studies? I know it's the bogey man of the unthinking Daily Mail reader, but maybe it is useful in the job market?

[Arturo Bassick]

Joeman: You are basing your entire opinion of all UK Uni CompSci courses on your experience with 1 student?

I have a Comp. Science degree. We covered "the basics" in the first year.

[TimberWolf]

This has been going on since New Labour got into power. Obviously if you outsource skills you are going to lose them.

[Joeman]

Joeman: You are basing your entire opinion of all UK Uni CompSci courses on your experience with 1 student?

I have a Comp. Science degree. We covered "the basics" in the first year.

When and where did you study?? i think its a recent problem that "the basics" have been dropped from courses because they are too challenging.. an no, its not based on one student, its based on a few that ive spoken to who just dont have a clue whats going on inside a PC. not that i care much though, as the fewer people who know the secrets, the better my day rate will be in a few years when the current set of undergrads are all fumbling about trying to do everything in HTML...

[Arturo Bassick]

This has been going on since New Labour got into power. Obviously if you outsource skills you are going to lose them.

Most of the quotes from "industry leaders" says there is a shortage of quality candidates for most roles. That is at odds with the contract market. We should be thriving in those industries where skills are in short supply, but experience tells me this is not the case.

[d000hg]

probably will never use it, but if youre going to learn about computers, IMO you should know how they work, ie how the processor is working, and the low level stuff thats going on

Well these days with things being so multithreaded and using 64bit ops and memory ranges, and running on ARM chips in mobile devices, it doesn't even work the way many understand assembly in the first place. I understand that stuff to a limited degree and personally I don't find it useful, apart from the few times I work on data-processing and use SSE intrinsics, etc. I agree it's good to know, but not required for a normal developer.

They dont do hardly any Web stuff, apart from creating simple web sites in HTML, so no details about FTP/HTTP/TCP/IP, etc, just high level stuff. These poor kids may as well be using alien technology as they have no clue whats going on inside a PC.

Leaving out web stuff seems a big mistake... but you're making a massive generalisation saying "they" don't do this.

Good luck to the current bunch of CompSci undergrads who only get to do HTML and look at Java code, and dont learn anything about Logic gates or low level workings of a CPU... its not computer science, its a glorified 'Basic IT' course - the course reading material is probably the ".. for dummies" range of books...

Again, that's one university, not all of them.
For reference I did about 1/2 a year of CompSci at university in 2001-3 (a few basic modules) and we covered Z, C++, Java & Haskell - so proper CompSci grads would have done far, far more.