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You don’t become better at coding by writing code, especially if it’s bad. You just simply become better at writing...bad code.

There’s a reason why there are so many bad apps and apps that crash. CompSci degree (from a reputable school) teaches you things beyond writing code. Concepts I’ve used in various languages for over 20 years.
 
What does Tim Apple know about coding? He's a supply chain expert.
I’m sure Cook’s engineering degree is part of the reason supply chain guru is one of his many competencies. I’d guess he hasn’t done any coding for many years now, however, and there are others that look after the supply chain at Apple now. His time is much better spent on more strategic matters.
 
You don’t become better at coding by writing code, especially if it’s bad. You just simply become better at writing...bad code.

There’s a reason why there are so many bad apps and apps that crash. CompSci degree (from a reputable school) teaches you things beyond writing code. Concepts I’ve used in various languages for over 20 years.
Old times:

- Computer magazines taught you GOTO programming in BASIC
- University taught you structured programming in Pascal (and much more)
 
Coding will be a skill like touch-typing is today. No one will hire you if you are a coder in 20-25 years just like no one hires you if you know how to type anymore because everyone knows how to type. However, 40 years ago, touch-typing was a very marketable skill. Employers soon will be asking you what you can actually do besides being able to automate someone else's work.

Unfortunately, Tim Cook has no clue about anything high-tech, including coding. He is a dinosaur who only knows how to exploit cheap labor. That's about it.
Tim Cook probably has a better grasp of the high tech world than most commenting in the negative. A dinosaur doesn’t grow a business by hundreds of millions of dollars. He probably coded in a past lifetime and understands that process on a large scale more than most here throwing negatives.

I noticed the Apple board of directors doesn’t listen much to MR posters. Some ought to take that hint.
 
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He probably coded in a past lifetime and understands that process on a large scale more than most here throwing negatives.
I think that something that was common is that some electrical engineers would also program but not be well versed in software engineering.
 
Tim Cook probably has a better grasp of the high tech world than most commenting in the negative. A dinosaur doesn’t grow a business by hundreds of millions of dollars. He probably coded in a past lifetime and understands that process on a large scale more than most here throwing negatives.

I noticed the Apple board of directors doesn’t listen much to MR posters. Some ought to take that hint.
He actually coded in this lifetime :)

Also you misspelled billions but I agree with your comment overall.
 
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Of course he doesn't. That's because Tim wants a cheaper labor pool. And, if the requirement is changed from a 4 year degree, the employers can eventually pay less.

That 4 years of Computer Science gave me the proper foundation to design / implement software (not just code).

Apple will pay as little as the market will bare, the same way universities will charge as much as the market will bare. Market forces dictate the equilibrium, not Tim.
 
Apple will pay as little as the market will bare, the same way universities will charge as much as the market will bare. Market forces dictate the equilibrium, not Tim.
They don't need to hire technicians in the US. They can just hire engineers in developing countries.
 
Let’s apply one with a four year degree and one with a coding.... umm experience. Let’s see who gets past apples hiring hr algorithm. Sorry but a masters is a BA/BS degree an BA is an associates and an associates is maybe a high school degree..
 
Question for the programmers among us:

Does programming require natural ability ? I have a hunch that it is not something everyone can be taught.
 
Question for the programmers among us:

Does programming require natural ability ? I have a hunch that it is not something everyone can be taught.
I think it must be true of basically any profession that many people graduate but are mediocre.
 
Tim Cook is wrong about this. Coding skills can simply be someone's understanding of a particular language, syntax, structure, libraries, etc. Writing good software requires skills in analysis, design, considerations for readability and maintainability, plus human factors considerations for user interfaces. Those should not be learned by trail-and-error. There's too much best practice to waste the time. My four-year degree prepared me with analytic skills and understanding algorithms and software design trade-offs, so that I was very successful at my first job, where their emphasis was getting skilled at the language they'd chosen for a particular project. Languages come and go. Information system skills last forever.
 
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Question for the programmers among us:

Does programming require natural ability ? I have a hunch that it is not something everyone can be taught.

I’ve interviewed a lot of people out of coding bootcamp. Anyone can program, but not everyone has the knack for it nor can excel in it

The ones that don’t demonstrate solid core fundamentals will not get hired for my team. Unfortunately we usually are looking for Devs that have more than just a “passion for programming”. They need to demonstrate their skills too
 
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Surely there are great CEOs without business degrees; I’ve worked for a couple. But Cook’s MBA from Duke probably gives him some skills, knowledge and insight he otherwise might not have.

The main thing you get out of Fuqua is a network. Anyone who goes to a top tier MBA school knows you’re paying for the network and reputation
 
While a four year degree may not be necessary for coding, or really most jobs for that matter, Apple and most companies insist on making sure to hire those who are burdened by crippling debt, mainly in the form of student loans. It’s a fantastic strategy for hiring people who desperately need to make their payments, allowing companies to exploit and underpay them.

Careful, Tim. If the industry figures out this big secret that everyone already knows, people might have to start getting paid enough to live a prosperous life *and* educational institutions might have less demand for Apple products!
I’ve never had a company ask me how much student debt I have before hiring me. Lose the tin foil hat. This theory you have is ridiculous.
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I guess you could think of being a music artist in the same way

Anyone can learn to play the guitar and sing with practice, but to write lyrics and compose music takes more knowledge

Many of the most brilliant musicians who ever lived did not get music degrees. Sometimes you just “have it”. That’s why, as a music major in college, music performance degrees never made sense to me. If you can perform, get out there and perform. Get your performance degree out in the world and up on stage. No professor is going to teach you that.
 
Tim is wrong about this one. 4 year degree is not about about coding, it's much more than that.

If you are on the market for a job, most companies require a Bachelor or Master degree. Without that you are not going anywhere.
 
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Then why does Apple still require a 4-year degree from all their software engineering jobs?

Tim should maybe tell his HR department that, since Apple still requires at least a 4 year degree for programming jobs.

"BS / MS / Ph.D in EE or CS is required"

https://jobs.apple.com/en-us/details/200028677/software-engineer-embedded-and-low-level-programming

I'll believe that when Apple makes it a regularity where they start hiring non-bachelor'd coders.

Let’s apply one with a four year degree and one with a coding.... umm experience. Let’s see who gets past apples hiring hr algorithm. Sorry but a masters is a BA/BS degree an BA is an associates and an associates is maybe a high school degree.

Why do you think Apple requires a degree? Instead of guessing/making stuff up/cherry picking, a Google search can be helpful.

Apple HR couldn’t care less if you have a college degree

Of course certain positions are best filled with advanced or even four-year degree holders, including management positions. But to say a four-year degree is required to work at Apple is absolutely untrue.

From that article:

Apple isn’t the only high-tech firm who doesn’t require a degree. The same goes for Google and IBM.

[In 2017], Laszlo Bock, who was then the SVP of people operations for Google, told The New York Times, “GPA’s are worthless as a criteria for hiring, and test scores are worthless. We found that they don’t predict anything.”

I spent a few minutes on Apple’s website.

https://jobs.apple.com/en-us/search?location=United-States-USA&team=Core-Operating-Systems-SFTWR-COS

There are currently 165 open positions in the core OS software group (areas of work include Kernel, Networking, File Systems, Sensors, and Transports). Here are five:

https://jobs.apple.com/en-us/details/200049191/ai-solutions-architect?team=SFTWR
Masters in Computer Science/Engineering/Mathematics or equivalent experience

https://jobs.apple.com/en-us/details/200058976/accessibility-software-engineer-hearing?team=SFTWR
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, or equivalent experience.

https://jobs.apple.com/en-us/details/200004357/build-engineer?team=SFTWR
Bachelors, Masters, or equivalent experience in Computer Science

https://jobs.apple.com/en-us/details/200056682/senior-platform-bring-up-engineer?team=SFTWR
MS (preferred) or BS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or equivalent experience/skills

https://jobs.apple.com/en-us/details/200040499/ios-engineer-ad-platforms?team=SFTWR
Bachelors Degree or equivalent experience.

Those were five of the first eight positions. The other three didn’t have “or equivalent experience” so I assume those positions in fact require degrees; not at all surprising, given the roles:

  • GPU Systems Engineer, Platform Architecture
  • Research/Machine Learning Engineer, Apple Media Products Analytics
  • Software Engineering Manager - Mobile Diagnostics Team
 
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