I definitely agree with this. The whole 10,000 hour paradigm comes to mind. Like anything else college can open the door, but you have to stick with it and push yourself to get good at it.
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Apple's 'App Development With Swift' Curriculum Expanding to Dozens of Community Colleges
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I definitely agree with this. The whole 10,000 hour paradigm comes to mind. Like anything else college can open the door, but you have to stick with it and push yourself to get good at it.
You should probably read the rest of my post to get my full opinion
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Everything you said is correct. I was pointing out how i see programming. More how to get point A to point B and how to convey it to the computer (logic and language structure) and not pure, 100% mathematics and patterns.
I just wish Apple,would put half as much effort into documenting their APIs with examples, in Swift. Too many of them just have examples in Objective C.
The only part I disagree with is the last. I don't see that Apple or the colleges are telling people that everyone can be a professional coder, any more than they promise that every English student can write the Great American Novel. A course like this is a necessary starting point in the winnowing process.
The point of a balanced course of study is to expose students to diverse topics and disciplines, with the expectation that some will find their life's work, others will learn secondary knowledge/skills that aid their primary vocation or enrich their lives, and others will learn to channel their energies in other directions.
Apple would like to see more people try to enter this field. Ultimately, that reduces Apple's labor costs. Further, the richer the iOS app environment, the more likely Apple will sit atop the world of computing (iOS supplanting Windows as the dominant computing platform).
Finally, the protestations of, "This is hard/requires special talent" are heard in any competitive field. Of course it's hard, of course talent is a necessary element for success, and, naturally, the fewer there are pursuing the field, the richer are those who have a good place on the pyramid. That's life.
This isn't a discussion of social equality. It's a given that people have different abilities.
Social equality is a system to prevent those who have certain advantages - greater physical strength, intelligence, wealth, social status, etc. from using those advantages to prevent competition; to keep others down or out, rather than allowing them to walk onto a level playing field. How one does once on the playing field is still a matter of ability.
If competition is the engine that drives the capitalist system, then competition must be welcome in order for capitalism to thrive.
I disagree with this as some of my experiences may be based on my location (SE PA, Philadelphia area). Its possible some other locations of the country have booming job markets or seeing better opportunities for developers.
Here there are so many H1B developers churning through contract/consulting companies and most of the companies are looking for this. Certainly you would need to compete with this factor.
I haven't seen many or any remote positions on the job boards in my area, so I think these options are minimal at best.
True, not all people are cut out for business management, but if you are smart and able, I would take this route as there is much more benefits for your hard labor. At least in my area, many project managers etc. get project bonuses and stock options. Its a much sweeter deal than what gets dealt out to developers. I've been told many times developers are a dime a dozen and are easy to find (contact contract/consulting companies).
I am not trying to scare anyone off from Comp Sci., but I would look at the other alternatives as well.
No.
Your last sentence, which I was referring to, was:
Where did Apple say that they can be professional coders, just by signing up for a class at a community college?
Your last sentence, which I was referring to, was:
Where did Apple say that they can be professional coders, just by signing up for a class at a community college?
I think math has nothing to do with it. It's either an aptitude for coding or not.
I've been reading their book lately instead of all of the other materials people are producing. Its very much how I taught myself Javascript, CSS, HTML by reading the specs back in the late 90s and early 2000s. Additionally, me and group of friends got together to build an app which hopefully we'll be able to finish soon.
You're right. Technically, Apple never said that anyone could become a professional coder just by signing up for a class at a community college. I think, to me, the implication when they say "everyone can code" is that everyone can be a coder. And you're right...even though they sound similar, they are very different things. It's a bit of a language/semantics thing. Like when I say, "everyone can read," it is very much like saying, "everyone can be a reader." But a "Reader" is not a profession (well, not really).
I do think it's a little insulting to people who ARE actual professional coders to say that "everyone can code," since that is like saying to them that everyone can do what they do...so they're really not so special after all. I don't know.... I guess when "coding" is something people generally do to earn a living (unlike "reading" or "walking" or "eating" or other things that everyone can do), when you say everyone can do it, you're kind of saying that everyone can do it for a living, even though that's not explicitly what you're saying. But it certainly is how it SOUNDS to me, which is why I called it "misleading." Remember, I didn't say they were lying...just misleading.
Anyway, your point is taken. And by the way, I DO support education all the way around, and I think anything to get the general public thinking more logically and analytically has to be a good thing. I just hope they all don't think they can become coders after reading one book and taking one community college course. I am literally a rocket scientist and a physician, and as I am currently reading the "App Development with Swift" book by Apple, I think it is far from a walk in the park. Now, as I said in an earlier post, maybe I'm just too old of a dog to learn new tricks, but I found gross anatomy and pharmacology to be much easier than learning Swift and Xcode. Well, anyway, that's my two cents.
P.S. Aerodynamics and Structural Mechanics WERE a bit more challenging than iOS development, but that's neither here nor there.
Methinks you are reading a bit more into this than I do. My touchstone for, "Anyone can (blank)" is the Disney/Pixar film 'Ratatouille.' "Anyone can cook," is a catchphrase initially delivered by 'Chef Gusteau' on his popular French TV show. A rat named Remy takes the chef's message and cooking lessons to heart, and so hangs the tail... tale. Near the story's end, 'Anton Ego,' a much-feared restaurant reviewer, has this to say,
Methinks you have an excellent point. That being said, I'm now upset with myself for using the phrase "methinks," since I usually just say "I think...." But, I guess that's neither here nor there (another phrase I hate to use). Anyway, seriously, I do love your Ratatouille reference. An excellent Pixar film and a perfect analogy to what we're talking about. Well done.
It is your location. SE PA doesn't have as much of a prolific tech scene compared to LA/SF/NYC/SEA/etc.