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284 points borski | 10 comments | | HN request time: 0.532s | source | bottom
1. temporallobe ◴[] No.44686396[source]
This is just an introductory language and if you’re in a CS program, you’ll definitely move on to more advanced ones. It actually makes sense to switch to Python since it’s far more ubiquitous and accessible than Scheme. Scheme is not widely used in commercial software development, but still enjoys a presence in academia. Python has strong presence in both.

On the other hand, Pascal was my “introductory” programming language (I already knew BASIC pretty well at that point), but it certainly wasn’t the only one in my program - we did Perl, Prologue, C, C++, etc.

In a professional software development career, it certainly won’t be the last language you’ll learn.

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2. lokar ◴[] No.44686745[source]
This is one of many divides in the field that makes many general discussions hard.

There are many people who think of themselves as a “X programmer” (and perhaps Y and Z), and managers/companies looking for them.

Then there are people who think of themselves as software engineers, and the language does not really matter (and companies that hire for that).

If often see the two camps talking past each other.

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3. materielle ◴[] No.44686886[source]
But this is the problem. Our premier academic institutions shouldn’t merely exist as job training programs for big tech.

If anything, tech is still one of the better off fields in the university.

Look at history or literature programs for where this is heading. I’d imagine that most literature majors don’t even read at all these days. As recent as 50 years ago, the requirement involved hundreds of pages of reading per week, over a sustained 4 year period.

Honestly, just close down the university at this point, if all it wants to do is print out degree certificates for social signaling in the job market.

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4. jedberg ◴[] No.44686958[source]
I learned so much about computer science by doing my intro course in Scheme. Concepts that have helped me throughout my career. Concepts that I feel just cannot be expressed or understood nearly as well with Python (and I love Python, almost all my professional and personal coding is in Python).
5. Jtsummers ◴[] No.44687106[source]
oldpersonintx2, your account is shadowbanned.

Which colleges did you send your kids to, what kind of degrees (just bachelors? undergrad and grad?), and how many kids?

The $800k figure without that context tells us nothing. If that's for 2 kids to get a BA/BS/BE, you got ripped off. If it's for 4 or 5 kids it makes much more sense when examining current costs.

6. temporallobe ◴[] No.44689933[source]
I certainly consider myself a software engineer first and programmer second, and you’re right, the language doesn’t matter. I recently got a position developing in Python having never really used it professionally, but it’s so similar to other interpreted languages I knew so I was able to jump right in and start making meaningful contributions. Often we are expected to learn new languages, which is exactly how I picked up the 10ish languages I can confidently say I’m good in, despite never having been formally trained in those. Most common languages don’t stray from certain basic principles anyway.
7. tomhow ◴[] No.44697619{3}[source]
I understand your feelings about this but on HN we still need you to follow the guidelines, which include avoiding uppercase for emphasis and avoiding personal swipes like this:

> I'm laughing at your naive take

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

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8. AlexeyBelov ◴[] No.44699786{4}[source]
What's more interesting is that it's their second account, because the previous one was banned. What's HN policy on ban evasion?

Previous account: https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=oldpersonintx

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9. tomhow ◴[] No.44705716{5}[source]
Thanks for that. If an account is banned but the user signs up a new account and starts contributing positively and respecting the guidelines, that’s a good outcome. If they just pick up where they left off, that’s what we call a “serial troll” and we’ll ban the new account with fewer or no warnings.
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10. ◴[] No.44705956{6}[source]