Girl + Computer = ?

I’m not sure what it is, but even after one week into my junior year course-work the mood of the CS department seems different. My classes are about theory more discussion based. There’s not as much need to prove oneself as a hardcore coder. The way we excel is different than before, and seems to be more about true success rather than how seemingly advanced one’s program is.

It is becoming more clear to me that being able to code isn’t the tough part of being a CS major. I know that when I first learned Java two years ago I felt like a computer master when I could make something work correctly. However, in the mystical “real world,” just being able to program doesn’t give you street cred. Everyone can code there, dummy.

Finally, we’re learning more professional, administrative, and social skills needed in the job world. The hunchbacked coders we have been are being taught to communicate, to think critically, and to organize ourselves. I feel like, after two years of what seemed like non-stop Java and C++, I have earned this change of pace.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that I won’t be staying up past midnight several nights a week scrambling to do homework. Hopefully it just means said homework will be of a different nature.
That’s better than nothing.