Meh. When I interviewed at Amazon, I learned that "tree" was the only data structure. If you have a memory of something called a linked list, you're obviously wrong. Other things I learned from Amazon interviews are that queuing and control theory don't exist and there are only two programming languages: C++ and Python.
I do not work at Amazon.
I think what I'm saying is a large company like Amazon has figured out how to get by with a small subset of "historical" CS knowledge. Maybe .edu is responding to industry needs by only teaching kids the three or four concepts they need to pass an interview at Amazon.
> a large company like Amazon has figured out how to get by with a small subset of "historical" CS knowledge.
All software companies do this. They focus on just the aspects of engineering that directly serve to produce the products and services that particular company produces.
This is why if someone has only worked at a single company -- regardless of how prestigious that company is -- their education and experience is incomplete. A well-rounded engineer will have worked at a few different companies that are doing very different things from each other.
I was going to say "or at least do a little continuing education." I think that would work for some, but you're probably right... many (most? all? some?) engineers will learn better in an environment where the whole team has bought into various assumptions and you're hip deep in it every day.
Yes. I'm a huge proponent of continuing education (which can come in a variety of forms, not just in a classroom). I think it's a huge shame that this isn't part of software dev culture like it is in most other professional fields.
But a large part of education is actually practicing what you learn in a realistic and persistent way. You can do that outside of a work environment, but it's easiest inside of one. And since most devs advance their salaries and careers through changing jobs anyway, it makes sense to me to include learning new skills as one of the things you look for in a new position.
I do not work at Amazon.
I think what I'm saying is a large company like Amazon has figured out how to get by with a small subset of "historical" CS knowledge. Maybe .edu is responding to industry needs by only teaching kids the three or four concepts they need to pass an interview at Amazon.