IP: Re:: Short changing their and our future.

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

and NO we don't offer stock options YET


Dave


Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 14:27:53 -0700
From: Craig Partridge <craig () aland bbn com>




Dave:




The problem of students dropping out for big paychecks is a serious one
and runs all the way through the system.  For instance, 3 of the 4
new Ph.D.s this year that I supervised or helped supervise went to
industry research labs rather than academia.  Why?  Higher salaries
and very attractive equity options.  (Actually, UPENN got the 4th --
kudos to you and a question -- does UPENN offer stock options? :-))
Incidentally, the money my PhDs are getting offered strongly suggests
that the additional degree is valued.


The other problem, which the New York TImes article today discussed, is the
changing perception of programming.  Stunning quote stating a gap
has appeared between theory and practice of computer science


    "... partly because of the growth of sophisticated new computer
    languages, like Java, with which programmers can draw on a prepackaged
    set of formulas and tools and simply plug them in, without a need
    for understanding the underlying theory of computer language."
    (http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/06/biztech/articles/25raid.html)


This is not the first time I've heard this theory.  Unfortunately it has
two problems.  First, who do you think writes those prepackaged libraries??
By and large, folks with serious computer science training.  Second,
many of the new object-oriented languages are very hard to debug fully
if you don't have a deep understanding of the theory behind the language.


That's not to say there isn't a certain amount of grind-it-out programming
that needs to be done.  There is.  But, after the first couple of
programming courses, any computer science program worth its salt is
teaching a much richer set of skills.


Craig Partridge
Chief Scientist, BBN Technologies
Consulting Asst. Professor, Stanford Univ.