CS Degree

Computer Science degrees don't really 'devaluates' over time, at least not the theoretical ones. That being said, programming skills do. If you can't get in the industry during these three years, at least be sure you program a bit and keep yourself updated as to what the new trends are in software development. That way, you won't come to the interview spewing that FORTRAN is the best thing that came since sliced bread.

LOL. Thanks for the advice. I'm in the military at the moment so it is a bit scary. I don't want to finish this then get out and be out of luck with useless paper in my hands.

I reckon Masters degrees are always best done part-time alongside work (IMO anyway).
Problem (especially nowadays) is that SO many tech-jobs are being sent overseas leaving fewer opportunities (and much tougher competition) for those of us in developed countries. Then even when we get a job there's always that lingering worry about how long it will be before they decide your work can be done in India, China etc. In another few years, this is just going to get worse and you'll be competing for jobs with guys that've had many years experience (i.e. guys whose jobs have been outsourced overseas).
There are a few guys in my company at the moment who are leftovers from other companies that outsourced most of their work. It's kind of sad to see these guys reduced to 'menial' jobs (i.e. release processing) when they're actually fairly talented developers. But in the end, the competition is just becoming too stiff and they've really just had to settle for whatever they can get whilst they look for better opportunities.

If you're planning on heading the more technical-path in work then I think the sooner you get into work the better. This gives you a chance to build up a reputation and increase your job security.

Or you could move overseas! I've actually been toying with the idea of moving to a new office my company is opening in Macau. I can't speak a word of Cantonese but at least I'll enjoy the warm weather!

That's my 2c anyway...

Unlike accounting, it doesn't seem like computer programming jobs are getting shipped to cheaper areas (in the quantities seen in accounting and tech. support jobs). Not to say we are safe, but where I live there are plenty of jobs for experienced programmings (even entry level jobs).

A master's degree can help score better paying (harder) jobs.

I saw this article[1] and thought of this thread. It's a hilarious read that I thought people here might have fun mocking.

With regards to the OP: depending on what you know now and what you intend to do when you come back from your army stint will be a major factor in your jobworthiness. If you want to work with cutting edge buzz words, you will probably miss out. However, if you want to maintain an existing system, you probably won't be too far out of the loop.

Out of curiosity: can't you apply to be moved to the army engineers or whatever equivalent in your country to work on some of these systems or are you training to be a grunt or officer or what? I would have thought you could get programming work within the army.

[1]Through /. -yes, I'm embarrassed to have read that junk site

Quote:

Original post by flangazor I saw this article[1] and thought of this thread. It's a hilarious read that I thought people here might have fun mocking.

I think 'ideally' a computer science curriculum would be about education - then allowing the student to apply that education towards mastering any technical aspect of computer science - such as learning a new language or API. However, at my University ( which is a top 10 for CS in the US ) many graduates seem to lack technical or even theoretical competence.

I don't think the problem is so much the curriculum, as it is many of the professors and just the overall atmosphere. There is such a general disdain for the technical aspects of computer science ( ie - programming ) that many students grow a distaste for anything short of extremely high level and abstract theoretical work. When they graduate and end up in a cubicle writing the front end for accounting software version 13.5335c, they are not only incompetent - but also mentally 'broken'.

An interesting example was from a student who graduated fairly recently from here. He had a perfect 4.0 with honors and was able to land a 'cushy' job in Silicon Valley. Three months later he was fired for ineptitude. How did he respond? He decided to go back to school and work on getting another degree in math.

Unless things radically change in the future, a CS degree you obtain today will probably be worth as much (or as little) as one obtained a decade from now.

I'm in the Air Force. At the moment I am in a tech job mainly maintaining circa 1970s test equipment. I don't deploy so I am pretty stable and as far as I know programming jobs within the AF have been outsourced.