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fubarobfusco comments on Open thread, July 16-22, 2013 - Less Wrong Discussion

13 Post author: David_Gerard 15 July 2013 08:13PM

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Comment author: fubarobfusco 17 July 2013 02:03:30AM *  2 points [-]

What programming have you done so far? Have you worked on any open-source projects? Run your own web site?

I know a lot of people with math degrees working in software engineering or site reliability in Silicon Valley. So it's definitely possible ... but you have to have the skills.

So tell me about your skills. :)

Comment author: [deleted] 17 July 2013 07:29:53AM *  2 points [-]

In school, some of my math courses have been programming intensive, (bioinformatics and statistics, all sorts of numerical methods and optimization courses). I've taken most of the CS curriculum as well, but scheduling the remaining class (a senior project) for a double major would take an extra year.

On my own, I've written a couple android apps, mostly video games. But that's about it. No websites and no open-source work.

Comment author: gwillen 18 July 2013 04:04:47AM 3 points [-]

I have a BS in computer science. I worked at Google for four years. I would guess that your credentials -- with a BS in math -- would be no bar to getting a programming job. I would focus on direct programming experience instead of further credentialling. Graduate degrees in computer science are generally not required, and not necessarily even useful, for programming jobs in industry. Masters degrees in computer science are especially suspect, because they are often less rigorous than undergraduate degrees in the field. This is especially true of coursework (non-research-oriented) masters degrees.