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shminux comments on Physics grad student: how to build employability in programming & finance - Less Wrong Discussion

8 Post author: Stabilizer 08 January 2014 07:36PM

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Comment author: shminux 08 January 2014 11:39:43PM 2 points [-]

Yes, but the OP is concerned with

I might want to make good money. Thus: programming & finance. I currently lean towards programming.

which has little to do with comp sci.

Comment author: Lumifer 09 January 2014 12:51:29AM 5 points [-]

which has little to do with comp sci

That rather depends. You certainly don't need comp sci background to write ten pages of spaghetti in VB for Excel. But if the OP wants to actually be a good programmer, a foundation of comp sci will help.

Comment author: IlyaShpitser 09 January 2014 01:40:43AM *  4 points [-]

which has little to do with comp sci.

Strongly disagree w/ this. $$$ creates vast distortions and crappy norms.

One needs to understand what one is doing.

Comment author: [deleted] 10 January 2014 11:17:52PM 5 points [-]

But $$$ are the very reason the OP is considering programming in the first place, otherwise they'd presumably stick to physics.

Comment author: [deleted] 11 January 2014 07:09:43AM 4 points [-]

What IlyaShpitser is saying, I think, is counter-intuitive, seemingly irrational, but generally true: if you make every decision based on $$$ concerns, you lose perspective, a willingness to take risks, the desire to perform creative exploration, and incentive to learn the fundamentals which enable the above. This will make you a mediocre programmer with only moderate $$$ potential, whereas if you focused instead on really becoming a master of your art, $$$ can follow in large quantities.