Re:A computer science study plan to become a software engineer
by tombert on Wednesday December 16, 2020 @02:47PM
(#25447558)
DISCLAIMER: I'm a dropout, never finished college.
I think that a lot of the math subjects that they focus on in colleges can be of questionable utility (Much as I wish this were the case, I don't think I've touched calculus at all since I've started working, outside of the occasional personal projects doing game physics or something), but I do think that having a decent understanding of set theory and discrete mathematics has made me a better engineer, if for no other reason than it made it easier for me to pick up TLA+, which is incredibly helpful when used correctly, at least when designing/building distributed systems.
That being said, I sadly feel like that basically any math is only useful earlier in your career. If you start working for one of the big FAANG-esque corporations, you end up doing substantially less compsci and spend a lot more of your time writing emails or sitting in meetings.
I think that a lot of the math subjects that they focus on in colleges can be of questionable utility (Much as I wish this were the case, I don't think I've touched calculus at all since I've started working, outside of the occasional personal projects doing game physics or something), but I do think that having a decent understanding of set theory and discrete mathematics has made me a better engineer, if for no other reason than it made it easier for me to pick up TLA+, which is incredibly helpful when used correctly, at least when designing/building distributed systems.
That being said, I sadly feel like that basically any math is only useful earlier in your career. If you start working for one of the big FAANG-esque corporations, you end up doing substantially less compsci and spend a lot more of your time writing emails or sitting in meetings.