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Comment by haploid | Hacker News Reader

At first, I was ready to tell you that the answer is definitely no, if you are a genuinely skilled developer.

But then I realized that you consider markup and stylesheets with some CRUD scaffolding to somehow be "coding".

So I will tell you this: You don't need a CS degree to be a fantastic developer. But you DO need a fundamental understanding of algorithms, data structures, and how to analyze them. You need to have a fundamental understanding of how computers operate, regardless of how many layers removed from the metal you will be focusing your work. This is not the kind of thing you're going to find in a Django or Rails book.

If you really think computer science is all about writing markup + CRUD declarations, you should focus your energy on journalism. That kind of a degree could easily get you a job at a startup, writing copy for sites, press releases, etc.

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You're clearly right, because people with theoretical CS knowledge don't use markup, CRUD, Django, or Rails, and because it's a proven fact that if your tools aren't sufficiently complex, it is impossible to create something useful.

I'm impressed by your ability to derive rock-solid conclusions from thin air and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

It is poor form to ask for advice then rip someone for giving it to you...

What he gave me isn't advice, that's called an "insult"

He gave you some advice, what he didn't do was encourage you to learn. He was wrong to discourage you but he provided constructive criticism (minus the part about becoming a journalist)

Scripting Languages (Python, Ruby, etc) teach you how to use a language but not as much to understand what's going on in the background. A basic knowledge of C is very good to have, data structures, algorithms, and just procedural programming in general is a good idea to understand to be able to optimize later. Although PHP resembles C somewhat (based on what I've heard) so you probably do have some knowledge of concepts behind C, but I would recommend at least taking a few classes at a university or college, simply because they give you a well-rounded education, and you will learn other nice things such as design patterns. Java is ubiquitous in the college environment though, I would recommended taking a class that explicitly says it's C and then one for C++.

Where's the insult? You mentioned that you are a journalism major, so I suggested a course of action that could parlay that into a startup job, which is exactly what you're asking about.

Excellent copywriters can make very good money, and can be integral to the success of any company. I don't see any way that this is somehow "insulting".

If you're hellbent on doing something from the tech side, then I offered advice on the foundational skills/knowledge you should start with.

Telling someone in journalism that they should go into PR is an insult. There is gaping chasm of difference between those two professions.

You also made a huge assumption about my existing CS knowledge and what I'd like to do with it. I was asking if I should persue a degree in it, not whether I should study it at all, and the main factor here is the time involved, not the difficulty of learning it.

Aside from that, your language was dismissive and presumptuous, and what you said, more or less, was "better stick to journalism, kid, anything else is too much for you."

Re-read what you wrote and really think about what it says.

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