Ask HN: Advice for students who are starting CS education

1 pointjestinjoy11 comment

I am professor with Computer Science department. I got an opportunity to give a talk to students who are in the second year of Computer Science undergraduate course. What all things should I give more emphasis on? I ma thinking of giving a hands on session using Python with introduction to algorithms. Looking for some interesting ideas

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A hands on session using Python and introducing algorithms is a great idea in my opinion. Especially since Python is easy to pick up on. You could show them a little bit about time complexities throughout it as well.

Then, if you plan on doing a second session, you could explore a different language like Java, C++, or even functional languages like Scala or Haskell.

In terms of advice for students, I would say general things that can help in most situations throughout a career in software engineering. So, things like Data Structures, Algorithms, Open Source Software & Systems, and tell them to learn at least one strongly typed language (like Java or C++) and one dynamic language (like JavaScript or Python).

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