TOGA TOGA TOGA

One of the things I’ve been questioning lately is the value of a college education, especially as I watch my sons grow.  My experiences in college had very little impact on my skills as a programmer.  In fact, I would say that 90% of what I have learned as a programmer has been “on the job” experience.

I remember one particular incident in college where a professor was describing to the students how the 4-digit IP (IPv4) addresses worked.  Being naive and believing that “there is no such thing as a stupid question”, I asked the professor what is going to happen once we hit the maximum number of possible IP addresses?  I got a good laugh from the professor and from my classmates because they said that there would be no way that there could ever be that many computers that need addresses in our lifetimes.

It’s only been ten years since I asked that question and we are already seeing the “end of the Internet” by 2011.

Recently, I ran into an article on the Escapist Magazine in defense of academia by Game Design veteran Brenda Brathwaite, who worked on the original Wizardry games.  In her article, I can see that the sentiment and disdain for academics is very prevalent in game programmer circles – that there is seemingly a huge difference between academic theory versus practical experience in the programming world.  On one side, the game designers frown upon academia and their ivory towers of learning.  And on the other side, univesity systems will not allow game industry veterans to teach game programming simply on account of not having a degree.

From my own experience, I believe Programming is more of a “technical skill” than it is an “academic” one, much more akin to going to vocational school to learn how to build and repair automobiles.  Programming is something you learn more by doing than by reading and memorizing textbooks, repeating the biases, and stroking the ego of your professor.  And I’ve said it before that the best programmers I have ever met had no bachelor’s degree or a degree in things other than programming – architecture and even pottery.

You don’t need a special school or training.  You just need the drive to learn, explore and expand your horizons every day.

Before I close, I did want to say something positive about pursuing a college degree.  I have found that quite a few potential employers look for a bachelor’s degree.  Salaries are sometimes indexed according to a person’s level of academic learning.  RFPs for government contract work often require senior developers or architects have at least a bachelor’s degree.  So there are practical reasons for pursuing a college degree.

But like the housing bubble, I wonder how long it will be before colleges will suffer a severe backlash from the continuing rising cost of education which is far and above the inflation rate?  How much is college merely “the thing to do” rather than a real opportunity for learning skills necessary for the workforce?

Programming – especially game programming – must be learned by doing.  And, at least in the game industry, you are hired by the strength of your portfolio.  And who says you need a professor’s approval or an academic degree to make one?