Subj : Academic grades and programming
To   : comp.programming
From : Jyrki Alakuijala
Date : Mon Jul 25 2005 12:32 pm

James wrote:

> university.What's more the toppers of my class who doesn't even know
> the fundamentals of programming, were eligible to sit in the company
> interviews.

I have had more successful experiences working with Ph.D. and M.Sc.
level coders, especially when top-of-the-class, than one with mediocre
university performance or B.Sc level studies. Another important factor
in becoming a good programmer, is that most have started programming in
teenage (or earlier). However, I know a couple of good programmers who
are university drop-outs.

IMHO, there is an analogy between programming and musician professions.
If you want to be a concert pianist or an opera singer, it helps to
start young and take a formal training. Further, in both professions
you have to continue practising during your whole career - until you
give up and move to administrative tasks.

.