To all refering to universities in nigeria as a place wer u can learn basics/foundation,u myt b right,bt 4 som of us dat hav bin in d 4 wals of d uni's,dis is a place wer lecturers come 2 class with loads of downloaded materials only to come and read them out to students,wer d sylabus we ar using is same as d one used by our lecturers,wer to pass a course depends on ur cramming ability 2 giv bk wat d lecturers gav u,wer students ar write journals/thesis on behalf of their lecturers,wer a lecturer once said "wen u graduate,u can go nd learn advance languages lyk php"...i no fit type all...lyk if u hav xperiencd any of diz

boyroy02: Going on and on abt this argument is so not called for,its simple d only good use of spending 4yrs in a Nigerian uni is jst having d cert. Where as in d real world having d cert nd not being able to live up to d cert u have practically to me its simple 4 yrs wasted, cause u can do any other cause whether science or art it doesn't matter if u really have a flair for computers nd want to do great tinz with it, u can with out studying computer science in sch, u need is self development nd probably a good Computer INSTITUTE too, i studying mech Eng in sch thou wanted to study com sci but realized it was point less considering d so many great tinz i can do already without even evr enrolling in any computer training center or institute imagine if i had attended 1 d greater possibilities i'll be able to achieve, again i say it doesn't matter wat u study cuz as a mech Eng student i do assignments for computer science student in sch, i was so good a group of dem suggest dat i start up practical lessons for dem nd yes i did nd earned 4rm it. 'In essence all am trying to say is u can be great in d world of computer regardless of ur area of study if u have d love for it nd can identify ur area of interest in computer cuz d world of computer is very vast'

you are absolutely right!! i am an Optometrist and a web designer

codeManiac: To all refering to universities in nigeria as a place wer u can learn basics/foundation,u myt b right,bt 4 som of us dat hav bin in d 4 wals of d uni's,dis is a place wer lecturers come 2 class with loads of downloaded materials only to come and read them out to students,wer d sylabus we ar using is same as d one used by our lecturers,wer to pass a course depends on ur cramming ability 2 giv bk wat d lecturers gav u,wer students ar write journals/thesis on behalf of their lecturers,wer a lecturer once said "wen u graduate,u can go nd learn advance languages lyk php"...i no fit type all...lyk if u hav xperiencd any of diz

You are 100% correct, and they still want more and more pay for copy-cat.

boyroy02: Going on and on abt this argument is so not called for,its simple d only good use of spending 4yrs in a Nigerian uni is jst having d cert. Where as in d real world having d cert nd not being able to live up to d cert u have practically to me its simple 4 yrs wasted, cause u can do any other cause whether science or art it doesn't matter if u really have a flair for computers nd want to do great tinz with it, u can with out studying computer science in sch, u need is self development nd probably a good Computer INSTITUTE too, i studying mech Eng in sch thou wanted to study com sci but realized it was point less considering d so many great tinz i can do already without even evr enrolling in any computer training center or institute imagine if i had attended 1 d greater possibilities i'll be able to achieve, again i say it doesn't matter wat u study cuz as a mech Eng student i do assignments for computer science student in sch, i was so good a group of dem suggest dat i start up practical lessons for dem nd yes i did nd earned 4rm it. 'In essence all am trying to say is u can be great in d world of computer regardless of ur area of study if u have d love for it nd can identify ur area of interest in computer cuz d world of computer is very vast'

your english shows everything about your thought pattern. going to a computer institute doesnt make you a computer scientist. being able to write computer programmes or design website, will never make you a computer scientist. y'all just come on here to blab. do you honestly think computer science is about programming alone? please, do some research before your reply.

p.josh:

All dis guyz sef! why must u comment.

p.josh:

All na wash!

Must U ur self comment?
Imagine Kettle calling Pot black.

toideve: Trash!

God bless u for that statement

Lol...told em not to peg dis thread on front page..dey didn't listen.. Now insults r flying around like alien space ships in "the day they came"..
Lol...


As for me, I know for a fact that I can learn any computer programming language or languages of my choice without uni...just dat 4 my qualifs to b valid, I need a cert, so by God's grace I will switch over to sci...even if it means rewriting waec n jamb
Again...i No mind...dats how curious I am in accomplishin my goal

Anvaller: Alright guys, I have seen different opinions here. All I have to say is that the guys that are of the opinion that studying comp sci is significantly inconsequential to pursuing a career in IT are more accurate in their opinion than the others. I.T is not only about coding and coding, there are alot of other path u can take without actually knowing how to code. Although its always easier if u have "some" coding skills. Even at that, u do not need to go to a university to know how to code.

My background is agriculture, then I flipped over to business and then maneuvered to computer programming without prior computer education. Now I am an application integration developer a part of IT where ppl are running away from because its very technical skills demanding. The question is if comp sci or whatever is relevant, why am I able to learn and function in this area? How am I even getting to work on these projects in the 1st place without any degree in computer science? Well answer is, the degrees are irrelevant. No potential client ever asked me did u study comp sci? In fact, my business qualification seem to be more relevant and respected even though the job is about programming.

The most important factor that determines whether u will get a programming job in I.T or not is ur ability to show that u have worked on similar project before, in fact, that is all a client wants to see, they dont want to see ur degree cos they know ur degree means nothing they only want to know that u have a sufficiently high level of education. U don't believe me? Go to linkedin right now and start looking at profiles of I.T professionals and look at what they studied in the university, look across guys from Europe and America

Now please note that I am not talking from the Nigerian perspective, I don't know whether Nigerian employers place importance on comp sci.

However, it is not all that easy to just learn some computer skills and start looking for job, U can only get a job by gaining experience as an intern in an I.T consulting firm. So this will enable u to reference the hands on skills u acquired from the company where u interned when u are applying for a job elsewhere.

I hope my contribution would help some that are interested in a career in IT but losing hope cos they are not currently studying comp science. If u have ability to comprehend complex logic , may be u can go for it. If u are one that hates logic and constantly solving technical problems, forget about IT even if u are currently studying computer science, unless ur ambition is to become a functional consultant which is not bad too but u can't earn as much as a technical guy.

Without contesting the evident merit of what you posted, I just want to state that the degrees are only irrelevant if you do not use them for what they were originally designed for.

In its true sense, computer science was never aimed at producing super coders who bang out facebook-level apps with one hand while assembling a robot with the other hand.

A typical computer scientist( in the real sense) would be busy trying to create the next level of compression algorithms to speed up the internet or creating better languages to better make use of multicore processors or trying to find out how to ensure data consistency in an environment with multiple database clusters and other such whatnot.

It requires some mathematical thinking and mostly logical thinking with a dose of domain knowledge.

That's why schools in the US try to create majors focused on creating software engineers.


That said, I believe we have piled on p.josh and I really do not like the insults being levelled at his uncle or his person(this is assuming p.josh is a dude). Lets contribute without insulting him.


For the undergrads who detest the maths aspect of computer science, please know that maths, comp sci and elect are deeply interconnected. You can never achieve true understanding without knowing the first principles on which your field is based.

Ask any physics grad and they will tell you of the need to always identify and master the fundamental laws/principles before going on to study phenomena(be they natural or manmade like computers).

You want to jump on to Cisco networking, OSPF etc and you refuse to learn the Shortest Path First and other path finding algorithms who derive their existence to the Graph Theory maths that you detest.

I could go on and on about the beauty of algorithms including encryption algorithms, packet sharing algorithms, fuzzy logic etc. Its heady stuff and if you already love logic, you can fall in love with them easily.


Finally, I want to flip to the other side and say that university knowledge is a refinement of generally held knowledge too. As such, it is possible to actually engage in a period of self study and still achieve the same level of knowledge gained by attending a university. Don't argue that with me, just google AUTODIDACTISM. There are lots and lots of articles on it.

P.Josh. If however you have other interests, I would advice doing either a combined major of computer science and another course (e.g Economics which you will find supremely useful or Maths). The other option is to study another course but gain practical IT skills by taking A+(practical IT maintenance skills), Java/Python/.net( programming), MySQL/oracle(DBMS), Net+/CCNA( Networking) to make you a versatile individual.

All the best and God's guidance on your choice of career.

Its saddening to see this kind of arguments around here. Worse still, some people perceived to be knowledgeable exhibiting ignorance.

To think that coding HTML and Python is more important than understanding Graphs and Linear Programming (both mathematical problems) in the field of computer science is complete lack of understanding of the domain.
I bet most of you html/aptech guys cannot explain simple programming concepts like Hashing, state machines, Push-down automata etc

Anyways, I'd rather hire a Mathematics graduate and teach him python and html than hire a NIIT grad.

In the final analysis, we can safely conclude thus:

If someone is enthusiastic about computer programming, networking or any other field of computer science and does his best to learn as much as he can about it, be it through the internet, private coaching or wherever, even though he didn't study comp science in a university will do well professionally.
On the other hand, if someone chooses to study comp science in a university and pursues it with dedicated passion and fervor, he will do better.

So although studying computer science in a university is not a waste, it is not necessarily a prerequisite for success in a computer science field. One can achieve a good level of success from other forms of education. Shikena.

kodewrita: Without contesting the evident merit of what you posted, I just want to state that the degrees are only irrelevant if you do not use them for what they were originally designed for.

In its true sense, computer science was never aimed at producing super coders who bang out facebook-level apps with one hand while assembling a robot with the other hand.

A typical computer scientist( in the real sense) would be busy trying to create the next level of compression algorithms to speed up the internet or creating better languages to better make use of multicore processors or trying to find out how to ensure data consistency in an environment with multiple database clusters and other such whatnot.

It requires some mathematical thinking and mostly logical thinking with a dose of domain knowledge.

That's why schools in the US try to create majors focused on creating software engineers.


That said, I believe we have piled on p.josh and I really do not like the insults being levelled at his uncle or his person(this is assuming p.josh is a dude). Lets contribute without insulting him.


For the undergrads who detest the maths aspect of computer science, please know that maths, comp sci and elect are deeply interconnected. You can never achieve true understanding without knowing the first principles on which your field is based.

Ask any physics grad and they will tell you of the need to always identify and master the fundamental laws/principles before going on to study phenomena(be they natural or manmade like computers).

You want to jump on to Cisco networking, OSPF etc and you refuse to learn the Shortest Path First and other path finding algorithms who derive their existence to the Graph Theory maths that you detest.

I could go on and on about the beauty of algorithms including encryption algorithms, packet sharing algorithms, fuzzy logic etc. Its heady stuff and if you already love logic, you can fall in love with them easily.


Finally, I want to flip to the other side and say that university knowledge is a refinement of generally held knowledge too. As such, it is possible to actually engage in a period of self study and still achieve the same level of knowledge gained by attending a university. Don't argue that with me, just google AUTODIDACTISM. There are lots and lots of articles on it.

P.Josh. If however you have other interests, I would advice doing either a combined major of computer science and another course (e.g Economics which you will find supremely useful or Maths). The other option is to study another course but gain practical IT skills by taking A+(practical IT maintenance skills), Java/Python/.net( programming), MySQL/oracle(DBMS), Net+/CCNA( Networking) to make you a versatile individual.

All the best and God's guidance on your choice of career.

You are very right bro and you have said virtually everything on my mind. I studied Computer Science and I couldn't have asked for a better course. Studying computer science is one of the best decisions I ever took. A lot of people don't know what computer science is all about, they think it is just networking, web designing and some baby codes they learn outside. SMH!

one of them was telling me that I can't load office 2010 in windows xp 3 , I later proved him wrong

p.josh:
This is a conversation between my uncle and I.

Uncle: Josh, what course do you want 2 study.
Me: Computer Science
Uncle: Why
Me: Because I like it
Uncle: Do you know any programming language
Me: Yes, I know python and am still learning it.
Uncle: Who taught you?
Me: I learnt it by my self.
Uncle: Do not study com. Sci
Me: Why?
Uncle : Why waste 4 years in a Nigerian university studying Computer Science when you can learn it on your own or even register and learn it somewhere else.

Me: I will need the certificate when looking for work.

Uncle: Look, even if you want to learn computer science don't depend on your cert. When looking for work, you can work on your own.

To some extent, what he said is true. I advice other student not to take Computer Science as a course.

Nawa oh...

Djangocode: @OP..

You made a lotta sense.. 4 yrs in school doing comp sci is just a waste of time.. If u are into ICT for real, University won't make u a better man as long as naija is concerned.. U can't get any IT job if u follow what they do in naija uni's.. Teaching u pascal and fortran is just trash..

If u need a cert, Reg in NIIT or Afrihub just for the cert sake buh just build urself and do ur thing.. Videos and ebooks abound online.. With ur lappy, u can move mountains..

That's the plain truth..

gbam, u just said the whole truth, I never studied comp sci in sch but I will challenge any comp sci stdnt cos am currently undergoing some It courses

Djangocode: @OP..

You made a lotta sense.. 4 yrs in school doing comp sci is just a waste of time.. If u are into ICT for real, University won't make u a better man as long as naija is concerned.. U can't get any IT job if u follow what they do in naija uni's.. Teaching u pascal and fortran is just trash..

If u need a cert, Reg in NIIT or Afrihub just for the cert sake buh just build urself and do ur thing.. Videos and ebooks abound online.. With ur lappy, u can move mountains..

That's the plain truth..

WORD

@op u dnt even knw y u r studying ur course, d questn shld b WHY WASTE YEARS STUDYING OTHER COURSES WHEN AT ThE END YOU STILL RUN DOWN TO COMP SCIENCE... Engineering std spend 5yrs and later major in comp science, and even oda profession
Also note dat, u learn a language on ur own or outside buh dey will never teach u how to manipulate ALGORITM, if u are up2 300level u wud understand wah I mean, except ur sch is nt up2 standard ...

I think we are talking of Nigerian Universities here. It is pure crap in our universities as far as real computer science is concerned. Those of you who did computer science for 4 yrs, can u point to one area you are good at aside your certificate? No offense intended. You will agree with me that anything you claim that you can do is pure self effort. Show me one area you are good at because you did computer science in Nigeria and I will link you up with an Indian secondary school graduate who will mess you up, no, I mean to say, humiliate you. I did arts in the university but I am good at network management. [s]My friends who are comp science graduate that work for our gsm providers will not stop disturbing me to help out resolve network issues[/s], hahaha...

The problem is not just computer science but our educational system which prioritize kindergarten theory over ever evolving practical knowledge. We are more interested in the certificate than the practical know-how. Or you the Nlander, are not interested in having prefix added to your name as: Engr., Computer Scientist..., Architect, Dr, Prof, U.G....(university graduate...), Educationist..., Barr..., etc. Just certificate thinz

oche_ejemb:

Design and Analysis of Algorithms needs Further Maths

I do not agree that Design and Analysis of Algorithms needs Further Maths, Can you please clarify.

Btw, @ topic, A Computer Scientist must know how to write a program but a Programmer might not be a Computer Scientist. The Nigerian education system might be ill but Education is still the Key.

guente02: I'm not in the uni yet but before I entered the polytechnic (now in my ND II) i knew nothing. Today im writing my project on Expert System (Pretty Hard Huh?). The polytechnic teaches you technical stuffs like System Analysis, System Troubleshooting (Software and Hardware), Network Installation and Diagnosis and others. This is what those places you mentioned cant really expose you to. Computer science isn't all about coding (use to hate the word). So my guy if no be computer science e nor fit be like computer science. 1 cent

Story

p.josh:
This is a conversation between my uncle and I.

Uncle: Josh, what course do you want 2 study.
Me: Computer Science
Uncle: Why
Me: Because I like it
Uncle: Do you know any programming language
Me: Yes, I know python and am still learning it.
Uncle: Who taught you?
Me: I learnt it by my self.
Uncle: Do not study com. Sci
Me: Why?
Uncle : Why waste 4 years in a Nigerian university studying Computer Science when you can learn it on your own or even register and learn it somewhere else.

Me: I will need the certificate when looking for work.

Uncle: Look, even if you want to learn computer science don't depend on your cert. When looking for work, you can work on your own.

To some extent, what he said is true. I advice other student not to take Computer Science as a course.

I do advice other people too not to take the course because I see it as a general course just like agricultural science , both of which can be learnt personally unlike some courses like medicine,law, chemical Eng, Mech Eng and others that their certificates are relevant when seeking for a professional or high rank job.

illetracy! y not study data mining,computer vision,algorithm design and analysis and machine learning on ur own. one of the highest paying jobs in usa is machine learning . Programming languages r taught in yr 1 in any good sch to show u how peripheral dey r to compt science. dont b an ignoramus boy

p.josh:
This is a conversation between my uncle and I.

Uncle: Josh, what course do you want 2 study.
Me: Computer Science
Uncle: Why
Me: Because I like it
Uncle: Do you know any programming language
Me: Yes, I know python and am still learning it.
Uncle: Who taught you?
Me: I learnt it by my self.
Uncle: Do not study com. Sci
Me: Why?
Uncle : Why waste 4 years in a Nigerian university studying Computer Science when you can learn it on your own or even register and learn it somewhere else.

Me: I will need the certificate when looking for work.

Uncle: Look, even if you want to learn computer science don't depend on your cert. When looking for work, you can work on your own.

To some extent, what he said is true. I advice other student not to take Computer Science as a course.

[b]Why I agree with the fact that you don't have to study Computer Science to be a programmer. I want to emphatically state that Computer Science is more than just programming. The fact that you can write programs doesn't make you a Computer Scientist. To say that the study of Computer Science is a waste of time is just like saying the following:
Why study Mechanical Engineering when you can go and learn mechanic and be repairing cars?
Why study Electrical Engineering when you can learn how to do wiring and repair electronic gadgets?
Why study Computer Engineering when you can learn how to do networking, do system installation and repair monitors?
Why study Agric Engineering when you can have your own farm, hire tractors and other farm equipment and produce bounty harvest?
Why study Medicine when you can become native doctor and be healing the sick? After all we have seen many people in the news who practised medicine for so many years without going to any medical school.
Why study Nursing when many 'iya agbebi' in some churches are delivering pregnant women safely?

The list is endless. I studied Computer Science and I have never for once regretted that I did so. Today I am a PhD student researching in the area of Swarm Robotics. [/b][size=8pt][/size]

IT TOTALLY DEPENDS ON THE SCHOOL

mY University has graduates hwo can't build a sinple web page

Ur uncle committed the fallacy of Argumentum Ad Verecundiam=appeal to unqualified authority.
Go for ur dream course,don't let ur uncle to confuse u!

if u study computer science in Nigeria is more difficult to learn becos of the school conditions, u need computer lab first of all. The lecturer needs to be up to date. This are like the two basic things. Second of all there suppose to be this kind of mindset of trying out new stuff among the computer science student body. Whereby they go out on competitions with other schools or like a center where computer science students just come together and discuss about new stuff in Computer science. Am currently in my fourth Year computer science in yankee. It was kind of difficult competing with these guys here becos most of them were already programming since high school. i did my high school in Nigeria and i never used Microsoft word to type an essay in high school in Nigeria. I learnt C# and html on my own before i travelled to yankee it really helped me a lot. Over here the class is full of Asians and Europeans and Americans wizards. I thank God i was able to reach my fourth year. So far i know how to develop android apps thanks to knowledge in Java, i knw C#, html,Jquery, xml, sql, nql, python. e.t.c

this is my current android app am developing download below give me updates whether bad or good review ..thanks

http://wl.filegenie.com/~ikp4success/Scrabble%20Cheat.apk



other of my apps are here below

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smsslang

http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/20399323/


What i will advice is that you should try and get a degree in computer science even though its a naija university. You don't know where it will take you and at the same time learn the new stuff on ur own. Or during the holidays register for lessons. Computer science is very broad and b4 u reach 2nd year u suppose to knw what u good at. Start focusing on the area u good at develop ur skills and if u, can publish ur work, becos it will help in finding work. It will be like a proof that u knw what u doing with ur Bachelors backing you.

I hope that helps, good luck.

This post came at the perfect time..i just got admitted to study computer science,thanks to the insightful posts of you guys on this forum i just registered with an online university that teaches computer science and other courses.thanks to you guys too, i now know i have to know i have to start now to choose my area of specialisation and concentrate wholly on it..thank God i still have till next year before i resume..so i guess i have enough time to read-up and get a good foundation in computer science..thanks again to those who made beneficial valid arguements

Learning

Ogas which school do you recommend?? I will be registering for Jamb later in the year.

p.josh:
This is a conversation between my uncle and I.

Uncle: Josh, what course do you want 2 study.
Me: Computer Science
Uncle: Why
Me: Because I like it
Uncle: Do you know any programming language
Me: Yes, I know python and am still learning it.
Uncle: Who taught you?
Me: I learnt it by my self.
Uncle: Do not study com. Sci
Me: Why?
Uncle : Why waste 4 years in a Nigerian university studying Computer Science when you can learn it on your own or even register and learn it somewhere else.

Me: I will need the certificate when looking for work.

Uncle: Look, even if you want to learn computer science don't depend on your cert. When looking for work, you can work on your own.

To some extent, what he said is true. I advice other student not to take Computer Science as a course.

but it is still better than some course

Mumu, stay there make pant dey wia u.......# if u apply comp.engineerin n dey giv u comp.sci stay for house no go

Listen guyz, this guy is not ready to listen to any advice here; buh fine take ur uncle's advice_ but Comp Sci. Is a very nice course and it'd be good if studied in the uni.

When you study comp.sci and you grad with a 1st class/2nd class upper...man you'll get a better JOB, than staying home learning comp. On ur own, if you're really good in it»»»Go for it!