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.

boyroy02:

My point is i don't have to have a flair for mechanical Eng but wit my cert i can still get a good Job anywhere, while for computers i. Don't need to have a cert 4 it but can still prove my self anywere dat requires d services of a comp scienctist dat i am up to d task. Road side mechanics can't carry a good conversations on mechnics or how an engine works correctly, dey even barely knw d correct names of d parts of an Engine, i can explain how an Engine works nd name parts etc cause am studing it, but i don't need to srudy computer science to be able to explain how a computer works or programmes work in it.

p.josh:
I am not saying studyin com.sci is bad,ii am jst saying is a waste of time.For example, if u do not study medicine or law ,u can never be a doctor or lawyer.A simple webdeveloper do not need all what u've mentioned above to create a website, but some pple still call him a computer scientist .
Don't knw if u understand what i am sayng?

p.josh:
I am not saying studyin com.sci is bad,ii am jst saying is a waste of time.For example, if u do not study medicine or law ,u can never be a doctor or lawyer.A simple webdeveloper do not need all what u've mentioned above to create a website, but some pple still call him a computer scientist .
Don't knw if u understand what i am sayng?

Idongesit619: 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!

AhWetin:

Just pause there. There are some things that will NEVER be learnt in university. Personal development comes into play even if you go to the best universities in the world. I have phD friends who have never seen the inside of a "desktop" computer here in uk neither do they know how to format a computer and they are very vast in other software related things. Don't lay undue emphasis on one thing as a true picture of the whole. A graduate of electrical engineering from MIT WILL NOT be able to wire a 3 bedroom apartment. Ask me why? Stuffs like that are not usually taught in University. I learnt it personally by attaching myself to an electrician family friend. So get out of the mind-set of "he/she can't do this simple thing". University/ high education will point you in a direction, it is left for you to find the end of it. In retrospect the starting point of programming should be fortran,basic or python, that's the best place to grow a baby from a toddler to a walking child... and remember not every child will eventually become a gymnast.

I used to think that studying computer science was a waste of time till I got abroad (I actually switched from comp sci to elect in my 2nd year in uni). With my years of programming/design etc, I discovered that there was more to computer science than just churning out codes. There are many things in the field you CAN NOT LEARN on your own correctly. Algorithms, Data Structures, Operations Research and Modelling, Concepts of Concurrency, Artificial Intelligence to mention just a few. I recently took part in the Google code jam and it was then I knew that some problems required some other concepts I won't find in programming books or by packing a few certifications. The kind of coursework I see undergraduates do here is what most people do as FINAL year project in Nigeria.

Autolord: The best web developer in Nigeria without a computer science degree cannot build a web app like netflix that recommends movies to its users using a powerfull recommender system(machine learning) technique, he cannot build an app to encrypt and decrypt codes and messages transferred through the internet, he cannot work with cloud services such as amazon aws because he doesn't even understand what it is, he knows noting about software engineering used by facebook,google and most multi-billion dollar web companies, he knows noting about scaling, he knows noting about data analysis used to predict disasters and many more stuffz. Computer science is not about using php and dreamweaver to develop a "website" there is much more involved that's why facebook, google, netflix, microsoft, jumia, irokotv employ computer scientists some even require a phd in computer science and not mere website designers. I'm just referring to your website stuff

rexspect: Computer science in the university is not all about programming languages alone. It involves System Analysis, Networking, DBMS, computer ethics and professionalism, System verification and validation, etc. All these you will not learn in your so called NIIT or afrihub. If really you know what you learnt from the university then you should know that there is big difference between learning Computer science in the university than outside the wall of the university.

Herosenior: I thought it ws a question on ur part but since its was a concclussion even advice! U And ur r pure illitrates...so programing is d only thing u do in computer sci. And u had no idea of further advanced prgramming u will do to be a profession dt. Wount b allowed expect U r a graduate In ds field.u r eating In d table ignorant

CODE-EATER:
No b by to answer comp. Sci student o...MST of all yee science students don't really know sci well..

Some manage to cross ssce level through miracle center,and bribe their way to d uni...so wen I c some one say "I am studying comp. Sci" I look at dem as one of doz dudes,except I c d stuff u r made of....me I never read sciences in school, I was a true art student,but my intrest and ambition in life has made me understand dat m going no where with out some knowledge in physics n a Wii bit of further maths,it was too late to turn back ,so ihad my mum hire a personal home physics teacher for me...Cuz m determined to prove people like u wrong on d thought dat non science students cnt do sciences weather in or out of school..so don't come preaching to me abt DBMS n crap like dat, cuz in my line of duty dey r nt needed... I know web developers and programmers who Neva studied computer sci or even got out of high school, but dey r good at wat dey do..and I know so called computer science students who can't evn state d Newton's laws of motion dat even me wey Neva enter science class once can recite like poem..ntchewww


I WILL CONTINUE TO SAY IT...SOME FEILDS IN COMPUER SCIENCE OR I.T IN GENERAL DONT NEED U TO BE A COMPUTER SCIENCE STUDENT...

christ is comin: I have nothing to gain from you. However to be sincere with you, go and study something else... I perfectly agree with your uncle. The best System Analyis and Programmer i have seen are not coputer scientist. Infact most banks have the best programmer those who study Mathematic, Statistics, Electrical electronic Engineering. I bet it with you, what you learn in Nigeria University as a computer scientist in 4years, a certificate holder of Xarox, LearnIT, APTECH etc will learn in 2years. ........................ If that is your passion go learn it and do Electrical electronics, Building Technology, Mechanical becasue they will rule the Engineering world to tomorrow.
BECAREFUL..... "sometimes people get to the top of the ladder only to findout the ladder is on the wrong wall"

p.josh:
I am not saying studyin com.sci is bad,ii am jst saying is a waste of time.For example, if u do not study medicine or law ,u can never be a doctor or lawyer.A simple webdeveloper do not need all what u've mentioned above to create a website, but some pple still call him a computer scientist .
Don't knw if u understand what i am sayng?

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

ikp4succes: 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.

p.josh:
I am not saying studyin com.sci is bad,ii am jst saying is a waste of time.For example, if u do not study medicine or law ,u can never be a doctor or lawyer.A simple webdeveloper do not need all what u've mentioned above to create a website, but some pple still call him a computer scientist .
Don't knw if u understand what i am sayng?

dsypha:

wen did u bcom a sooth-sayer?

CODE-EATER:
No b by to answer comp. Sci student o...MST of all yee science students don't really know sci well..

Some manage to cross ssce level through miracle center,and bribe their way to d uni...so wen I c some one say "I am studying comp. Sci" I look at dem as one of doz dudes,except I c d stuff u r made of....me I never read sciences in school, I was a true art student,but my intrest and ambition in life has made me understand dat m going no where with out some knowledge in physics n a Wii bit of further maths,it was too late to turn back ,so ihad my mum hire a personal home physics teacher for me...Cuz m determined to prove people like u wrong on d thought dat non science students cnt do sciences weather in or out of school..so don't come preaching to me abt DBMS n crap like dat, cuz in my line of duty dey r nt needed... I know web developers and programmers who Neva studied computer sci or even got out of high school, but dey r good at wat dey do..and I know so called computer science students who can't evn state d Newton's laws of motion dat even me wey Neva enter science class once can recite like poem..ntchewww


I WILL CONTINUE TO SAY IT...SOME FEILDS IN COMPUER SCIENCE OR I.T IN GENERAL DONT NEED U TO BE A COMPUTER SCIENCE STUDENT...

sultanemerald: y'all arguing on here, IT isnt computer science, please. in IT, you cant even get a phd because there are significant limitations. universities have found out some folks are interested in learning how to write softwares and manage databases, so, in a school like Unilag, you can go for a masters in Info tech. but you cant advance to do a phd. like some peeps pointed out, most "programmers" without fundamental knowledge of how the computer works cant even write simple compiler argument. and lots more. so, please, computer science isnt about mysql, html and python.

rexspect: Computer science in the university is not all about programming languages alone. It involves System Analysis, Networking, DBMS, computer ethics and professionalism, System verification and validation, etc. All these you will not learn in your so called NIIT or afrihub. If really you know what you learnt from the university then you should know that there is big difference between learning Computer science in the university than outside the wall of the university.