Whether you need to get a formal computer science education to have a proficient career in software development or not is a rather debated topic among the programmers. We tend to strongly believe that you don’t need to enroll at a university and study computer science for years in order to become a professional developer and have a long and successful career. Although formal learning does have advantages of course, and we are not advising completely against it.
But it also has a number of obvious weaknesses, and applying theoretical skills learnt at college or uni to get a real job in software development is certainly one of them. Very often, formal computer science education is focused on theory and delivering fundamental knowledge of the field, while not giving enough attention to practice and skills required from the majority of employers who are looking to hire a professional software developer.
Many of CodeGym’s users who were computer science students, or still are, have complained about the lack of practical experience upon graduation from college/uni and difficulties with finding their first job in software development as a result.
And this is one of the main reasons why they came to CodeGym in the first place. To get skills and practical knowledge they were missing to become competitive on the programming jobs market. Or at least get their first full time job.
How exactly CodeGym will be beneficial for a computer science student looking to work with Java (which, as we know, is used virtually everywhere)? In a number of ways.
1. Lots of practical tasks on every important part of Java knowledge
With over 1200 tasks in total, Codegym has to offer as many different tasks as you need to make sure you understood each part of the course clearly and had enough practice in applying this knowledge.
2. Varying difficulty of tasks and instant results check
Another great thing about our 1200+ tasks for Java learners is the fact that they can vary a lot in terms of difficulty, from very simple and basic ones to quite complex tasks and even mini-projects when you have to solve multiple tasks in order to complete it. Your results are checked instantly, which is another CodeGym’s strength when compared to a formal education when you have to submit your task and wait for the teacher to check it and get back to you with feedback.
3. Stats and the ability to compare your results to other students’
One of the advantages of traditional education is learning as a group and thus being able to compare yourself with others and even compete with each other, CodeGym takes this even further and lets you compare your results with all the other users, which can be extremely helpful to understand what is your real current level.
4. Repetitive tasks to take your programming skills to a habit level
CodeGym also has lots of repetitive tasks focused on practicing the same skill, and this is essentially important when you need to turn that theory knowledge into skills applicable in real jobs. To do that, you need to learn to perform a number of tasks in a semi-automatic mode, which is a habit that will develop only after regular repetition.
5. Gamification elements that keep you from losing interest in learning
Losing motivation and interest in learning when the subject is taught in a traditional way, by teacher lecturing to students in a classroom, is easy. CodeGym handles this problem by gamification elements and funny plot with memorable characters. All to keep your mind entertained and focused on practice as opposed to the theory-first approach in traditional education.
CodeGym is a perfect addition to CS courses in colleges and universities
As you can see, CodeGym can be extremely beneficial to computer science students. Actually, all above also makes CodeGym just a perfect addition to computer science courses at traditional educational institutions. That’s why we decided to give access to our complete course to high school, college and university students for free. Use CodeGym as a CS student to get more practice, improve your skills, and graduate well-prepared for immediate employment.
Are you a CS student? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Many of CodeGym’s users who were computer science students, or still are, have complained about the lack of practical experience upon graduation from college/uni and difficulties with finding their first job in software development as a result.
And this is one of the main reasons why they came to CodeGym in the first place. To get skills and practical knowledge they were missing to become competitive on the programming jobs market. Or at least get their first full time job.
How exactly CodeGym will be beneficial for a computer science student looking to work with Java (which, as we know, is used virtually everywhere)? In a number of ways.
