billwolf@hubcap.clemson.edu (William Thomas Wolfe,2847,) (02/09/89)
From article <6593@thorin.cs.unc.edu>, by coggins@coggins.cs.unc.edu (Dr. James Coggins): > There is a good case to be made that Software Engineering is not an > appropriate baccalaureate field of study and that the professional > M.S. as you described Wang Institute's M.S.E (R.I.P.) is the only > reasonable way to go. Even assuming this, why are there so few Master's programs in Software Engineering? The numbers seem to be DIMINISHING (e.g., our old friend the Wang Institute); there are really damn few choices available to those who want such a professional degree program. Many places will happily prepare you to be a CS researcher, but few will give you the opportunity to pursue a degree in software engineering.
brucer@drutx.ATT.COM (RobinsonB) (02/10/89)
In article <4350@hubcap.UUCP>, billwolf@hubcap.clemson.edu (William Thomas Wolfe,2847,) writes: > From article <6593@thorin.cs.unc.edu>, by coggins@coggins.cs.unc.edu (Dr. James Coggins): > > There is a good case to be made that Software Engineering is not an > > appropriate baccalaureate field of study and that the professional > > M.S. as you described Wang Institute's M.S.E (R.I.P.) is the only > > reasonable way to go. > > Even assuming this, why are there so few Master's programs in Software > Engineering? The numbers seem to be DIMINISHING (e.g., our old friend > the Wang Institute); there are really damn few choices available to > those who want such a professional degree program. Many places will > happily prepare you to be a CS researcher, but few will give you > the opportunity to pursue a degree in software engineering. The following is a *small* sample (taken in 1985) of software consultants' years of education, years of work experience, and billing rates. If you run a regression on the sum the years education and work experience against billing rates, there appears to be a fair correlation, indicating (perhaps) that working years are as valuable$$$ as school years in the long run (at least to consultants). I know this is a painfully iconoclastic notion. Perhaps institutions don't offer MSE's because people don't see the practical$$$ need. This sample obviously doesn't include *employees* making a lot of money, or highly degreed software engineers who go on to become equally highly paid executives. Does anyone else have any numbers to augment this sample; particularly interesting would be employee data. 2 5 45.13 4 6 45.13 4 4 42.00 4 3 42.00 4 20 54.71 8 11 56.67 4 8 56.67 4 .5 39.38 4 5 43.88 4 8 46.85 4 1.5 35.39 6 6 49.66 4 .5 32.50 0 11 42.50 6 6.5 42.50 6 1.5 37.19 6 1 24.00 6 7 24.00 2 16 32.50 0 15 58.00 8 15 58.82 0 33 52.00 6 2.5 49.26 4 12 58.07 6 18 46.72 4 5 45.96 4 3.5 48.45 4 3 42.24 8 4 42.24 8 2 37.00 6 5 49.00 4 5 46.00 66 > ^ ........... brucer