Authors: Rodolfo Goya and Tomaz Mikio Sasaki, professors at Inteli
A search on an internship and job vacancy website brings up an ad that reads:
| Vacancy: Full Systems Auditor Requirements: Full degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Information Security, or related areas with a focus on technology. |
Another ad reads:
| Vacancy: Full Frontend Developer Requirements: University degree in IT (Computer Science / Computer Engineering) or similar. |
And another:
| Vacancy: Senior Android Engineer Requirements: Bachelor's degree in Computer ScienceSoftware Engineering, or related fields. |
In common, the ads require a degree in Computer Science, but they also mention other possible degrees (Information Systems, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, etc.), which raises questions:
What is the difference between these various computer-related courses, since these vacancies can be filled by candidates from any of them?
There's an old fable about blindfolded people who don't know what an elephant is and try to describe it by touching one: one of them touches the trunk and says "an elephant is like a mango tree", another touches the leg and says "an elephant is like a column", a third touches the side and says "an elephant is like a wall", another touches the tail and so on.
Computing is an elephant, it has many nuances: data, algorithms, infrastructure, user interface, development processes, etc. Different courses focus on different nuances.
ChatGPT said:
There is an overlap in the skills developed between these courses, since companies are looking for professionals with practical computer skills. For this reason, it is common for their curricula to coincide in areas such as programming logic, databases and operating systems. However, this doesn't mean that all courses are the same; each has a specific focus and approach.
What sets the Computer Science course apart from the rest?
Historically, courses with the name "Computer Science" were the first dedicated to the area of computing to appear in Brazil in 1969, at Unicamp. It emerged a little earlier abroad, with the expansion in the number of courses from the 1960s onwards. Computer Science emerged to meet the growing need for professionals specializing in the theory, software development and fundamentals of computing.
At that time, while Electronic Engineering taught how to develop the electrical and electronic circuits and devices of computer hardware, Computer Science dealt with the theory of computation and the development of algorithms for programs (which leads to the joke "hardware is the part of the computer you kick, while software is the part you swear at").
Some well-known personalities have studied Computer Science: Linus Torvalds (creator of the Linux kernel and git), Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook), Satya Nadella (CEO of Microsoft), Marc Andreessen (creator of Netscape, one of the first web browsers) and James Gosling (creator of the Java language). At Inteli, one of its founders, André Esteves, has a degree in Computer Science.
As the world of computing has expanded, new courses have become necessary to meet the specific demands of the market and industry.
So, for example, what was initially a subject in the Computer Science course and dealt with the development, management and maintenance of software, later, with the growing complexity of systems and the need to apply engineering principles, became a specialization offered as a postgraduate course and, nowadays, Software Engineering has become an undergraduate course, going beyond these subjects in relation to what was studied in the first Computer Science courses.
Likewise, other courses emerged to meet the demands of the expanding market, so it can be said that Computer Science was the basis for the creation of the other computer science courses.
What's different about Computer Science?
The Computer Science course maintains its distinctiveness by developing its students' skills in the theoretical and mathematical foundations of computing, such as algorithms, data structures, computer theory, applied mathematics, etc. allowing them to develop solutions to complex computational problems - problems such as describing complex relationship networks on Facebook, defining the best route on Waze or finding a website on Google's Search Engine - all important complex algorithms that have made a name for themselves in their businesses.
While other courses focus on more applied aspects for the development of systems in various areas, the Computer Science course stands out for training professionals with more comprehensive knowledge: capable of developing new technologies that, in many cases, will be useful to those trained in other courses. Cutting-edge topics in infrastructure, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, among others, are subjects of interest within Computer Science.
By studying Computer Science, you'll be able to fill the various vacancies that require the skills common to the various computer science courses (such as those vacancies mentioned at the beginning of this conversation) or use this training as a basis for working in research and technological innovation in specialized areas such as artificial intelligence, optimization/logistics, development of efficient algorithms and mathematical modeling. Going back to the job portal, maybe in 8, 9 or 10 years' time you'll be able to apply for jobs like this:
| Vacancy: Research Scientist Requirements: PhD or equivalent research experience in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field |
This is a very specific scenario that may only be pursued by a few Computer Science graduates. More broadly, you will be able to use the training you have obtained in the fundamentals of computing to advance along the path you have chosen or had the opportunity to enter.
Remember that if you study Computer Science at Inteli, you'll get a lot of practice on projects, which will make your learning experience even more complete.
