Why aren't young people taking computer courses at school?

Hellsmk2 said:
I'm 40 too, and I can say with 100% certainty that we had the opportunity to do a GCSE in IT.

I didn't go to a grammar school or anything other than a plain old run of the mill school. Your statement isn't true. If anything, we went to school at the height of the internet revolution.
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I'm not 40 (do you realise 40s means 40 to 49?). The GCSE course came soon after I left school.

Why pick a fight instead of answer the question? :confused:
 
Diagro said:
Wrong.
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Diagro said:
No no no. Wrong wrong wrong.
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Diagro said:
You quite clearly haven't read the national curriculum for KS3 students. Or looked at what's delivered in GCSE Computer Science.
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Diagro said:
There is no GCSE IT course.

You have a vocational BTEC in IT or a GCSE in Computer Science.

Both vastly different courses. Their different subjects.
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Why the weird attitude? Are you having a bad day? What is your opinion exactly?

You have also used the wrong 'there' in your final sentence, so before you go whining that people haven't read the curriculum on an opinion thread, maybe check your own education and ability to master the basics.
 
dLockers said:
Why the weird attitude? Are you having a bad day? What is your opinion exactly?

You have also used the wrong 'there' in your final sentence, so before you go whining that people haven't read the curriculum on an opinion thread, maybe check your own education and ability to master the basics.
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Dyslexia is a pain. Get over yourself.

No need to master the basics as you say. This is an Internet forum, not an essay.
 
I remember taking IT in high school and I admit, everyone zoned out, I didn't understand what I was learning and why. However, since building my own pc over a decade ago and dabbling in software languages, I have decided to pursue this a career. I enjoy it and wish I took it seriously when I was in high school but my school didn't teach what I was learning. Knowing what I know now, I would have done a CS degree instead. My aim, is to build my website portfolio from scratch in a couple of months and build JS apps and then branch out in library. For my first job, not fussed with the pay, just want to get a foot into the industry and the hard step will be done. Whatever happens, atleast I will have no regrets when I am older and too late to do anything. But the main issue is the the topics, what they teach is boring and not really explained properly.
 
malachi said:
Because of streaming services such as Youtube. Come on! Keep up! :D:p

The IT market has been saturated and its no longer seen as an highly paid job.

Looking at the IT job market right now, some companies ridiculous requirements asking for a single role.

Must have an IT related degree
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I disagree with your first point, sure if you are a printer 'engineer' who goes around on a break fix contract removing paper jams or say you work within an entry level position such as a service desk then sure it's not (comparatively) highly paid, and neither should it be because the work is menial and the skillset required to perform such a role could be easily undertaken by anyone with even a basic grasp of technology.

That being said I have still seen such positions offering at least national average wage and in some cases £35k plus for those closer to cities. So it's still not bad for the level of skill that is actually required. But I don't feel we are at an oversaturation point because technology is constantly evolving and often when people make statements such as yours they are those who are themselves in positions such as the aforementioned. The key attribute that people who earn more share is that they undertake professional development. Over the last 5 or so years I have received tens of thousands of pounds worth of training; some was paid for by my employer and some I self funded to continue to develop my skill set and progress my career, that is why my remuneration reflects the experience and knowledge and it's an amount I feel is completely fair. The key here is to monitor the market and adapt your skill base to industry trends, if you are still talking about patching legacy systems in interview then you will rightly be laughed out.

I do agree with your other point about an IT related degree for entry or early career positions, this attitude frustrates me greatly because I have been a hiring manager before and some of the most skilled and knowledgeable candidates that I have interviewed were those without degrees. In fact one person who had a masters in a very specific IT subject that was relevant to the role couldn't even answer what UDP was. So I don't support in my interviews or companies which promote necessity of a degree, it adversely affects your potential talent pool which can be very detrimental to a business but also to perfect candidates without higher education.
 
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mumihp said:
I remember taking IT in high school and I admit, everyone zoned out, I didn't understand what I was learning and why. However, since building my own pc over a decade ago and dabbling in software languages, I have decided to pursue this a career. I enjoy it and wish I took it seriously when I was in high school but my school didn't teach what I was learning. Knowing what I know now, I would have done a CS degree instead. My aim, is to build my website portfolio from scratch in a couple of months and build JS apps and then branch out in library. For my first job, not fussed with the pay, just want to get a foot into the industry and the hard step will be done. Whatever happens, atleast I will have no regrets when I am older and too late to do anything. But the main issue is the the topics, what they teach is boring and not really explained properly.
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Well done. Great attitude. Good luck.
 
I think the problem is the courses are to diverse and some of the classes are just pointless for what you are looking to get a job as afterwards.
In Secondary School you got taught the pointless stuff not to use it in the real world but to train your brain to think a certain way for more complex stuff later on.
At college we had a Computer History class learning about Babbage etc which I just didn't see the point in? The class was absolutely roasting as well with everyone dozing off with the heat and boredom.
Courses should be more focused for getting you into certain job roles afterwards and not making you study and stress over things you will never need again.
 
Well I don't know how much has changed today, but 1st year CS at uni wasn't any harder than a GCSE. Designed for people with no absolutely IT experience at all.

Entire lectures on AND OR NOT XOR etc. Couldn't really get more basic.
 
FoxEye said:
Well I don't know how much has changed today, but 1st year CS at uni wasn't any harder than a GCSE. Designed for people with no absolutely IT experience at all.

Entire lectures on AND OR NOT XOR etc. Couldn't really get more basic.
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We teach that to year 7 these days
 
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