Computer Science Program Presents

Software Development as We Know It Is Dead

I have been following the evolution of software through mobile, social media, mashups and IoT (Internet of Things).  This has been primarily in my role hiring "software people".   The breadth and depth of the field has exploded.  Everyone knows this.  What is subtler, successful software is often dependent on critical, out-of-the box thinking. Hello, Bard!   Standard Computer Science curricula will NOT prepare one for the next Unicorn  (firms with over $1 Billion evaluation, with 1000x returns for investors).  It will prepare you for IBM, Mobil or Citicorp style careers.   If there are any.

I taught web design and development at the University of California — San Diego. I was a reference for some of my students and so got to speak with many recruiters and hiring managers (Qualcomm, US Navy, NSA, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Accenture). What they were looking for, in many cases, were eye openers for me. It wasn’t anything I was teaching.

Looking back in my hiring, I made mistakes.    BIG mistakes.   I followed the myth of STEM and classical computer science majors.  I thought the emergence of startups and the “Failure is Okay” culture were Silicon Valley anomalies.  They aren't.  We will review what the Amazons, Googles and Apples say they are looking for (and ask for in Interviews).  There are creative thinking roles in Cloud, social media, and mobile technology that didn't exist ten years ago.  For a Liberal Arts major, Computer Science can be an “enabler” for non-traditional careers.  We will look at some Use Cases for "Security" and "Algorithms".  We will eulogize "Waterfall Development" and review the new development standard, "Agile".

Twenty years ago the liberal arts majors worked for the engineers in building paradigm changing systems.  Now the roles are reversing.

Scott Lydiard is a software engineer passionate about software development education and technical careers.  While the central theme of his career has been software, he has spent 10 years in the oil business (Chief Engineer for Baker Hughes), 10 years in the mapping business (Vice President of Engineering of the world's largest mapping company), 10 years for the government (Navy - NSA Consultant for Satellite Communications) plus Chief Technology Officer for the military (Predicate Logic) and in the entertainment business (Nielsen).

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For more information, call 845-752-2359, or e-mail [email protected].

Time: 12:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

Location: RKC 111

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