Advice for future computer science students

I travelled to the DC area last week and had the pleasure of chatting with my waiter, a sophomore in College.  As we talked, the topic moved to classes that he should consider taking.  Without giving it much thought I suggested that he take as many business classes as possible.  Engineers who understand and engage with the business are the ones that will go far, those that only focus on technology will become commoditized over time as there are few research-focused jobs where the technology is almost all that matters.

This week I took a few moments and threw this same question out to my Twitter community, asking what they would have advised.  I received some great input that I wanted to share:

• @emberr suggested:  group dynamics, leadership, (technical) writing.
  • My take is that you must understand how to work within teams for most business projects.  Great call.  Writing, technical and business-oriented, is also something that few engineers do well enough.
• @wallybock suggested:  sociology/anthropology, cognitive science, and learning to write well
  • Wally is dead on.  You must understand the people you work with.  How you communicate with one person may need to be vastly different than how you communicate with another.  People are not one size fits all.
• @next_connect suggested:  Sociology. I thought it was a waste, but now I find it one of my more important classes.
  • Yes, again, it is all about the people.
• @RobPaller suggested:  Public speaking class would be helpful too.
  • Rob is right.  I had the opportunity to speak in front of an audience of over 1000 people back in my mid to late 20s.  I was scared but I knew my subject material and did well enough.  Even if you’re not talking to a group this size you will interact with teams of 5 – 20 on a regular basis, get used to presenting your thoughts and ideas.

Others weighed in with similar thoughts.  It is critical that all members of the corporate team remember that your goals are driven by business needs and delivered by people with their own needs.  The technology is critical of course, but is only a piece of what makes any company successful.

Let me know what you think.

John