ST Forum: More home-grown geeks needed

[Vulcann]

Agree having computer wizards around is good but the fact remains that the good doc ignores or seems to be unaware that many such positions are overwhelmed by foreigners especially from a particular nation.

 

How will locals fare?

 

Was involved in a big construction project next to Jalan Buroh and the main contractor employed a NUS computer PHD holder to be their planner. He was a nice chap from Myanmar and when I asked why he did not teach or do further research in local institutions, he said, "Friend, do you know how many computer PHD holders are out there in the market? I got this job because I went knocking on the (main contractor's name) office to show my sincerity."

 

And that was in 1998.

 

From ST Forum:

 

http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/forum-...needed-20130409

 

More home-grown geeks needed

Published on Apr 09, 2013

 

ONE of the pillars of modern technology is computer software code. While many of our students can use computer programs, few can write code.

 

This deficiency must be rectified for us to remain competitive, create well-paying jobs and become self-sufficient in providing for our information technology (IT) needs.

 

According to an article in The Telegraph last month, the demand for IT specialists in Britain is growing at four times the rate of the overall workforce. In the United States, there will be an estimated 1.4 million computer jobs by 2020, but only 400,000 computer science students.

 

To address this demand in Britain, code clubs have been set up to teach coding in schools to children aged nine to 11. In January last year, computer science was added to the English Baccalaureate. By September this year, computer science will be added to the British curriculum as a fourth science.

 

Nearer home, schools in Vietnam teach programming to young children as part of the curriculum.

 

It is time the Ministry of Education faced this challenge. Fully funded coding lessons at graded levels akin to music exams, with recognised certification at the end of eight years, should be made available in all schools to pupils aged 10 and older.

 

Computer science should also be more widely offered as an O- and A-level subject. There must also be more places for computer science students at our tertiary institutions.

 

The ministry must regularly consult businesses to match students' software skills with those sought by industries. For example, many of the insurance industry's computer programs still run on Fortran and Cobol, but these languages have been phased out of the polytechnic curriculum.

 

Computers are needed for the smooth running of almost all infrastructure in Singapore as well as in our military defence. Hence, we need home-grown geeks to keep our economy running, and generate products and services that will attract investors, as well as help in the defence of Singapore, especially against the growing threat of cyber terrorism.

 

Anne Chong Su Yan (Dr)

Edited April 9, 2013 by Vulcann

[Lala81]

there will always be geeks.

writing computer code can be frustrating if u don't have good grounding in logic processes and mathematics.

[Wormvirus]

this self-claimed dr just grad from cavehole? start paying proper salary to homegrown IT not cheapskate rate to ah neh FT on social visit

[Vulcann]

there will always be geeks.

writing computer code can be frustrating if u don't have good grounding in logic processes and mathematics.

 

The fear is after learning all this code writing and getting proper qualifications for it, there is no market for you i.e. prospect and salary expectations.

 

Not in the IT info line so not sure about the marketability of this code writing skill.

 

Any expert to comment?

[Mockngbrd]

Becus all the math wiz go be bankers instead. Good coders are very hard to come by and tbh, the good ones i've come across don't have no PHD etc etc...

 

There is a market, and the really good ones do get paid quite well and are highly sought after. At least in my line, not those back-end IT types of cos.

Edited April 9, 2013 by Mockngbrd

[Mustank]

The fear is after learning all this code writing and getting proper qualifications for it, there is no market for you i.e. prospect and salary expectations.

 

Not in the IT info line so not sure about the marketability of this code writing skill.

 

Any expert to comment?

 

code writing is like brick layering guy

the food chain goes like this:

 

1) Land Owner

2) Developer

3) Architect

4) Site Engineer

5) Foreman

6) Brick Layer

[Sosaria]

Learning to write computer code at some point during education is good training for the mind - to become more logical and methodical, besides building up problem-solving skills.

 

But to do coding as career might be risky though. First of all, the knowledge of a particular language can get obsolete very fast. Second is that the barrier to entry is quite low. Just need a PC with internet connection to learn coding That's why some teens with no formal training in computer science can be hackers, IT security experts etc. Thus the salary may be depressed by so many tom, dick, harry coming in competing for the limited jobs.

[Vulcann]

Becus all the math wiz go be bankers instead. Good coders are very hard to come by and tbh, the good ones i've come across don't have no PHD etc etc...

 

There is a market, and the really good ones do get paid quite well and are highly sought after. At least in my line, not those back-end IT types of cos.

 

I gather it is a specialised skill then?

 

Portability? Can switch between software easily?

[Tjkbeluga]

Coming from experience....

 

I don't have a degree, just diploma. I've been doing hardcore coding (dealing with C++/Obj C/.NET) for the last 18 years. I was so far lucky enough to be able to use it in a full time career with not too bad salary and I am still doing it as it's my passion. One regret that I have is not furthering my study when I was rotting in my previous company for 4 years. Luckily, I was still doing consultant job for my ex-japanese company to maintain the skillset, else, I would not have landed on my current job.

 

In SG, my kind of job, say to say generally are regarded as dirty job...

 

It is wrong to equate all programmer to be the same. Programming is NOT just crunching codes. A good programmer plans ahead with good design so that it can it's extensible or modifiable in future. Adopting Design Pattern is very important. A company will asking for trouble if they think they can just hire freelance to do their project. Sure, if it's a small independent job with no/little maintenance or future modification, then it's fine. Otherwise, in the long run, they will suffer.

[Viceroymenthol]

From the first post in this thread, all of you are talking about jobs lah, employment lah, competing with FT lah... shows that our mindset is still at that basic level.

 

I think what the Forum writer is trying to get at is: WHERE THE FARCK ARE OUR STEVE JOBS AND MARK ZUCKERBERG? We only have Sim so far and he is fast fading into the sunset.

 

We need more innovators and visionaries. We don't need more low end IT slaves, those can be gotten quite cheaply and easily from our neighbouring 3rd world countries.

[Tjkbeluga]

From the first post in this thread, all of you are talking about jobs lah, employment lah, competing with FT lah... shows that our mindset is still at that basic level.

 

I think what the Forum writer is trying to get at is: WHERE THE FARCK ARE OUR STEVE JOBS AND MARK ZUCKERBERG? We only have Sim so far and he is fast fading into the sunset.

 

We need more innovators and visionaries. We don't need more low end IT slaves, those can be gotten quite cheaply and easily from our neighbouring 3rd world countries.

You think Steve Jobs can be successful if he is based in SG? NO FARKING WAY! There is simply no people of such skillset to begin with. How to innovate....

[Gitanic]

You think Steve Jobs can be successful if he is based in SG? NO FARKING WAY! There is simply no people of such skillset to begin with. How to innovate....

Our system look down on nerds.

[Tjkbeluga]

Sad to say, in Singapore, in whatever industry, gahmen does not have the patience to stay on to an industry and cultivate it. It's about reaping gains only.... Spray seeds on a few industries, see if 5 years bear fruit or not, if not, move on.

[Kezg1]

You think Steve Jobs can be successful if he is based in SG? NO FARKING WAY! There is simply no people of such skillset to begin with. How to innovate....

 

 

Even if you have, they probably don't dare to invest in you 1st up.....just like SIM W H..knocking into many local

coy especailly affilated to tumasick...no one, no one supported him...no wonder we are brand as K su, K see and K bo....LOL

 

[Jman888]

Our system look down on nerds.

 

 

our hdb flat dun have a garage for us to build something or before our neighbor complaint and got kick out

[Tjkbeluga]

Even if you have, they probably don't dare to invest in you 1st up.....just like SIM W H..knocking into many local

coy especailly affilated to tumasick...no one, no one supported him...no wonder we are brand as K su, K see and K bo....LOL

Yes.... Also, Mr Sim came in at the right time then.... Electronic industry was booming and there were good breed of good engineers, thanks to Ngee Ann Poly. If you are in the industry, you will know that the early batch of engineers in Creative are top notch. Later batch all CMI one....

[Sosaria]

our hdb flat dun have a garage for us to build something or before our neighbor complaint and got kick out

 

Yup you're right, this is true. For a single or married with kids, may be still possible to keep one room in hdb flat for experimenting. But even so, cannot be something noisy, e.g. operating machine tools, etc. cos have to consider the neighbours.

 

Once married with kids, can forget about it - not even enough room for one family's barang barang. How to keep space for innovating?

 

I'm facing this problem and have to down-scale my hobby/interests stuff. Leave glue or tools lying around is a no-no with kids in the house. If Jobs faced this situation, I think he wouldn't have come up with the first apple pc...

[Sosaria]

Yes.... Also, Mr Sim came in at the right time then.... Electronic industry was booming and there were good breed of good engineers, thanks to Ngee Ann Poly. If you are in the industry, you will know that the early batch of engineers in Creative are top notch. Later batch all CMI one....

 

Go to local polys now and get the latest batch of "engineers"... In the past, poly training was very rigourous and grounded in the basics.