Complete Computer Science Study Routine?
 

I did not go to school for computer science but I am getting interested in it. Now that I am learning C what other things I would need to study that is usually offered in a comp sci major? I see a lot of books on data structures, algorithyms, operating system design etc. Can someone give me a nice layout which, if you have books thats cool, how i can progress thru this programming/comp sci cycle. After I learn basic C and stuff, where do I go from there? Do I grab a book on algorithyms? What next? What have you learned to be the best method of progressing thru a comp sci degree? thx

Hrm...an interesting question. Since you are not going for an actual degree, this leaves you with a lot of flexibility when it comes to what you actually study.

Basically, what you need to do is look at the computer science and information technology worlds and decide what sector interests you. Once you have that, then you can formulate a decent layout of study.

Have you looked at any University/College websites? You'll probably be able to find a lot of Computer Science syllabuses (syllabi?) online (or the reading list at least). My old Uni certainly has the course outline up there.

That reminds me! The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has a very big open source coursework series that anyone can go through.

It is available here: http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html

What areas interest you?

A CS degree will include the following subjects (which may be more than one module):

Computer Science
programming
data structures
algorithms
programing paradigms / languages
computer architecture
operating systems
networking
digital electronics
database development
software engineering
Maths
Discrete mathematics
Calculus
Statistics and Probability
Linear algebra
Differential Equations

I've probably forgotten something. There are then advanced subjects such as graphics programming, compiler design, artificial intelligence

If you need any more details just get back.

If you are looking for a job, most of the interviews I've been on require you to know some basic UML, which was mentioned in the previous post as software engineering.

Again, I would like to stress that, since you are not working on an actual degree in Computer Science, the avenues of research that you choose can be much more varied than what is pushed out by the colleges and universities out there.

Are you looking for work later on in programming, or something else? The skills needed for a programmer are different from the skills needed for a systems administrator or a communications administrator. It all depends on what you want to do afterwards that will direct you in what you learn now.

Let me give you a for-instance: I do not currently have a four-year degree. I am a systems engineer at a major university working with a high performance computing cluster with over 200 compute nodes and an infiniband network layer for low-latency bandwidth communication between the nodes. The skills needed for this job go into multiple levels of linux administration, software administration, hardware knowledge, and network administration. Basically, I do a little of everything in this job. Again... no degree. Completely self-taught, with no certifications.

Enough tooting my own horn here.

It can be done. I spent six years in the Navy learning absolutely nothing about computer systems prior to all of this. I just found that I loved working with computers and learning everything there was to know about them from a systems point of view. I never felt the need to go into depth in the programming arena, although I did find that I needed to learn some of the rudimentary things concerning modern programming structures just so that I could follow what was going on.

My best suggestion is to come up with a plan for yourself before going around willy-nilly reading books that may not be of any use for your later goal (I am not saying that they will do harm... no such thing as having too much knowledge in this game).

If you love to know about this science , it's better to pick a general book about Computer Science,
or if you are interested in getting job relating to computer science , then find the most field you love from the previous fields and start to learn.
In all cases you will benefit from reading well chosen books.
best regards!

Wow! Thanks for all the info fellas. I am interested in learning computer sciences topics for network security mainly. I assumed learning computer science type stuff would be the direction I would need to go. If not, please let me know. I do not want to be a programmer that codes applications all day (nothing against those of you who do). I am interested in knowing how hackers work, how they make exploits etc. I would also be interested in examining code to find vulnerabilities and holes in software. This is my main intention.