Andrew Begel
Beth Simon
ABSTRACT
How do new college graduates experience their first software development jobs? In what ways are they prepared by their educational experiences, and in what ways do they struggle to be productive in their new positions? We report on a "fly-on-the-wall" observational study of eight recent college graduates in their first six months of a software development position at Microsoft Corporation. After a total of 85 hours of on-the-job observation, we report on the common abilities evidenced by new software developers including how to program, how to write design specifications, and evidence of persistence strategies for problem-solving. We also classify some of the common ways new software developers were observed getting stuck: communication, collaboration, technical, cognition, and orientation. We report on some common misconceptions of new developers which often frustrate them and hinder them in their jobs, and conclude with recommendations to align Computer Science curricula with the observed needs of new professional developers.
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Digital Library
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Index Terms
- Struggles of new college graduates in their first software development job
Recommendations
Struggles of new college graduates in their first software development job
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The University of Stuttgart's software engineering major complements the traditional computer science major with more practice-oriented education. Two-semester software projects in various application areas offered by the university's different computer ...
Reviews
Larry Bernstein
If you have ever wondered why new software graduates are so poorly prepared to work, then you must read this wonderful article. It explains the challenges facing new college graduates and university curricula. Jump directly to Section 4, and see the results of their studies. Of course, the authors found that software people have trouble reading and writing specifications. As expected, I read in Section 4.2 that communication, collaboration, and cognition skills are lacking in new college graduates. Accreditation boards look for such material in curricula, and too often don't find much; I was surprised to see the ability to use tools for large-system development on the list. The lack of?and need for?critical thinking is emphasized by the authors in their recommendation: In a data structures class, an instructor might engage students in critical reflection on their work by providing them with a sample, buggy, solution of an assignment recently completed. Then, ask the students "to grade the [buggy] solution ... [and] log bugs in a bug database." I urge all educators, recruiters, and new graduates to read and study this short, pithy article, and use it as a checklist against both their own as well as job seekers' critical skills. Online Computing Reviews Service
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