计算机科学学位: 技能和专业化

计算机科学学位: 技能和专业化

By QS Staff Writer

更新日期 January 28, 2020

作者：QS特约撰稿人

更新日期：2020年1月28日

计算机科学学位：技能与专业主要形象

Find out what to expect from a computer science degreeprogram, and how to tell if you're suited to the subject, and what careers you could go on to.

明确自己期望从计算机科学学位课程中收获到什么，明确如何判断自己是否适合这门学科，以及明确自己可以从事什么职业。

While it may be perceived as the preserve of a small group of specialists, we would do well, think Professor Bill Freeman, Associate Department Head of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Professor John Guttag, a current professor and former head of department, at MIT, to acknowledge the wide reaching significance of computer science.

虽然有人可能会想计算机科学都是少数计算机专家们专门从事的活动，但麻省理工学院电气工程和计算机科学系副主任Bill Freeman教授和前系主任John Guttag教授却认为，我们应该承认该学科的广泛意义。

“Computer science is a foundational science, like mathematics. It provides a way to understand something that permeates almost every aspect of modern life. In a modern society every educated person should have some knowledge of the field.”

“计算机科学是一门基础科学，与数学类似。它提供了一种理解事物的方法，几乎渗透到现代生活的方方面面。在现代社会，每个受过教育的人都应该对这一领域有所了解。”

Professors Liz Sonenberg and Alistair Moffat (Head of Information Systems and Head of the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering respectively at the University of Melbourne) agree: “Information-based tools and devices are now fundamental in education, medicine, finance, communication, and entertainment.

Liz Sonenberg教授和Alistair Moffat教授（分别为墨尔本大学信息系统系主任和计算机科学与软件工程系主任）认为：“信息工具和设备现在已经成为了教育、医学、金融、通信和娱乐的基础。”

"None of them would have been possible without the creative energy and analytical skills of the teams of creative people that conceived, designed, and built them.

“如果没有构思、设计和建造的创意团队发挥其创造力和分析能力，这些都无从实现。”

"All of those teams included computer scientists, specialists in algorithms and information; and software engineers, professionals who develop large software systems. Together they have built – and continue to build – a new way of life, the ‘information society’."

“ 这些团队都包括有计算机科学家、算法和信息专家；以及软件工程师、开发大型软件系统的专业人员。他们共同创建了并将继续创建新的生活方式，即‘信息社会’。”

Is computer science for you?

计算机科学适合你吗？

Despite its universal significance, like any subject there are those who are better suited to it than others. What kind of person, then, would be a good match for computer science?

尽管具有普遍性，但与其他任何一门学科的情况相同，有些人相对而言更适合于这门学科。那么，什么样的人适合计算机科学呢？

“Someone who enjoys solving problems, and who can think analytically, can do well at computer science,” comment Professors Freeman and Guttag. “The study requires mathematical aptitude, but mostly an ability to organize and to think both creatively and logically.”

Freeman教授和Guttag教授评论说：“一个善于解决问题、能够以解析的方式思考的人在计算机科学方面会做得更好。”。“这门学科的学习需要具有一定的数学才能，但主要靠的是组织能力、创造性思维和逻辑思维能力。”

These sentiments are echoed by Professors Sonenberg and Moffat. “To succeed in computer science you need to be able to think in a careful and systematic way, and you also need to have a strong creative streak, In other words, you need to be able to work with both sides of your brain.”

这些观点得到了Sonenberg和Moffat教授的支持。“要想在计算机科学上取得成功，你需要具有以谨慎和系统的方式进行思考的能力，你还需要具有很强的创造性，换句话说，你需要把左右脑都充分调度起来。”

They add that “an openness to trying new things” is also a prerequisite, given the fast moving nature of the subject.

他们还补充指出，鉴于这门学科的快速发展特性，“对尝试新鲜事物的开放性态度”也是取得成功的先决条件。

Both pairs also agree that it is a subject that is international in focus. “Computer science graduates have an internationally recognized qualification – and so can change jobs and countries with ease. This opens up not only great career options, but wonderful lifestyle choices as well,” reflect the Melbourne pair.

四位教授还一致认为它是国际性的焦点学科。“计算机科学专业的毕业生拥有国际公认的资质，因此可以轻松地跳槽和出国就业。这不仅可以让其选择伟大的职业生涯，还可以让其选择美好的生活方式。”墨尔本大学的两位教授指出。

The Boston-based duo add that as well allowing you international scope career-wise, it is also well suited to international students: “In many cases, international students can master the mathematics and computer languages used in computer science before they completely master English.”

波士顿麻省理工的两位教授补充道，除了让职业选择范围国际化之外，它还非常适合留学生：“许多情况下，留学生在完全掌握英语之前就可以掌握计算机科学中所使用的数学和计算机语言。”

Choosing a specialization

选择专业

This is a broad subject area that lends itself to a raft of specializations. The core of the subject at undergraduate level at MIT includes algorithms, programming languages, organizing and retrieving data, and applications, as well as a branch of mathematics known as ‘discrete mathematics’ – the mathematics of countable things.

这是一个宽泛的学科，可以匹配支持许多专业领域。麻省理工学院本科段的核心课程包括算法、编程语言、数据组织和检索以及应用程序，还有一个被称为“离散数学”的数学分支——可计数物数学。

On top of a selection of core IT subjects which differs in breadth according to one’s specialization, students at the University of Melbourne can choose to major in informatics, computing & software systems, and geomatics (focussing on spatial measurement and analysis), amongst others.

墨尔本大学的学生除了可以根据自己的专业选择各种覆盖范围不同的核心信息技术课程外，还可以选择信息学、计算与软件系统、地理信息学（侧重于空间测量和分析）等专业。

Specializations at the academic level of course translate into options in the professional sphere. And – potential computer scientists will be pleased to hear – demand. “In the UK one in 20 UK workers is employed in the IT & Telecoms workforce and there is further demand.

当然，学术层面的专业化可以对应转化为职业领域的择业选项以及就业需求（想必潜在的计算机科学家们都乐于听到这‘需求’二字）。“在英国，每20个英国职场人士中就有一位受雇于IT和电信行业，而且这种需求还会进一步增加。”

And in the latest Australian figures available there were more vacancies for ICT professionals than there were for business, finance and human resource professionals,” state Sonenberg and Moffat, citing official government figures.

Sonenberg和Moffat教授援引澳大利亚政府官方数据表示，“根据澳大利亚的可用数据可知，信息和通信技术专业人才的空缺比商业、金融和人力资源专业都要多。”

Employment prospects

就业前景

An undergraduate degree in the subject alone, assert Freeman and Guttag, will stand you in good stead in the employment market: “There are many good jobs available to people with undergraduate degrees in computer science.

Freeman和Guttag教授断言，仅凭此一门学科的本科学位就足以让你在就业市场上大有作为：“拥有计算机科学本科学位的人可以找到很多好工作。”

There is a strong, long-term need for programmers in small and large companies alike. In addition, an undergraduate degree in computer science provides training in analytical thinking that can be a foundation for careers in other areas that require graduate study, such as management, law, and even medicine.

无论是大公司还是小公司，都对程序员有长期大量的需求。此外，计算机科学本科学位的学习培养了学生的分析思维能力，而这又可以成为学生们以后在其他就职领域攻读研究生学位的基础，如管理、法律、甚至医学领域。

“The need for skilled computer scientists will continue to grow. As electronic data accumulates and processors are embedded in more and more devices, the need for people who can build sophisticated software will become ever more pressing.”

“对高技能水平计算机科学家的需求将会继续增长。随着电子数据的积累以及处理器被嵌入到越来越多的设备中，职场中将会越来越迫切地需求那些能够构建复杂软件的人才。”

As Freeman and Guttag suggest, this is not a subject that will become irrelevant any time soon. What, then, does the future hold?

正如Freeman和Guttag教授所说，这不是一门很快就会变得无关紧要的学科。那么，未来会怎样？

“Increasingly, computers are merging into our physical environments – think of the computing power and connectivity in your phone, or other mobile devices – all creating a massive ‘information space’,” declare Sonenberg and Moffat. “Taming the complexity of how these devices will interact with each other and with us is a challenge for computer science.”

“计算机正越来越多地融入到我们的物质环境中——想想手机或其他移动设备的计算能力和连接性——所有这些都营造出了一个巨大的‘信息空间’。” Sonenberg和Moffat教授认为，“这些设备之间的相互作用以及设备与我们的交互沟通将会成为一个复杂的问题，而处理这一复杂难题将会是计算机科学面临的一项巨大挑战。”

Freeman and Guttag see the academic subject itself becoming more multifaceted, which will have a knock-on effect in the real world: “All sorts of interdisciplinary studies in computer science will emerge, and are emerging now.

Freeman和Guttag教授发现该学科本身变得更加多元化，而这将在现实世界中产生连锁反应：“计算机科学的各种跨学科研究将会出现，并且目前正在显现而出。”

"One can study bio-informatics, computation applied to biology and genetics, computational physics, numerical simulations of physical processes, computational finance, modelling and predicting financial markets.”

“可供学习的学科包括生物信息学、生物学和遗传学应用计算、计算物理学、物理过程数值模拟、计算金融学、金融市场建模和预测。”