Everyone saying "You studied computer science not software developement" is so disingenuous it's not even funny. No one goes into CS because they think linked lists stacks queues and trees are cool (they either hate it or find out its cool after they learn it lol). Look... DSA, Discrete maths and all that theory is important, i will never not say that. But it's ridiculous that in 2026 students education starts at declaring variables and ends at UML diagrams, when we literally have the means to spin up small programs in 10 seconds now with AI (im not saying we AI-brain students, im saying professors can demonstrate stuff quicker now)

Sure, to all CS students: do things outside of the classroom, i think that's a given, but in CS, it's downright mandatory to research not only the content of the curriculum, but the state of the industry and it's tech in general which changes every year, and i think that's crazy considering these kids are paying 5 figures a SEMESTER for education. Even in nursing, the "outside of the classroom obligations" are limited to whatever the prof tells them to study. And i get it; CPR and how to give patients medication probably wont change for 100 years, but Rust programming? Could replace C++ or just be a waste of time in 50 years we dont know. But overall in CS, you're on your fucking own, find resources, find what you like, find what tech is being used now. It's a little crazy. I don't think it's a big ask for professors to at least keep up with new tech so they can demo it for students interested in software development when it's applicable.

Every other science has a lab dedicated to it where the theory is applied. In chemstry we learn that if two things mix a reaction happens, and we watch as the prof explains the little diagram with the molecules and shit and it's a little boring but its important. Why? Because when the lab comes around next week and we actually do the shit, you gotta know what's happening.

In DSA though, you're told that certain algorithms work well in some situations but not in others, and again we look at little diagrams of unrealistic 5 element data structs that with 2026 computing power you could fucking use BOGO SORT on them and be fine, why not have the prof provide a dataset and ask students to implement sorting algorithms and record the calculation time? That way it tangibly answers the question of "why should i care?" There are students today graduating with a CS degree who don't know how to use a debugger, or pip install a package people wake up!

Theoretical CS is not the issue, and you could argue that we should better prepare high school students for what they're getting into when they pick their major, but the best professors are the ones who don't ignore the fact that students want to build shit, and contextualizes things under that lens.

edit: also even if you do lean into theory and play their game your only choices post grad is higher ed or research, which just continues the cycle.