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C++ course for newbie

James McGill

Joined
3/20/15
Messages
11
Points
13
Hello. I am relatively new to this forum. I have completed an undergraduate degree in applied math. I have very little programming experience - I can barely remember what a for loop is. I am enrolled in a top 10 MFE program starting in the fall. I have a 16 week summer to learn as much computer science as possible. I will be dedicated to learning. I know there is a quant net C++ certificate I can earn. Am I able to take this course with no prior programming experience?! Will they teach me from the ground level up. Will I be able to complete it in 16 weeks? I know there are other free ways to learn how to code, for example Code Academy. What would you suggest for me?
 
Yes, yes, yes. The course has a financial engineering slant, and it is tailored for the preparation of entry into MFEs. Programmes such as Code Academy might be useful for things like software engineering, design etc. but they won't be created with financial engineering in mind. I don't suspect that there is a large forum with people all with common interests in such programmes as Code Academy.

Of course, how you get to know C++ or programming in general is up to you, but the quantnet C++ course is a good fit for your purposes.
 
Excellent. Approximately how many many hours should I expect to work per week? I will be working with a math professor during the summer ~ about 8 hours a day.
 
Can't give you an exact... I worked through lv1-9 through my summer break so I spent most of my time on it. Devote maybe 30min - 2hrs per day? Depends on the level of course, and your speed.
 
James McGill said:
Excellent. Approximately how many many hours should I expect to work per week? I will be working with a math professor during the summer ~ about 8 hours a day.
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If you're giving it this kind of divided attention, your mastery of coding will be superficial. You will probably still earn the certificate and know some of the C++ idiom -- but really understand little of coding in general.
 
bigbadwolf said:
If you're giving it this kind of divided attention, your mastery of coding will be superficial. You will probably still earn the certificate and know some of the C++ idiom -- but really understand little of coding in general.
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I think a concerted effort to program [14,20] hours or week (a guess on my part) is needed.

Doing C++ 'a la carte' is a non-starter. You need to program like mad.
 
bigbadwolf said:
You need to code but you also need to think about it deeply. The Project Euler problems are one place to start. Another is Spraul's Think Like A Programmer.
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Of course. I did not preclude "thinking". I wanted to impress on James Mc that just a bit of C++ browsing is not sufficient.

"you learn by doing and do by learning" (Plato?)
 
It is not my belief that mastery of programming will be gained over the summer, but rather that earning the certificate will be a positive stepping stone in the right direction.
 
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