# Repository
https://github.com/ossu/computer-science
# Introduction
<img src="https://camo.githubusercontent.com/15a5e1c20a0a4a22f1db4c752e6629c81614ab7e/687474703a2f2f692e696d6775722e636f6d2f5245514b3056552e6a7067">
Depending on where in the world you come from, a degree might be a choice. Taking the USA as a first example, education there is expensive, and a degree might cost from a few dozens of thousands, up to hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. That makes education something for the elite, not for everyone, unless, of course, people want to "gamble" by taking huge loans.
On the other hand, we have countries like Brazil, which has free higher education. In Brazil, you can get a college degree for free, but there is a catch. You must pass an exam, and just like on the previous example, wealthy people have an edge here too. Rich people invest in education that is specialized in teaching their kids how to pass those exams, which by itself already makes a snowball. There are limited seats every year, and the more rich people invest in specialized education to pass those exams, the harder it is for people without money to get a place on the higher education system. It is not that "free" in the end.
And most places in the world it is like that. Except, maybe Uruguay. Uruguay is the only place that comes to my mind when I think of a completely free higher level education. According to what I have researched about how universities work there, anyone that wants can register at a course and get a place in class. And apparently there is no catch, it is free, and anyone that has completed high school can do that.
# You don't need to go to another country
<img src="https://camo.githubusercontent.com/ab1e7ce255025d6c6b9431d43409217c21f70b6a/687474703a2f2f692e696d6775722e636f6d2f6b5959435874432e706e67">
But of course, to most people outside Uruguay, probably moving to Uruguay is not a more viable option than paying for a degree or paying to learn how to pass a test. Apparently, nothing comes without a catch after all...
But there is this online and open source computer science degree I have introduced in the last post. It is online, it is free, it is curated and is always evolving, as has a learning path that is very similar to my software engineering and computer science degrees.
Well, wait, nothing that is too good to be true comes without a catch, so, what's up with this open source CS degree?
Well, this degree obviously has no real relationship with a "real" university. So, first, it does not have the same impact on your CV. It is not the same saying "yeah, I am a graduated computer scientist at Harvard", or even "I am a graduated software engineer from one of those free universities in Brazil", or even in "Uruguay" for that matter.
# What is this open source CS degree?
The open source CS degree offered by the self-called "Open Source Society University" is actually a repository in Github. The repository has external links to teaching content, like video tutorials, or even standalone courses offered by well-known universities around the world.
The course receives updates "frequently" (more frequently than traditional courses) with third-party content. All together the repository shows you what path to take to have the same knowledge as a "real" computer scientist.
# Taking a look at the courses
Of course, in theory, it sounds good, but how does it work in practice?
In practice, the course will give you the links to the curated courses from third-party providers. To illustrate that, let us see what they recommend as the programming introduction for starters.
This first course is introductory, for people that have never touched code before. And it is taught by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology!
Yes, that is right, this is the level of this open source course. By taking it you will be taking classes from the same teachers at the big universities in the world.
# Need to go hard
It is not just because this is an online and self-passed course that it is lightweight. Of course, you could take your time, but the platforms that provide the "course subjects" have a limit of time for you to finish the course. If you don't finish, most of the third platforms will "end" the enrollment and make you start fresh with a new batch of students.
The introductory course is 9 weeks long, and require around 2 hours of dedication each day to finish (considering you have zero programming knowledge)
And according to the brief introduction, you will learn:
- A Notion of computation
- The Python programming language
- Some simple algorithms
- Testing and debugging
- An informal introduction to algorithmic complexity
- Data structures (very important)
Also, notice that those platforms will try to push you to pay to get a certification. You don't have to pay to take the classes, but if you do, you will receive assignments and certificates. And to me, it seems like a great deal. You can go from start to end on the online computer science degree for free, but to me, $75 for each certificate is a bargain and I would take it any day.
# And it gets worse (or better)
As I have said, just because it is an online degree, does not, to any extent, mean that it is easy. The "open source" degree was designed to give you the same level of knowledge as a real computer scientist, and that comes at a price, even though it is free. The price you pay is time and commitment.
Mainly commitment. I work remotely, and in the beginning, it was hard to organize myself to do stuff. Studying a whole degree online is the same.
You would think that, by studying remotely, you can study whenever you want. The truth is if you have to work or study online, **you never want to work or study!** Anything can turn into an excuse to do later what you should do now. And believe when I say that, 7 years working remotely and I still feel that urge to procrastinate.
The previous example showed that you would need to dedicate around 2 hours every workday to complete the course, and there is much less than the first semester of a real CS course. But on the "next level" of the open source degree, things get more... Interesting?....
That escalated quickly! From 2 hours a (working)day, we went to over 11 hours for each day of the week! 8 considering you will also study on weekends (and you should!).
And those courses are not simple "tutorials", they are taught by real professors form real and well-known universities, like the University of British Columbia and the University of Washington. So they are filled with great content.
From this, we can see that this open source CS degree is not just a compilation of tutorials, but it has a very heavy content with insightful content. It is not meant for people that want to do something in their free time (but those people can too) to give it a shot on getting a new job. This degree is for people that really want to be a computer scientist, but can't afford traditional courses.
# You evolve with the course
In my (traditional) software engineering degree, the course was updated a couple of times, and I couldn't "retake" the changes. This online degree, however, has frequent updates. The curators have their eyes wide open to what the big universities are teaching, and what is the best online content to match their traditional courses.
If you want to take this course and stay up to date, you can see the history of commits on their GitHub. If you identify a change that would add value to your knowledge, you can take the new course, and jump the sections you already know.
And the course has lots of updates. In 4 years, it has had over 700 commits.
Only a fully open source course would be able to update itself this fast! Without the bureaucracy of traditional universities, whenever a better content is found, they update. Whenever a better didactics can be applied, they apply. When the big traditional courses change something in their path, the open source degree does too.
# Resources
Open source CS degree:
https://github.com/ossu/computer-science
Awesome list:
https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesome
Degree assignments:
https://github.com/ossu/computer-science/blob/dev/PROJECTS.md
Extra assignments:
https://github.com/karan/Projects
# Series backlinks
- [Open Source CS Degree - Introduction And Overview (Part 1)](https://steemit.com/utopian-io/@igormuba/open-source-cs-degree-introduction-and-overview-part-1)
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