Do you have to know how to use github as a Computer Science major?

Question

My dad makes over $200k as a software engineer and he said he's never used github.

Answer 1

Github is a website that offers source control management using GIT. Alternatively a company can also purchase the Github software and host their own internal server.



Even if your father has never used GIT, if he's done any professional programming he's used some sort of source control. There's a number of different tools out there. GIT just happens to be one of the more popular ones right now because it's free, and is also used by Linux and many other open source projects.

Answer 2

Github is the backbone of our society

Answer 3

It is extraordinarily useful to know a Version Control System (VCS) if you're going to develop any serious software. The VCS I'd personally recommend learning is Git, which is the program GitHub wraps in a very nice WebUI (and hosts your code for free).



So if you want a job as a Software Engineer (SWE) and not as a mathematician/computer scientist then yes I highly recommend learning how to use Git.

Answer 4

He got his career started in the olden days before github and social media. Now employers like to see your work. So you can use github to make a portfolio of work to show what sort of stuff you can do.

Answer 5

The associated source control software is called Git, and if your father is a software engineer, I really hope he does use *some* kind of source control.



Knowing Git in particular (or a popular website that provides space for repositories) isn't required, but a decent CS major shouldn't be worried about having to learn their way around new software anyway.

Answer 6

you answered your own question with your own example.

Answer 7

A particular school *may* have a required class that requires using github.



The only thing you MUST have are coding shoes.

Answer 8

Every corporation uses different platforms. Realistically if you need to know it for your school\employer you will quickly learn it. It's like a lot of things in Computer Science, since there's 1000's of ways different ways people do things and while you can never learn them all you can understand the logic behind it by learning similar things.