Originally Posted by
abachler
Well, for RAD I prefer LabView™, but it interfaces very nicely with C/C++, well, really any language that can create standalone DLL's. Its great for doing all the GUI stuff that I hate (doing).
Hobbyists are absolutely the way to go. I started as a hobbyist, and I got my EE because I wanted to understand computers at the component level. I think as a hobbyist you end up knowing more because you often go off i directions that a CS program might not take you. Taking some CS courses is good too, but after a point they become so redundant that the only reason to take them is to get your bonafides.