Ah, Caffeine. One of the few drugs left that people will not smirk at you for taking (because you get snotty looks now for pretty much everything else: too much sugar, fatty foods, processed fast foods, cigarettes, alcohol, etc).
Introductory courses should be about separating talented students from those won't be able to succeed in the field, an idea the computer science department has recently shied away from.
Juniors hoping to secure jobs in the software industry should look to open-source software as a way to learn practical knowledge about software development from peers and to meet developers who have a passion for great software.