Computer Science: Yay or Nay

[imported_Stew]

I'm graduating from HS this year and I'm pretty interested in computers/technology.

The most logical decision for university seems to be to take Computer Science.

Do you guys think that there are a lot of jobs for people with BCs's, and if so what kind?

 

[BigJ]

You REALLY need to look into what CS is about before committing to it. If you have no knowledge of it, you're probably thinking of CIS/MIS/IT.

 

[Injury]

There's lots of jobs for almost anyone with a 4 year technology degree. It's ALWAYS having the connections to FIND said jobs that makes the difference.

I can tell you that if you aren't certain of what you want to do, go to college as undeclared.

If you think you know what you want to do, you best know something about it going in to college before devoting your life and thousands of dollars to it. Try and find a company near you that does what you are interested in and ask for a one day job shadow. You can probably get out of school for a day to do it, too. Go on college visits. Pay close attention to the classes you are interested in. If you are feeling brave, if you see a big class with plenty of empty seats, ask the professor before it begins if you can sit in on the class. Depending on how pompus they are, they might let you. I dunno, there are lots of things you can do to get a taste of what you might want to do.

I suggest exploring as much as you can right away. I know that isn't exactly what you were asking, but I thought I'd just give you some friendly advice.

 

[Zoblefu]

CS is programming, as in, writing software applications. This includes both windows applications (or whatever OS) and web applications (websites with databases, etc).

Comp Engineering is programming hardware (firmware), and designing hardware chips, things like this.

CIS/MIS/IT is what most people think of when they think computer science and don't know any better. Not making any judgement about you, just saying... This is more "grunt" work -- fix this, install memory, get rid of virus, install windows on these 40 computers, etc., but a position such as this could lead into a more technical role, such as network admin.

I have a CS degree... If you plan to get a CS degree and use it, be prepared to live in or near a large city in order to get a good job. Smaller cities just don't have near as big of a need. If you don't mind moving to find a job in Computer Science, I'd say you would be able to find one when you graduate.

Just my 2¢

 

[ZiKi]

Theres a lot of people I know that dropped out of comp sci because the math was too intense. If you look around on craigslist for jobs that interest you, they might say that a CS degree is req'd. Right now I'm a freshman at a local community college doing general studies. I plan on transferring to a college once i decide what i want to major in.

 

[LongCoolMother]

im doing CS at UC Berkeley right now. it's true, the workload and difficulty is intense, but I really like what I'm doing. If you're into programming theory and don't mind working extremely hard, then it's definitely a good field to look into. Here in the silicon valley there are countless opportunities and great jobs available in the computer industry.

 

[imported_Stew]

Awesome. Thanks for the advice.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

cs kicks ass

 

[DaShen]

OP, unless you enjoy programming a lot, and you get a thrill debugging for hours on end, or OOP and such come naturally to you, I would say rethink your options. Seriously. This is coming from a CS grad.

 

[MBrown]

Nay. EE or EET is the way to go.

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: MBrown
Nay. EE or EET is the way to go.

There is more room to grow with engineering if you are looking at job growth.

 

[clamum]

Neeeahh Linux

 

[Tobolo]

If you do not live and breathe math, then just past CS on by.

 

[GoPackGo]

I prefer Weird Science.

 

[Aikouka]

From my experiences (with tutoring courses and grading), most people who go into programming just because they "like computers" end up doing the worst. So like everyone else here said, make sure you actually enjoy programming and not just computers before you start it up. Save the poor tutor some mental anguish trying to help students who can't understand simple hints.

EDIT: Oh and all these people talking about math... where I went to college, Math students were required to take some CS. They were probably some of the worst CS students I had to tutor, because none of them had the proper mindset for programming.

 

[razor2025]

You don't have to concentrate on programming in CS. Like the college I'm at, they're pushing major changes to curriculums that moves away from the classic "CS = Programming". Sure, you'll probably need to know few languages and have solid understanding of the concepts, but after that there's many other things you can learn and use besides being a code monkey. In fact, the college wants the CS kids to move out from "programming" to broaden their horizon to other majors/minors along with their CS major.

 

[razor2025]

Originally posted by: Tobolo
If you do not live and breathe math, then just past CS on by.

That's not true. I know plenty of CS kids who isn't too strong on math, but do great in their CS class. CS isn't just about algorithms and number crunching.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: razor2025

Originally posted by: Tobolo
If you do not live and breathe math, then just past CS on by.

That's not true. I know plenty of CS kids who isn't too strong on math, but do great in their CS class. CS isn't just about algorithms and number crunching.

At the bare minimum, you'll probably have to complete through Calc 3 + Linear Algebra, and then 2-3 more advanced Math courses on top of that. In addition, you'll be taking courses in Discrete Mathematics/Structures, and may even have to take an algorithms class where you have to write proofs for the more popular algorithms.

 

[clamum]

I'm not that great at math (not bad, but not real good) and I did well in my CS classes and got a 3.4 GPA overall.