Computer Science!

[PimpJuice]

Originally posted by: serialkiller
<-- Petroleum engineering drop out. Graduated Mathematics: Scientific Computation w/ Minor in CS. =)

way to go man, you coulda been making your own gas right now!

 

[archcommus]

I always felt if I went into CS then I'd be programming in a cubicle my whole life. But reading from grads here that doesn't seem so.

 

[sash1]

A friend of mine just graduated out of Cornell (Brown undergrad) with a Masters in CS and is now making $75,000+/yr. out in San Francisco.

 

[tami]

keep in mind that a lot of jobs that are more exclusive and higher ranking (starting at like 60-70k) look for your GPA as one of the ONLY qualifying factors. if you don't have a 3.8 GPA or above, they won't even consider your other credentials, even if you have great experience. so if you suffer in compsci, or you're just "average," don't expect to go very far with that.

 

[Savarak]

BS in Comp Sci, Theoritical Emphasis...
Went straight into MS for Comp Sci... Hopefully graduate in May...
I hope starting salary'll be around 50-60k, heh, but I have no idea what career to start it in. I'd love to get into some sort of research.

 

[AlucardX]

got a computer engineering degree last december from PSU.. workin at one of the big three IT companies learning mainframes. easy money so far.. :beer:

 

[imthebadguy]

i started as a cs major, however i find that i'd make a hell of a lot more goin to business school, so thats what im doin now, hope to be a trader or ibanker

 

[tami]

Originally posted by: zebano
IME a B.S. is much more valuable than a B.A.

your experience says enough, but it also depends on the school.

columbia university has two schools that offer the computer science major: columbia college (BA) and the fu foundation school for engineering and applied science: SEAS (BS).

i've seen good programmers (and bad programmers) from both schools.

One thing I have noticed is that CS is completely differnt than MIS/CIS.

extremely. i happen to love MIS and i hate CS. i'm not sure my CS major really has anything to do with what i'm doing now; i cannot think of a single thing, to be perfectly honest. i'm more hands-on than, say, the programmer sitting in the back of my office right now. still, he's definitely one hell of a good coder.

it really depends what you want to do with your life and how you see yourself in 5 years.

 

[nfamous]

Originally posted by: archcommus
Sigh...

I'm an EE major and have been wondering lately if I should've done CS. I told myself I wouldn't enjoy programming my whole life was more interested in the architecture of computers and electronics, so I decided on Electrical Engineering with a Computer Concentration. However sometimes I feel that my interest lies more in computers in particular than all electronics and circuits, and as such CS would be much more tuned to my interests. Any opinions?

My advisor had his BS in EE, MS in VLSI design, and Phd in Compiler theory.....and he was a prof. of computer science

 

[tami]

Originally posted by: archcommus
Sigh...

I'm an EE major and have been wondering lately if I should've done CS. I told myself I wouldn't enjoy programming my whole life was more interested in the architecture of computers and electronics, so I decided on Electrical Engineering with a Computer Concentration. However sometimes I feel that my interest lies more in computers in particular than all electronics and circuits, and as such CS would be much more tuned to my interests. Any opinions?

i think you'll probably be happier with what you're doing now, but take more computer classes just to be sure.

 

[FinalShot]

HEhehe,
Thanks all for your replies, given me a good view on this subject.

Im not sure WHAT I want to do now....... I suck.

 

[elqueso]

I guess it depends on what you like. Try out a few classes and see how you like it. If you don't like the intro courses, chances are you won't like the rest of the courses. It also depends on where you go to school for CS. If you go to a top tier CS program you'll definately come out making craploads of money. Everybody I know that graduates from my CS department end up making 85k+ starting.

 

[amdskip]

I will graduate in may hopefully with a BS in CS, just hoping to find a job at this point. GPA isn't the greatest. Minor in business. I would prefer to stay away from being a code monkey.

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: amdskip
I will graduate in may hopefully with a BS in CS, just hoping to find a job at this point. GPA isn't the greatest. Minor in business. I would prefer to stay away from being a code monkey.

That was my fear and why I didn't want to do CS. I felt that was how I'd inevitably end up, sitting behind a desk writing software everyday. I never really envisioned or knew what else you could do with a CS degree.

And these forums make it more confusing! You have some talking about starting at 60-70k, some at 45k, some saying you'll be a "code monkey," others doing really interesting stuff. Makes me feel like EE would be a much more predictable direction.

But then I must consider my ACTUAL interests, pretending that a job didn't matter. Which do I enjoy more? I am interested in the fundamentals of technology. The innovations and all things, not just PCs, that are going to change everyone's lives in the future. Doesn't that sound like a perfect candidate for EE?

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: tami

Originally posted by: archcommus
Sigh...

I'm an EE major and have been wondering lately if I should've done CS. I told myself I wouldn't enjoy programming my whole life was more interested in the architecture of computers and electronics, so I decided on Electrical Engineering with a Computer Concentration. However sometimes I feel that my interest lies more in computers in particular than all electronics and circuits, and as such CS would be much more tuned to my interests. Any opinions?

i think you'll probably be happier with what you're doing now, but take more computer classes just to be sure.

Actually, I have intro to C++ AND intro to engineering next semester. Sort of a dip into both waters. But if I chose CS then, man, I'd be screwed, pretty much all of my freshman year would've been a waste.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: tami

Originally posted by: archcommus
Sigh...

I'm an EE major and have been wondering lately if I should've done CS. I told myself I wouldn't enjoy programming my whole life was more interested in the architecture of computers and electronics, so I decided on Electrical Engineering with a Computer Concentration. However sometimes I feel that my interest lies more in computers in particular than all electronics and circuits, and as such CS would be much more tuned to my interests. Any opinions?

i think you'll probably be happier with what you're doing now, but take more computer classes just to be sure.

Actually, I have intro to C++ AND intro to engineering next semester. Sort of a dip into both waters. But if I chose CS then, man, I'd be screwed, pretty much all of my freshman year would've been a waste.

Software Engineering is in high demand....stick with Electrical Engineering.

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: Gibson486

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: tami

Originally posted by: archcommus
Sigh...

I'm an EE major and have been wondering lately if I should've done CS. I told myself I wouldn't enjoy programming my whole life was more interested in the architecture of computers and electronics, so I decided on Electrical Engineering with a Computer Concentration. However sometimes I feel that my interest lies more in computers in particular than all electronics and circuits, and as such CS would be much more tuned to my interests. Any opinions?

i think you'll probably be happier with what you're doing now, but take more computer classes just to be sure.

Actually, I have intro to C++ AND intro to engineering next semester. Sort of a dip into both waters. But if I chose CS then, man, I'd be screwed, pretty much all of my freshman year would've been a waste.

Software Engineering is in high demand....stick with Electrical Engineering.

There is a high demand for people in one field so you're recommending the other??

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: FinalShot
Hey guys,
Its getting closer to me going to Uni, and I want to start considering options.

Anyway, Computer Science actually crossed my mind, I only have a brief idea on it.

Could anyone give their own personal experiences w/ it?
Also could someone provide info on:
What kind of jobs one can get after finishing.
Amount of $$ made.
How hard it is.
What is taken during it.

Cheers

Choose something more stable! Seriously. Unless you are seriously passionate about doing programming, it isn't for you.

 

[HumblePie]

The first rule of CS club is:

You don't talk about CS club.

The second rule of CS club is:

There is no rules except the first rule.

Why the rules? Well if you break the first rule you get no p00n.




On a serious note, I'm a CS grad from Park University. 3.9GPA (woulda been a 4.0 but I had to take a a course with a teacher that didn't "give" A's out). For me it wasn't hard at all since I knew everything I was being taught before I even took the classes. Heck, I knew more about computers then many of the teachers. Been working on a computer since I was like 7 and programming with Basic and Sam on a comodore 64. First program I ever wrote, with the help of my dad who was also a computer programmer, was a 8000 line of code calculator (most of it was cut and paste for various functions) for my comodore. Took 4 years of programming in high school and was writing my own video games, and what not all my life. If it wasn't art, sports, or playing video games I was coding on a computer. Joined the AF and did 4 years as a computer programmer there and finished my degree when I got out.

I did things the untraditional way since I was military. I took a ton of CLEP and DANTE tests. They are free to the military service but at $50 the aren't a bad deal for civilians either. Every school takes them for credit. Look at a degree program for a school you would like to go to and see which classes in your program you can CLEP out. Then decide if you know enough on that subject to CLEP test out of that subject. BAMM instant credit. I took something like 14 tests and passed them all. They are fairly easy if you can do well on a SAT test.

I also took about 6 community college classes (cause they were cheaper) for my degree. Originally I was going to Regis University in Colorado but was 6 classes shy of finishing when I got out of the military. Moved back to Texas and swiched schools to Park University and finished there. A couple CLEPS and previous courses didn't count for jack or double counted for the wrong category. I took History for example in Regis to fill up my Social Studies requirements and CLEP'd out of Humanities. However, Park counted all History as Humanities and so I got like 18 hours in Humanities for my Park degree when I only needed 6. I had to take a few more Social Studies classes (one of which netted me that dumb "B" grade).

I will say this, unless you have a degree or a long track record from tons of years of REAL job experience, like 10+ with tons of references, then the chances of you getting hired for a computer job are next to nothing. Once I had my degree, it was cake to get a job. Put my resume up on monster and within 3 days had myself a new job at $50K a year in SA (which is on par to $80K per year in SF when living expenses are considered).

As for my current job, it's bleh. Some days are good and other days are not so good. When I finish a few things with this company I'm likely to move on within this year or so. Jumping ship from a company that you've been with for a year or less never looks good on a resume.

 

[archcommus]

Well what all can CS encompass besides just programming? What CAN you do with it besides being what people like to call here a "code monkey"?

 

[tami]

Originally posted by: archcommus
Well what all can CS encompass besides just programming? What CAN you do with it besides being what people like to call here a "code monkey"?

you can be a theorist.

computer science is basically combined into two parts: programming and theory.

if you don't want to be a programmer and don't want to crunch numbers all day, your best bet is to study something you like and get a part-time job doing something in an area you plan to gain work experience in.

summer internships are also strongly recommended. if they like you, they may ask you to stick with them summer after summer (increased pay, of course), and possibly for a fulltime job come graduation. :thumbsup:

 

[everman]

Originally CS, but I went over to finance since it's more interesting and the university's business school is very good too. Then law school is next year. Quite a departure from CS and I'm happy with the decision.

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: tami

Originally posted by: archcommus
Well what all can CS encompass besides just programming? What CAN you do with it besides being what people like to call here a "code monkey"?

you can be a theorist.

computer science is basically combined into two parts: programming and theory.

if you don't want to be a programmer and don't want to crunch numbers all day, your best bet is to study something you like and get a part-time job doing something in an area you plan to gain work experience in.

summer internships are also strongly recommended. if they like you, they may ask you to stick with them summer after summer (increased pay, of course), and possibly for a fulltime job come graduation. :thumbsup:

Well what lead you to a job that isn't very related to your CS degree?

 

[HumblePie]

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: tami

Originally posted by: archcommus
Well what all can CS encompass besides just programming? What CAN you do with it besides being what people like to call here a "code monkey"?

you can be a theorist.

computer science is basically combined into two parts: programming and theory.

if you don't want to be a programmer and don't want to crunch numbers all day, your best bet is to study something you like and get a part-time job doing something in an area you plan to gain work experience in.

summer internships are also strongly recommended. if they like you, they may ask you to stick with them summer after summer (increased pay, of course), and possibly for a fulltime job come graduation. :thumbsup:

Well what lead you to a job that isn't very related to your CS degree?

Sorry to answer for someone else but I think I can. Computer Science tends to have many courses in programming specifically but at the same time, you must take many math and plain computer courses that don't neccessarily have that much to do with programming software. In this respect a CS major tends to be the jack of all trades with computers, if they are good in their coursework, and can fill any computer related position. A CS major can be a cable jockey or a database admin, or tester, or QA, or CM, or technician, or whatever in addition to being a programmer. A CIS or MIS major tends to be more specific in their roles. You don't usually see alot of CIS majors doing a whole lot of programming. Not to say they don't, they just don't usually do a whole lot if at all. What they do tend to code is scripts and stuff depending on what kind of job they get. Then again, going MIS, tends to put you on the track for management and handling people that are very techinically oriented. Many MIS people I know, while somewhat technically oriented and can do some computer work, are really all that great at working with technical jobs. Very few can program in my experience.

If you are looking for something a little different but still get to work with computers, might I suggest a double E? EE (or electrical engineers) tend to also take many of the same compute programming courses (not all but enough) as computer science majors while having to take the same math and their own electrical and physics courses that aren't exactly needed by CS majors. I work with 3 electrical engineers and they mostly do computer programming, like myself, but they also do a bit more with the analysis work and figuring out WHY. There's a difference. You see, if someone came to me and asked me to write code for a project and spelled out the parameters or requirements they wanted, I can do it no sweat. However, that just makes me a coding peon. I don't neccassarily know everything behind what I'm coding just that I can. For example, I do code behind 3D model simulations, GUI, and databases and such. Now while I can CODE stuff to interact with each other in a 3D model simulation, that doesn't mean I know WHY they interact the ay they do. Well I usually do because I go out of my way to learn but many other coders I know do not because it's not needed to get the job done. Think of me as a car mechanic for computer software. Tell me what the parts are and I'll put together a car. Ask me to design one from scratch that can do 300 mph and run off toilet paper and you are barking up the wrong tree.

 

[crazeinc]

It's all bull$hit anyways, you just need to get a degree to get your foot in the door. What happens after your first job has almost nothing to do with what happened in college.