I am a university student pursuing my bachlors in computer science. I am in the middle of my 2nd term and lately I’ve been wondering if I’m not making a mistake. I got into computer science because there was good money to be made and I’d have good skills for tech jobs when I got out…however, I’ve slowly come to the conclusion that I’m not particulary happy. I don’t feel a particular will to learn the programming courses and thus it’s hard for me to really get up to working on them.
Hell, I don’t mind the math stuff, nor some of the other courses. It’s just the main classes that I have a hard time really being able to get into. However, I’ve been really enjoying some of my electives, particulary the history ones(Not computer history, just history). One of the concepts I’ve been working under is that by doing the computer science work, I’ve been focusing in shoring up my weak points, rather thing my strong points, which are a history/liberal arts, etc.
I’ve been considering one of two options…
Just buckling down and working extra hard to learn the programming stuff.
Changing my major to History and working from there.
I don’t know how hard it would be to change my major, and I keep getting the feeling it is tantamount to breaking down at the merest hint of a challenge, and also that there’s not much one can do with a history degree other then teach. That if I change fields and majors, I will feel that I will have given up. Then again…is it worth me going into a field that I find I have less and less of an interest in?
You could minor in History, so you could take History classes to balance out the tediousness of Computer Science. Though if you really don’t like Computer Science, then you’ll have to decide if the money’s that important to you. If you don’t like learning about it, you’re probably not going to like doing it as a career for the rest of your life.
I studied 3 years of computer science (in a vastly different German system) and over the time lost most interest in my courses but could not decide to change until I was forced to (failed Linear Algebra twice).
Then I chose computational linguistics, even in a different city. Of course this cost me some time, but believe me, it was the best decision I made/was forced to make in years. This differs from person to person, but as soon as I stopped to “believe” in my subject it got much harder and of course less enjoyable. On the other hand now I am interested in everything I do, I enjoy studying and spend as much time as possible at my university.
Of course it depends on how serious your problem with your subject are and how much additional time would be needed to finish.
However if you feel that it will either not end well or that you like an alternative - like history - better and do not want to give that up, then make a decision soon.
Get an overview of the consequences of the change, if necessary plan a little ahead to achieve optimal timing (I know relatively little about the American system.)
Of course ther is good money in computer science but keep in mind that it depends on your performance. No matter how gifted you are, you will always be better at something you are interested in. If you are not very disciplined (I am certainly not) then the difference will be huge. So you are not necessarily better off as a bitter, unmotivated and unaffected computer scientist.
A voice from the distant past – I graduated from college in 1976 with a degree in Religious Studies (or, as my mother spent 4 years saying, “Religious-Studies-Whatever-That-Is”). Whaddya do with that? Nothin’.
Do I regret it? Not at all.
IMHO, college is about learning how to think critically and communicate clearly, not necessarily about mastering a particular subject matter. I realize this is a bizarre, old-fashioned way of looking at things, but so be it.
Even if you can’t accept that – as Yumblie said – if you don’t like studying it after one semester, why the hell would you want to do it for the rest of your life? (Okay, I’m paraphrasing.)
Changing your major shouldn’t be a big deal, just a matter of paperwork (unless you’ve got a scholarship based on your studying CS or something). Talk to your adviser – that’s what s/he’s there for, to advise.
Do not make the mistake of picking a career based on how much money you will be able to make. You should choose your carrer based on what you really like doing or have an intense intrest in. If you do not like programming you will be a lousy programmer and you will not make good money.
It is better to make okay money with a job you look forward going to, because you most likely will not make great money at a job you hate.
Absolutely right. I’d be tempted to say that more than any other major, Computer Science has to be something youre REALLY into. If you dont like it much now, you’re going to have one hell of a time in your last two years.
I’m a CS major (so close to graduating), and I generally dig it. I’m really more of a software engineer than a computer scientist, however, and that is becoming painfully clear in some of these more obtuse (to me) final 400 level classes.
You’re in college to get an education in a field that you would like to make a living in. If you hate it now, youre going to have to hate it for 3 more years, and then hate it for about 30 more after that (and you wont like it any more then either, despite the pay check).
Switching majors isn’t really a big deal. Loads of students do it. Apparently our school has a student on record who switched 9 times before finishing (one of my friends wants to try and top it). The only downside is that it might take you a little longer to finish, though if you’re in your first year I doubt you’d have to worry about that much.
Figure out what you really want to do, and do it. As has been said, if you don’t like it now, you won’t like it when you graduate, and you cant’ do very well in a job you hate. Doing something you enjoy is more worthwhile than doing somethign you hate, even if the pay is potentially better.
Let me add in another factor: The job market for recent CS graduates is currently very weak. You have to be a very strong candidate who’s earned real-world experience in college is going to make the kind of money out of college that you’re looking for. Personally, I don’t think that this will change much for at least a few years.
So really, your one reason for choosing CS, money, isn’t even a good reason right now.
Recent CS grad checking in: don’t bother looking for a job that pays “good money”. Unless of course you have 5-10 years of experience iin a similar job, 10 years experience on Windows 2000, and are already an expert at the company’s proprietary software.
Maybe I’ll just go work at Radio Shack in the mall… haha
