AM I horribly screwed?

[SKORPI0]

as long as you can get a CS degree you can get a job.

:whiste: How can that be a guarantee? experience>degree.

2.6 GPA, McDonalds is ready for you.

 

[jhu]

There's always medical school. Once you graduate, find a job, enter a post-bac program, then get into medical school, then start bitching about the long study hours, massive debt, and no time for partying.

 

[shortylickens]

College is overrated.

Experience > Degree

I have experience and cant find work.

 

[kyrax12]

You can recover. After my first year in ME I had a 2.8GPA or so. I slowly increased it and graduated with a 3.55 cumulative and 3.7 in major. My junior year was my best, where I had a 18-credit 3.91 and 19-credit 4.0 - those two really boosted me.

But I worked my ass off... I was hitting the books every day, and maybe slept like 5 hours a day tops to fit in gym, social, and etc. I was so addicted to caffeine... But it paid off. Now I'm getting paid to go school.

Edit: And LOL at jhu.

I go to a community college though. If I graduate with a 2.6.. how can I get into computer science programs at the university I am transferring too?

Am I so out of luck that I am fucked?

 

[RavenSEAL]

I go to a community college though. If I graduate with a 2.6.. how can I get into computer science programs at the university I am transferring too?

Am I so out of luck that I am fucked?

One word:

Retake

 

[the DRIZZLE]

In fact what it sounds like you're afraid of most is work, hence the GPA.I don't think the OP has 20 years experience.

OK let's get real, boys and girls. If OP is pulling a 2.6 at community college the last thing he needs is the rigor of a bachelor's in CS.True in my experience, nobody has ever given a sh*t. If I were asked now I'd laugh.

OP you could look at a trade or something, or try the non-degree route, but in certain professions the lack of one would hurt you, but you could always get on later perhaps.

See if you can get into a non-bachelor's program to become a registered nurse. You could also become an LPN and then work toward that. It's a profession considered by most as quite secure, growing, hard to outsource. Pay is fairly decent.

Yup, the OP needs to do some soul searching. Two and half years isn't one bad semester, you've been doing shitty for a while. If you performed that poorly in CC I have to question if you can handle a real BS program and the admissions committees will as well.

 

[kyrax12]

One word:

Retake

I can only retake classes I get a D or a F on in my community college.

C or above is out of the question.

 

[Mixolydian]

College is overrated.

Experience > Degree

Quite the opposite.

 

[RavenSEAL]

I can only retake classes I get a D or a F on in my community college.

C or above is out of the question.

Then do it. You replace 1 F and your GPA easily kicks up to a 2.8-2.9.

 

[kyrax12]

Then do it. You replace 1 F and your GPA easily kicks up to a 2.8-2.9.

The thing is, is that I don't have any D's or F's.

 

[Cerb]

Right now I think I have a 2.6 GPA from the 2 and a half year of community college I been going to.

I was thinking of majoring in Computer science.

Is it a community college that weeds people out for real colleges in the area, and/or competes with them? I found that out when trying to get tutoring for my poor GPA (which, I might add, I turned around, no thanks to a cruel taskmaster of a math prof pushing us through what the other colleges were taking twice the semesters for ).

If not, then why the low GPA? If no failing grades, something is definitely up, like maybe a lack of focus.

Am I horribly screwed. I just want a major with decent job security.

:biggrin: Good one. Sorry, but only government employees with seniority, but that can't be forced into early retirement, have that luxury. You know, great recession and all that.

What I am afraid of the most is that I can't find a job.

Your degree will be no better than the other 50 applicants' degrees. What will you have to compliment that degree, that won't look like made-up BS on your resume? What methods do you have to network, which is how most people actually get jobs?

 

[Tiamat]

you are not horribly screwed. I have a buddy that just couldnt get good grades if his life depended on it. 2.1 GPA computer engineering degree. The one thing he was good at is what got him awesome high paying positions.

Networking with people. He was able to talk with future employers and show them what he was capable of and how it was relevent to what they needed at the time before even submitting a resume. They offer him a job, and then his GPA comes up and they just joke about it and shrug it off.

If you aren't good with networking with people, you don't have a fighting chance. Submit resume, the HR person sees your GPA and throws your resume into the trash. End of sad story.

 

[kyrax12]

Is it a community college that weeds people out for real colleges in the area, and/or competes with them? I found that out when trying to get tutoring for my poor GPA (which, I might add, I turned around, no thanks to a cruel taskmaster of a math prof pushing us through what the other colleges were taking twice the semesters for ).

If not, then why the low GPA? If no failing grades, something is definitely up, like maybe a lack of focus.
:biggrin: Good one. Sorry, but only government employees with seniority, but that can't be forced into early retirement, have that luxury. You know, great recession and all that.

Your degree will be no better than the other 50 applicants' degrees. What will you have to compliment that degree, that won't look like made-up BS on your resume? What methods do you have to network, which is how most people actually get jobs?

you're right.

The lacked of focus and my stupidity constituted my low GPA.

I want to know if I can atleast get into an entry level computer science position

 

[Farang]

If you have projects / internships you can point to your degree becomes irrelevant as a topic for discussion. The GPA won't matter and it will be more a sign of you having a solid understanding of fundamentals that hackers don't.

 

[chusteczka]

Starting your own business and working for yourself is the only job security worth squat these days. If you go to work for someone else, you will not have job security.

-KeithP

Starting your own business does not create job security. There are many large risks in starting a business that can easily lead to a failed business.

Job security is obtained by earning skills the market needs. For example, engineers can do just about anything anywhere and are always in demand. Those people without marketable skills cry about job security. These are the same people that get only a 2.6 GPA in college.

 

[chusteczka]

I want to know if I can atleast get into an entry level computer science position

Yes, you can. But first you have to get accepted to a 4-year college or university that will teach you the skills you need to get such a position. Then you will need to study, learn, and graduate from the program.

An engineering program is probably out of your reach. However, there are other ways of getting into a programming position.

You could find a college/university that provides a non-engineering computer science program. Most likely from a second or third tier school, as I mentioned before. There is no problem with this realization. I know some very good programmers from second and third tier schools. These schools will teach the basics with less competition that will provide the student with less stress and a better focused mind to learn the material.

A second option is a business Management Information Systems (MIS) program.

A third option is to study another subject of your choosing and take enough computer science or programming classes to earn a minor.

Any business subject paired with programming will work well; as will foreign languages, english, philosophy, geography, and any other program that teaches a skill. You just need to focus, work hard, and learn.


EDIT:
Please note that I am not equating computer science with programming. Computer science is highly theoretical in nature. Engineering puts that theory to use in creating things to work for us. Programming uses tools created by computer scientists and engineers to get a job done.

I expect you will be going in the programming direction. There is nothing wrong with this and there are many jobs available in this area for people of a wide variety of skills able to write code in a language used within their focused area.

 

[Texashiker]

Starting your own business and working for yourself is the only job security worth squat these days. If you go to work for someone else, you will not have job security.

-KeithP

The only financial security these days is having multiple income streams.

Working for yourself is not job security, most people have no idea how to run a business. And a vast majority of small businesses fail within a year.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Put the whole concept of "job security" out of your head, forget you ever heard those words.

Focus on "financial security", and not "job security". Job security means you are sub-servant to some kind of job. Financial security means you are not sub-servant.

When you have financial security, if you lose your job, your lifestyle is barely affected.