I'm hyped to start college, majoring in CS, am I insane?

[spanky]

you're majoring in Counter-Strike?

 

[PrincessGuard]

<< hey PrincessGuard, i'm going to be transferring into the UC Davis Comp Sci program next fall (the letters and science program, not the engineering one)... you say only about 20 units is for programming? any idea what the rest are? anything interesting??? >>



The rest are computer theory e.g. algorithm design, computer architecture, operating systems, computer graphics, networking, AI, etc. Most of them require programming but don't focus on it. The only pure programming courses are ECS30 (C), 40 (C++), 50 (assembly), 140A (various languages), 140B (various languages).

 

[yoda291]

<<

<< hey PrincessGuard, i'm going to be transferring into the UC Davis Comp Sci program next fall (the letters and science program, not the engineering one)... you say only about 20 units is for programming? any idea what the rest are? anything interesting??? >>



The rest are computer theory e.g. algorithm design, computer architecture, operating systems, computer graphics, networking, AI, etc. Most of them require programming but don't focus on it. The only pure programming courses are ECS30 (C), 40 (C++), 50 (assembly), 140A (various languages), 140B (various languages). >>



most of the classes here use programming to teach. Like 100 level is java and data structures, 200 level is C++, assembly, and NachOS, 300 level is algorithms, 400 level is everything from beans,J2EE, servlet API all the way to Microprocessor design and AI.

 

[bmd]

So Comp. Eng. isn't a whole ton of programming? I personally don't like to program too much but plan on majoring in some sort of engineering (possibly EE or Comp E), so that is somewhat of good news for me.

 

[Jumpem]

I'm a third year CS student at RIT. It's been and continues to be rather interesting, but it can definately be a pain in the @ss if your professor is terrible. I can't wait to be done, I'm starting to get tired of it all. Only 40 weeks of co-op and another year of classes.

 

[silent tone]

<< Am I a nut for WANTING to get started on CS? >>


Do you mean the state of the job market or getting the degree? I suspect the market will pick up by the time you're out. For the education, you either will like it or not, I guess. I'm sort-of good/like it. I mainly suck at all the EE parts of it.

For me, I just graduated today. Took my last AI test 9 hours ago and I'm finally done. I never thought I'd see the day. Right now, I'd advise you to give it a try.

 

[areohbe]

The rest are computer theory e.g. algorithm design, computer architecture, operating systems, computer graphics, networking, AI, etc. Most of them require programming but don't focus on it. The only pure programming courses are ECS30 (C), 40 (C++), 50 (assembly), 140A (various languages), 140B (various languages).

Woohoo... i'm transferring in with C, C++, and Assembly already done... those other courses you mentioned... now THATS what i've been wanting to learn about... not htis programming crap...and i was just about to give up on CS too... guess when i get to Davis i'll start getting interested in it again

 

[geekybear]

enthusiasm is good! majoring in CS is insane only if you really don't want to do it and you don't like to program. doing things that you hate and don't want to do is insane and stupid. i've got a year and a half to go in CS and it's really not that bad. i've accepted that hours in front of the computer and in the books are required to get the degree, so all the time and work doesn't bother me. i've also learned that when you get a programming assignment, you should start the day it's assigned because sometimes ;'s and .'s and i's and j's and }'s can be misplaced and screw up your entire program and actually take hours to find. also, when you get into higher level stuff, be prepared to write code that is around 40 pages when you print it out. however, even on my worst days, i still enjoy coding...or trying to.

 

[geno]

Thank you everyone for the responses! I've gotten a lot of useful input here. I'm someone who's been messing with computers since I was 12 (I'm 18 now), yeah that doesn't say much, but I've dabbled in C++ before, I work first level tech support for an ISP that covers the east coast (2 years now), so I've been broken into networking. I'm by no means a genious, but I'm more than competent when it comes to handling computers. I know I have a LOT ahead of me, I'm just trying to prepare myself

 

[Soybomb]

Better like math and coding. I liked neither, so I promptly left CS. I'm considering going back in about a year for an IT degree since its actually what I enjoy doing, but first I'm trying my hand out at it in the real world just to see what I can do on my own. Its definatley an uphill battle, but so far I enjoy it more than classes in calculus and programming *yawn*. Give me a network security/telecommunications degree and I'm there, otherwise my view is college doesn't offer the degree for just everyone yet.

 

[audiophan]

to summarize: yes

 

[WhiteWonder]

<< you're majoring in Counter-Strike? >>




dang it, i was hoping noone said that

 

[Supahfreak]

When I first saw CS I thought Counter-Strike, man I'm tired...

FreAk

 

[hans007]

i am majoring in CS. i like programming, its fun. Now i was talking to a friend the other day who is an EE. and though we like certain parts of it, if we could start school over i would not major in CS. i've taken a million math and physics classes, and non programming related material. Not to mention i didnt know they had a programming specialization for all the other majors. i coulda been an econ major, coasted, met cute girls, and still programmed. good lord.

oh well, i'm in my 3rd year now and i've finished all the BS classes. so i'm staying now, but i dont think 2 years of those hell classes, was worth it.

 

[S0me1X]

The first semester is the craziest ... glad its over now.