Stick it with CS?

[kpxgq]

i am having a tough time in CS right now (im a freshman at UT Austin).... its kinda fun but not as much as i thought it would be... i was thinking about switching majors but i dont like medical stuff or chem (no bio or pharm), i am only decent at math (no engineering for me), i am good at economics but its boring (no business), only thing i like is computers yet all this programming is getting to me....

have all you older ATers who have already graduated felt liek this in your early years.. does it get better later on?


also is there really a difference between going for the BS or BA.... i want to go with the BA since its calc requirements are less stringent...

 

[minendo]

does UT offer a computer technology degree?

 

[EpsiIon]

Well, CS is definitly better than UT...

 

[kpxgq]

<< does UT offer a computer technology degree? >>




yea... but i want to put in some effort and make big $$$ after college

 

[minendo]

see here at Purdue Universitywe can get cpt (computer technology) degrees and a bunch of other technology based majors (cgt, it, eet, met, cimt). not that i am a technology major, but if you like computers its a way to go to avoid CS. however i am a cpt minor, just to have the computer background on a piece of paper



<< yea... but i want to put in some effort and make big $$$ after college >>



and if all you are out for is money, then maybe you have your priorities mixed up

 

[punkrawket]

i'm about in the same boat, just different school, i'm stickin it out because i'm a freshman

i figure i'll decide later after at least 2 semesters

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

for a minute it looked like folks were arguing over counterstrike/unreal tournament...

 

[NivekC4]

I'm in my third year of CS at UT Austin...I can definately tell you that it will get A LOT harder. If you don't enjoy it now, I suggest you switch. The longer you decide to wait, the more your GPA will probably drop and the harder it will be to change majors.

Although the courses get harder, they do get more interesting.

If you're looking to switch out of the major because it is hard, I have a couple of friends in "medical stuff or chem" and that doesn't look like much fun either. The call is really up to you. The programming will become more intense, especially when you hit CS 315 next semester (assuming you're taking CS 307 currently).

Just don't make the mistake of dropping CS because you think its hard. I won't lie...it's not a walk in the park, but if the right amount of effort is put in, you can succeed.

PM me if you have any more questions, or I'll check this post later.

Hope this helped,

-NivekC4

 

[sinunbeso]

<< i am having a tough time in CS right now (im a freshman at UT Austin).... its kinda fun but not as much as i thought it would be... i was thinking about switching majors but i dont like medical stuff or chem (no bio or pharm), i am only decent at math (no engineering for me), i am good at economics but its boring (no business), only thing i like is computers yet all this programming is getting to me....

have all you older ATers who have already graduated felt liek this in your early years.. does it get better later on?


also is there really a difference between going for the BS or BA.... i want to go with the BA since its calc requirements are less stringent... >>



I am second year in CS now. Awful a lot of people I know changed major after first year but all of them are those who took CS because of the jobs out there.

 

[Uclagamer_99]

i was a cs major for two years at ucla...and now i'm a junior and i'm FINALLY switching out of this...i was in the same predicament as you...but it never got any better for me, i could never get through a quarter without wanting to drop a cs class or a math class for that matter...i figure that you aren't too great at math or physics and i probably shouldn't have applied to the school of engineering here


so this quarter I switched my major to cognitive science...which is kind of a psychology/computer science hybrid here...although you get to avoid much of the actual programming classes

most schools offer majors where you can tack on a "specialization in computers" degree by taking several computer science related courses (at ucla there are a different set of courses than the ones CS majors are forced to take...it is a lot less hardcore then what the engineers have to go through)

good luck on your decision, it might be a good idea to stick it out for at least your freshman year though, you won't be too far behind if you wanted to switch to something else later...most engineers take 5 years to grad. here anyways

 

[lamplighter]

<< Well, CS is definitly better than UT... >>



Hahahhahahahahah nice one, exactly what I was thinking, I thought the thread would be about Counter-Strike.

 

[soccerbud34]

I am in the same boat as you kpxgq.....
I am a 1st year freshman here @ UT ut and CS is <censored> hard here.....
After 2 weeks in 307, i dropped down to 303e...i'll pull off a high B in that class but A will be a reach......

Like you said, i enjoy programming only to a certain extent. I hold a much deeper interest in comp graphics such as that of the crazy stuff they did in Final Fantasy (the movie).
But i don't know, i will stick in CS for couple more semester and where it leads from there.....

 

[cressida]

I would agree with NivekC4, don't give up cause it's hard.. CS can be very intense, but it will pay off in the future, and you won't regret it.

 

[nord1899]

Well my questions to you are like this:

1. What do you find not so fun about Comp Sci?
2. What do you enjoy about Comp Sci?

If you find the answer to #1 is stuff like math, physical sciences, etc... while the answer to #2 is playing around with computers, some programming, etc... then I would suggest finding out about the business side of Comp Sci, often called Management Science/Information Technology/Computer Technology/etc...

 

[UltraQuiet]

How about just a little advice. Don't get a degree in a certain field just for the money. Try to figure out what you want to do and do that. There is nothing worse than going to work every day and just doing the time. Money is important, but I think most people would settle for less money if they truly liked what they were doing. People who like what they are doing are normally better at it than other people and the money takes care of itself. Just my .02$ worth.

 

[Ameesh]

programming is hard, thats why you get paid well to do it. but if you dont like it there is no reason to do it no matter how much money you get.


but ask yourself this, why did you goto a unoivesity if you wanted to learn something easy, you could just sat at home and read a book?

 

[vec]

If you do not enjoy software design and programming then do not pursue it as a degree or career. By enjoy, I mean actually having fun when: presented a problem -> finding a solution -> planning the design -> implementing the solution.

I have many programmer friends who switched careers because in the end they do not enjoy programming (they became programmers because it was a good paying job). It is a career that you can really grow to hate if you do not enjoy doing it. Better to switch majors now than to switch careers later.

As for what other things you can do? I don't know. Take a variety of tech courses and see what floats your boat.

 

[soccerbud34]

Quick question......

If i want to learn about compter graphics, such as making a movies such as Final Fantasy....

What major should i consider?

 

[Uclagamer_99]

Probably something like design...but I highly doubt you would be able to find a career in that unless you had real artistic ability...can you draw? and i mean REALLY DRAW...anyone can draw crap

 

[GhettoFob]

I gave up on CS (actually UCB CS rejected me :|) I'm doing cognitive science right now and I find it a lot more fun and interesting. Like someone else said, it's a hybrid between a few different subjects. I'm emphasizing in computational modelling which is AI and stuff.