6 answers
Anthony
Student
Youngstown, Ohio
1
Question
Asked
1210 views
What is the hardest part of getting to be and being a graduate with a Computer Science degree
I like to work hard and and i love technology
Im the type of person that doesn't like to wait for people to do things for me if i can do myself I'd rather do it myself .
#computer-science #technology
Login to comment
6 answers
Daniel Sinn
Software Engineer
3
Answers
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Updated
Daniel’s Answer
Since you wrote "I like to work hard and and i love technology," it sounds like you already have the two of, in my opinion, the biggest hurdles in getting a degree for most students: discipline and motivation. However, given how many different classes a comp sci student must take, there's a good chance that some of them may be less interesting and less related to technology than you'd like. As others have mentioned, some of the requirements in the program (they're typically heavy on math) can be a drag, but it's very important to stay focused on your goal and graduate, preferably with as high a GPA as you're capable of to keep your options open.
What worries me a bit is that you wrote "Im the type of person that doesn't like to wait for people to do things for me if i can do myself I'd rather do it myself," because while in one respect it could be interpreted it as "I'm highly independent," it could also be interpreted as "I'm bad at collaboration." You will likely have group projects in university, and in the workforce there aren't that many positions that let you just do everything by yourself. Splitting up the work and playing nicely with others is quite important, at least in the long term. In some of my group projects, we all had to grade the others' performances, so don't be the person who goes rogue and makes everybody dislike them.
Other than that, the typical skills of time management, taking useful notes, reviewing the important stuff, realizing when to seek help, etc., which you've hopefully already learned in secondary school.
One thing I wanted to mention as an aside: during your university studies you'll want to not only graduate but also learn useful things. There are plenty of extra-curricular activities and research opportunities in which you can partake to get more out of the experience. Just don't overextend and do too much: make sure you're doing well enough to obtain high grades because, generally speaking, the degree is the safest way to get into the workforce for technology.
Once you've graduated, the IT job market nowadays is actually quite good, so I wouldn't say there's anything particularly difficult about "being a graduate with a Computer Science degree." Perhaps landing that first job takes a bit of patience, but you just need to be patient and prepare well for job interviews just like virtually everybody else.
What worries me a bit is that you wrote "Im the type of person that doesn't like to wait for people to do things for me if i can do myself I'd rather do it myself," because while in one respect it could be interpreted it as "I'm highly independent," it could also be interpreted as "I'm bad at collaboration." You will likely have group projects in university, and in the workforce there aren't that many positions that let you just do everything by yourself. Splitting up the work and playing nicely with others is quite important, at least in the long term. In some of my group projects, we all had to grade the others' performances, so don't be the person who goes rogue and makes everybody dislike them.
Other than that, the typical skills of time management, taking useful notes, reviewing the important stuff, realizing when to seek help, etc., which you've hopefully already learned in secondary school.
One thing I wanted to mention as an aside: during your university studies you'll want to not only graduate but also learn useful things. There are plenty of extra-curricular activities and research opportunities in which you can partake to get more out of the experience. Just don't overextend and do too much: make sure you're doing well enough to obtain high grades because, generally speaking, the degree is the safest way to get into the workforce for technology.
Once you've graduated, the IT job market nowadays is actually quite good, so I wouldn't say there's anything particularly difficult about "being a graduate with a Computer Science degree." Perhaps landing that first job takes a bit of patience, but you just need to be patient and prepare well for job interviews just like virtually everybody else.
Raya Fratkina
Engineering Manager
13
Answers
Nashua, New Hampshire
Updated
Raya’s Answer
Hi Anthony
If you love technology and are willing to work, it may be a great option for you.
You will need to take math classes (typically beyond calculus) and the basics of physics. The most important knowledge you will need to gain is a solid understanding of logic and algorithms. Learning to be a good software engineer takes time and you need to be willing to listen to feedback and keep improving. Perhaps that is the hardest thing to get there.
Technology is changing really fast, so I think the hardest thing about being a professional software engineer is that your learning is never done - you have to be constantly picking up new skills, new languages, new frameworks.
A few additional tips:
1) tools are important. Take the time to really learn your SDE (software development environment) since it will help you be much faster and better coder.
2) comments are crucial. A code you wrote a year ago will be incomprehensible even to yourself without comments.
3) software is a team sport. It takes a large group of people to produce a successful product. Don't forget the soft skills - you will need them, I promise.
Best of luck!
Raya
If you love technology and are willing to work, it may be a great option for you.
You will need to take math classes (typically beyond calculus) and the basics of physics. The most important knowledge you will need to gain is a solid understanding of logic and algorithms. Learning to be a good software engineer takes time and you need to be willing to listen to feedback and keep improving. Perhaps that is the hardest thing to get there.
Technology is changing really fast, so I think the hardest thing about being a professional software engineer is that your learning is never done - you have to be constantly picking up new skills, new languages, new frameworks.
A few additional tips:
1) tools are important. Take the time to really learn your SDE (software development environment) since it will help you be much faster and better coder.
2) comments are crucial. A code you wrote a year ago will be incomprehensible even to yourself without comments.
3) software is a team sport. It takes a large group of people to produce a successful product. Don't forget the soft skills - you will need them, I promise.
Best of luck!
Raya
Eric Yager
Consultant
19
Answers
Canton, Michigan
Updated
Eric’s Answer
I'll focus on the "being a graduate ..." part of your question.
I would say the hardest part of having a CS degree is keeping yourself current. To put things in perspective, I've been out of school for 35 years now and I go back to punchcard and Cobol. It goes without saying we are in a field that has seen a lot of change, and the pace of that change continues to accelerate. You have to dedicate yourself to lifelong learning and do everything you can to stay on top of emerging technologies. You have to remain curious and eager to learn new things. You have to be comfortable stepping into something new where you might not be an expert yet. You have to be able to discern which new tech is really going to have an impact vs. fads that will be gone soon. And most of all, you have to love what you do, because that makes all the rest easy!
Good luck,
Eric
I would say the hardest part of having a CS degree is keeping yourself current. To put things in perspective, I've been out of school for 35 years now and I go back to punchcard and Cobol. It goes without saying we are in a field that has seen a lot of change, and the pace of that change continues to accelerate. You have to dedicate yourself to lifelong learning and do everything you can to stay on top of emerging technologies. You have to remain curious and eager to learn new things. You have to be comfortable stepping into something new where you might not be an expert yet. You have to be able to discern which new tech is really going to have an impact vs. fads that will be gone soon. And most of all, you have to love what you do, because that makes all the rest easy!
Good luck,
Eric
Michael T
Software Engineer
6
Answers
United States
Updated
Michael’s Answer
Some difficulties of becoming/being a CS graduate that I've experienced... Hopefully this is helpful!
Becoming a CS graduate:
- More difficult classes (similar to other STEM students).
- Potentially more competition to get into the major if it is impacted at your school.
- It can be difficult to find your passion/specialty within the wide scope of Computer Science (Computer Vision, Artificial Intelligence, Human Computer Interaction, etc.).
- You may experience a lack of diversity in the CS field in general which can be discouraging for some.
- Your school's career center and counselors may not be able to give you advice for tech specific career questions.
- Sometimes you feel like you are simultaneously doing too much work and too little work... Sometimes you may feel imposter syndrome. There are many hard working and smart students that enter CS.
Being a CS graduate:
- Job interviewers like to see side projects on your resume, so depending on the role, you may need to do some hobby projects outside of classes/work to remain competitive.
- Preparing for a technical interview is like studying for a final!
- Depending on your role you may be expected to keep up with the latest technologies.
- In CS classes, you may learn a lot of theoretical knowledge, rather than practical skills that can be applied as a software developer. The industry may also be moving faster than your school's curriculum. You may need to fill this gap on your own.
Becoming a CS graduate:
- More difficult classes (similar to other STEM students).
- Potentially more competition to get into the major if it is impacted at your school.
- It can be difficult to find your passion/specialty within the wide scope of Computer Science (Computer Vision, Artificial Intelligence, Human Computer Interaction, etc.).
- You may experience a lack of diversity in the CS field in general which can be discouraging for some.
- Your school's career center and counselors may not be able to give you advice for tech specific career questions.
- Sometimes you feel like you are simultaneously doing too much work and too little work... Sometimes you may feel imposter syndrome. There are many hard working and smart students that enter CS.
Being a CS graduate:
- Job interviewers like to see side projects on your resume, so depending on the role, you may need to do some hobby projects outside of classes/work to remain competitive.
- Preparing for a technical interview is like studying for a final!
- Depending on your role you may be expected to keep up with the latest technologies.
- In CS classes, you may learn a lot of theoretical knowledge, rather than practical skills that can be applied as a software developer. The industry may also be moving faster than your school's curriculum. You may need to fill this gap on your own.
Ravindra J
Technical Support
49
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Ravindra’s Answer
Lured by the prospect of high-salary, high-status jobs, college students are rushing in record numbers to study computer science.
Now, if only they could get a seat in class.
On campuses across the country, from major state universities to small private colleges, the surge in student demand for computer science courses is far outstripping the supply of professors, as the tech industry snaps up talent. At some schools, the shortage is creating an undergraduate divide of computing haves and have-nots — potentially narrowing a path for some minority and female students to an industry that has struggled with diversity.
Now, if only they could get a seat in class.
On campuses across the country, from major state universities to small private colleges, the surge in student demand for computer science courses is far outstripping the supply of professors, as the tech industry snaps up talent. At some schools, the shortage is creating an undergraduate divide of computing haves and have-nots — potentially narrowing a path for some minority and female students to an industry that has struggled with diversity.
Stephanie Landry
Director of Technolgy
2
Answers
Marietta, Georgia
Updated
Stephanie’s Answer
In my opinion, the hardest part of achieving the Computer Science degree is all the extra Math work which needs to be mastered. Make enough time to study, take notes, and study your notes for a full and clear understanding. A lot of the advanced Math learned during the degree work really IS used in real-life, although that may not seem a reality, it is.
My suggestion for you currently is to try and be specific in the career goals you want and align it to your degree. I also enjoy having full control of my job tasks and do not like to depend on others as a requirement to get the job done. Luckily, you will learn a few different programming languages and with the right real-world application, you should be able to can automate some of the work to remove the need for others' input. Automation also increases accuracy and productivity, so WinWin!
My suggestion for you currently is to try and be specific in the career goals you want and align it to your degree. I also enjoy having full control of my job tasks and do not like to depend on others as a requirement to get the job done. Luckily, you will learn a few different programming languages and with the right real-world application, you should be able to can automate some of the work to remove the need for others' input. Automation also increases accuracy and productivity, so WinWin!