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why did you choose coputer science?

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Thank you comment icon Hey Christine, While I will answer the question, it’ll be great if you can elaborate on your question more. I say this because everyone has their own path in life and there’ll a be unique answer from everyone. The reason why you chose something would be unique to you, your life goals, your experiences, and, your gut. Are you looking for recommendations on how you can make the choice? Or is it something else? Gautam Madaan
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Dana’s Answer

Hi there! I have a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science.

When I was in highschool I wasn't sure what I wanted to do as a career. What drove me to choose Computer Science was the fact that I was always interested in how the Web works and how a computer is assembled. It was magic for me back then and it was very fun to be able to use all the opportunities that the Internet gave me. I used to help others do different tasks using their computer.
I felt the need to have a stable career and one in which I could use the computer daily, because I thought that technologies were going to evolve more (they surely did).
I also liked the advantage of having a shorter degree than it is needed in other careers (like becoming a doctor, for instance).
After I started coding, I discovered I enjoyed the small victories in solving a problem correctly or applying algorithms and I just kept on going.
I was never the best at maths but I tried to work on it , while focusing on Computer Science.

At college, I continued to learn and I managed to land some internships that really helped me develop.

What I didn't know and I wish I did:
1. CS (Computer science) in highschool is much different than CS in college (much more complex)
2. CS in college is much different than CS in real-life, far-reaching projects and companies. (much more complex)
However, they all start from the things you learn during highschool. You know have the time to learn all the base concepts that you'll need as a CS student and as an engineer.
3. If you want to study Computer Science and if you want to work at a big company like Google, Amazon, etc. you should start learning algorithms and solving coding problems from highschool or first year of college. It will help A LOT!

If you want to approach this path, you can start by thinking what you enjoy doing that is related to computers. Does assembling a computer feel interesting to you? Do you want to know how the Web works? Do you enjoy solving problems that use algorithms?

I've left some next steps for you to get going! Please let me know if you have any other questions and good luck! <3

Dana recommends the following next steps:

Take up an online course that explains the basic concepts of programming or computers.
If you learned any programming language at school, start coding and solving problems on websites like Leetcode or Hackerrank (there are plenty of websites like them).
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Gautam’s Answer

I had different parameters at different stages of life.
Everything started off when I used a windows PC for the first time when I was 6 or 7. I was mesmerized by how movement of the mouse changed the location of a pointer on the screen.
When the time came to pick a major, I was confused between biology and computers because I had a good acumen for both of them. I chatted with a few people who had taken either major and chose computers because I could start earning good money just after 4 years of under grad. Being financially independent sooner and curiosity to learn computers since childhood just fit in perfectly.

After working for couple of years at a software company, the whole process of software application development just got me going every single time. It got me excited and I loved building software products with a team. That’s when I decided that I wanted to pursue my masters in Software Engineering.

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any questions 🙂

Cheers!
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David’s Answer

Hi Christine. As a kid, I was introduced to computers and programming at an early age. My parents made sure that I always had access to the technology. Even so, I didn't initially go into college as a computer science major, for reasons I'm not entirely sure of. But out of interest, I ended up using my electives to take computer science courses. Even then, a career in computer science didn't occur to me.
Then during my first job (non-technical) after college, I found myself solving problems I was facing by writing software. It was then that someone I loved (my wife) said... "why the heck aren't you in a technical job?" So I went back to school and got my computer science degree. And that was that.
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Prashanth’s Answer

I chose computer science for my under grad engineering because it was the most sought after course in India back in 1991. There were lot of opportunities opening up around as a career. This is true even today.
I strongly recommend to pursue education on topics and subject that you like and not follow what everybody thinks or wants you to do.
Computer science is a vast subject and if you are good at problem solving, computer programming, technology understanding and if it is your passion to know more on these topics and if you enjoy doing it, then do pursue computers as your majors.

Prashanth recommends the following next steps:

pick up a programming language and do an online course on it
Create you own programs and see if you can solve a problem or provide a solution with your coded program
Study a technology through online by searching on it on the web and see if you are able to find all your answers
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