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What are the best and worse parts about studying computer science in college?
I will be attending college, potentially with a computer science major, in the fall of 2022, so I want to understand more about what it is like being a student in this field. #computer-science #college #major
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Ken Meier
Information Security Team Lead | Identity Access Management | MS Cybersecurity | CISSP-ISSMP
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Ken’s Answer
The best parts of studying computer science in college are learning about the many intricacies of the technology which drives our society. If you live on campus you'll have the chance to spend almost unlimited time with others who are also pursuing similar interests. The worst part of studying computer science in college is that it can be very time consuming and challenging major. You'll find yourself studying a lot more than students with easier majors and it's easy to feel like you're missing out of some of the social experiences that others have more time to indulge. It is a well respected course of study though so when you graduate you are likely to have interesting work opportunities.
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Phong’s Answer
The best parts about being a computer science major is that you learn all of the amazing things you can build using code from desktop applications to machine learning software, the possibilities are endless.
The downside of this major is that it can be rather difficult at times, spending countless hours coding to complete a project before its due. But, if you stick with it, you will surely pass your classes and achieve your computer science degree.
Now each college will be different in how they teach their computer science classes, but for mine, the first few computer science classes are aimed to be tough so that they can remove all the students who aren't as dedicated to the field. Do your best to survive those first few classes and then from then on, the difficulty should be consistent from one class to another. You will notice that the further you get into the major, the smaller and smaller your class sizes are. You might start in a classroom of 150 students your freshman year and be in a class of 25 students in your junior year.
When deciding on your elective classes, try to take as many as you can in different fields so you can get a feel for what you want to do after college, whether it be in web development, desktop application development, AI, database management, etc.
Good luck!
The downside of this major is that it can be rather difficult at times, spending countless hours coding to complete a project before its due. But, if you stick with it, you will surely pass your classes and achieve your computer science degree.
Now each college will be different in how they teach their computer science classes, but for mine, the first few computer science classes are aimed to be tough so that they can remove all the students who aren't as dedicated to the field. Do your best to survive those first few classes and then from then on, the difficulty should be consistent from one class to another. You will notice that the further you get into the major, the smaller and smaller your class sizes are. You might start in a classroom of 150 students your freshman year and be in a class of 25 students in your junior year.
When deciding on your elective classes, try to take as many as you can in different fields so you can get a feel for what you want to do after college, whether it be in web development, desktop application development, AI, database management, etc.
Good luck!
Updated
Trajon’s Answer
Best thing about studying Computer Science in college:
Networking for sure. The #1 reason to study this field in college is to connect with people while in college. College is the easiest place career wise that you can make friends, get mentors, find people to build things with for fun, while being able to get advice on how to get a job to potentially earning a 6 figure income in a FAANG type company.
The degree. Their is still a strong incentive to get a degree in the field even if it's not needed, it can help to get a pay raise, it can also help to get more eyes onto your resume. Given that you have work on your portfolio as well, these can be really good indicators that you can get a job.
Best things about studying computer science in general (college or self study, or bootcamp):
This is one of the very few disciplines that is 100% merit based. If you put in the work to make projects, you will get a job. Period. No matter what, even if you go to college, without projects companies will not hire you. You have to show some evidence that you understand the technologies.
Self study and bootcamp wise: You can and do have the potential to be able to study for a few months and earn a significantly higher income. The youtube dream is exaggerated a bit, however it is possible to do what is claimed on youtube. I personally took a portfolio that I built out in a month, with skills that I learned within 1 month and started to apply right away to jobs I was not ready for. I landed myself a volunteer position, which I then took and added to my resume 1 day in and landed my current job with, unironically. I did have skills I learned in college to build up the skills I learned on my own a years later to get to that point, but it is all absolutely project based.
Potential to work remotely: Some people hate this, but I absolutely love it. Being able to work anywhere within reason is a huge advantage for me.
How/Where you learn doesn't matter: Again, everything is merit based. Other disciplines where you go can matter a lot, but in this field it unironically does not matter.
Worst things learning computer science in college:
The cost. The average person pays in college around $30,000 dollars, assuming a 4 year degree going to a state school, which if your paying monthly on for 10 years is $300 a month for 10 years plus interest accumulated with that. If you go to a more prestigous school or out of state, this gets significantly more expensive, to essentially learn the same skills you can learn much cheaper or for free.
The technology. Most people are not job ready by learning coding skills from college alone. You will need to do what a self study / bootcamp student does at some point. You do need projects on your portfolio, and you need current skills. There's a really good chance you will not get that in college, as college is mostly theoretical, and the projects where you do have this opportunity to do may be in a tech stack you don't really care about.
Worst parts about learning it in general:
It is absolutely merit based. This is both a pro and con. The pro being as I said earlier, your background doesn't matter, you just have to put in the work. This is also a con however, as through earning a degree for most majors, you do by proxy get industry experience by applying for internships as well as joining relevant clubs around campus. For example, I have a friend in nursing who is currently going through as one of her courses being an intern nurse for one of her clinics, where she is getting real industry experience while earning credit for college. This makes it much easier for when she gets her actual job to say she has experience in the field. It is also much less based on your project background as well. You're more than likely going to be given a chance to at least get to the interview portion if you have some decent level of charisma when talking to HR for a job. For computer science you might not even get that far based on the work you put into your project.
It's also time consuming in general. You have to take the time to learn this stuff no matter how you do it, which is a huge time sync. Other majors are like this as well, but the difference is with compsci you have to study along with also free styling a project as I explained above with it being merit based. Studying in college in particular you will be studying some things you may never use again such as assembly.
Networking for sure. The #1 reason to study this field in college is to connect with people while in college. College is the easiest place career wise that you can make friends, get mentors, find people to build things with for fun, while being able to get advice on how to get a job to potentially earning a 6 figure income in a FAANG type company.
The degree. Their is still a strong incentive to get a degree in the field even if it's not needed, it can help to get a pay raise, it can also help to get more eyes onto your resume. Given that you have work on your portfolio as well, these can be really good indicators that you can get a job.
Best things about studying computer science in general (college or self study, or bootcamp):
This is one of the very few disciplines that is 100% merit based. If you put in the work to make projects, you will get a job. Period. No matter what, even if you go to college, without projects companies will not hire you. You have to show some evidence that you understand the technologies.
Self study and bootcamp wise: You can and do have the potential to be able to study for a few months and earn a significantly higher income. The youtube dream is exaggerated a bit, however it is possible to do what is claimed on youtube. I personally took a portfolio that I built out in a month, with skills that I learned within 1 month and started to apply right away to jobs I was not ready for. I landed myself a volunteer position, which I then took and added to my resume 1 day in and landed my current job with, unironically. I did have skills I learned in college to build up the skills I learned on my own a years later to get to that point, but it is all absolutely project based.
Potential to work remotely: Some people hate this, but I absolutely love it. Being able to work anywhere within reason is a huge advantage for me.
How/Where you learn doesn't matter: Again, everything is merit based. Other disciplines where you go can matter a lot, but in this field it unironically does not matter.
Worst things learning computer science in college:
The cost. The average person pays in college around $30,000 dollars, assuming a 4 year degree going to a state school, which if your paying monthly on for 10 years is $300 a month for 10 years plus interest accumulated with that. If you go to a more prestigous school or out of state, this gets significantly more expensive, to essentially learn the same skills you can learn much cheaper or for free.
The technology. Most people are not job ready by learning coding skills from college alone. You will need to do what a self study / bootcamp student does at some point. You do need projects on your portfolio, and you need current skills. There's a really good chance you will not get that in college, as college is mostly theoretical, and the projects where you do have this opportunity to do may be in a tech stack you don't really care about.
Worst parts about learning it in general:
It is absolutely merit based. This is both a pro and con. The pro being as I said earlier, your background doesn't matter, you just have to put in the work. This is also a con however, as through earning a degree for most majors, you do by proxy get industry experience by applying for internships as well as joining relevant clubs around campus. For example, I have a friend in nursing who is currently going through as one of her courses being an intern nurse for one of her clinics, where she is getting real industry experience while earning credit for college. This makes it much easier for when she gets her actual job to say she has experience in the field. It is also much less based on your project background as well. You're more than likely going to be given a chance to at least get to the interview portion if you have some decent level of charisma when talking to HR for a job. For computer science you might not even get that far based on the work you put into your project.
It's also time consuming in general. You have to take the time to learn this stuff no matter how you do it, which is a huge time sync. Other majors are like this as well, but the difference is with compsci you have to study along with also free styling a project as I explained above with it being merit based. Studying in college in particular you will be studying some things you may never use again such as assembly.