College Decisions

Hey Fakkuers! So, I took a year off after High School before starting College to get some things settled. While I've already taken my ACT, applied to the College I'm going to, and started working in order to pay for it. The problem I've had is deciding on a Major and a Minor. What I think I'd like to do for now is to start working towards a Degree involving computer programming along with a Minor in Landscaping (Pretty far off from each other but it's two things I know very well.)

My question though is what would a Major involving programming go towards? How much work should be put into this to make it happen and are there any works branching out from the subject. Any answers or discussion on the topic would be appreciated.

Thanks!
-Nathan

Programming is a very, very valuable skill to have. And depending on the language, it can have amazing bonuses. The most common and beneficial language to learn is C++. It's a step up from C, which is a base language and the skills you get from that can easily transfer over to learning java, C#, HTML, or pretty much any programming language for that matter. Structure tends to be the same, it's just a difference of syntax.

Now the main question to ask yourself, is what do you want to do for a living. I attended college where I studied programming, creative writing, art, and many other things for the sole reason that I wanted to design video games.

If you want to talk about making money especially in video games, nobody makes more than the programmers unless you are the head of the company. Because it's a highly technical field to be in. You can be anywhere from script writing for quests (not really technical for programming) to back end rendering (very technical) and designing tools and all kinds of stuff.

You pick where you want to be, but if you want recommendations, like I said, C++ is the place to start. From there if you like technicality, I would suggest learning some DirectX programming either in class or on your own. You can easily pick up a few other languages along the way, like flash to make some simple games and websites.

If you join a big company having a main focus in C++ will go a very long way, for smaller companies, doing things on your own time like learning other languages will give a HUGE advantage. I suggest though learning DirectX along with C++ because it will give you that insight into how graphics are drawn on the screen.

This is only from a video game point of view. I haven't even touched on what you can do with SQL langauges, which can lead to networking jobs, or maybe general programming, you can design the next word program, custom tax software, book apps, or any mobile app.

There is only 2 limitations on programming, hardware and imagination. And both can be surpassed. I can rant on forever about programming, and I'm a drop out who flunked out. But I've still gotten into the tech industry, and loved the people I got to meet.

Biggest thing I have to say on all this, don't let school be your primary source of information for programming. Because books are made by people with their existing knowledge, the tech industry is constantly changing and even your teachers are behind on their knowledge. If it's something you want to do, practice at home every chance you get, and reach out to people who are in the industry, there are plenty of them that will gladly help you out, like myself.

Programming huh? There's a lot that falls under it. Could be anything from writing software and coding for computers to some networking fields, which is what im doing. If you want more on the gameing side they have a bunch of openings for game-devs at different companies. And they make a good bit of money. Read around. Thats how i decided i wanted to be an Networking Tech

OP if you're interested in programming professionally major in computer science or software engineering. CS is the industry standard. Just about anyone can learn to program, even if they're not cut out for it. Programming is not difficult. The difference between someone who learned how to program and a person who has studied CS is significant though. CS students learn about systematic problem solving as a whole rather than just finding a solution.

To elaborate, let's think about a simple problem: You want to sort a list of numbers in ascending order. Any programmer can think about about it for a bit and come up with a simple naive bubble sort algorithm. Or even better, they'll just say hey my programming language has a library that does this, I can just call that sorting method and I'm done! A computer scientist is still thinking though. He's looking at the data because he wants to know its "shape". He's looking at the sorting strategy because he thinks it can be done faster. He cares about minor things, like what should be done if two elements have the same value. If their order need not be preserved, he can use a different strategy than what he'd choose if they did. That might not sound interesting but here's the bottom line: what if your list of numbers is a billion values long? What does the naive programmer do to make it better? The computer scientist knows how to analyze the problem and make an appropriate optimization, in fact if he understood well enough he'll have designed an appropriate solution on his first try.

This is what CS is all about, learning about different problems and how to solve them. In fact programming is a fairly small part of what CS students learn. That might sound ludicrous but it's more or less true. But the key difference is understanding the problem. A good software developer needs to understand things like this because it really does matter. Going back to the above problem, sorting a billion numbers with bubble sort will take you months on your blazing fast 5GHz overclocked PC. The computer scientist's optimized solution will take a minute or two on a slower machine. I'm not even exaggerating. That kind of difference is huge and it's probably why CS is the industry standard.

As for Software Engineering, I'm honestly not sure about what they study. From what I've read they're more about learning industry practices, like how an actual software development team operates. It's not the same as CS but it might eliminate some need for training that a CS graduate might need to get up to speed. Just remember what I said about problem solving though. That's extremely important to being an efficient developer. Being efficient is almost the same as saving money and resources = more profit for your company.

I'd say really do your research on your major and minor to see what direction you feel you want to go into.

I don't know anything about your field(s) but when I chose my major for college I went for something that looked interesting and that I felt I wanted to do with my life.

Ended up choosing nursing and worked my ass off for it. Even after I graduated I worked hard to get my job and now it's payed off. There are no guarantee's that you will enjoy your major or you will keep up with it when you get close to graduating/graduate, but that is why you really have to think about your life and goals. Take points in your down time to re-evaluate your choices and to either reaffirm the choices you've made or change what you feel is not working.

If you find that you are not happy with your career choice (not the classes or the work unless you just totally suck at it) then change immediately or at the best available time. Either that or graduate with a degree and go back to school.

School work isn't easy, but if you feel like "this is what I want to do with my life" and really push to achieve your goals you can do it. I sucked at school myself but I am passionate about my field so I just sucked it up and passed. Still have points I hate my job but I love my field and am working towards a position that will make me happy.

First off, awesome! It's very rare to see people who take off time from school right after high school to get back into the school mindset. So you're already well off in the dedication department.

You'll need it if you want to get in to computer programming. Learning C, java, python etc are not very difficult individually, it just takes a lot of work and practice. The rewards are limitless. With programming at your disposal, you can literally do anything. App development for mobile devices, game programming, robotics and automation, graphic design, animation, web developing...basically anything that involves a computer.

I guess I didn't quite get into what the CS program actually entails with my previous post. CS is probably closer to math than it is programming. You don't really need it very often but you'll probably have to take at least up to Calculus II. You'd also have to do stuff in discrete math, logic, probability and some other stuff. If you get into any security topics e.g. encryption you'd have to learn modular arithmetic. All of this stuff is much easier than advanced math/physics but isn't exactly trivial either. But it can also be very boring. You have been warned!

This isn't to say that there isn't any programming. You should expect to do at least one non-trivial programming project every other class. I've built my own BitTorrent client for example (most schools don't have you do this). It all depends on which school you attend so talk to some people and get some info before jumping in.

CS isn't exactly easy but if you study and are motivated it's not really that challenging. Again most job postings for software will look for a CS degree.

Thanks guys! I really appreciate all the replies and advice!

You can go one of a few different ways.

First you can go into the field that looks to be on the upward slope. This tends to be anything with computers; programming, information systems, computer science.
Secondly you can just pick what you feel you would good at and will like. EX. If you are a good writer and want to expand upon it then english major would be best.
Lastly you really can just show up and not decide a major in your first year. Usually first and even second year of college is bogus and basic classes. Let alone you can easily change a major after a year if you wanted.

A minor degree you really can pick out in your junior year since to get it is usually easier than getting a major.

do you have to declare before you start, or can you take your prerecs before?

Normal English text:

College sucks. Trust me all you need to do is study, study, and study. I mean where's the fun of that if that certain course for the college is not appropriate for your liking. All you need to do is to find the right course for you to sustain your abilities then you need to work hard for it because that's the course you want. Or why don't ya'll become a gangster and go to the westside (westcoast) and let's kill some pimps. Pretty easy actually. Fuck programming if you can be an O.G.

Gangsta English text:

College sucks. Trust me all you need ta do is study, study, n' study. I mean wherez tha funk of dat if dat certain course fo' tha college aint appropriate fo' yo' likin fo' realz. All you need ta do is ta find tha right course fo' you ta sustain yo' abilitizzles then you need ta work hard fo' it cuz thatz tha course you want. Or why don't ya'll become a gangsta n' git all up in tha westside (westcoast) n' letz bust a cap up in some pimps. Pretty easy as fuck actually. Fuck programmin if you can be a O.G.

That's why I cannot go to college, it's against my nature just like that mate. Those asshole ISIS making people go to their side is already screwed up so it's time to be American Sneeper. Actually, I'll just play some more paintball. Australia doesn't even have guns but our soldiers are quite at a high level compared to many countries.

Normal English text:

Hahahahahaha told ya college sucks as fuck

Gangsta English text:

Hahahahahaha holla'd at ya college sucks as fuck

I'm in my last year as a Software Engineering major w/ a minor in Applied Human Factors. Here are some answers to some of your questions.

* The software field is massive and programming is important to all parts of the field, general knowledge of programming will help you do a better job even if you never code.
* Parts of the field include: planning, writing code, maintaining code, testing, management, requirements, etc. So there is a lot more to a CS(Computer Science, more about theory) or SE(Software Engineering, more practical) degree than just writing code.
* How much work/effort depends on which college you are going to, how well you can program, how well you grasp concepts and apply them, and how well you can think logically.
* My best advice is: do what interests you, I switched majors after my first year.

Best of Luck,
-A Fellow Programmer