Need help deciding on a college major

[MantisMag]

i'm majoring in computer science. have you had any experience with programming? it's not for everybody. it might sound cool to write programs. you might be thinking of video games. but in reality it's all EXTREMELY boring until you get to junior level classes. and those are still boring unless you really love looking at the inner workings of computers. the really interesting stuff isn't until senior year. add to that the fact that the tech job market is real tight right now and you really have to be good at and love computers.

i talked to some IT people and they said that there's still some demand for programmers but you really have to work hard to find a niche in IT. back around 5 years ago qualified programmers could get 6 figure salaries, benefits, and signing bonuses. my dad told me that you could even get a decent paying job just installing software. he thought it was funny because after watching me wrestle with my games to get them configured properly he thought i was more qualified then they were. it was in all the newspapers. so of course everybody went in for computer science. not all of them were qualified of course. cause everybody is just looking at where the money is instead of what they're actually capable of. some of them haven't the foggiest idea how to even use a computer properly. i spend all day on instant messenger and e-mail! i should major in computer science! but all the horror stories of clueless people majoring in CS could be a thread in itself. suffice to say that there are a lot of unqualified CS majors. so they drop out. they go to MIS. they try to find an IT job and find the market flooded with people just like them. they end up jobless. they work at McDonald's. they live in their parent's basement and wonder why their lives suck so much.

moral of the story. unless you have both the aptitude and the love for it. really really REALLY think hard about whether you want to major in computer science.

[InexactMelissa]

Go in undecided - spend some time taking your general education courses and meet and talk to people majoring in different fields. Keep in mind that you won't find a lot of jobs for poly-sci or history majors in the want-ads, and a lot of the computer science jobs are moving overseas right now.

Good luck!!

[Koosh]

I kinda agree with Kevmaster...

When I started at Colorado State, it gives you an option to choose what department you want, then the major... So I went in as College of Natural Sciences, open option, so I didn't get some punk from the Psych department or something like that as my advisor...

[Automaggin2]

Originally posted by MantisMag
i'm majoring in computer science. have you had any experience with programming? it's not for everybody
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I have had 3 programming classes so far, 2 of them were AP

[Restola]

lol, about ATC

I was up shooting some instrument approaches today and talked with one poor controller clearly at her wits-end (I lost track of how many times we were vectored across our final approach course). I later found out she was in training.

It's a stressful job, and you have to deal with a lot of people (some insanely ignorant Joe Citizens, some extremely professional pilots) all at the same time, all wanting things, and all wanting them 5 minutes ago.

Not saying its a bad career choice, I think it would be a blast, but research what you're getting into

That said, be a pilot!

[Restola]

Originally posted by Automaggin2
But most people I know do not have a degree in any of the fields I am interested in.

Finding those people is the hardest part. Can be awkward if you aren't used to meeting people. But talking to 5 people who have been there (exactly where you are now) is worth 5,000 opinions from those who haven't.

Also, going undecided has it's draw backs. You'll be taking lots of classes for things you aren't really interested in. When you pick a major, you will have wasted some time/money on those classes.

I'm really just stating the obvious...that it's best to go in knowing 100% what you want to do and still feeling that way when you graduate, but it's worth thinking about.

[slateman]

If you don't know then you should definatly go in undecided. That shouldn't hurt you in the admissions process.

[Albinonewt]

The Undecided "penalties" depend on a lot on what school you're at. For instance, my school had such a requirement of liberal arts education that you could spend two years going to college without even once taking a course that had anything to do with your major. Also, we had counselers specifically for undeclared majors.

But not all schools are like that. It might be a good idea to see how undeclared works at your school before you decide.

[gimp]

Engineering.

We will always need engineers. I guess computer science is a form of engineering (software engineering). As time goes on, it will be thought of more as a form of engineering. Whatever you do, don't do some stupid liberal arts major. Do something useful.