How is the Computer Science Major Like

[revvo]

I like programming and I like this way. I don't have some management analysis dude who does 0 programming telling us how to design and implement a feature.

Analysts who make system models should have a basic knowledge of programming and OO, it's part of our program. Two classes on OO, one on UML and one on practical (Java) to apply the concepts. That's our job, to bridge the gap between management and programmers who can't talk to each other.

Besides, you don't need programming knowledge to design and model features, but we learn it so that we also know how those models turn into implementation models used by programmers.

[Guest]

My experience of studying CS:

Boring & full of nerds. The kind that need to get a new wardrobe, haircut, shave, shower and a woman. It really did broaden my stereotype of nerds.

It may sound stupid to complain that a CS course is full of nerds.. but now I use the word "nerd" in a very degratory manner due to these tossers. NO I am NOT going to hangout with some people who get their laptop out to watch anime in the SU pub and not drink alcohol.

Also there are so few women on my course and none of them are attractive.

The main problem is that it's boring. Really boring. So much is just A-Level stuff again so I'm basically paying 3k a year to be told stuff I've been told before in college -.-

I had an hour lecture on linked lists, then the next week an hour on binary trees. I did exactly that in 30mins in college.

It's also NOT a challenge. People have said it is but for me it's way too easy. Which makes it more boring.

You're better of doing engineering, or a proper science.

If you're in college still, just go a 3rd year there. It's free and you'll likely have a better idea of what you wanna do by the end of it. Plus you'll get more UCAS points which'll help.

[BoredBozirini]

My experience of studying CS:

Boring & full of nerds. The kind that need to get a new wardrobe, haircut, shave, shower and a woman. It really did broaden my stereotype of nerds.

It may sound stupid to complain that a CS course is full of nerds.. but now I use the word "nerd" in a very degratory manner due to these tossers. NO I am NOT going to hangout with some people who get their laptop out to watch anime in the SU pub and not drink alcohol.

Also there are so few women on my course and none of them are attractive.

The main problem is that it's boring. Really boring. So much is just A-Level stuff again so I'm basically paying 3k a year to be told stuff I've been told before in college -.-

I had an hour lecture on linked lists, then the next week an hour on binary trees. I did exactly that in 30mins in college.

It's also NOT a challenge. People have said it is but for me it's way too easy. Which makes it more boring.

You're better of doing engineering, or a proper science.

If you're in college still, just go a 3rd year there. It's free and you'll likely have a better idea of what you wanna do by the end of it. Plus you'll get more UCAS points which'll help.

So you only reached data structures?

You didn't learn about Hamming codes, Reed-Solomon codes, B trees, the Dangling Else Problem, Turing Decidable languages, Turing Recognizable languages, P problems, NP problems and the NP-completness, relational and event engines, multi-query processing, distributed computing, reconfigurable atomic memory? (note that I'm actually leaving a LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT of stuff out)

Sorry, but taking only one course of Computer Science is not enough (in my opinion) to judge the whole program. You probably failed that first course.

[Guest]

So you only reached data structures?

You didn't learn about Hamming codes, Reed-Solomon codes, B trees, the Dangling Else Problem, Turing Decidable languages, Turing Recognizable languages, P problems, NP problems and the NP-completness, relational and event engines, multi-query processing, distributed computing, reconfigurable atomic memory? (note that I'm actually leaving a LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT of stuff out)

Sorry, but taking only one course of Computer Science is not enough (in my opinion) to judge the whole program. You probably failed that first course.

No.. that was just an example that came to mind. That's just two hours out of my 2nd year. I didn't fail my course as I'm in my 2nd year and expecting to do quite well :s as I said.. I find my course very easy.

And no, I haven't learnt about all that other stuff. Sounds boring though.

I'm not sure what you're tying to do here.. defend CS? But I'm not attacking it.. just outling my experiences. They just happen to be negative.

[Xilo]

No.. that was just an example that came to mind. That's just two hours out of my 2nd year. I didn't fail my course as I'm in my 2nd year and expecting to do quite well :s as I said.. I find my course very easy.

And no, I haven't learnt about all that other stuff. Sounds boring though.

I'm not sure what you're tying to do here.. defend CS? But I'm not attacking it.. just outling my experiences. They just happen to be negative.

If you were familiar with programming before going into college, of course it will be easy. The thing is to go above the course. Like for my Introduction to Java course, we had to program a game of Sudoku. The only requirements were it had to be graphical, and it had to allow a user to input numbers on a grid. I went ahead and implemented mine with OpenGL. I had music, sound effects, about 1000 browsable puzzles, hint system, and a puzzle solver. Ended up being a monster project that I spent most of an entire month working on but I enjoyed it. We got to demo our projects during the class. Suffice it to say, people were reluctant to show off after I demoed.

Poor TA wanted us to print out our code... Mine was like a book. Had 8000 lines of code.

Also, if you stick with it and get to upper level courses like computer architecture, OS design, embedded systems, AI, etc, you'll be challenged and have fun.

[BoredBozirini]

No.. that was just an example that came to mind. That's just two hours out of my 2nd year. I didn't fail my course as I'm in my 2nd year and expecting to do quite well :s as I said.. I find my course very easy.

And no, I haven't learnt about all that other stuff. Sounds boring though.

I'm not sure what you're tying to do here.. defend CS? But I'm not attacking it.. just outling my experiences. They just happen to be negative.

I'm kind of defending it, yes.

The only reason though, is because there is a lot more to Computer Science than just programming. Programming is for code monkeys, thinking is for computer scientists.

[revvo]

there is a lot more to Computer Science than just programming. Programming is for code monkeys, thinking is for computer scientists.

Wha? Programmers do have to think about algorithms and such, that's why they gotta be good mathematicians.

It's just that engineers in CS think much more, and analysts even more. We'll do the thinking. You do the typing.

[Guest]

btw i'm British so I go uni.. and college here isn't the same sorta college americans go to

[Master1]

I hear a lot of that CS major is about the thinking process, not the coding process, as you guys said also, can you elaborate on that ?

[Xilo]

I hear a lot of that CS major is about the thinking process, not the coding process, as you guys said also, can you elaborate on that ?

Logic bro. Any code monkey can type crap in and compile. Code monkeys usually don't know how to construct the design, logic, and algorithms needed to get the job done.

This is the difference between outsourced and local. Outsourced are code monkeys that just type crap in and compile while all the real work gets done locally.

[MrA]

Hi, CS major here :)

Let's make it clear : CS isn't hard, it's misleading. A lot (and I mean a LOOOOT) of people think that they should invest in a CS major just because they like programming and stuff. This is wrong ! If what you want is just making programs you should maybe consider a minor involving software development but not a CS major. A CS major is more about studying data structures and organizations, algorithmic, languages theory, programming paradigms, AI, etc. so it involves a lot of theory and you'll need either to have a good grasp of some advanced mathematical concepts, or be ready to learn them quickly. So if that's not what you want, I highly encourage you to do something else as a CS class would quickly turn into a nightmare. Now if you're into this kind of stuff, you'll reaaaaaally enjoy a CS major which I think is one of the most rewarding majors out there as it will give you a great sense of self accomplishment looking back at all the projects you've worked on and all the knowledge you have that you can start using to do virtually anything you want with computers.

Hope it helps :)

PS : Start by asking yourself "Do I want to learn how to make programs that work, or how to optimize the time complexity of a recursive function from quadratic to linear ?". While you will learn the former in a CS class, you'll also have to deal with the latter. So if the second option is a definitive "NO !" to you, then I wouldn't recommend CS.

I'm a CS major and I endorse this message. Too many people go into CS (talking from experience) and have no idea what they're getting into. CS at it's core is NOT about programming. Programming is just a tool, like telescopes are a tool for astronomers (paraphrasing Dijkstra). It just happens that programming is one of the few (only?) useful applications of computer science.

As for the job situation, it was pretty good when I graduated (late 2008) and I believe it's recovered quite a bit since the recession. There are a lot of great companies to work for with a CS degree like Google, Amazon, Intel, nVidia, Yahoo, to name a few.

P.S. I've talked with a few people in the gaming industry (from companies like EA) and the general feel seems to be that they'd take someone with a CS degree over a "Game Development" one anyday.

[BoredBozirini]

P.S. I've talked with a few people in the gaming industry (from companies like EA) and the general feel seems to be that they'd take someone with a CS degree over a "Game Development" one anyday.

They have always done that as long as I can remember.

[StudioFortress]

Boring & full of nerds. The kind that need to get a new wardrobe, haircut, shave, shower and a woman. It really did broaden my stereotype of nerds.

It may sound stupid to complain that a CS course is full of nerds.. but now I use the word "nerd" in a very degratory manner due to these tossers. NO I am NOT going to hangout with some people who get their laptop out to watch anime in the SU pub and not drink alcohol.

I don't second this. There are plenty of stereotypical 'nerdy' people on my course, but I've heard from others that there are very nerdy people on all of the courses. I also know plenty who you'd think are real geeks, but go out drinking and socialising in their spare time. But the majority of those on my course are also just normal, not stereotypical of nerds or anything else at all.

[Master1]

Long time no update on this thread, any other ideas people, thanks

[Argote]

So let's say Microsoft. In order to get a job with them you would have to get a Masters or a PHD in computer science ?

Having worked as a Software Development Engineer Intern at Microsoft (At the Redmond main campus) I'd say no, you don't even need to have a Bachelor's Degree to be there (though people without it are really rare since Uni does give you a lot of useful knowledge). What they are looking for is people who know what they are doing, are smart and can learn.

Basically at University the most valuable things you learn are the theory and how stuff works since it allows you to make better decisions when you're designing or implementing something.

[Panacik]

Hi guys! With Neowin being one of the biggest tech communities online, I figured I'd ask this question here. How is the Computer Science major like. From what I've heard it's pretty hard and the students are pretty much doing work all day long. I would like feedback on this topic please especially from people who are currently CS majors or those who have CS degrees. This information will be really helpful for me :)

The guy i work with has one of these and only started working in IT when he joined this company. He knows sweet **** all about IT but believes his diploma gives him the right to claim he knows more than me... even though he is asking me for help every 5 minutes.

Honestly, since that is my only experience of this diploma, i would not waste your time. Do something constructive like an MCSE or CCNA etc.

[_bobcat_ Veteran]

The guy i work with has one of these and only started working in IT when he joined this company. He knows sweet **** all about IT but believes his diploma gives him the right to claim he knows more than me... even though he is asking me for help every 5 minutes.

Honestly, since that is my only experience of this diploma, i would not waste your time. Do something constructive like an MCSE or CCNA etc.

What does a 'diploma' have to do with a bachelors degree?

It really depends on the job, how your company is set up and what was learned, which course the person took.

Most CS degrees give a useful foundation for the underlying theory, algorithms, and some intuition about things. They can't teach you about *everything*, and especially not how things work in any specific company.

[Rudy]

My bachelor degree helped my out big time when I first started my job.... Though the first thing I had to do was learn Java lol (not too hard since I knew C/C++ really good, it's just different libraries and some syntax quirks)