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Hi. I majored in Applied Mathematics with an emphasis in computer science. And, at least from my personal experience, the computer science part felt like a wast

Hi. I majored in Applied Mathematics with an emphasis in computer science. And, at least from my personal experience, the computer science part felt like a waste of time. Undergrad computer science classes are all rather uninteresting and will not prepare you for the job market you are going to enter. If you really (and I mean really) want to design algorithms then computer science is for you. What I've learned in my first two years in industry is that computer science and programming are JUST a means to an end. What is really important is your DOMAIN KNOWLEDGE. You should get out there and learn something about a field besides computer science that interests you. Computers are so fast and powerful now that hardly anymore is asking if something is computable anymore or trying to get matrix multiplication lower than O(n^2.3). I, for example, really like football. So I've been spending my spare time developing models and gathering statistics for the NFL.

ForRealsies 9y ago
Depends which school you go to. I went to an engineering college. Brutal, in a good way.
- braymailloux 9y ago
  Thats good. I'm one of those people who does not think writing code is engineering. And computer science is soft science ;).
  - UK-AL 9y ago
    I think your confusing programming and computer science. If all you want to think about is gathering requirements, building pratical software than use you'll probably find computer science uninteresting.
    - braymailloux 9y ago
      That's all anyone thinks about in any operational setting. Unless he plans to go into academia and publish papers for a living (rare). There are few and far between settings where the hard theoretical aspects of comp sci are marketable and/Or desirable traits on a resume. Domain knowledge. Or, in other words, added value. Anyone can be taught to program (see bootcamps) or fix a crashed hard drive (see it department). Domain knowledge is being able to say "I specialize in crypto" or "I have in depth knowledge of distributed hash tables. In short learn something you actually want to learn because computer science is just a tool in your toolbox you're going to learn anyway.
      - UK-AL 9y ago
        Desired traits on a resume, and what you enjoy are different things. People go university not only to get job relevant skills, but learn things they find interesting. For a lot of people pure cs is pretty interesting.

ForRealsies 9y ago

Depends which school you go to. I went to an engineering college. Brutal, in a good way.

braymailloux 9y ago
Thats good. I'm one of those people who does not think writing code is engineering. And computer science is soft science ;).
- UK-AL 9y ago
  I think your confusing programming and computer science. If all you want to think about is gathering requirements, building pratical software than use you'll probably find computer science uninteresting.
  - braymailloux 9y ago
    That's all anyone thinks about in any operational setting. Unless he plans to go into academia and publish papers for a living (rare). There are few and far between settings where the hard theoretical aspects of comp sci are marketable and/Or desirable traits on a resume. Domain knowledge. Or, in other words, added value. Anyone can be taught to program (see bootcamps) or fix a crashed hard drive (see it department). Domain knowledge is being able to say "I specialize in crypto" or "I have in depth knowledge of distributed hash tables. In short learn something you actually want to learn because computer science is just a tool in your toolbox you're going to learn anyway.
    - UK-AL 9y ago
      Desired traits on a resume, and what you enjoy are different things. People go university not only to get job relevant skills, but learn things they find interesting. For a lot of people pure cs is pretty interesting.