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I've started frequenting the subreddits /r/csmajors and /r/cscareerquestions and it's truly disheartening to see the number of people who are obsessed with doin

I've started frequenting the subreddits /r/csmajors and /r/cscareerquestions and it's truly disheartening to see the number of people who are obsessed with doing just enough to get a high paying job. I've seen people claim that the point of going to Stanford is to get a good job or that one shouldn't bother with courses past data structures because they won't help with a job. The cynical part of me hopes that a tech crash will eliminate some of the more careerist people.

hoaw 8y ago
Will probably make it worse. I mean, people are actually surprisingly often motivated by substance. Going to an ivy league school and joining a large tech firm is one of the few ways to guarantee success in a time with few guarantees in general.
cm2012 8y ago
What's wrong with wanting a job? Being poor is objectively awful.
- _hardwaregeek 8y ago
  I get that some people aren’t in a position to think about lofty ideals like inherent interest or intellectual curiosity, but there’s something truly banal and depressing about people squabbling over 6 figure salaries.
rchaud 8y ago
Stanford's undergraduate tuition is likely in the $200k+ range over 4 years; many other US schools have similar tuition fees. Why shouldn't CS students obsess about a 6-figure job? Also, FA_NG (left out Apple) doesn't sell anything other than surveillance and ads, and the mainstream use case of AR is superimposing dog ears on a selfie, what motivation is there for CS students to push the boundaries of their learning?
- _hardwaregeek 8y ago
  It's totally fine to think or even obsess about a high paying job. It's not okay for that to be the only reason you're in the industry. Plus, you really don't need to go to Stanford, MIT, etc. to get a high paying job. If I wanted to maximize my wealth ASAP, I'd go to my state school, major in CS and math/econ, graduate in 3 years debt free and then go into finance/tech. I'd like to hope that the people going to Stanford are doing it for more than just a 6 figure salary.
  - rchaud 8y ago
    There are lots of assumptions in your "this is how I'd get rich" plan. - A CS major at a state school in North Dakota doesn't go as far as one from say, the Cali state system. - A CS and Math/Econ double major in 3 years? How many people do that and have a GPA that isn't toilet-adjacent? - 'then go into finance/tech': If by 'finance' you mean IB/PE/HF, those firms don't recruit at state schools unless it's in a major metropolitan area or has a history of hiring alums. If you think you'll get into IB by just submitting an online application like the rest of the world, then good luck. Same for FAANG and the other companies that offer big salaries to fresh grads. They aren't exactly flocking to the SUNYs to pick up CS grads.
    - _hardwaregeek 8y ago
      > A CS major at a state school in North Dakota doesn't go as far as one from say, the Cali state system. Fair, but honestly I don't think FAANG companies put a lot of weight on school past the top 10 ranked. I don't think your average hiring manager is going care about the difference between Bing and NDSU. > A CS and Math/Econ double major in 3 years? How many people do that and have a GPA that isn't toilet-adjacent? Don't sleep. Study a lot. Keep in mind we're talking state school here. Double/triple majors are a lot easier at Bing than at Harvard. If you come in with AP credit it's definitely doable. > 'then go into finance/tech': If by 'finance' you mean IB/PE/HF, those firms don't recruit at state schools unless it's in a major metropolitan area or has a history of hiring alums. If you think you'll get into IB by just submitting an online application like the rest of the world, then good luck. Okay, sure, finance might take a bit more finesse (although outside the big firms I bet it's a lot easier). But tech is generally more focused on general hiring pipelines. > Same for FAANG and the other companies that offer big salaries to fresh grads. They aren't exactly flocking to the SUNYs to pick up CS grads. I actually know quite a few people at SUNYs that have FAANG internships. Especially Stony Brook. Not unbelievable that they'd get a decent offer out of school.
zozbot123 8y ago
"Just enough" and "high paying" don't really seem to belong in the same sentence - aren't really high paying job offers pretty hard to get these days? I expect that filtering out the more clueless "careerists" would be a pretty big priority for any hiring manager in a position to offer a high-paying position.
- _hardwaregeek 8y ago
  > aren't really high paying job offers pretty hard to get these days? Honestly? Not really. If you're willing to devote enough time to slavishly going over leetcode questions and apply to enough places, you can get a nice offer, especially for college students who can get their foot in the door via internships. For better or worse, tech job applications are a very standardized, simple system.

hoaw 8y ago

Will probably make it worse. I mean, people are actually surprisingly often motivated by substance. Going to an ivy league school and joining a large tech firm is one of the few ways to guarantee success in a time with few guarantees in general.

cm2012 8y ago

What's wrong with wanting a job? Being poor is objectively awful.

_hardwaregeek 8y ago
I get that some people aren’t in a position to think about lofty ideals like inherent interest or intellectual curiosity, but there’s something truly banal and depressing about people squabbling over 6 figure salaries.

rchaud 8y ago

Stanford's undergraduate tuition is likely in the $200k+ range over 4 years; many other US schools have similar tuition fees. Why shouldn't CS students obsess about a 6-figure job? Also, FA_NG (left out Apple) doesn't sell anything other than surveillance and ads, and the mainstream use case of AR is superimposing dog ears on a selfie, what motivation is there for CS students to push the boundaries of their learning?

_hardwaregeek 8y ago
It's totally fine to think or even obsess about a high paying job. It's not okay for that to be the only reason you're in the industry. Plus, you really don't need to go to Stanford, MIT, etc. to get a high paying job. If I wanted to maximize my wealth ASAP, I'd go to my state school, major in CS and math/econ, graduate in 3 years debt free and then go into finance/tech. I'd like to hope that the people going to Stanford are doing it for more than just a 6 figure salary.
- rchaud 8y ago
  There are lots of assumptions in your "this is how I'd get rich" plan. - A CS major at a state school in North Dakota doesn't go as far as one from say, the Cali state system. - A CS and Math/Econ double major in 3 years? How many people do that and have a GPA that isn't toilet-adjacent? - 'then go into finance/tech': If by 'finance' you mean IB/PE/HF, those firms don't recruit at state schools unless it's in a major metropolitan area or has a history of hiring alums. If you think you'll get into IB by just submitting an online application like the rest of the world, then good luck. Same for FAANG and the other companies that offer big salaries to fresh grads. They aren't exactly flocking to the SUNYs to pick up CS grads.
  - _hardwaregeek 8y ago
    > A CS major at a state school in North Dakota doesn't go as far as one from say, the Cali state system. Fair, but honestly I don't think FAANG companies put a lot of weight on school past the top 10 ranked. I don't think your average hiring manager is going care about the difference between Bing and NDSU. > A CS and Math/Econ double major in 3 years? How many people do that and have a GPA that isn't toilet-adjacent? Don't sleep. Study a lot. Keep in mind we're talking state school here. Double/triple majors are a lot easier at Bing than at Harvard. If you come in with AP credit it's definitely doable. > 'then go into finance/tech': If by 'finance' you mean IB/PE/HF, those firms don't recruit at state schools unless it's in a major metropolitan area or has a history of hiring alums. If you think you'll get into IB by just submitting an online application like the rest of the world, then good luck. Okay, sure, finance might take a bit more finesse (although outside the big firms I bet it's a lot easier). But tech is generally more focused on general hiring pipelines. > Same for FAANG and the other companies that offer big salaries to fresh grads. They aren't exactly flocking to the SUNYs to pick up CS grads. I actually know quite a few people at SUNYs that have FAANG internships. Especially Stony Brook. Not unbelievable that they'd get a decent offer out of school.

zozbot123 8y ago

"Just enough" and "high paying" don't really seem to belong in the same sentence - aren't really high paying job offers pretty hard to get these days? I expect that filtering out the more clueless "careerists" would be a pretty big priority for any hiring manager in a position to offer a high-paying position.

_hardwaregeek 8y ago
> aren't really high paying job offers pretty hard to get these days? Honestly? Not really. If you're willing to devote enough time to slavishly going over leetcode questions and apply to enough places, you can get a nice offer, especially for college students who can get their foot in the door via internships. For better or worse, tech job applications are a very standardized, simple system.