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HN is probably the worst group to ask for advice. Most people here take their careers way too seriously. You’ll notice that most people here are telling you to

HN is probably the worst group to ask for advice. Most people here take their careers way too seriously. You’ll notice that most people here are telling you to do some specific set of actions but few of them overlap significantly. That’s because there aren’t “right” things for you to do. They’re just pushing their biases on you. I’d argue that you just take it easy and do whatever makes you happy. You can definitely still be successful that way. I just finished my CS degree from a no-name state school with a below 3.0 gpa. But I still found a job making six figures (really good pay for my area) before I graduated. I attribute most of my success to the various pieces of software I wrote for fun. Just little things on my GitHub that helped me land a couple of internships.

MaxBarraclough 6y ago
'Take it easy' seems like terrible advice. A computer science degree is the foundation of a tech career. The opportunity to build a solid foundation shouldn't be squandered, even if you aren't planning on being a workaholic careerist. A strong degree opens doors.
- sosodev 6y ago
  You’re totally entitled to feel that way but I personally think the social pressure to work yourself harder than necessary is just plain wrong. I know that’s not a popular opinion here and that was my point. I met so many people while earning my degree that were stricken with anxiety about making the “wrong” choices. Often times these people ended up suffering by spreading themselves thin and ultimately accomplishing less than they would have otherwise.
random32840 6y ago
> take it easy and do whatever makes you happy Great advice if what makes you happy also happens to be lucrative. I did this, and it was a huge mistake I'm still paying for 7+ years later.
- sosodev 6y ago
  I was pretty sure we're still in the context of CS, which tends to be pretty lucrative.
reillyse 6y ago
100% agree. Just have fun and be happy. You'll have your entire life to work after you finish college. Meet people, make friends, do stupid shit and party. Your college friends will be the last big influx of friends in your life so make lots of them. Also, you get to completely reinvent yourself aka grow, so don't worry about who you were in high school, you get to be an adult now. Enjoy!

MaxBarraclough 6y ago

'Take it easy' seems like terrible advice. A computer science degree is the foundation of a tech career. The opportunity to build a solid foundation shouldn't be squandered, even if you aren't planning on being a workaholic careerist. A strong degree opens doors.

sosodev 6y ago
You’re totally entitled to feel that way but I personally think the social pressure to work yourself harder than necessary is just plain wrong. I know that’s not a popular opinion here and that was my point. I met so many people while earning my degree that were stricken with anxiety about making the “wrong” choices. Often times these people ended up suffering by spreading themselves thin and ultimately accomplishing less than they would have otherwise.

random32840 6y ago

> take it easy and do whatever makes you happy Great advice if what makes you happy also happens to be lucrative. I did this, and it was a huge mistake I'm still paying for 7+ years later.

sosodev 6y ago
I was pretty sure we're still in the context of CS, which tends to be pretty lucrative.

reillyse 6y ago

100% agree. Just have fun and be happy. You'll have your entire life to work after you finish college. Meet people, make friends, do stupid shit and party. Your college friends will be the last big influx of friends in your life so make lots of them. Also, you get to completely reinvent yourself aka grow, so don't worry about who you were in high school, you get to be an adult now. Enjoy!