Alright, moment of truth.
We're all aware on how computer science is gaining popularity as a college major, and especially in the tech industry. It seems like everyone’s in CS programs nowadays: whether people are passionate about it, have built the next Uber before even being born or are just in it for the money, there are some things about being in Computer Science that not a lot of outsiders are aware of.
Now, the semester’s just started, and this blog post by no means aims to discourage you or scare you away from CS, for it is truly a beautiful subject to dive deep into. However, here are some things you should keep in mind.
Math: there’s a lot of it
You read that right, brace yourself for the heavy math course load. Computer Science is built upon logical thinking and computation so it makes perfect sense that you’ll have to take quite a bit of math classes, such as calculus (1 to 3), probability, linear algebra and - drum roll - discrete mathematics. Now, just because you don’t see yourself as a ‘mathy’ person doesn’t mean that CS isn’t for you. So don’t let that discourage you in trying it out and seeing it for yourself.
2. It’s a HUGE time commitment
I’m pretty sure you know how the classic computer science student stereotype goes: a sleep deprived, caffeinated nerd who’ s been locked in their room for days debugging their code. Well, I hate to break it to you but sometimes, despite having excellent time management skills, that scenario does happen in real life. Note that college-level computer science assignments are designed to be very time-consuming, so that means staying in during weekends and griding on your code if necessary.
But forget about the notorious assignments for a moment. If you’re pursuing a career in Software Engineering, you know how important it is to network, network and network while in school and get as many good internships as you can. And that alone means doing personal side projects, constantly applying for internships and learning new tools and technologies on your own. That is why juggling all of those will being a full time student can be quite draining. This brings us to our next point
“This has happened to me quite a lot of times” - Gali (Blog Writer)
3. It’s extremely competitive
This makes perfect sense, considering how popular and in-demand the area of study is.
While it’s true that companies are hiring Computer Science grads everywhere, when you ask actual grads, it almost seems like the job hunt is the most gruelling stage of their career. Even for students it is extremely demanding to land internships as the demand (hence competition) keeps increasing.
This has pros and cons
Pro: you’re almost guaranteed a job after gradutation
Con: getting into your dream company might cost you a lot: lots of time, energy, sweat, tears, you name it. You have a lot of competitors, so be prepared to outwork and outsmart them.
4. Time management is key in the field
As mentioned above, CS is tough. Point blank period. Takes huge chunks of your time and energy, so you have to be careful on how you plan your days and especially study sessions. Trust me, you don’t want to get stuck trying to debug a piece of code for 9 hours (like I did during my first year), or spending more than an hour on a math problem, it’s simply not worth all that time. I know I mentioned earlier that sometimes you’ll get stuck, because it just happens sometimes no matter how well you manage your time.
Keep in mind that in case you get stuck, taking a step back from your computer screen can sometimes do wonders to your productivity, so don’t underestimate the power of short breaks! Just make sure they’re actually short though 😳… Because we know how a quick 10-minute break can easily turn into a 4-hour long getting stuck in a Tiktok-scrolling rabbit hole.
There’s so much I can add on regarding the importance of time management, for instance mainting a part time job, eating well, working out consistently, taking proper care of your face, skin, face and body in general (which are, in turn important time investments), all while keeping up with your studies, because at some point I was the struggling student, who barely had time for herself, constantly running deadline after deadline, shift after shift.
I can wrap up this brief blog post in a sentence I think, and not only it applies to studying CS, but also in general. Here goes the inspirational quote of the day: life’s tough, but so are you.
Like no, I’m serious. CS is hard, but if you have a vision for what you want out of your career, you have to believe that you HAVE what it takes and you’ll DO what it takes to achieve your goals.
Cheers to a new successful academic year! 🥂
Next post is gonna be a more uplifting one, just trust me 😎