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Degree Doubts
Edilith
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hi lovely lads and lasses of H/A,
I'm having some doubts about whether I'm studying the right course or not, and am unsure about what I want to do career-wise afterwards (I know this bit is normal for most, but still!). I'm a 19 year old British female studying in the UK.
Currently I'm nearing the end of my first year studying Computer Science at university. My grades so far have been good and I had an unconditional entrance scholarship upon entering, but I'm not so sure I'm as happy nor enthusiastic as I should be about the subject so far. I've always had a passion for computers though despite that I'm not sure it's what I'd like to be studying or working with solidly for the next good few years. It's a very broad and general course which I think doesn't help with my lack of keen interest.
Interest-wise I am a very artistic/creative person, though before coming to university I actively avoided any artsy type degree since I thought I'd have a better chance at a career if I studied something more 'dependable'. In an ideal world I would adore to be an architect or work within forensic sciences - a long throw away from Comp Sci, I know
I'm not really sure what I should do H/A, if anything at all? Should I sit it out for the next 2-3 years, or switch to a more specialised Computer Science course, or just stop whinging and stop thinking the degree is the be-all and end-all?
tl;dr: Should I stay or should I go (to another degree scheme)?
I'm having some doubts about whether I'm studying the right course or not, and am unsure about what I want to do career-wise afterwards (I know this bit is normal for most, but still!). I'm a 19 year old British female studying in the UK.
Currently I'm nearing the end of my first year studying Computer Science at university. My grades so far have been good and I had an unconditional entrance scholarship upon entering, but I'm not so sure I'm as happy nor enthusiastic as I should be about the subject so far. I've always had a passion for computers though despite that I'm not sure it's what I'd like to be studying or working with solidly for the next good few years. It's a very broad and general course which I think doesn't help with my lack of keen interest.
Interest-wise I am a very artistic/creative person, though before coming to university I actively avoided any artsy type degree since I thought I'd have a better chance at a career if I studied something more 'dependable'. In an ideal world I would adore to be an architect or work within forensic sciences - a long throw away from Comp Sci, I know
I'm not really sure what I should do H/A, if anything at all? Should I sit it out for the next 2-3 years, or switch to a more specialised Computer Science course, or just stop whinging and stop thinking the degree is the be-all and end-all?
tl;dr: Should I stay or should I go (to another degree scheme)?
Edilith on
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The MIS degree gave me a solid computer degree with a business background and has really served me well. YMMV but your school may have something similar.
I found CS to have too much Java and math, and not enough practical knowledge.
XBL/PSN/Steam: APZonerunner
One thing to keep in mind is that all university programs are broad based in their first year, and you will find the same thing holds true if you change majors. The first year is the foundation year that sets you up to get into more specialized studies in later years. Unfortunately, if you already have a solid grasp of the basics, it can make the first year a little boring or not challenging. I know the UK education system is a little different than the Canadian one, but the principle likely holds true.
Since you mention being artistic and creative, I think Architecture might be the way to go for you, since some creativity is involved in that in a way that it probably isn't in Comp Sci or Forensic Sciences.
You should also think about researching job prospects in each field, just to see what kind of career might await you once you graduate. For Architecture, there are probably post university accreditation concerns you should look into as well. Google "British Architects Association" or something similar.
Someone has to create simulation programs that test buildings before they are built to real scale or model scale.
Someone has to develop tools for tracking vehicle locations or aggregating video data or creating data banks that can be quickly cross referenced.
Computer Science is a wonderful thing to know because its applications are in EVERYTHING anyone does anymore. Granted the start of Uni is never amazing for anyone because intro courses don't quite pack the power to show you want you can do with yourself. I am all for you sticking it out until your next year while trying to find something to over the summer or whenever you have break that is centered around architecture or forensics to see if you would like to apply your degree to those fields.
I knew a fellow from high school who got a degree in computer science and now he tracks down crackers/hackers for the FBI/CIA/NSA ( general unkown government organization ). Of course if you really don't like computer science at all and find it repulsive don't study it.
I think at this stage you should go with your gut instinct and try another course. If your questioning what your doing then it's obviously not for you, also if you don't have much of an interest in the subject it's going to show in your grades as the difficulty curve ramps up.
I'm finishing my degree within the next few weeks and, as a result of the way our economy is right now, it has been an absolute nightmare trying to find a job for when I finish. Hopefully when you come to graduation the whole economic situation won't be as bad as it is now, but assuming it doesn't change a degree in Computer Science could hold you in really good stead.
You should also bare in mind that, as has been mentioned, first years are pretty broad and uninteresting. Things might pick up in your second and third year.
Another thing to bare in mind is that a lot of professions are requiring more than just a Bachelors degree these days, so depending on what you want to do, you may have to do some post-graduate study. If you look around you may be able to find a course in forensics or architechture that will admit you without requiring your degree to be related. In which case you'd end up studying what you really want to do somewhere down the line, and also having the advantage of a broader education through having studied a totally seperate subject.
Finally, by sticking with your course you save yourself from having wasted a year's worth of student loans and having to add an extra several thousand pounds to that from adding another year to your education.
Ultimately, it's your call. If you're totally miserable with what you're doing, then by all means, don't torture yourself with another 2 years. But if you're just a bit indifferent about the course and fancy a change of scene then consider finishing your degree.
Out of curiosity, where are you studying?
As said before, computer science can easily have strong applications in forensics and architecture. My PhD is in image based biometrics, and there is a huge overlap between it and forensics.
Out of interest, which Uni do you go to?
God yeah, for my degree the first year was basically re-hashing my A-levels and the second year was a battle just to get through it was so boring. This year however is massively more interesting, and I'm actually enjoying my modules.
I'm at a small uni in Wales I doubt you've heard of - Aberystwyth University. This firsthand doesn't help me since the departments aren't that numerous, but being here means my finances aren't as dented as they would be if I went outside of Wales (amongst other reasons). I really do love the town here though.
Ideally I'd just switch to a more creative Comp Sci course and be done with it as Cowboy Bebop said, but the only one at my uni is a little lackluster and includes things I really have zero interest in like robotics/AI.
To Hikkins: thanks for your insight, your post has given me a lot of food for thought. I never really thought about the possibilty of doing a different area as my Masters. How much of a disadvantage would one be if they took this route over someone who studied the Bachelor's on the actual subject? Would doing a Masters in Architecture (or something!) after Comp Sci really be feasible?
You're still very early in your college career. Changing now would not be harmful.
Edit: I wouldn't do a Masters in the same area. I did mine in a related field that I could link to Advertising, because studying the same thing twice seemed like a waste of money to me. All my friend's that made their BA and MA in the same field told me that it was like doing their BA all over again, nothing new learned.
The more knowledge in different areas you have, the better you'll be able to think.
After my first year of university I came to the realization that the more I was forced to program, the more I disliked it. I went through a rough patch trying to figure out what to do and feeling like if I changed majors then I'd be letting my family down, screwing myself in the future job market, and just that it would be a bad idea. I ended up talking to one of my high school friends and in the course of talking to her I think I mentioned that when I was in middle school I had thought it would be really fun to design and make movie props, but of course there wasn't a major for it and it wasn't very realistic.
She told me, "I think most of the people who do that are industrial designers." I'd never heard of industrial design so I went and researched it, and it turned out that my school had a program for it. I ended up taking a bunch of "Intro to <X major>" courses for a number of different programs including Industrial Design and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Industrial design just blew me away and by the end of the semester I knew I wanted to change majors. Since I didn't have a portfolio, I went to talk to the head of the design program and he helped me to work out how to fill things in so that I could change majors. While I was in the program it sometimes felt very odd because most of my fellow students were pure art and design people and sometimes it drove me nuts that they'd talk about math like it was something disgusting when I had loved taking calculus. Near the end of the program when we were putting together our portfolios and the teachers were trying to help us with our resumes, a teacher approached me because I had stuffed my programming experience in and asked me why I had included it. He told me that it wouldn't help me to get a job in design. I told that it had to be worth something, and he replied that I should probably take it out.
Now that I've been out of school for a while, I can say with authority that it's worth keeping in. It turns out that there's quite a niche for people who can cross between design/art and programming/math/science. Many times a company has to hire 2+ separate people to get things done and if you can offer both...well, it's a good position to be in.
That's just my 2 cents. I don't know if it will help but honestly, there are a lot of people who enter a program/field and stick to that field. Programmers who can write a program are a dime a dozen, so are architect students who can design buildings because that's what they're trained for. The number of people who can truly cross between widely disparate disciplines are few and far between. Changing your major to architecture, for instance, will not mean that you are forever shutting out programming from your life unless you want it to. What it will actually do is make you more valuable to a certain subsection of businesses.
But here's the deal.
You're creative, you obviously are capable of programming, and you claim to be internet savvy. There's a whole industry that demands all three and it's the web business.
Speaking from personal experience, people who are both talented in a design/creative sense and also are proficient in programming are the ones who make dolla dolla bills. The web is moving increasingly in a direction where just being a good programmer but sucking ass at design is becoming unforgivable in the "big leagues" and visa versa. So if you can do both then a CS degree wouldn't be the worst thing you could do.
And CS will give you the tools you need to be at least a passable programmer, and leave you to study design on your own time.
*edit* plus England as a pretty large internet services industry going, compared to its size.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
Just to clarify, I'm in the UK and in a very small university and thus just switching to Architecture major/Comp Sci minor isn't an option without moving far away and probably ruining myself financially - the uni department list is here for those who are interested.
Thanks for this MagicToaster, I didn't actually realise this. I thought an MA would be more of a progression from a Bachelor degree, hence why I thought I'd be boned if I did a Masters on something in a different area.
To become an registered architect with the Architects Registration Board (ARB) and RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) you have to do a BA or BSc in Architecture (Part I), then two years' work experience, a two year diploma/masters (Part II) and finally usually another year in practice followed by an exam (Part III). Other routes usually include working in an architectural firm for the equivalent number of years.
Of all my friends who studied architecture, I'm switching to accounting, one friend is a teacher, another two have jobs in completely unrelated fields, and another friend works for an architecture firm but as a technician, unsure if she wishes to complete the 7 year course (it's been four years since we graduated with our BAs). It's not nearly as fun as you'd assume, and my friend who works for the architecture firm? Her main job is sitting in front of a computer mainly drawing scale schematics and tiles onto roofs. Architecture is extremely math and science heavy, and on top of that you do have to be fairly decent at art, too. Unless you really enjoy structural engineering and mechanics I'd probably consider another field. I also learned that it's sometimes more about selling your idea with top-notch presentation than it is about the actual design (at least with your BA).
What I did realise was that while I like design, I prefer to design on a smaller scale - be it websites, logos, products - you actually get to be more creative (at least comparative to architecture unless you've been working in architecture for a couple of decades); while I like art, I prefer to draw for myself rather than for other people. And while I like math, I prefer pure, not mechanical, math. Also, you really, really have to be passionate about architecture to stay awake through lectures on different type of bricks (did you know they have The Brick Awards?).
Anyway...I don't have much advice to offer, but I thought I'd be realistic about one of your current options!
I'm currently doing a Master's in the UK, and I can't actually agree with MagicToaster. I'm doing my postgrad work in the same field as my Bachelor's, and the majority of my postgrad friends are doing the same; it hasn't felt like we're treading the same ground, it's felt like a definite progression. The few I know who've gone into different fields for postgrad study have found themselves at a major disadvantage, because you'll be assumed to have a lot of knowledge that you just won't have encountered during your first degree.
Obviously your mileage may vary, and if you can cope with having to catch up with a fairly large amount in a relatively short space of time, then choosing a different subject for postgraduate study should be fine. Either way is going to benefit you in the long run.
Also, I have no idea about your financial situation currently, but the Student Loans company used to provide funds even when someone changed their degree to one at a different university; given how much the system has changed in the last four years, I'm not certain if that's still the case, but it might be worth looking into before you write off the idea of moving due to monetary concerns.
Yeah, I neglected to mention this. I studied design after I went into Advertising, and lots of times I did struggle with stuff other guys already knew... but even though I was not as good as them my advertising perspective gave me the edge I didn't have in design. Later on, you catch up and become as good as the others, but it's a matter of effort and hard work.