Advice on switching majors || Computer science?

[Tenebris]

Hi there! I’m hoping I can receive some guidance from either parents or students or anyone really.

I spent roughly 4 to 5 semesters at an autonomous honors college where I was majoring in Anthropology. I was struggling mentally and later financially since my academics were taking a hit. I’ve since withdrawn from the college.

I entered the honors college with the intent of majoring in Linguistics (the schools allows us students to ‘‘create’’ a major, or so they say) but defaulted to Anthropology as I was getting adjusted to college life. I liked anthropology and liked the overlap with Anthropological Linguistics.

Through this college, I learned about the field of Rhetoric and Composition (writing studies). I really, really liked this field, but didn’t ‘‘major’’ in it because it wasn’t a degree available at our school. It recently became a minor.

I withdrew from this college because I was struggling to pay for it, I was struggling with my mental health, and because the school does not offer online classes except for this period of COVID adjustment. I also had a weak overall ‘academic contract’ because of my past struggles and was further struggling to “start over” or “fix” my past mistakes.

So, I’ve applied to a community college in my hometown that allows me to take online courses with the intent of transferring to a university later on. Here’s the thing… I applied with the intent of majoring in computer science.

Here is where I have a lot of doubt about my decision and could really use some guidance/advice.

I’m not good at math. I’ve been told different things from different people who majored in computer science and currently work in the video games industry about the amount of math involved.

I think I’m good at logic puzzles-- the one thing almost everybody tells me about computer science is that it’s just a bunch of logic puzzles.

So far, I like programming. I’ve only begun doing some super, super basic stuff with Python on Code Academy, but I like it so far. I think I would enjoy the act of learning a computer language.

My main motivator for majoring in computer science is the potential salary of the careers revolving the degree. I want job/salary security and in this day and age I find that computer science is the way to go. Whether I’m wrong in thinking this is totally something anyone can call me out on. My fear is that even if I like computer science, probably the programming bits, I wont be good enough to uphold a job. I’m afraid of how technical the job might be compared to something else stemming from linguistics or rhetoric and composition. Maybe I’m wrong again.

I know this thread doesn’t have a very clear cut question, but I would appreciate any advice. Is this right for me? Is switching my major something I should do? Are there any good resources out there for students just barely starting out? What general advice would you give someone in this position and what advice would you give someone in computer science?

Any words would be appreciated

[MarylandJOE]

If I were talking to my child I would tell them first off that they’ll be working their whole life and so should try to do a job they’re going to enjoy. The reality is that job also needs to pay the bills. Making more money isn’t always a key to happiness if the job is miserable. Starving while doing what you love isn’t actually ideal either. Somewhere in between is probably best.

You sound to me like you’re ping-ponging around and not actually sure what you really want to do. Changing majors and chasing a large salaried job may or may not work out. I’d be leary about your shaky math skills. You’re also looking at spending more money on more classes in a totally different direction.

What do you actually want to do? What are you passionate about? What would make you happy? What could you do for a career that would provide you support for yourself and still be interesting? Only you can answer these questions. It sounds like you really need to do some soul searching and think hard about your future.There are also plenty of careers that don’t require a college degree. Some computer jobs are attainable with just the right skills being learned.

I applaud you for seeking advice. I’m sure someone else will have something to add.

[tgl2023]

Your college experience has been based on a rather unstructured format, which might have enabled your exploration and sampling of different fields and discipline. Majoring in Computer Science, on the other hand, requires very specific courses. How far along are you in fulfilling the lower division math courses required for a CS major? Have you taken calculus? How about looking into being a computer science technician, (associate degree) as a starting goal to COMPLETE within the next two years? You can do it.