I want to choose informatics but not sure If I would want to get a masters in computer science later. Would an informatics degree be sufficient to become a software developer?
Yes. You could have almost any degree as long as you actually know how to code. Informatics will cover Python and Java in the required courses, along with design philosophies and more. A company won’t just hire you with just a comp sci or informatics degree though. It’s advised you do side projects and learn languages that aren’t required on your own. I know C++ is a big one, and while it’s not required as part of the Informatics degree, I plan on learning that as well.
I recommend taking a look at the course catalog:
http://catalogue.uci.edu/donaldbrenschoolofinformationandcomputersciences/departmentofinformatics/
I’m a former tech recruiter with Amazon (my job was recruiting entry-level interns and software development engineers by the thousands). I can tell you that Amazon and many other tech companies will be specifically looking for a CS, CE or Software Engineering degree. SOMETIMES students from other degree programs will be considered and maybe even invited for interviews, but honestly it was pretty rare. Data and historical information on performance shows that CS majors do best (particularly those graduating with a bachelor’s degree vs. a Master’s), so that is generally the focus.
I say yes it is possible for people who major any to be a software developer. But it is difficult, for two reasons, my opinion. One of them is for the people who studied, say, Physics, for example, obviously, very smart. But his/her mindset is really Physics related. After 4 years of training, a Physicist will build a mentality in Physics, whereas, CS people definitely think differently. On the other hand, people from Physics, Electrical Engineering, or any engineering, probably learned some language(even at high school, we learn language). So these people will think CS is so easy. And in reality, it is not as easy as they think to be. It will usually difficult for these people to pick up CS work.
Ummm physics majors often learn programming languages for use in their work. My dd, who was a math/cs major had her first exposure to programming in physics class using matlab.
I graduated as an Informatics major last year and yes absolutely you can become a software developer after graduation! A majority of my classmates did become software developers. With informatics, there are three different specializations: organizations and information tech, human-computer interaction, and software engineering. As a student, you learn about all three but eventually more so towards your specialization. You get to learn all aspects from coding to design to business documentation and project management skills. PM me if you have any questions
What should your strengths be when choosing such a major?
I personally know a UCI Informatics grad who is now working at Google. He got a summer internship there while he was a student, and they offered him a post-graduation job during his senior year.
Getting the first job is the tough part. And no, maybe you’ll never be able to get a job at Amazon. But there are many other companies out there who mean it when they say “computer science or related degree and/or relevant work experience”. Once you’ve got some experience developing that matters more than your major (at least to the employers I’ve worked for - never worked for Amazon!)