<p>Hello,
I really like LA but I have to convince me and my parents that I'm not going there just for the place and that the school is also worth it. So I really want to go to California State Univeristy, Northridge and major in Comp. Sci. but somethings are holding me back:</p>
<p>1) It's a state university, everyone around me has no respect for it so how will I manage after college? Will I have better employment prospects from a UC or other college?
2) Comp. Sci..hmm...with outsourcing and all, aren't software engineers screwed?
3) Is CSUN a good school to consider for its general academic/atmosphere/social life? For my major?</p>
<p>Please try and answer all or some of my concerns..especially about CSUN in specific.</p>
<p>I don't know much about CSUN specifically, but my guesses would be as follows:
[quote]
1) It's a state university, everyone around me has no respect for it so how will I manage after college? Will I have better employment prospects from a UC or other college?
[/quote]
In general, Cal State degrees are considered perfectly legitimate, but not particularly prestigious or impressive. You probably would have better employment prospects with (for example) a UCLA or USC degree. However, I expect that CSUN CS grads find jobs too.</p>
<p>
[quote]
3) Is CSUN a good school to consider for its general academic/atmosphere/social life? For my major?
[/quote]
Most Cal State schools are pretty generic; students usually just go to whichever one is most convenient. So they tend to be "commuter schools", with less social activity and spirit than you might expect given their size. Obviously there is some social life, but don't expect it to be comparable to the campus scene at (say) UCLA or USC. Most CSUN students will be San Fernando Valley locals, and most of them will go home after class.</p>
<p>I'm sure that CS at CSUN is adequate, but I don't think it has a reputation for being a particularly strong program. Among LA-area Cal State campuses, Cal Poly Pomona probably has the strongest reputation for science and engineering.</p>
<p>I work in as an intern in flight safety for a large corporation. I have not been here long but from what I can tell most of the software people are concerned about their job security. The company has even made an announcement about its plans to continue to ship work overseas. I would speculate that the reason some business are having a hard time finding qualified people is because they treat their employees poorly and those who are truly gifted try to work independently. I will say that my internship experience extinguished my desire to pursue a career in computers.</p>