<p>I'm a very creative person who loves to work in teams and create things for the public eye. Also, I (for some odd reason) love to organize things and make them easier to access. (I'm an ENFJ if you haven't noticed). Additionally, I do very well in all of my math/calculus courses. </p>
<p>To be honest, all I know about Computer Science is that it's a reasonably stable undergrad degree to have. From what I have described above, would a CompSci degree suit me? What kind of careers within CompSci would be best for my personality?</p>
<p>I absolutely think it would. Computer science is very well suited to those who are creative and entrepreneurial, qualities that you seem to have. The one thing that catches people is the attention to detail that is requires, and the perseverance. But, if you are good with math courses, you can probably handle it. </p>
<p>Additionally, you are suited to rise to higher-paying jobs in the Computer Science industry if you are as good with people and as creative as you say. You can make more money coordinating people designing projects than doing the grunt work.</p>
<p>KaChow: If I do go with CS as my major, how can I avoid getting stuck with a monotonous programming job when I graduate? (although having any job would be nice) I just ask because I have a few friends going into CS and they cite their love of seclusion and “solo work” as part of the reason for going into CS.</p>
<p>I think you would probably avoid large corporations, like HP (among others, I just happen to know a lot of people there who, while they enjoy their jobs, work in positions that you would probably not enjoy), and just overall not take a job that doesn’t sound cool to you. There are a ton of them in CS, so there’d be no reason to settle. I think you should aim for smaller, up and coming companies involved in expansion where there will be opportunities for creating entirely new things, and less the modification and gradual improvement of gigantic already-existing systems. There will be exciting opportunities at any tech company, but it will be easier to get sucked into a job you don’t want at a larger one.</p>
<p>If you’re creative and like to work with people, you definitely will want to work in a startup or small software company, especially one that works with consumers.</p>
<p>An MBA is not required for advancement, but it may or may not be worthwhile. It is possible and frequent for engineers to be promoted up and slowly transition into project leaders, then engineering managers, then eventually upper management.</p>
<p>One situation in which an MBA would be really worthwhile would be if you are trying to make a complete career switch.</p>
<p>But if you’re goal in life is to become management, why not just start out your career in business instead of going through engineering/software?
Creative skills and people skills will also make you an attractive business candidate.</p>
<p>Terenc: My goal isn’t necessarily to become management as much as it is to work with a team to build a product from the ground up, and then one day manage like-minded creative people. The reason I don’t want to take the “Business” path is because I really like to create things for people and I love the creative process. With business, I feel like I’m more likely to end up with a career in Finance or a field that essentially manages the monetary actions of the creative people. I hope my generalizations aren’t completely off-base here.</p>
<p>You sound perfect for a computer science. A small company would love someone creative to head up their software operations. You will never lack for employment. Study hard and be the best computer scientist and the sky’s the limit! Good luck to you.</p>
<p>Computer jobs can be creative (e.g. making the next new smart phone or tablet application that does not exist yet) or not (e.g. maintaining decades old code to fix the bug when the date/time counters roll over).</p>
<p>Many do go into project lead or management roles with no need for an MBA.</p>