hello everyone! I’m currently a civil engineering major but I’m not exactly sure this is what I want to do. Computer Science appears to be a very interesting subject. I have very little experience with computer programming and such . Is it true this major is better suited for people with years of programming? I heard it also involves a lot of math, which is something I’m not to bad at as long as I try. I also heard this major can open a lot of job opportunities that deal with technology and mathematics? Any information from CS majors would be greatly appreciated! thanks!
I’m a CS and math double major.
The vast majority of CS programs are designed for those who have no programming experience. They all start with a course along the lines of "Intro to Computing"or “Intro Java” (or whatever language they use).
While having previous programming experience is beneficial, it is by no means required. The vast majority of my peers at my school did not take a CS course before college. I went to a STEM magnet high school, so I’ve been coding since freshman year there and came into my university with credit for the intro course. There were only three freshman in my CS course (including me) my first semester at my university.
The amount of math required for a CS major varies greatly depending on the school. Obviously, I have to take more math as a math major, but at my school, CS majors have to take Calc 1, Linear Algebra, and a discrete math for CS course (we have a separate, more rigorous discrete math course for math majors/minors). I’ve seen many CS majors at other schools require calc 2, and some even require calc 3. And of course, we have math intensive courses like algorithms in CS too.