I was a successful high school student, college was something expected from me and computer science was all I had some slight interest in, so why not major in it? I’m in my second year and I can’t tell if it’s for me. Sometimes I absolutely hate it, I’m not interested in the careers in the field but other times I’m okay with it and just want to get it over with. I feel stupid in the major, so many smart people that know what they’re doing and Im just there. Sometimes I feel like switching majors but I’m so scared. I dont know what my passions are and i’m absolutely terrified. Words of advice?
Do you have an academic advisor? I’d suggest talking to the advisor or a few of your favorite professors. Sometimes it helps to get an objective perspective.
1 Like
Meet with an academic advisor and discuss options for changing majors.
Visit the career center at your college. Ask them what resources are available to help you figure out what path is right for you. See what internship or employment opportunities they have. Look at their professional,networking connections to see if any of those fields interest you.
Don’t sit back and assume that you must continue the current major you are in. Be proactive and see what changes you can make to put yourself on the right path for you.
3 Likes
Check to see if your college offers classes about specific majors/careers.
My son’s university offers mini-courses like this. These meet once a week for 6 weeks. Basically the course explains the field as a major and a minor, the requirements, and the careers that result from a degree in it.
Initially, my son didn’t think he’d be interested in this but now he wants to take three or four of these classes. He thinks it will give him a broader understanding of some majors he might be potentially interested in, but doesn’t really know a lot about currently. He’s already taking one this semester and he’s bummed he missed one first semester about an interesting major.
If your school offers classes like this, it would probably be even more help to you than meeting with an advisor. But definitely speak with your advisor as well.
2 Likes
Another thing to consider is if you may be suffering from depression…Is it that you don’t know if you care about CS or you don’t care about anything? Talk to your doctor or counseling center at college.
How are your grades? If you are doing okay, don’t worry about other people that seem to know more. If you were starting from scratch (which college expects you may be), then of course they may know more.
I would also consider talking to your advisor, favorite professor or even the Career office. The career office may have some “tests” to help determine what major is right for you. There are similar things on line you could try.
1 Like
The “problem” of CS major is that you will always run into kids that look like genius. They can do things cooler than what you’ve learned and what you will learn in college. Don’t let this fool you. The reality of a CS career is that: it is not much different from most careers. It doesn’t necessarily need genius or even super smart people. What it does need is a learning mindset, consistency, and teamwork skills. Pretty much like other careers. If you can do these, you will make it in CS. If you can’t, you won’t make it far in other careers either.
Forget about “don’t know what my passions” thing. Passion is not this big, mysterious, glorious thing and you will live happily ever after once you find it. Passions are thousands of little things, even in careers. They also come and go as you age. So just explore, don’t let finding it become your burden.
Lastly, what you call yourself matters. It can change how you think of yourself. Never degrade yourself, even in monikers.
6 Likes
An internship might be helpful to you. Visit the school career advising center & ask about internship opportunities.
I’m curious, teenietiny. For a moment, forget about school, forget about passions. What do you do for fun? What are ways that you most enjoy spending your time?
2 Likes
Just because other students know more doesn’t make them smarter. They probably already know the language. The first programming language is always the hardest, because you have to grasp both the syntax AND the logic behind it. That’s hard if you don’t have any hands-on experience. Once you learn the logic, it’s actually easy to learn another language.
On the other hand, I’m not hearing the word “like” or “love” when referring to CS 
Don’t do anything you’re not going to like, otherwise you’ll be miserable. Perhaps you might want to look into Information Technology. That gives you a technical degree, but skips the dry mathematical stuff, that’s not needed in most technical jobs.
I remember feeling the same when I went to college. It took me a while to realize that I had always prided myself, even owned it as part of my identify, that I was a “smart kid” in high school. And in college, I suddenly became very average, definitely not one of the top in that environment, though that takes nothing away from the fact that I was bright enough to get there in the first place. But, I was an adjustment in terms of my self-identity. Once I understood it, that helped. I wonder if you might be feeling something similar.
Like other said, speak to an advisor. Many universities also offer free or low cost counseling services, if that might help too.
-
Make sure your issue isn’t depression or the like. Maybe go to the counseling center at college and talk to someone.
-
I am not sure everyone has PASSION about their majors…I majored in Electrical Engineering but most certainly did not have passion about circuits …but I did like math and science and logic and solving problems. I have a job that is not hands on engineering but is all about solving technical problems for customers. My spouse was not passionate about accounting but they wanted a major where they could have a professional job…being able to work with many customers and interact with people is something they enjoyed though.
-
CS is a strange major where many people come into college with skills…make sure you are not comparing yourself to self taught people. Are you on track with your curriculum?
-
Maybe CS is not exactly the right major for you…go to the Career center and see if they have any “tests” that help you figure out what major you want. Or go on line and google “how to pick a major”. Do you like solving problems or helping people?
-
Like others say, you went from top in your HS to average in college. Many people have this issue. Another reason maybe to talk to the counseling center at your school.
-
Make sure you are taking advantage of all the academic support tools your college has to offer: Professor office hours, tutors, study groups, etc. etc.