<p>Hello, i'm currently a freshman majoring in computer science major. I was interested in doing C++ when I took the class back in high school. But it seems like computer science is... pretty depressing. I started hating it when I was taking harder classes because it's taking away most of my time... and the people who major in engineering don't seem to have time to be friends with each other.. I really wanted to have a good college experience, but It feels like I'm missing out on a lot of events because of the workload.. It seems like a lot of my friends are having a good time by attending a lot of social events when I was working on a programming assignment all friday night..
I know I can't say engineering/computer science is the most depressing major because some people actually like it and some dont... but I'm thinking about switching my major to business major (my second choice) and maybe minor in computer science, so I can have more time. What do you guys think? Should I stick with computer science for the sake of the job prospect in the future? or should I switch my major into something that would allow me to have more time to have a real college experience?</p>
<p>Engineering majors course work in general are rigorous and academically challenging. There is a very steep learning in most of the curriculum. In fact, freshman level engineering/CS classes are typically the easiest ones in most engineering major due to many of them being introductory classes. But given that said, you are not alone when you are slaving away on a Friday night trying to complete a programming assignment. Most engineering students have to put in huge amount of effort, and sacrifice their social life in order to make grades. This sacrifice will be an ongoing event for the next few years given you are only a freshman. But many engineering students do find time to experience college life through good study habits and very disciplined time management. </p>
<p>In a typical solid engineering program, the level of challenge, time requirement, and workload will continue to increase and peak around late junior year, and starts to get easier again around senior year. Therefore, if you find your freshman year workload to be overwhelming and getting in your way of your social life, it would be wise to switch out. </p>
<p>Majority of the freshman engineering students do not complete the program. It has been reported that 67% of the engineering students drop of of the program prior to graduation. Engineering requires HUGE amount of commitment, dedication, and self discipline. It is definitely not for everyone. But at the end, an engineering degree is one of the most versatile degree you can get as an undergraduate. You get what you paid for.</p>
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Quite true in general. You do have more “time-consuming” courses to take as an engineering student. However, that is just a very general statement. Filming, stage, they all seem relaxing. Not really. Their works are just as demanding as the engineering student are.</p>
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I am not sure how difficult your assignments are. Have you compared your social life with other CS and engineering students? I know many engineering students have great social life too even with part time job.</p>
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Not really. I know many “business major” friends don’t have social life either. You can consider CIS, computer information system, or IT tracks that has business components…</p>
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<p>There is no “real college experience”? How do you define it? The type you see on TV and in films? Well, you really have to be that chill. Your personality and your social circle defines what “real college experience” is. </p>
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<p>Let us know what exactly you find difficult in your computer science courses? What courses are you taking?</p>
<p>Look. Going to a computer lab and just sit there chilling with your fellow classmates talking about how to write the best program for computing the square root of 2 in Python - I think that’s a social event. If you want to be the guys in Social Networking, then I don’t think college is for you because honestly not every night or every day you will get to party.</p>
<p>Many of my friends are very hardworking students. They manage their time very very well. They are still able to attend night party and weekend party. I am taking 7 courses and I still have plenty of time going on the Internet surfing and I am still performing very well. Sometime going to a club meeting is a social event. </p>
<p>It really comes down what do you want out of your college.
Yes. Programming does take up many hours. </p>
<p>The funny line: </p>
<p>“90% of the time debugging, 10% of the time writing bugs in the code”
True. But writing a business proposal can be just as time-consuming as programming.</p>
<p>If you really want to have a social life - start small. Talk to your friends. If you can’t find a solution, seek out for help. Talking to your classmates or professors are social events. Social events aren’t really just partying. Let’s not get blinded by the the film The Social Networking. Walk out of your room - start making noises. Walk around the campus and chill for a while. Sitting in front of the computer the whole day will kill ur brain. Take a walk and you will not be brain dead. You may find your solution once you come back!</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice… </p>
<p>@jwxie I’m taking 4 classes including 1 upper-division course as a freshman. I’m taking data structures, discrete structures, history, and english… and I’m already finding these pretty hard to manage and time consuming for me =(
It sounds like you have a REALLY good time management skills. I really wish It was that easy for me to build that skill…but I’m still trying. Thanks for encouragement.</p>
<p>And for real college experience, I’m not just talking about parties or the scenes from Social Network. I’m talking about real college experience as an opportunity to expand my horizon by trying new different things, not just parties. But for me, it seems like my classes are taking away most of my time.</p>
<p>Hi linoch
I am a pretty straightforward person. Hope you didn’t find that offensive.</p>
<p>Discrete mathematics can be a bit time-consuming consider there’s a lot to learn. I did spent a lot of time on that class.
Data structure was kind of a killer at the last quarter of the semester… especially with depth for search, breath for search… It was still manageable.</p>
<p>I think data structure is the upper-division right? It should be taken after discrete usually… Now that the semester is almost at its end, are you confident that you can pass the course? </p>
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<p>Do you commute or do you live on the campus?</p>
<p>No, I don’t think I find that offensive. What you’re saying is actually pretty straight forward. But I think this only applies to some people. I know it is possible to be an engineer and be social at the same time, but I think it depends on the person as well. Some people know how to manage their time efficiently, and some have to work for long hours to actually get the materials. For me, I’m a type of person who have to work for long hours to actually get the materials. But I wanted my college experience to be more social rather than academical. (of course I need to study though)</p>
<p>Data structure is not upper-division. Discrete structure is for our school. I think I can pass those classes since I was working my butt off. And I live on campus.</p>
<p>You may want to savor this time with your data structure class. Like Jwxie alluded to, writing a business proposal can be time consuming.</p>
<p>I have hours during the week where I have to help out with proposals to win new work for our employer…along with other engineers. You should see how each of us are trying to get out of doing this, lol.</p>
<p>During those hours, we WISHED we had a data structure to play with…lol</p>
<p>You can either get a minor in CS with a Business degree, or if your school offers “CIS”, you can think about CIS. Whether the minor is useful or not - it is totally up to you. I would get a minor just because I (you) am in the process of completing two more CS courses.</p>
<p>You said that you have to work for long hours to actually get the materials - I think this would definitely not a time management problem. I am one of these people too. I think you are just at the beginning of the challenge. </p>
<p>Consider Calulcus III - most students will tell you that they have to spend many hours trying different problems to be good at choosing the right integration boundaries, the right integration method to use, and to be good at sketching 3D diagrams. I did. One day I went to the public library and sat there for 10 hours and only did 10 problems. The hard work did pay off - and I got A- in that class. </p>
<p>From what you are telling us, I start thinking that you are not dealing with time management. </p>
<p>Do you seek out for help? Which CS class is the most time-consuming to you??? Which topic of that class do you find most difficult? Have you conquer it yet? If yes, how did you do it? If not, why? What is the average class size of your CS courses? Do you find it difficult to ask for help? </p>
<p>Does your school have club hours??? I can’t really tell you how to improve your social life. But like I said - give up an hour just hangout with friends at the cafeteria, or go to a club meeting. An hour is not too much. You can sleep late, can’t you? You can give up an hour or two on the Friday night. Can’t you? You live on campus so give up an hour or two on Friday and Saturday night just chill with people at your dorm. If they have an event - go there. I don’t go to your school so I have no clue. </p>
<p>Look for Campus-wide event. There are festivals and celebrations on campus. Look at the event calendar. Check out flyer and posters. Circle and mark down the date of those you want to attend so you can prepare ahead of time. I think you are afraid to go out there only because time seems not enough for you.</p>
<p>Tell ms more. I am a rising junior major in computer engineering, and Global is a real engineer that has 20+ years in the industry.</p>
<p>I mean no offense, but it sounds to me like CS is just too academically challenging for you in particular. Especially if you find it to be depressing. A business major might be better suited for you.</p>
<p>If you want to party and go play with your friends then drop CS and change to business now. But you pay the price later on down the line, when your job prospects won’t be as good, and your job opportunities may not be as interesting as you’d hope. </p>
<p>I think most kids waste their time in college pursuing “horizon expanding experiences.” If you want to expand your horizons, get a good degree, get a good job, and then do whatever you want: take vacations, travel the world, experience different cultures, etc. Those are horizon expanding experiences (some of which you can get in college). Partying is not. Socializing is not.</p>
<p>If you do switch to business, but want to go into the IT side of business, consider taking a few CS courses or a minor including courses in operating systems, networks, databases, and/or security. The concepts in those CS courses should give your foundational knowledge to handle changing technologies and unusual problems in IT. Many IT people with purely a business background or just low level certifications find it hard to adapt to changing technologies or unusual problems, so if you can handle that better, you will be more valuable as an employee, consultant, or contractor in that field.</p>
<p>Dude, what is a “real college experience”? Isn’t college first and foremost is about academics, and then whatever else time is left over can be devoted to your non-academic interests? So isn’t rigorous intellectual development (i.e. studying hard and getting good grades and may be even doing research) the most important part of the “real college experience”?</p>
<p>Being in college and studying engineering myself, I sort of have learned from my classmates and friends that the catch phrase “wanting to live a real college experience” usually means doing minimal class work and still pass, screwing off, getting stoned drunk as often as possible, and hopefully to get girls (the first and last one prove to be most allusive for my peers). </p>
<p>So if your idea of college is a good time with the ladies at a party, by all means, many students have followed that path and succeeded in having a great time for 4…may be even 5 or 6 years? </p>
<p>But most of these students ARE NOT engineering majors, and even if they are to start with, they won’t be by the time they graduate (if they graduate at all). So I echo what pseudoghost said, if you want to party, do change to business. It is much easier to make grades in business. </p>
<p>To successfully graduate from engineering typically requires 2 out of 3 of the following attributes, the first being intelligence, second being hard work/determination, third being passion for the subject. If you have only 1 or none of the 3, then you really need to ask if engineering is really for you.</p>
<p>From my personal experience, I have always been a decent student all my life, but when I got to engineering school, I had to study my butt off just to make okay grades. It is only once I got to my junior year that I really got a handle on everything and I was able to heavily participate in extra curricular activities such as joining the school government, sports, partying a little, and having a girlfriend. But even then I had to tightly manage my time and really force myself to study (e.g. study on Friday night when everyone is out) even when all I wanted to do was screw off. So far, I am most of my way through my hardest classes with good results, and I am glad I managed to buckle down to really take advantage of the great learning experience I was given.</p>
<p>And I neglected to mention, the level of academic challenge is also predicated upon your particular university. If you are in Caltech/MIT/Stanford, etc., then making grades is obviously infinitely harder than at a run of the mill college. So if you feel overwhelmed, you might actually need to examine not only the choice of your major, but also your university.</p>
<p>LOL Guys. Please do read our converations above. I mean he has stated clearly that he is not looking for partying. He want so to do other things. Let him respond.</p>
<p>I guess I should’ve explicitly defined what “real college experience” is. For me, I was talking about “real college experience” as an opportunity to learn and grow as a person, whether it is from party, clubs, dorms, studying abroad, friends, professors, or etc. I was a really shy guy in high school not knowing anything about what’s going on in the world. I was pretty depressed about myself because I think all I did in high school was being stuck in the room and play video games or study.
So, I didn’t want my college experience to be similar (being stuck in my room and studying 24/7). I know I can learn a lot of materials from classes, but I want to learn a lot more outside of classroom. That’s why I didn’t want my CS major to interfere with the experience I want to have in college. (I guess part of the reason is because I’m taking hard classes and have poor time management skills) Once I graduate from college, I know I would not going to have these opportunities anymore. I don’t really care whether I get a job from a big company or not. I want to find out more about myself and grow as a person rather than being socially awkward for the rest of my life That’s why I asked for advise whether to stick with CS major or not.</p>
<p>I have two words for you and two words only: time management. Stick with CS, work hard, get a good job, and live a good life. Or switch to business and be unemployed and party all the time. The choice is yours.</p>
<p>@ linoch
Do you mind to answer the questions I’ve posted?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12627562-post8.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12627562-post8.html</a></p>
<p>Do you still think you are a shy person?
First, I encourage you to go out more often during the summer. Make a list of things that you would like to try more during the school year. Look at the the past semester calendars. Look at the past events. Join a club. Attend meeting regularly. </p>
<p>Study abroad is definitely worth it. You should get information about it from your school. Maybe you can try study abroad next summer!</p>
<p>CS is a wonderful path. It can leads you to many opportunities. Notice how many things today revolve around computer technology? You can go out and teach students how to program. Help out local organizations to setup a website. These things count are enrichments. </p>
<p>If you don’t mind, please do tell us the name of the school you are attending. Maybe some of us have been there or are currently a student there. </p>
<p>I really don’t think time management is really the issue here if you are always studying. That shows me that you are eager to do well, but you are afraid to get out because the clock is ticking so fast that you don’t even want to move. Down the road, inevitably as a CS student, you will be stuck in your room for a few hours each day debugging and writing codes. As you move to more upper-level courses, you can learn little from class meeting… and you will be teaching yourself most of the time.</p>
<p>However, “[e]ngineering majors course work in general are rigorous and academically challenging.” But I think this applies to all majors. People usually associate business major, liberal art major as easygoing, laid back people. Not really. I have seen many many hardworking people. We stereotype them (in fact, they are being discriminated) such that if they want to have a brighter future (which is necessary due to the limited career pool they are entitled to), they would have to work triple harder to find internships and build portfolios because there are simply too many of them out there.</p>
<p>What you need is a group of friends that will motivate you to excel beyond coursework. As I was saying before - even just a tech chat between you and your fellow classmates at a lab can be very interesting, and it can lead to other “real college” opportunities.</p>
<p>I think this is a good example of why you shouldn’t jump into the so-called “upper division” courses so early. You may be mentally capable of handling the material but those study habits and time management skills are definitely not there. Try taking a normal semester for your age and developing those skills with an easier load.</p>
<p>Also, how you define a good college experience makes a big difference. It isn’t going to be like Animal House. If it is, you probably are missing out on the more important parts of college, like class.</p>
<p>In reality, you can have an active social life and still get through engineering. I missed only 1 or two home basketball games and 1 home football game during my undergrad and went ou probably once a weekend on average. In general I didn study a ton on weekends at all unless something had used up weekend nights. My time management was only decent as well. Trust me, it is possible.</p>
I know this is a dead thread, but bad information in a dead thread is still read…
Workload breakdown:
Engineering > Science > Everything else
jwxie clearly did not obtain an engineering degree if jwxie is comparing business majors to engineering…
I had a roommate, junior year, who was a business major…he went out every night and spent most of the day drunk on the couch…while I was busy writing programs and designing microprocessors.
Also, the people in engineering that focused on having a social life ended up flunking out or switching majors. Engineering is hard which is why it commands the highest starting salary of any of the college majors.