Entrepreneurial CS Culture?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

<p>Is there a strong entrepreneurial culture in computer science at Cal?
I get the impression there really isn't. For example, my father, an engineer at Google, tells me he gets the impression that the curriculum in EECS at Cal is so tough and theoretical that few people have the time to pursue entrepreneurial plans (too busy working on class assignments/studying), whereas the Stanford curriculum is easier and more practical, so more startups tend to come out of Stanford.
My brother also told me how at Berkeley in one systems class they really go into the minutiae of operating systems, while the equivalent Stanford class just tells you how the low-level parts work and does not have you worrying about the minutiae (i.e. more practical).
This makes me wary, because I personally don't think "more workload" = better program.</p>

<p>Does anyone have any experience with the workload and entrepreneurship at Cal?
Also, would the situation be any different for L&S CS or for Haas, either of which I might do (or both)?</p>

2

<p>L&S CS and EECS basically take the same classes except for Math/Physics/EE20N/EE40, so it won’t make a big difference. EECS gives you other benefits that are particular to the CoE, so if you got into EECS I would stick with that.</p>

<p>As for the entrepreneurial culture, I does exist at Berkeley, but not as much in CS/EECS. You will have to go out and seek opportunities for yourself, there are plenty. A good place to start is <a href=“http://entrepreneurship.berkeley.edu/[/url]”>A New Focus and a New Look for Entrepreneurship | Berkeley-Haas Entrepreneurship Program. When I was at Cal they even had explicit EECS+Haas mixers for entrepreneurs to meet each other.</p>

<p>Btw, there are other discussions about this topic. A forum search will help you.</p>

3

<p>Some startups are started by Berkeley graduates.</p>

<p>Both schools’ CS courses have on-line course web pages so that you can compare assignments.</p>

<p>[EECS</a> Course WEB Sites](<a href=“http://www-inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/classes-eecs.html]EECS”>CAS - Central Authentication Service)
[Courses</a> | Stanford Computer Science](<a href=“http://cs.stanford.edu/courses]Courses”>Courses | Stanford Computer Science)</p>

4

<p>Honestly… entrepreneurship is overrated. Spend your time in college actually learning something of substance. Being a successful entrepreneur requires actually having a great idea and the technical skills to make it happen. If you decide to make a start-up based on an iPhone app or game, you’re most likely just wasting your time and someone else’s money. Sure there’s a small chance you’ll get really rich, but could anyone really have predicted Angry Birds’ success? Your start-up is probably going to fail and you will have contributed to an economic bubble!</p>

<p>I do know people at Berkeley who are starting their own companies after graduation. They are really smart kids who have done well in all their Berkeley EECS classes and gotten internships and job offers at places like Apple and Facebook. They’ve already gotten investment money and I feel like they actually know what they’re getting into.</p>

5

<p>If anything, we have a strong dedicated CS entrepreneurial club called hackers@berkeley ([Hackers</a> at Berkeley](<a href=“http://hackersatberkeley.com/]Hackers”>http://hackersatberkeley.com/)) or h@b that is a really supportive group of CS/EECS students who hold hackathons, talk about personal projects, or anything CS related. I definitely do think that entrepreneurism you are looking for is definitely present at Cal.</p>

6

<p>more in depth knowledge of material in classes => potential to make smarter use of your tools(knowledge) when you have your own startup.</p>