@NeoDymium Did you ever struggle at first with the math or physics? If so, what were some of the steps you took to get out of that rut? If not, what did you do before that made you so good or skilled in that area?
@"aunt bea" Thank you for the input. I am essentially insecure about my future, but it’s with good reason. I’m taking out loans and am aware of people who have had the rest of their life ruined because of taking out said loans. I just can’t believe I’ve been stuck in this major and have ended up in this bad situation of waiting till the end of my sophomore year to really think about change… Is it too late to really change? I’m already 1/2 the way through this degree plan…?
I never got anything below an A in any math/physics course, but I also taught a lot of students of different grade levels to do math who most certainly did do poorly at times. I will say this about the two topics:
Math is not particularly difficult and “not good at math” is just a mindset. Everyone has trouble with algebra, geometry, calculus, etc., but at the same time, everyone is capable of learning each of these topics (I had many “can’t do math” types who I did eventually teach to be at least decently good at it). It gets very tough at times, because every subject does (I had some very rigorous history/English classes in high school - those get tough too), but what holds people back is that in math specifically, they like to say that they “aren’t good at it” than just admitting that struggling with it is natural. That, I suppose, is the biggest lesson here: accept that struggling through it is natural.
Physics can be a little rough at the start, especially as a CS major who probably won’t need to see much of it in the future anyways. But don’t let that be a reason to ignore the topic because “when will I ever use this” is a pretty poisonous mindset. Physics, at least in the first year calculus-based sequence, is maybe 50% math, 50% framing the problem in terms of the laws of physics. It’s a very mathematically rooted subject in that things don’t make sense unless you understand the math (pop science and all its convoluted descriptions of physics concepts are a testament to this fact), and you have to learn to think of things in terms of the laws of physics. The upside is that until you get to the really tricky stuff, there simply is just not that much to it.
In both subjects, doing practice problems and understanding why you made mistakes is the way to learn. Then don’t make those mistakes on exams; if you can manage this, an A in any math/physics class of moderate but not ridiculous difficulty is pretty straightforward. Use tutors if you need them, but I personally think it’s best to learn to do everything yourself.
Anyone else able to help me? Maybe new people who haven’t posted on here yet? Like I said, honestly, any input/advice/or anything really would be useful.
Have you ever considered taking some type of aptitude test to see what you are good at? CS is a great field but why that engineering major? Why not mech eng or EE or even finance or accounting? I think CS requires strong, logical thinking and very long hours. If you are not detail oriented, CS may not be for you. Maybe minor in it but choose a new major.
If you want to know how to get a great career with a meaningful purpose, what interests you and how can you make a living at it? I know folks with Econ degrees making tons of money and engineers with CS degrees toiling for decent but not huge salaries. Depends on their individualistic motivation within the field. I see that job skills, experience and personality are huge long term differentiators in the workplace.
An MIS degree is usually in the business school and eliminates the biggest roadblocks that appear to be in your way (advanced maths and sciences). It also prepares you to work in the IT industry just in different roles than most CS majors. Unless I missed it, I didn’t read that you have a driving passion for CS specifically. As has been noted, there are lots of other good majors out there.
A couple of reality checks here. One, you should learn how to stay in the present and not allow all the stresses and decisions of college to “pile on”. Focus more on the short term until things smooth out. Day by day if that helps, then week by week, etc. Recognize that being a college student already puts you in a select group of people that are working to better themselves through continued education. You are most likely not giving yourself enough credit for where you are today. I would recommend you investigate MIS at your school and most likely you could change to that major without losing many if any credits. You can use the though process of “stop doing what isn’t working, start doing what might work, keep doing what is working” methodology. Good luck