<p>I have heard that a career in computer science is mostly unstable because you can be replaced by a new grad who has more knowledge of new technology. Is there any truth to this?</p>
<p>You’re thinking of a career in programming (which I would not recommend, due to outsourcing and the temporary nature of the knowledge capital). Computer Science majors can become programmers, but they can also become researchers, analysts, quants, etc. I think computer science is a good major. </p>
<p>Lots of programmers (in fact, most of them I suspect) don’t have university CS degrees.</p>
<p>CS -> prop trading, big potential.</p>
<p>If someone can be replaced by a new hire, that is his or her own fault. It’s not really specific to CS. The difference in skill between an experienced worker and a new grad is/should be huge.</p>
<p>Also, even with just programming, knowledge capital is not that temporary, depending on what you are thinking of. There are many similarities between different languages, tools and such, and learning one may make learning another much easier. Some languages have been used in industry for over 10 years. The underlying concepts are most important. Design is another story.</p>
<p>+1 to the above post</p>
<p>Edit: Outsourcing is also not a problem if you are anywhere near decent.</p>
<p>What do you mean exactly when you use the term “programmers?”</p>
<p>dont you generally have to get a PHD to stay ahead in CS?</p>
<p>If you’re one of the few who wants to do very specific research, maybe. Otherwise, absolutely not. </p>
<p>Most CS graduates I know focus on application rather than research, and are what some people may consider to be “programmers.” There is a lot more than just code that goes into creating good software, though, which is why a CS degree is useful. No one can create good software by only knowing how to code, and I wouldn’t call such a person a programmer. That’s like calling everyone who posts on forums authors. I think I just have a different definition of programmer than other people apparently have.</p>
<p>Of course software engineers must read about new technologies every once in a while and constantly work to develop their skills, but that’s true of so many different industries (medicine, for example). If you want to avoid learning, don’t expect a good job or much money. If you’re good, though, you can expect a lot (starting compensation - at least relative to almost every other major; the rest is up to you).</p>
<p>There are a lot of different areas that you can go into with a CS degree. One is to stay in the programming side of things, but that is just a small portion of the field. You can also go into systems, analysis, and all the other more “business” oriented portions of the field. There are a lot of CS folks that are starting to be promoted into various mgmt. jobs because data manipulation is so critical to business and they know how to do it a lot better than the finance folks now. If you are interested, I would so do it.</p>