Is a CS degree worth it?

College Majors
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<p>(First time posting here, sorry if I did something wrong)</p>

<p>I'm heading to college, and everyone tells me to go for what I enjoy doing. Well, I already develop video games in my spare time, along with digital art (3d animation and pictures, modelling, etc.). I also have held a few jobs in computer repair, which I deeply enjoy doing, and would love to have a steady job doing it. I also have a passion for psychology and other behavioral sciences. I'm torn between getting a masters in either Computational (computer I think is more wildely used) Science, or Psychology, and becomeing a psychologist. I really do enjoy creating, though, and can't decide if a Computer Science degree would help with either furthering myself in the repair or gaming industry (or movie, or art, or whatever), or if I should just get a minor in CS and a major in Psych. I think I could enjoy doing psychological work and helping people, but I also really enjoy programming as well.</p>

<p>Any thoughts? Any ideas would be much appreciated, as I can't seem to find any relavent info about my specific query anywhere on the web.</p>

<p>Alek</p>

2

<p>"I'm heading to college, and everyone tells me to go for what I enjoy doing."</p>

<p>The problem is that, with both of these majors, you may end up not doing what you want to be doing.</p>

<p>Psychology is a very common major, and a Bachelor's degree alone is not enough to work as a psychologist. People with such majors could potentially end up doing odd jobs for little pay.</p>

<p>Computer science is also common, and many of the lower-end jobs are being outsourced to other countries. As a result, you have to be top-tier to get good work in the United States, and it's very hard to be top tier. Being better than your high-school classmates does not lead to being a standout in college. Furthermore, some people complain about undergraduate Computer Science programs being too "slow-paced" and less productive then studying on one's own (it looks like you do study on your own, so I won't mention the common claim that people who aren't motivated enough to study on their own won't do well in a popular field like comp. sci).</p>

<p>With all this considered, if you still want to do it, more power to you. If you want to do comp. sci., you might be better-off with that. If you don't know much already, you might want to learn more about psychology and see whether or not you agree with the body of work that's already out there (some consider it a pseudoscience of little value, although many people are interested in the topics that it deals with).</p>

<p>If you're looking for other major suggestions, I would recommend looking into engineering*, finance, and accounting. All of these are very good in terms of job availability (finance slightly less-so, however), and the sets of skills required overlap with your existing areas of interest (mathematical skills for all three and an interest in the social sciences for the latter two).</p>

<p>*be warned, however, that aerospace engineering specifically is arguably even more competitive than psychology and comp. sci. and may have even less job availability. The other engineering majors are stronger all-around. Mechanical is the broadest, but Civil is also in high demand.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>Computer Science is a very good major, there are many related job opportunities now and in the future. It is a myth that everything is being outsourced overseas. Every company needs network administrators, many of them are extremely well paid. Many companies have in-house people doing database development, custom programming, etc. There is all kinds of software development going on in the US. These jobs and job types will be changing over time, but they are not going away. </p>

<p>Take computer science and do some cognitive science stuff in addition, you will love your time at college and have no problem finding work.</p>

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<p>^ more and more international student study in the states dude
they are super smart
i don't mean you are not but you need to get the idea of competition
also there are international PHDs who would work for nearly nothing at CS ECE</p>

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<p>^ International students are just as "smart" as U.S. students; the U.S. has many of the best universities of the world, hence the reason why many go there to study.</p>

<p>As for the topic, I don't think a computer science degree will help much if you want to deal with repairing computer hardware. Also, like kenf said, many of the lower-end jobs are being outsourced, though demand remains for those with good CS skills. With some good college internships, most CS majors probably won't have trouble finding jobs.</p>

<p>I don't know much about psychology, so I don't have much to say in that regard. All I know is that to become a psychologist generally requires a doctorate, which means 5-7 years of study past undergrad, which is then followed by a residency of a year or so. If you can do it, great, but I know many people don't look forward to 10 more years of schooling past high school.</p>