Is it too late for me to have a future in CS?

Having been an avid editor on my school newspaper so far in high school, I’ve never been very much interested in computers, nevertheless computer science. Instead, I always craved a career in journalism. But recently, I got into the “creative” aspect of newspapers. Specifically, presenting stories in different web mediums, such as interactive graphics, accompanying illustrations, etc. Immediately, a future in this field became more appealing than a beat reporter. For the most part, math has always been an easy subject for me. Likewise, art has always been a part of my life. As a rising high school junior, is it possible for me to double major in Computer Science and Journalism in college, even if I have NO background in programming languages?

Everything is theoretically possible. From a job market standpoint, a degree in Computer Science will have a higher return of investment than a Journalism degree (that’s just a fact, not even an opinion). Most of the people I know didn’t do any programming, but the ones who did definitely had an advantage.

Keep in mind that a degree in CS isn’t a walk by the pond. Most degree programs require to take many math courses, as well as some theoretical courses in CS. You may find yourself having to decide which path is better for you - Journalism or CS, because (in my experience), and I’m in my senior year for CS right now, double-majoring would truly be a pain in the behind.

It would be very difficult to double major in these because there’s so little overlap between them. Honestly, I see a lot of high school students trying to figure out how to combine their interests by proposing to double major in 2 very different areas, but I’ve never seen it stick. Perhaps consider something that offers a combined major (components of both the majors, but in a package the size of a regular degree). My undergrad university offers a combined CS/Journalism degree: http://www.ccis.northeastern.edu/program/bs-combined-major-for-computer-science-and-journalism/ as well as CS/interactive media (which seems to also match the interests you describe): http://www.ccis.northeastern.edu/program/bs-combined-major-for-computer-science-and-interactive-media/

Since you’re only a junior, you have plenty of time to figure this out. Don’t stress out yet. If your school offers any programming classes, definitely take those if you can. If not, try checking out something like Codecademy, which has free interactive programming lessons online. If all else fails, know that computer science programs are designed with no assumptions about anyone’s prior programming experience. I started college with without having ever written a line of code, ended up with a minor in CS, and will be starting my PhD in CS later this month. I was also a TA for the intro CS class while I was there, and I saw students with no previous experience excel, while others with lots of independent experience struggled.