I got accepted to my top choice school for computer science, and I’ve been thinking ahead.
I was considering double majoring in math, but I quickly realized that it’d be better to take more CS courses (there are lots of CS courses that involve math, and plenty of CS electives I want to try out)
Then I started to consider minoring in either stats or math.
I've never done AP Stats before, so I'm not sure if I'll enjoy it
I really like mathematics.
I find AI and machine learning intriguing.
I see myself becoming a software engineer at a big company like Google or Microsoft one day, since Silicon Valley recruits en masse from the school (and Microsoft competes for grads)
Is there any point in minoring at all if the major is so closely related?
I always advocate to take the classes you want and don’t care about what it will say on your degree. If you want to take math classes related to AI / Machine Learning, go for it! Don’t feel held back by major/minor requirements - get the one degree you want and then take classes as you prefer. Employers won’t care that much if you have the formal minor / double major so long as you know the material that is needed for the job and can actually use it in practice.
Minors, double majors, etc. doesn’t really help you in any case really except for your own intellectual growth (which is pretty much the point of college).
In fact, many of the times (not always like the engineering undergraduate degrees), what you major in doesn’t really matter. <well, not=“” really=“” but=“” generally…=“”></well,>
That said, you don’t need to “minor” or “double major” in something to know the other subject.
I’m a CS major who knows Algebra and Analysis. I don’t even have a math minor even though I pretty much have just as much math knowledge as even a math major in college.
You don’t need college classes to learn a specific subject. College isn’t really spoon feeding place. But yes, if you are interested in something, you are free to learn it! I mean… many of my math courses don’t even count towards anything (not that I care because my goal of college was to learn about analysis and algebra lol).
So ya, in terms of monetary, etc.: There is more or less no point.
In terms of personal enlightenment: Sure! I mean YOLO. You Only Live Once. Seriously, 4 years are better spent taking classes you want than dreading over the “regret” of “what if” after college.
Also… you don’t need a minor or a major to take the classes.
And… from what I hear, working in a big company like Google is apparently not the paradise people think it is (at least from my peers). It’s just another company at the end of the day and you will be doing what most people do in office. Apparently the saying is that the interesting works are all occupied to the higher ups or the phds in Google. So ya, don’t glamorize what software engineers is. It’s just pretty much day to night staring at a small screen everyday while socializing with the same people…