Hello everyone,
I really need some help. I am a sophomore right now with media studies major in United States. Recently, I have developed an interest in computer science. But the college I go doesn’t have this major or minor. It hardly has few math courses like Calculus I, II and III ‘Quantitative Reasoning,’ ‘Algebra and Trigonometry’ and ‘Intro to Stats.’ Also just one programming course ‘Intro to Programming.’
I was wondering if it would still be possible to continue my media studies major and begin computer science officially in grad school. Basically, I want to be able to program android applications. I don’t want to transfer as I will become junior starting next semester this fall. I am totally confused and this is driving me crazy. Any of your suggestions would be appreciated.
Thank you for your time.
My opinion: you can’t cover the whole field of computer science in a degree. There are classes that should be taken at a university as you might not get experience elsewhere with subjects like Algorithms, Computation, Compiler Design, etc.Android programming is not one of those. It is very applied and VERY relevant and available on the web. This is not true with other more theoretical classes at university.
You can finish your media studies degree but learn Android programming online through youtube, iTunes U, and other free tutorials. Almost everything you need to know is there, you don’t have to spend $2000 for a couple classes on it.
Start with Android App Development - thenewboston, or go to Itunes U(niversity) and with a little bit of searching youll find an Android/Java class taught by Stanford/Berkeley/or MIT, etc.
Udemy has some great courses as well. I’m an app developer for the past few years.
So you guys are telling me that it is possible to get better on Android without leaving Media Studies? Will I be able to get internship or even job at Google even without official degree?
Google, probably not especially with no experience. To get hired by any top company you will probably need a CS degree or incredible ability without it, neither of which seem to be options. Take the intro to programming course at your school, then study Andriod stuff online if that is the route you want to go.If you’re only a sophomore you’ve got some time. If it’s a serious interest, you may want to consider transferring to another school to major in CS.
PengsPhils is correct. From knowing a few people in silicon valley tech companies that hire people to their team, this is what I know:
CS degree / Other degree / no degree matters. But for many companies its not the biggest deal.
There are two categories of CS degrees: Berkeley/Harvard/MIT/etc. and Other
What is MOST important is what you know. What projects do you have under your belt? Did you make a complete Android app just because you wanted to? Do you have experience in what the job is demanding?
If you get a media studies degree, and learn just about Android Programming. You can make some apps. But if you get further into programming, make a lot of things, learn many concepts, languages, and techniques online, you can get many jobs that CS majors typically have. Lots of software engineers in silicon valley with chemistry/physics/english/(none) degrees.
Saying this, you should explore Android programming online some more. Find out of things like this is what you really want to do. If it is, you should consider transferring schools and majoring in computer science, because media studies won’t help too much. Also to finish your original question, a media studies degree will not adequately prepare you for grad school Computer Science. You would need to take community college cs classes and, again, do much online learning.