Hey all,
I want to be a comp sci major, but I’m a little worried about how I will do in college and beyond. I am part of the first AP Computer Science class at my school. While I have a B in the class (for me, a B is a good grade), I am concerned that I may not have the optimal skills to be a Comp Sci major. In addition, what else should I do to prepare myself for CS?
Wouldn’t worry about it that much - there is a range of emphasis for the comp sci major. When I went to college many years ago, the options at my school were (and still are) Computational Software (more on the engineering side), Software Development and Enterprise/Application Software (more on the business side). I ended up in the Enterprise/Application Software track because of the nice balance of programming, database work and business classes.
The AP Comp Sci class is a good start to just get a peek at what that would be like in college, but it shouldn’t be a deciding factor. Also, you may want to look at some of the certifications and outside learning out there, see if any of them interest you and,dive in that way. A good free website for some Comp Sci learning that is free is https://www.cybrary.it/
Hope that helps!
If you liked your AP Comp Sci class, stay with it.
If you got an A but hated the class, that’s when you should look at a different major.
I wouldn’t take your AP Comp Sci experience in H.S. as representative of CS in general. I heard a lot of negative comments about the way this was taught at our local H.S. (i.e., the kids had to teach themselves because the instructor was clueless.) So don’t base your love/hate of CS in general on a single H.S. class.
Nevertheless, you should be honest with yourself about why you want to study CS if you are unsure you have the requisite skills. If you plan to major in CS only because you heard that CS majors make good money, that is a not a good reason. The ones that make good money do so because they good at it and most really enjoy it. Along those same lines, the ones who enjoy it practice it a lot, get better at it because of the practice, which creates a virtuous cycle leading to a higher paying job.
So if you enjoy solving puzzles, you get a kick out of getting the machine to do something for you, and you like looking at things in a logical, ordered way, then by all means continue your studies in CS. One difficult or badly taught class won’t deter you. On the other hand, if all you want to be is a software mercenary (killing bugs for hire), find some other area better aligned with your skills/temperament.
I do really like my CS class! It just seems that many other classmates/CS majors have been coding projects since like age 12, so I feel a little behind. I enjoy puzzle solving, I’m just not sure I’m good enough.
Many many CS students don’t even have exposure to CS in high school so I think you are ahead of the curve, even if some of your classmates have been working on their own for a long time. Please stick with it… we need more females in computer science! You will bring a lot to the field and your future employer.