Possible switch to CS after graduating with another degree?

College Majors Math/Computer Science Majors
1

I just received a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and I feel nothing but regret. I struggled a lot in college with what major I wanted and I thought I had that figured out, but I feel like I made the wrong decision. Computer Science was always something I thought sounded really cool and interesting, but when I started college, I didn’t try because I thought you needed to have some prior experience with coding to be successful in that major.

Over the course of my curriculum, I have had the opportunity to do some coding in MATLAB, and the courses where I got to do that were always my favorite. I also always enjoyed my math heavy courses and am really good at it, I even went up to Linear Algebra even though it was not required by my major.

I now have a degree and I have had job offers and I am not excited about them at all. I don’t want to be a civil engineer. It sounds incredibly boring and frankly, I don’t think I have the skills to do it. All I have been able to think about since I graduated is how I should have majored in CS, and my options for going back to school. I am already in a lot of debt from undergrad, and I have applied to graduate school for a Masters in Civil, focusing on structures, where I can focus my research on computational mechanics or optimization, so I would be able to integrate computer science and structural engineering.

I am just very lost on what to do right now. I am in a limbo between graduating and graduate school because I graduated in the Fall, so I can’t really accept any full-time jobs because I would possibly be leaving in 8 months to go to grad school, but I am also not sure this is even what I want to do. I really feel that I would be more excited about my future if I had studied CS, but I was so uninformed coming into college, and I just feel like I made a huge mistake.

I have turned down two full-time job offers, which I was surprised I got in the first place because for structural engineering, you typically need a masters degree. One, I don’t regret turning down at all. The pay offer was bad, it was literally across the street from my parents house, which is a huge no, and I was not excited about the company. The other one had a better pay offer, was in a location I think I could be happy in, and based on the employees I spoke with, it seemed like a great company. I have been deciding if I should call them back, take the job to have stability for now, and then figure out if I actually do like it, and if I don’t then I will have money saved up to pursue something else?

So, I guess I am just looking for advice. I feel stuck and like one wrong move is just going to have a snowball effect. I think my head is too clouded with regret and fear to clearly see what options I have at the moment. I just need a direction.

2

Its easier to find a job when you have a job. The second job offer sounds positive, and you don’t know that you are going to grad school, so why not take it and see if you like it, the opportunities, etc. No guarantee that they will reconsider you after you declined, and its not the best foot to start on in a job, but if you just declined it, perhaps they haven’t found another candidate.

FWIW, you can learn skills in one job that helps you land the next job, and skill on the job within a company that allows you to move elsewhere in the company to something you might prefer. My DS#1 is a mech E, thought in retrospect he should have majored in EE, but actually did well with the Mech E degree, and with the current company he works for, he started in hardware but is now in software. So, IMO, no need to sit around doing nothing for 8 months. Get a job and keep your options open.

3

Yes, take the job so that you can pay down your debt and save some money.

In the mean time, you can try to self-educate CS in your spare time, or take some introductory CS courses at a community college, and investigate second bachelor’s degree programs in CS at your local state universities.

4

I’ve worked with programmers from every background you can think of, and almost none of them have CS degrees.
No, you don’t need prior coding experience, just some proficiency. If you already know how to code, you don’t even need to put Civil Engineering on your resume. Just put down Engineering and describe what language or languages you know. Engineering is already tech focused, so it’s very similar to having an IT degree. Apply all over the place for entry level jobs with that language or languages, you’ll probably have an offer by the end of the week :slight_smile: All you need is to get your foot in the door.

5

Software engineer chiming in here.

Had Mathematics background, was super unhappy with it.

Took programming job at old company after college, hated it for the first two years, but I didn’t get any good offers (I didn’t want to go into logistics management). Went back to school for Mechanical Engineering degree masters on my own dime.

Grew to hate it. Was my plan since graduation.

Transferred teams at old company, loved it until management went to crap.

Got new job, promotion, making way more money, going back to school doing master’s in computer science paid for by employer.

You don’t need a CS degree to get in the field. Find a company that will take you and get going.