It is my first semester of computer science and im in community college. I have a 60% in the class and I am about to take my final in less than 24 hours. I feel lost and do not know what I want to do. I have A’s in all my other classes but not this one. In my cs class I score well on the labs but dont do well on the quiz or midterm. The last chance I have to pass the class is to at least get a C in the final. But honestly that probably won’t happen and I am just gonna end up failing it. I don’t really want to give up on studying computer science especially since it is the future, the good pay etc… If I fail this semester should I just retake the class, or give up on cs entirely and find a new major. I feel like it has been a somewhat wasted first semester especially since I chose cs as my major. I’m just feeling really down and need some friendly advice.
Don’t give up. I bombed my first programming class and I code for a living. Grades have nothing whatever to do with how well you can code. Coding is all learning by doing. Most electric guitar players couldn’t tell you music theory or types of chords they play, but that doesn’t mean they can’t play it. Exams only test how well you can barf up words in a book. I would just re-take the class again and read the book so you can barf-up the words on the test. Just get through the classes. The real education happens after graduation when you start working. Once you start doing it with projects and deadlines you’ll be proficient in a month or two.
While I agree with not giving up just yet and it’s not at all uncommon for successful programmers to fail their first class, programming isn’t for everyone and retaking and working harder isn’t always the answer. Many practical skills are learned on the job or through personal projects, but what is taught in school has value too and if you’re not getting that, cramming and barfing up what’s in a book (hard to do in CS in the first place) is not going to help at all.
While you can struggle through, most successful programmers will have to have at least some sense of enjoyment in programming, otherwise it becomes a painful torture of a career. Are you enjoying the class and projects at all?
If you really think CS is your path, try retaking it but first figure out what went wrong. Did you spend enough time? Did you struggle with a particular concept? Did you get help when you didn’t understand something? Did you start project assignments early enough? If you don’t fix the underlying problem of why this semester didn’t go well, retaking it won’t make much of a difference.
If you end up finding out CS isn’t for you, don’t fret and focus on figuring out alternative majors you would enjoy for a career. Changing majors is a completely normal process of college.
Good luck!