Hey guys not sure if this is the right thread but as you know from the title I am STRUGGLING in cs rn. I’m a freshman in community college taking intro to programming c++. I have a 60% in the class and my final is on Friday. I understood pretty much everything until the second half of the semester when we started learning loops, then arrays, structures etc… Tbh it seems like I won’t do well on the final so should I retake the course or should I just find a new major? I already registered for COMSC 165 which is advanced programming in c++. If I do end up passing the class I think I would just study the text book more to prepare myself for advanced c++. Any thoughts suggestions would be great. I’m really worried.
I would ask myself these questions: am I enjoying what I am doing? am I learning? do I have time to commit to this?
If you are enjoying it, learning, and have no real time constraints, then I see no reason to change majors. If it isn’t enjoyable for you, or if you haven’t been able to learn new things in this class, or if you have time constraints that wouldn’t allow retaking some courses, then it may be time to pick a new path.
You also may want to retake the class even if you end up passing, just to make sure you have a solid foundation.
Just my 2 cents. Good luck!
Do you like CS? Is this something that really interests you? If so, you might want to retake the course or look for additional material to study online. But if it’s just something you are doing because you think you should, and you aren’t loving it, it may not be worth all the extra work you’re going to have to do to catch up.
I probably sound like debbie downer but most people who have a lot of struggle with loops and arrays have a real hard time reasoning about CS-related concepts in general. Since CS is pretty competitive from getting into a 4 year school all the way to landing a job, I’d probably start checking out other majors.
It isn’t that competitive to get a job. There’s actually a shortage of qualified people. It’s not that competitive unless you want to work for a tippy-top company straight out of college. You WILL get a job with a CS degree.
You WILL get a job with other majors too. (I mean the average college degree person has a job. And the average grad does not major in CS. If CS was the only major getting a job, most of the people around you including your parents would be unemployed.)
I would ask yourself if you truly love CS and want to do C++ everyday from 9 to 5 (a lot more honestly) including midnight (bugs/releases) until you retire.
If not, maybe the field is not for you. Nothing wrong with it. This idea of “major in CS degree for a job” sounds ludicrous to me. Nursing WILL get you a job. Engineering WILL get you a job. Pharmacy WILL get you a job. Actuarial science WILL get you a job. Heck, many things will get you a job with a high probability of success rate (and have a career that leads to a upper middle class lifestyle). I mean, for instance, if you can get into med school, most fields in med school have basically 100% employment rate for lifetime. So don’t worry if CS is not for you.
The fields I would worry about for getting a solid job out of college would be for most theoretical liberal art degrees (I’m sorry liberal arts. The cost of college is starting to make me question the value of the degree for undergrad. With all this student bubble, there has to be some fine line in which college has some financial return for its investment towards the mind). For the liberal arts, I now see it as a privilege for the financially stable and not an investment towards potential financial returns.
Don’t forget also, once you go to the workforce, to maintain your job, you WILL have to keep up to date in the software industry unlike most other industries. In other words, you have to be constantly studying in CS in the industry unlike most other degrees. Do you want to do what you are doing once you graduate everyday at work and outside work? Be honest with yourself.
If yes, then move forward. Don’t give up. But I will have to agree with @w00pw00p on the view that people struggling with loops/arrays to not fare well in this industry. However, maybe you aren’t trying enough. We don’t know. Just be honest with yourself. Is this a field you enjoy?
Enjoying computers != CS.
I know friends who enjoy cars. They ain’t mechanical engineers or car mechanics as far as I am aware.
@thaoz1 Since you indicate that you did not do this with the intro class, that might explain why you are struggling with the basic concepts. Whether you pass and take the next class or fail and retake this one, what you want to do is read the text book and study the code sections. In fact, you can often completely skip the text explanations and just read the code. Try doing this as a review for the final. You should find that everything starts to make a lot more sense.
How did your final go? Have you tried studying other languages? I would try using Java and see if the concept is easier to understand.
Take some Discrete Math and Logic courses, see if you can understand them, and then go back to taking CS classes. Lots of people do poorly in a major class their first year – just retake it and move on if it’s really something you want to do. Also keep in mind that CS is more than just endless coding. If you really want to go super deep into the field, take as many math classes as you possibly can.