Got accepted into UCI’s Math major for Fall 2017, however i’m having second thoughts to go back to community college for one year and transfer into UCLA’s Linguistics and Computer Science major. At the end of it all, since I enjoy programming I would like to work in tech. Any suggesstions on why one major is better than the other?
Thanks
UCLA (or another school) may be stronger in one specialized area or another, depending on whom they’ve hired, the courses they’ve made available to undergrads, and the competition to get into those classes. A lot depends on your own interests, though. Are you interested in natural languages as well as computing and math? Are you ready & willing to cover the foundations in all those areas (language(s), linguistics, CS, and math) as an undergrad? Have you compared the graduation requirements for both programs?
Either major is fine. You won’t have a problem getting a job with degrees from either of those schools.
Think twice about giving up your spot at UCI.
You would need to spend two years (60 semester units) completing a very specific course path at the CC, and depending on the CC you’re attending, you may not be able to get all of the courses you need to fulfill the requirements.
Even with AP credits, because of the narrow application window (11/1-11/30) and the inflexible list of courses required for CS admission, you may be painting yourself in a corner with absolutely no guarantee of admission to UCLA.
If cost is a major concern, then it may be a good idea. If it’s just a sub-set concentration within your already established major, then I would consider that you’ll be better off remaining on the track you’ve already established.
Do well at UCI and UCLA will be there for grad school.
I have completed the math requirement and two programming courses. I need two more programming courses and a year of foreign language to be considered. I overall feel like I’m interested in this major because I feel like the UCLA major will give me a heads up in the software field by taking CS classes at UCLA. At UCI since im a math major getting the CS classes is nearly impossible as a non-computer science major.
Yea it would definitely be a long shot, but what’s getting my attention would be the availablilty to take as many CS classes at UCLA as I want. I wish i could have that luxury at UCI, but simply getting in the intro class as a non computer science major is close to impossible.
Forgot to mention I’m a transfer student so I already have my 60 units as well.
Potential employers will care more about your major and what you learned in it. That’s more important than where you went to school.
What is your career plan after graduating?
My bad I structured that sentence incorrectly. I meant like I’ll only have the chance to take CS classes at UCLA and if I choose UCI I won’t be able to take CS classes.
Working in software, coding of some sort.
What are the UCI requirements with your concentration? While math can be very helpful and even give an advantage in some CS settings, it may make it harder to break into the field, get internships, etc. You’ll also have to learn a lot of stuff on your own and be ready for that. A CS minor at UCI even would help a lot - is that an option?
Depending on the UCI program and if you can do a minor, UCLA may make more sense, not because it’s amazingly better, but just because of the degree differences you’d take at each.
Do you need to be admitted to UCLA or do you have a sort of guaranteed transfer?
A minor at UCI is nearly impossible simply because I don’t get priority for the CS courses. Based on the previous acceptances to that major at ucla I am looking pretty good. However I may have an option to switch to electrical or computer engineering at uci. Would that be better for a software position, or would the linguistics and CS major at ucla be more attractive to recruiters.
For context, recruiters look mainly for CS degrees, but more importantly than that, relevant coursework/experience.
Electrical engineering is a bit far off, but I know people in computer engineering who end up in software. Still, it’s not the ideal if your intention is to go the software route. CE deals more with hardware and more or less tangentially interacts with CS.
In the end, its going to either take CS courses or lots of self-study, and even then it will be harder to get your foot in the door for the software development world.
Is there any reason you plan to apply for the linguistics part? Why didn’t you try to transfer to another place for CS? Having the correct major is much more important than the minimal differences in going to a slightly less highly regarded college. Any other UC for CS would be been just fine.
If you wait another year to transfer, does that delay your graduation by a year?
I got got caught up with other colleges because my CS courses wouldn’t transfer over. Essentially i could reapply to more community colleges after moving to another CC that has transfer articulations (orange coast college). I would be taking the same classes I would at a UC at orange coast that year, but it still delays graduation because of the unit restriction. You still have to take 70 units at UC to graduate.
I see. If you want to do software and are sure about it, unfortunately doing that may be the better route. You certainly could do it with a math degree, but I think it can be a much tougher road in the end and will take a lot of work outside of class. As long as it isn’t financially a problem, Orange Coast -> CS sounds like the best move. In the meantime, I would also try to teach yourself some CS stuff and see if you can get an internship somewhere next summer before transferring.