Should I try to become a CS major?

Q: As of right now, I am studying Math/Econ, but I was also considering pursuing Computer Science along with math because I feel like it is useful and I feel like coding is a good skill to have. I’m not exactly sure what type of career I want, so could you tell me more about your job, like what you do daily, some of the more stressful projects that you’ve done, what you like about it, what you don’t like about it, the company culture, and more. This would be really helpful in helping me decide what I want to do.

A: It is not a bad idea to have a BA degree in Math. In STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), it gives you the most flexibility in grad schools.

When I was a software engineer, I spent the majority of my day “debugging” — trying to figure out what’s wrong with the code myself, or someone else, wrote. It is like playing detective or solving a big puzzle. It was frustrating if I cannot find the “bug” or when I realized that it was beyond me to figure out. I spent long, long days staring at the screen thinking hard to solve problems. We always had schedule to keep; the day-to-day life was quite stressful. When things worked, however, it was like magic. Everything fit together perfectly and was beautiful. Software projects typically demanded all my concentration. When I completed a project, it was like finishing a long run that was just beyond my range — exhausted, fulfilled, and accomplished

There are people who are smart but not having the aptitude for coding. Software development can be a very frustrating thing for them. Coding is a very consuming job, it takes efforts and long time to excel. You will feel like being part of a community that other people don’t quite understand what you do.

Most software companies are very competitive in culture. People are “cut throat” in trying to best others. But it is more like the competition in music or sports, and not like in wars. The real only way to win is to practice harder yourself, and not to harm others physically.

The world will need many software engineers for a very long time. So it will be a very profitable major.

If you are not pursuing a graduate program in CS, switching major gives you a good job prospects at graduation. To have a successful career as anything requires intense effort and pretty long working hours. But your finance, law, medical, or law majored friends don’t get paid nearly as well doing that.

Q: Did you like being a software engineer, though? Or did you wish that you had pursued something else? I am also hoping that in the future, I would enjoy my career and not regret not having pursued something else.

A: I am one those rare and lucky people that vocation is also the interest. Most software people either flame out in 5 years or stay with it for the rest of their lives. Truthfully, I probably don’t mind being a teacher. I am not sure if I could have taught for 30 years.

Q: Do you believe it would be easy for me to learn CS in grad school?
I do feel pressured into finding something now, as I could look for internships over the summers and to build a resume for a career in the future. I want to use my time productively so that I can make sure I will be successful in the future. Would I not be considered for internships?

A: I knew many non-STEM major who finished their CS master’s program in 2 years and had a successful career as a software engineer. Of course they needed to work hard during those years, but a math major has already a leg up. If you cannot get into the CS program, stay with math and take some basic courses to prepare for the grad school.

For the first two summers, most companies treat STEM major the same for internship. The third summer will be slightly different, by then, however, you would have two internships under your belt. So you will be just fine.

Having good internship during school is the best way to find job at graduation. So you are smart in planning for that.