Any computer science people out there?

Hello fellow nutjobs!

This is kind of random and has nothing to do with "conspiracies," although we could make it do so... or ranting so I brought it to general chit-chat in hopes of possibly receiving some valuable feedback. Lets not turn it into an argument as we do with the majority of ATS posts these days please.

Anyway I have a question that I hope can be answered. More like a question that consists of questions really. But I feel like there are certainly some people around these parts who could offer some valuable advice. So anyway...

I am a local "university" student. I thought I would be majoring in engineering with a focus on both mechanical and electronics BUT after doing a lot of research I found that my school not only sucks for that field but offers nowhere near the "training" or "education" needed to compete with other engineering graduates in the U.S. or even my own local area. Any engineering graduate from the school will be well behind in both calculus and physics, which I know are both very important in the field. It almost seems like they're just training people to be a CNC operator... Certainly not worth the cost of going to college.

I wanted to get into robotics but that just isn't possible at ETSU. That's life though.

So I have now decided to major in another field that I am also very interested in; computer science with an IT concentration. I'm an electronics and technology kind of guy, I often repair electronic devices for myself and others and can't tell you how many computers I've built, it's different but still... However, I don't really have any experience with programming so this will be new to me.

I was wondering if there are any programmers out there who could give me some pointers? What should I do outside of school to make myself more valuable in the field? I don't really want to work for another if I can avoid it, and I realize that it is entirely possible to be self employed in the computer science field. But I have no clue as to how I should go about trying to get into this. Right now I feel like I would want to possibly make websites for people/companies.

I have no experience in business but can give you some advice.
If your going to take that path make sure you can achieve it.
Working in a office building is no fun.

It seems that most of these repair shops can only stay open by over charging customers. I would think it would be hard to open one. You would have be in the right location, younger people tend to know how to fix their computer problems and if they dont their friends do.

reply to post by Anundeniabletruth


Well i graduated recently myself from an electronic engineering degree, and im pretty much like you...love electronics and technology, built computers myself too .

Even though i did that degree, i think pretty much any electronics degree these days require programming and you will probably have a seperate subject on the matter.

I learnt C++/ MATLab, and some java along with my other core electronic modules.

And my other friends where in similar courses but majored in programming and computer science a bit more, so in addition they learnt XMS/HTML/JAVA and their assignments focused mainly on website making.

I think you will be fine regardless of your perception of the institution your looking to go to, anyone can learn to program and make websites its very easy, just make use of a lot the learning resources to understand syntax and how to use software.....the rest is easy...just use your logic and creativity to design.

Dont worry too much, if your passionate about programming you will find it easy.

It depends on what you want out of your IT choice. I have been in that field for 18 years.
While the notion if being your own boss in the it world is noble the reality of IT is working for someone will afford you certain opportunities that might not be possible on your own.


Also figure out what you want to focus on...coding , network, telecom, UC, server.. Their are so many ways to go..

reply to post by ISeekTruth101


I'm already in school. I am a third year student with NO option to relocate to another school. I haven't changed majors yet but I am going to do so and either way I have two full years and one part time semester left before I can graduate so I am 100% certain that I will be switching to CSCI. It's funny because you mention coding for engineering... my school doesn't even offer that in the engineering department. The CSCI program is supposedly ranked #2 in the state though so...

reply to post by Anundeniabletruth


Information security student here! I suggest to get a leg up on the competition MIT has free courses you can take online. Also get an internship your second year, and get all of the certifications not most or some but all certs, in your spare time work with the IT department at the school all of these put together =job

I've been a Computer Science major for three years; my first two were spent in a community college where I got my Associate's, and then I transferred to a University.

I have always enjoyed the full realm of electronics as you have, and constantly spend time out of my day helping others resolve their technical problems, or repairing computer systems/gaming consoles.

Realistically, you can expect programming to be completely different than most likely anything you have done before.. and it is common knowledge that Computer Science is one of the more difficult degrees to achieve. Programming in itself can be difficult to grasp, especially after a couple years in.

Programming is sort of like learning a new language, but easier.. you see, once you know a couple languages, you will be able to learn any other language with ease.. its all about a specific language's syntax, while the basic concepts like functions/methods, loops, and recursion exist throughout.

Your school will most likely start you out with C++ or Java (or some other common object-oriented language), which is a great place to start. Get a head start- you can find an unlimited amount of awesome resources online- and if your teachers have any common sense, they will encourage this. Not to cheat per say, but you will learn by reading others code, and experimenting.

#include

using namespace std;

int main()[ cout