OT: concerning professions

[z3r0]

i just read the OT thread on father's day and did't realise the number of "older" forum members. (i don't mean older in a negative way, maybe i should just say "wiser")

i was wondering if anyone here was a computer programmer? i ask only because im 18 and will be going to NC State engineering school next fall, majoring in computer science to be a computer programmer myself.
i was actually going to go to a different school to major in pre-med and become a doctor, but i've decided that i need to choose a profession which i enjoy and not just for the money, otherwise it would seem like going to school everyday.
i've been into programming since middle school and i loose track of time when im coding, thus i feel that i have made a good choice.

just wondering if anyone here was a computer programmer, and their feelings on the profession.

highest regards,
z3r0

[TheCerberus]

Sorry, I can't answer your question, but since its the road I'm going to take, what schools were you considering when you were on the med route? Just curious.

[z3r0]

Sorry, I can't answer your question, but since its the road I'm going to take, what schools were you considering when you were on the med route? Just curious.
being that i live in NC i was planning to attend UNC Chapel Hill. i even took AHS (allied health sciences) level 1 and 2 courses in high school and earned my CNA certification.
but, as i stated before i found that i was more intrested in the profession for the money and not for the love of it. i'm glad that i had the opportunity to find that out before going to school for it.

it's just not for everyone, but i wish you the best along that road. it feels great to help the people that are truely in need of it even on a CNA level, and i'm sure that being a doctor (thus tending to more serious cases) would feel even greater.

best wishes,
z3r0

[xOSERx]

I totally agree with you about choosing a career that you love, not one that will make a ton of money, though if you're serious about a career in computers, you can do both. I programmed a bit in high school (and a little before that, if you count BASIC...), and decided halfway through my freshman year to become a CS major. I have a knack for programming and, like you said, I tend to lose myself when I'm coding.

I graduated in May with my CS degree and have already found a job. Actually, I'm at it now (lunch break) ;) so maybe I can offer a few words of advice...

First off, if you love it, DO IT. The worst thing that could happen is that you realize that it's not everything you thought it would be and you'll have to make another decision then. Pick a new major, or continue along with one you hate? It seems like an easy decision, but when you realize that you'd rather chop off your left arm than spend your life programming halfway through your junior year, there are going to be problems.

That's what happened to me. I wouldn't say I was the best coder in my class, but I could hold my own. CS wasn't particularly challenging, it just gave me no outlet for my creative side. Somehow, I just can't seem to express myself accurately through for loops and state patterns.

I don't want to say that straight programming is for people with little imagination, but it's for people who have better things to do than be creative. ;)

The best part about getting a CS degree is...you don't have to program. While CS majors aren't as in-demand as they were 8 years or so ago, a good CS major is still regarded as a gem in the job market. Once you graduate, you'll know so much crap that becomes second nature to you that 99% of the people out there couldn't even begin to guess at. I ended up managing contracts for a company that specializes in video codecs. The messed up part is that I know more about how the codecs work than my boss who's been working here for 4 or 5 years.

But my real advice to you is, work your arse off in college. Contrary to some peoples' beliefs, that doesn't necessarily mean "get straight A's". It means find an internship the summer of your freshman year (almost no one does that). If you're going into web development, make projects for yourself (I volunteered to do the website for my college radio station). Join those stupid little ACM (I'm sure you'll hear about this) clubs they have, you'll probably make some good connections at the larger meetings and events. Learn stuff outside of class, because your course material won't always cover the latest and greatest stuff. And be ready at any time to blurt out everything you know about computers. I met my current boss in Blockbuster, and we just started chatting about 3d modeling. If I hadn't taken the initiative and asked him questions, as well as answering his questions in technical terms that no real person understands, I'd be -working- at blockbuster now. College is only really 50% about what you learn in classes. The rest is up to you.

But pay attention in at least -some- classes. Unlike high school, you might actually learn something. ;)

Anyway, good luck at school. And, despite all of that crap I just said up there, -always- take the time to loosen up. Maybe don't drink yourself into oblivion every chance you get, but go out and party. Make some friends. Get some girls pregnant.

Ok, maybe not that last part.

-Oser

[rachil0]

I got BS's in CS and EE, and I loved it. I am right now a graduate student in EE, and I have found that all the programming experience has been really useful. Pretty much every technical field these days is going to require you to have a little bit of programming knowledge, even if that "programming" is something is just making template documents and spreadsheets to reduce the amount of work you have to do.

I think it's a great field. I feel there's a lot of room for creativity in computer science ... it's problem solving in the most abstract form. The creative part is looking at a specific task and figuring out the right reduction you can perform to make it look like a canonical problem.

(That prolly doesn't make sense yet, but when you start studying NP completeness you'll get the idea of what I mean by "reduction")