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Ask HN: Is this a bad time to be majoring in Computer Science

12 pointsamathew21 comments

There have been a number of news articles which have stated that there has been a somewhat significant increase in the number of students who are majoring in CS. Therefore, is this a bad time for someone to be starting an undergraduate program in computer science?

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If it's what you love, it's never a bad time. This is true for virtually anything. There are times when it may be easier or harder to make a living doing so, but if you love it, you should work at it.

Enrollments are somewhat up compared to the past few years, but still not particularly high, especially relative to the growth of the tech industry over the past decade. So I wouldn't worry about enrollment increases unless they get much larger.

Here's a graph, showing how much below the early-2000s enrollment peak we still are, even in raw numbers not adjusted for percentage of the population, or percentage of the degree-holding population: http://www.cra.org/govaffairs/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/0... I think some of the perception is due to how changes are reported as percent-increases and percent-decreases: to reverse the 50% decline in enrollments that took place between 2004 and 2009, we'd need an 100% increase in enrollments currently, which we aren't anywhere near.

Plus, if you're good, it seems to be near universal consensus around here that it's very hard to hire good computer scientists, whether you're hiring for a startup or a larger company, so the supply/demand still seems to be very much in the supply's favor.

Do it because you want to. There were a ton of people who jumped on the bandwagon in the late nineties, but a lot of them faded away after the dot com crash.

Don't do it for the money, there are plenty of other ways to make about the same amount from an hourly perspective. Do it because you want to.

I'll reiterate a theme running through the comments here.

Do what you love to do.

Whether or not you get rich doing it you will be happy and you will enjoy your life because your day to day existence is filled with memories of doing something you love doing. Life will throw annoying things at you and they will be more tolerable if you have things to do which you enjoy.

That being said, if you love programming or systems analysis, this is an excellent time for you. We are fast approaching a time where 100% of the population will be experience a computation platform in their daily activities. There are lots and lots and lots of things that can benefit from that, the environment is target rich.

Consider that even if there are increased numbers, if you are in it because it's what gets you motivated, those numbers will fade away over time (they'll be the developers that only last 3-5yrs before switching careers). Meanwhile, you'll still be there because you enjoy what you do. Believe me, computer work is not going away any time soon (even if the bulk of it is not thrilling or exciting).

I had similar worries when I started college in 2001, time of 9/11 and dot-com crash. But I did CS anyway, and it has been the best edu/career decision I've ever made.

Numbers are only important if you're not looking to stand out. There are plenty of doctors, lawyers, writers and economists coming out of Universities at any given time. You don't hear about most, because they don't do anything worth hearing about. Many went down a path dictated by economic incentives or family obligations.

If you are doing this because you want it, you're sure to succeed.

It's a good time, since the average quality of your colleagues will be increased compared to the low-enrolment periods. This means more engaged classes, happier professors, better team projects, more ambition, more achievement. You're more likely to meet a great founder. You'll have a better educational experience and thus get better value for your time and money.

(I'm a CS prof)

Even if it's a bad time NOW to be going into CS, that won't be the case forever. If you have enough resources to survive the lean times, seems like you'd do well to get the CS degree so you'll have it when times get better.

Companies are always in need to good programmers and Computer Scientists. Why not go to school for CS now while the economy isn't perfect and then you'll be out when it starts to pick up again.

It's a fine time if you are interested in it.

It's a great career path.

From your interests stated elsewhere in the thread, a CS degree will suit you nicely. AI is a popular topic in many schools.

Do what you love, or at least want, because ultimately your choice of course is not something that binds you irrevocably to one career or another.

Major in math.

I am considering majoring in Computational Math because my primary interest is Data Science and Machine Learning.

Are you in it for the money or because you love technology/programming?

I agree with this question. If you're in it for the money than you should probably look into something else. The fact that you're questioning going into CS probably means it possibly may not be for you.

If technology/programming is something that you love to do, then there is no question to go into CS if you're wanting a formal education.

I definently enjoy programming. From GUI development to data science, I love sitting at a computer and thinking through problems. However, I think it's only natural to be worried about job market realities.

Let's say I loved art. What use is studying art history if I can't get a job and would be living paycheck to paycheck.

Well, lets say you love art and get a business degree. How happy would you be making a good living but at the same time listening to mindless suits who love to hear themselves talk in boring ass meetings 9 HOURS A DAY.

Doing what truly interests you and being poor isn't a bad place to be IMO and this being the worse case scenario since CS folks usually do well financially.

If you enjoy technology/programming, you most likely will never be homeless if you get a CS degree. The "Good" employers see passion in potential employees and usually want these type of people.

This is a great concern to have - and I agree with you. You should major in something you like that also has good job potential. If the thing you absolutely love (like art history) doesn't have good job potential, settle for something that you like that does. You can always study art history as a hobby.

The education industry has fooled a lot of people into thinking you should pay a University gobs of money to study "something you love." You're only in college about 4 years. The rest of your life will hopefully be much longer than that. You're paying the university for a degree that is supposed to help you get a job, nothing more. If philosophy or art history is your passion, buy some books and study it on your own time - that's free. You don't need to pay a university to pursue your passions.

All of that being said, I think it's still a great time to pursue a CS degree. More people are going into it, but there's also been an explosion of tech startups, and tech companies in general will continue to grow.

Don't worry about the job market. The only concern about the market you could have is jobs disappearing dot-com bust style, and I don't think that's likely.

It seems you are worried about undergrads flooding the market when they graduate. I wouldn't be worried. Assuming that the higher enrollments are people that smell money, its very easy for interviewers to filter that chaff. You can ask a simple question like "What's your favorite programming language and why?" and expect a reasonable response. Bandwagoners without a passion for the subject won't have a good answer. If you aren't sure, you can follow it up with "What's your favorite programming language that you weren't taught in class?"

Bandwagoners are amazingly easy to spot. I used to work in a company full of them. I resigned.

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