Ask HN: Advice for someone choosing a college path | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Advice for someone choosing a college path

3 pointsspacebuffer7 comments

As anyone else on here, i love computers and whenever I had to choose something to work on (hobby-wise) I always chose something that has to do with computers.

This summer I'm going to college and I am considering a bacholar in Business Administration.

Aside from a couple of math/CS courses, the curriculum has many required business related as you'd expect like: Business Intelligence, Micro & Macro economics, Finance, marketing, etc..

This goes against any of my interests as explained but I am considering it mainly because it's schedule is one of the lightest leaving me a lot of time to work on side projects on my own

My question is: would a "hacker" in the HN sense enjoy studying these courses (which to me seem to involve a lot of rigourous memorization, something that I don't like) to at least pass them or would I simply get burned out, moreover is it wise to get a degree in business/finance with CS as just a hobby in this AI-powered age?

Decide if you actually want a business degree. It may help you achieve your goal of not only working on side projects, but learning how to turn your side projects into legitimate businesses. And at many universities, you can change your major, I did it 4 times. Don’t sweat it.

> I am considering it mainly because it's schedule is one of the lightest leaving me a lot of time to work on side projects on my own

Dude, no. If you don't want to study your major in college, you've made a poor life choice. Study something you want to be involved with. Or skip college. But going to college then picking something you don't want to do, just to have an easy schedule? No. Just no.

College has the potential to be the place where you do your side projects. You can integrate them into your coursework, doubling down on the learning experience from them. You can learn new perspectives and correlate ideas from different fields to take your work directions you have not yet even imagined.

Seriously, study the topics wherein you want to be doing that work. If you treat college as a checkbox to be filled, just to say you did it, you are going to regret lost opportunities down the road when you realize how much more you could have done with it.

If you want to program, computer science is worth it. If I've got one regret in my life (Physics+Math BA and Physics PhD -> software dev) it is that I never took a compilers class. (Though I learned many life lessons like how to work the triggers on an oscilloscope, how tenacious cutting grease for machine tools, not be intimidated by any technical problem, etc.)

Get your money's worth and study a hard quantitative field that will challenge you.

I know many people who got an MBA for whom it was a great career move because it is a hard quantitative degree that will challenge you and get you ready for Fortune 500 or McKinsey or non-profit administration (current boss) or startups (prior boss.) I think a bachelor's in BA is not worth it. If you're interested in that sort of thing you can learn a lot in the school of hard knocks (helping administer a business) or getting an accounting certificate which is a great credential from a money making perspective that will also help you be a quantitative thinker.

An alternate take to the current problem is that everybody is studying CS, my Uni is opening a second CS building but is likely to lay off IT workers soon. People really stopped studying the humanities so maybe it is time, and this too is a field that can really challenge you (employers love a good writer!). There is a shortage of men entering HEAL jobs

https://aibm.org/research/the-heal-economy/

and that work may be AI-resistant.

Personally I think there are a lot of young people who want the bling but don’t have the hustle to get it. The story I want to hear is you came from a poor family, studied a hard major, played football, took care of your little brother, started a business with a big ARR, etc. (Not quite realistic, the coach will lean on you hard to stay focused on the game…) I’m kinda sensitive to signs somebody doesn’t have a good work ethic.

> Dude, no. If you don't want to study your major in college I know I don't love it but I haven't looked into this major enough to know if I actually hate it. That's actually what I am asking: _Would_ i want to study this? and by I i mean someone who loves building cool stuff on the internet.

You are focused too narrowly. I don't know what you would like. Odds are, neither do you - you haven't tried all the options yet. If you like making things, CS is probably better than business. But is Engineering better than CS? What other areas of creativity have you explored? College has a collection of creative opportunities, so the point is to choose classes that help you explore all the options, figure out what you enjoy, then study that.

These questions are why academic advisors exist. If you know where you are going to school, talk to them - they will know all the available programs and can probably help you figure out a course schedule that lets you explore options as you go, so you can find these answers on the way.

You should do CS and be around like minded people. You'll learn way more useful.stuff to apply to your interests. Business classes will get in the way compared to CS classes which is what it sounds like you actually enjoy. You'll be able to ask your professors questions about your interest and get helpful and encouraging answers.

I started out in business school until I found CS and never looked back.

I would be hesitant to hire someone with a business administration degree for any role. Does that help your decision?

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