ShouldIPivot

Yeah, I use copilot quite extensively to help my RSI (though I always know what the expected output is, it doesn't solve problems for me) and that doesn't ruin my enjoyment. If what you describe is how programming ends up, I think I'd enjoy it.

(And my wrists will appreciate it :) )

Thank you for the recommendation. I just read it, and I think it's really what I needed to hear: Work on difficult problems for the purpose of self improvement, find intelligent people, and keep my options open - "Stay upwind". This thread has some really great advice, and that essay is a significant part of it.

My university has a Compsci+EE program that I'm going to look into.

If you're already competent, are CS programs less time consuming, or are they easier but still as time consuming? I'm wondering how much time at uni I could spend working on difficult problems in my own time.

Thanks, I'll consider it and take a look at the available CS+EE courses.

What would you recommend for learning some electrical engineering before committing myself with a degree in it?

> maximize risk for the next few years - you will regret not taking advantage, not developing character, not using your youth to it’s full potential (especially spectacular failure).

In what way? This sounds like pretty good advice, but I'm not sure how to practically apply it.

This sounds pretty interesting, and not something I'd considered. I've got other interests (geopolitics, military aviation, history) that I've put on hold due to the level of schoolwork. You say to "Build your mental toolkit while you have the luxury of time." What would you say your mental toolkit consists of? Where does classics and philosophy come into it? What do you typically apply that toolkit to, and how does it help you?

Thanks, that's good to hear. I haven't got much exposure to programming as a career other than a week's work experience at MS, so I think I've overestimated how much it can automate. I personally haven't used it much when programming, though I've used copilot since release as the reduced typing massively helps my RSI.

> My advice: if you major in physics and keep getting A’s, you can still easily get a programming job, and probably in areas that are more AI-proof than webdev. The opposite is not true.

Thanks, I'll consider this.

> IMO, taking programming classes in college is a waste. It’s nearly all the type of thing you can learn on the job or in an online course. The real reason to take CS is if you’re interested in applied math, because most math departments lead you into pure theory, but this depends heavily on the school.

Yeah, I'm near to a few good unis that run what seem to be high quality courses with lots of optional courses on ML/maths/etc. I would avoid doing CS at an average uni due to its reputation.

I'm alright at maths, but I really have to work at it - it doesn't come as naturally as physics and compsci. I'm not sure I could succeed in a pure maths degree.

Thank you.

Thanks for your response.

I have considered other engineering fields. My school also specialises in engineering, many of my friends are studying it, and many areas of it interest me. Nuclear, electrical, and aerospace all interest me. I'd like to learn more about them, and I'm planning to talk to some of the engineering teachers about it.

This isn't the first comment saying that programming can be useful as part of another field. What would the route be into that kind of work? Would it be a normal engineering route and adding "Proficient at xyz" to your CV?

Thanks for your reply. A lot of my concern is because I feel I need to make a decision soon. I'm taking A levels that allow me to easily change to other STEM subjects, but my impression was that a CS degree would limit my options. It's good to know that that isn't the case.

What does your day-to-day work involve? I don't really know what day to day engineering looks like, I just assumed engineering would be more difficult to replace.

Thanks for your in-depth response.

> Why are you interested in CS in the first place? Computer _Science_ will not be affected by LLMs and other technologies at all.

I haven't really had a chance to try out pure CS. In my own time I work on practical applications (though a current project involves lots of boolean algebra), and the curriculum at school is mostly things I already know (Sorting algorithms, and we'll do big-O at some point). The practical part of the school curriculum is heavily-OOP C#.

> Now, if you want to go to CS just to get a programming job at some company and you are doing this for money, I would indeed ask you to reevaluate. If you like programming as a hobby, a good way to kill the passion is to turn it into a boring 9/5 job. Physics and engineering may use programming as a tool and that may be more interesting to you?

I'm certainly not doing it for the money - I genuinely love it - but when I'm a 17 year old making pragmatic decisions about my future, "Can I get a job" is a pretty important one. I hope that programming as a job doesn't kill my passion, but that's certainly a concern. How frequent is that?

I'd be interested in programming within other industries, but I'm not sure on a path to doing that. I've had a lot of comments suggesting I take physics/engineering courses at uni in addition, but I'm not really sure how much of an option that is in the UK. I'll ask.

> That said, LLMs will not make a dent anytime soon. Yes they will plagiarize code and spit it out in a way that's similar to what you have requested – and for this very reason, have been banned at my Fortune company (Intellectual property is tricky). But they have no reasoning capabilities, there's still demand for solving actual problems. These days, writing code is a fraction of what I do, a lot of work goes into syncing with other teams and figuring out _what to write_. When I actually sit down to write code, that usually takes just a few days. That pales in comparison to all the architecture and coordination work that had to happen to reach that point.

Yeah, I did a week's work experience with Microsoft research about a year ago. I definitely got that impression - I, the work experience kid with no internal access, given some small projects they hadn't had time to do, programmed far more than the actual programmers on the team because I was in less meetings. I enjoyed the meetings and thinking about how to make the tool practically useful, but I'm not sure if that would continue into a decades-long career. I'll probably be doing it again, so I'll have another opportunity to consider that.

Part of my motivation behind going to uni is that I've had a pretty bad time at school due to bullies, violence, and a serious, ongoing concussion from an attack on me. Going to university and finding a good tech job appeals to me because it would (in theory) mean being surrounded by intelligent, motivated, decent people.