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Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?

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Re: Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?

#171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> CS isn't a career. CS is part of all careers. This right here. I was in awe when I realized that software engineering affects all industries. Even farmers, it might not be necessary, but it can make a huge difference. Also I too have been coding for a long time because I love programming. The way I see it, if I ever tire of it, I can switch careers. I'd still code regardless of who pays me to do what.

> Even farmers, it might not be necessary, but it can make a huge difference. As a software developer by day, farmer by night, I'm not sure there is much overlap. Some of the problem solving skills I learned on the farm have made me a better programmer, I expect, but I don't see much advantage in building software for my farm. Anything you can dream of is available commercially at a fraction of the cost it would take…

> I don't see much advantage in building software for my farm.

Controlled environment agriculture is heavily data driven and is a fast growing field. Same with genetically modified crops.

Re: Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?

#172

I've heard of people going from a bootcamp course straight into Google and optimizing 100% for the career path. They make embarrassingly more than I do, have been programming for a scant few years, and I couldn't care less. I've been programming for most of my life. I've poured hours into learning 6502, BASIC, 8086, C, C++, Perl, Python, Javascript, Common Lisp, Haskell... to say nothing of physics, linear algebra, g…

You dont hear big stories from the ones who tried this and crash burned.

Re: Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?

#173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similar boat here; not Asian, but I was in the military, and got into CS when I was 30; got a remote gig at 36. I get paid far, far less than others, but I also happen to live in a low cost of living country, so it (kinda?) evens out. I would like to get paid more money, and I think I could look for higher paying work at this point. However,I actually do like the company I work for, and it's fairly low stress. I also…

Like other feedback in this thread has already covered, the upside is that coding is applicable anywhere, and in fact, I think that outside of our little tech-bubble, it has greater impact as fewer people have those skills. Even a small amount of tech applied to the right place can have huge value. It's just that the Asian kid in me is thinking I need FAANG on my resume even for a short time to get some street cred.…

I don’t think FAANG is really that necessarily important though. Sure, it might open up some opportunities. So would making good stuff that people might eventually recognize.

IMO, I dong think I could ever get into a faang company. I’m terrible with algorithm interviews. I also don’t think the job would be that fulfilling... what is useful about making or maintaining projects that focus on data, ads, etc, that doesn’t benefit anyone?

The money would be good, but eh... maybe I won’t ever make as much as a guy a google, but I can say I was involved in a project that helped disabled people get picked up by a bus more easily.

Re: Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?

#174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was basically born into CS; there was no question even from Kindergarten that I would ever go into another field. Got my first real full time job at 25, and it was mediocre, it was definitely not a FAANG paradise, and I remember we worried a lot about getting off-shored in those days. I'm really glad the thing I was naturally interested in turned out to pay so well. Though I do wonder what do I (as an SF dev) offer…

I look at my skills compared to the earning potential of some other trades. This is certainly not 100% accurate because it’s based on what I pay in more rural America but I like it: Barber - 3 cuts per hour @ $20 ea = $60 / hour Mechanic - $60-80 per hour Lawn Care - $40 / yard up to 3-4 yards per hour = $40-$120 per hour Steam cleaning = $150 for a couch = $150 per hour (carpets are less) Plumbers in East Tennessee…

You have a really distorted view of how much people doing these jobs actually take home

Re: Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?

#175
What are your other options? (Sort of rhetorical question)

Learning technical matters early in life if easier than learning them later. Engineering, math, CS should be done early. It's a great foundation and structure for learning into the future.

Also, CS is a bridge to automation. Our world will become increasingly automated. People with the right skills to automate will be at the forefront of this wave.

Re: Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?

#176
post #163

Someone capable of making an app, website, software used inside of a company, script that gives a company insight, or whatever else you could possibly think of can make a 6 figure company on their own within a year for nearly zero dollars. This is not going away. If you think everyone will go into software, GOOD! We need more people in software, we have too many people doing less important or lower leverage things. B…

> Someone capable of making an app, website, software used inside of a company, script that gives a company insight, or whatever else you could possibly think of can make a 6 figure company on their own within a year for nearly zero dollars.

I think you are overemphasizing the importance of technical skills in the context of starting a business. Marketing and management skills are far more important. I have seen people with zero technical skills start successful tech businesses by means of their business acumen. They hire contractors to do the tech work.

On the other hand, there are exceptionally talented engineers who spend a year or two developing a successful product, yet the product gains minimal traction and they end up working for the type of individual that I mentioned above.

Re: Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?

#177

My take: in the late 90s/early 2000s, we saw a lot of the same. The good times: the passionate rose above the income-chasers because there was a lot of mediocrity The bad times: So many people washed out and probably haven't come back. The passionate had less competition. The anti-fragility of it all: When the economy turns bad, companies look to software to optimize costs. (not exactly the same thing, but I was hire…

> in the late 90s/early 2000s, we saw a lot of the same. And I saw a lot of the same in the mid 80s, when I started in college. I remember talking to one of my classmates, who originally wanted to be a Phys. Ed. teacher, contracted a back injury, and decided that there was good money in CS. If you're passionate about CS and dedicated to acquiring and maintaining skills, I think there will be a good career in it for a…

I would have done something in business, in accounting or the like.

Re: Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?

#178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> in the late 90s/early 2000s, we saw a lot of the same. And I saw a lot of the same in the mid 80s, when I started in college. I remember talking to one of my classmates, who originally wanted to be a Phys. Ed. teacher, contracted a back injury, and decided that there was good money in CS. If you're passionate about CS and dedicated to acquiring and maintaining skills, I think there will be a good career in it for a…

I would have done something in business, in accounting or the like.

Sounds pretty solid to me, but (a) do you enjoy accounting? (b) that may be a job I could see as potentially vulnerable to AI.

Re: Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?

#179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> While working on the major many people told me my job was going to go overseas and that the future was in managing developers. I had a friend in the 90s tell me the entire workforce in the US was shifting to management. Everything will be outsourced and people here will just manage everything. This was an MIS major drinking the business school koolaid. I thought it was rather arrogant to think China or India could…

I'm pretty sure the current spat with China is due to the Chinese gaining traction in a) Branded products. b) Product design. c) Distribution. d) Finance.

No. It's China's market protectionism and one-way trade practices. For example, many products of major US companies are banned in China (think Google and Facebook). Whereas Chinese products are able to enter international markets with minimal barrier to entry. There are many more barriers for an American company to enter the Chinese market than the other way around. This is just part of it, there are many more aspects.

Re: Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?

#180
Since most commenters are talking about the importance of CS and the value of a CS degree, let me share an opinionated response touching on a more nuanced underlying assumption.

You're not in college for getting certified in a particular "major". You are there to develop a strong (broad) foundation of understanding and skills, on top of which you can (in the future) paste domain-specific knowledge to rapidly level-up and acquire skills.

IMHO, concentrating on CS to the exclusion of all else (eg: as an undergraduate major) is too limiting, too early in one's development. Computers happen to be a very "artificial" system with arcane rules, and an understanding of computers tends to be less generalizable than an understanding of natural systems -- both physical systems (science/engineering) and human systems (humanities). The more mathematical aspects of CS are definitely generalizable (to the extent that computation is basically applied math!), but IMHO CS as a field has not developed enough to make that link obvious -- let alone teach it to undergrads. Also, when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail -- we are currently infatuated with "CS". That should (likely) relax to a more reasonable state in ~10 years. (eg: there is absolutely no reason for "machine learning" or "artificial intelligence" to be considered a sub-field of CS, other than the fact that incidentally it happens to be implemented on computers. Breakthrough ideas in ML will likely come from other fields.)

Computers are definitely a fantastic tool, and offer great leverage, if and only if you have developed a refined "taste" of problems worth tackling, things worth building, and visions worth pursuing. You will likely not acquire that taste by just studying CS.

A little pondering will make one realize how it is quite impossible for every "major" to have the same number of "credits" worth of knowledge -- and exactly enough to fill up 4 years of requirements. The corollary is that not all course credits are equally valuable. If you want the best value for your time in college, try to pick the most challenging/foundational/important courses in a field, and then, instead of spending too much time on the relative "fluff" in the same field, go find equally foundational courses in an adjacent field. The easier stuff can be tacked on top later with little effort. That way, you are uniquely well-placed to make interesting connections, and are better prepared to respond optimally to a changing environment. (See: https://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/07/car...) The analogy in the context of investing would be: it is crazy try betting on a single company over the long run (~50+ years); better to bet on a broader portfolio.

If you are looking for a very concrete suggestion, one way to operationalize that advice: in addition to programming/CS, learn a bunch of math, a bunch of at least one of the hard sciences (Physics/Chemistry/Biology), and the basics of engineering / systems modeling (linear system theory, control theory, signal processing, etc.). IMHO, the humanities can wait till one is older/wiser -- it can be learned easily enough outside university, and is probably wasted on 20 year olds without enough life experience. Nothing wrong with the minimum humanities requirements -- pick something you find interesting and try to get the flavor rather than getting bogged down with the details. All that was just individual learning. If you can work on collaborative projects, and learn to work well with others and lead when necessary, it will serve you well in life (that is a rare and extremely valuable skill).

Needless to say, this is not the path to a 4.0 GPA, or the highest paying internship/first-job, etc. but you get out what you put in, so if you work sincerely, you'll be fine in the long run. See https://thezvi.wordpress.com/2017/08/26/play-in-hard-mode/

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