Just because you may be out of touch because of your elite circumstances doesn't make it a bad career. Getting a FAANG internship is something most students can't (or don't, for whatever reason) do.
Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?
21–30 of 311 posts
Re: Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?
#22I started playing with computers in middle school as a hobby and it basically morphed into a career. I've been in the industry since the 90s, well before everyone realized what a lucrative career it can be. And I saw the same thing - the field became flooded with people who were only chasing the money. My advice to you: don't worry about it. Do not underestimate the competitive advantage you have if you are passionat…
What I see is a subset of people who chase the money who are actually very smart and willing to work hard for it in the long run - think those high schoolers who had to be type A students to get into Ivy League with 4.0 GPA and SAT scores so perfect they still put it on their resume.
Re: Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?
#23It's still a very solid career choice and probably will be for the foreseeable future. AFAIK, Thiel has a thesis about how most innovation in the past 50 years has come in the world of bits and not atoms. This seems unlikely to change in the near term as half of global population isn't on the internet and there are still productivity gains to be made in many industries by digitizing processes or rewriting legacy codebases.
If you're still an undergrad you could also think about some of the adjacent fields where having CS knowledge is a benefit. These include (applied) math, physics, economics and biology.
I majored in physics, but if I could do it all again I'd probably study equal amounts of math, economics and CS.
Re: Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?
#24I'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…
How can you not care for people working in the top tech while probably not even knowing half of what you have learned? Would you say the same thing when you would be another field of work; like medicine maybe?
I'm not the OP but generally I don't attach that much importance to my job. I'm very lucky to (both now and historically) have great colleagues working on interesting problems.
But in terms of 'jealousy' for those who earn more? Quite the opposite. There are plenty of companies I'd rather top myself than work for.
Re: Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?
#25CS isn't a career. CS is part of all careers. I imagine when cuneiform was first invented, there was a group of people who were the first writers and they probably worried that it would get saturated. How can we all be writers? There are only so many things to write down: recipes, shopping lists, the kings desires, and heroic tales. What are the rest of us going to do? But of course writing is just a way of expressin…
> 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.
Re: Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?
#26It's really not a career path you should get into if you're just in it for the money. Your friends will probably wash out within 3-5 years after they figure out they're not actually interested in software engineering.
I think you underestimate what people will put themselves through to score a high-paying, high-status prestigious job (see: med school)
Re: Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?
#27CS is a fantastic undergrad path of study because it is fundamentally a degree in systematic thinking and problem solving. So, regardless of where you go in life, you'll have acquired useful ways to categorize and approach problems.
Otherwise, rather than worrying about whether you are in the right major, think in terms of "what kind of problems do I want to work on in life?" If you can answer that, you'll be on the right path. And, if you think the kinds of problems you want to work on don't involve technology or aren't solved by technology, then either switch majors or add a second major that augments the skills you need for the problems you want to work on.
Re: Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?
#28I was a kid programmer and it sounded crazy to spend college learning to code. I studied anything and everything else. More interesting, but not a good resume-building strategy.
Re: Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?
#29CS is probably one of the best fields to be in if you like doing it and you don't want to shackle yourself to the law/medicine/finance treadmills, with the expensive extra years of schooling and insane hours for the first years.
There's probably not a better path to a comfortable middle-class lifestyle. Just stay out of the Bay area; there's tons of jobs in second and third tier cities with reasonable cost-of-living that will pay you a hundred grand after a few years.
Re: Ask HN: CS, still a good career in 3-5 years?
#30Having taken courses in both finance and comp sci while attending one of them elite schools they are two very different group of people. Even if they start at the same line their career path will probably divulge down the road.
I would focus more on what specialization you want to pursue rather than worry about CS being viable. After a few years your degree begins to matter a whole lot less.
You have a leg up.