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Ask HN: I'm an incoming freshman to college for a CS major, what should I know?

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Re: Ask HN: I'm an incoming freshman to college for a CS major, what should I know?

#271

Post by sosodev »

random32840 wrote: post #226
sosodev wrote: post #114

HN is probably the worst group to ask for advice. Most people here take their careers way too seriously. You’ll notice that most people here are telling you to do some specific set of actions but few of them overlap significantly. That’s because there aren’t “right” things for you to do. They’re just pushing their biases on you. I’d argue that you just take it easy and do whatever makes you happy. You can definitely…

> take it easy and do whatever makes you happy Great advice if what makes you happy also happens to be lucrative. I did this, and it was a huge mistake I'm still paying for 7+ years later.

I was pretty sure we're still in the context of CS, which tends to be pretty lucrative.

Re: Ask HN: I'm an incoming freshman to college for a CS major, what should I know?

#273

Post by peterkos »

Hey there! Fourth year CS Major here. Great news that you're not worried academically. But as someone whose also been coding for a long time, really be careful to not get blindsided. I got very screwed over from that mentality -- like, knowing C still didn't guarantee an A in a C class. That kind of thing. In no particular order: - Get social! Make friends. You'll need them when college gets hard and they can be invaluable for the rest of your life. Student clubs and hanging around the CS building are great ways to do this! Also ask around your dorm for fun things to do. Don't be afraid to try new things! - PROJECTS. INTERNSHIPS. Your first internship will be nearly impossible to get no matter how good you are unless you get very lucky. It takes a lot of determination: keep at it! Best way imo is to do projects outside of class. Also, in terms of a tech stack, something ppl like and get REAL GOOD over time. Note that certain internships are much harder to find than others; iOS and Backend in particular. - As a former dual degree seeker (BS CS and BM Music composition) I'm biased, but definitely take classes outside of CS. I took around a year of non CS classes and I have NEVER regretted a single one. (Maybe chemistry.) Things like economics, music theory, intro to law, philosophy -- these are what will pay dividends later on in your career in totally unexpected ways. - Embrace chaos! And embrace change. Think of college as your time to try shit out and fail. If you fail... so what! Get good at getting over failure. Invest in yourself and figure out what you want to change. - Finally, please dear god have fun. And truly best of luck given Covid!

Re: Ask HN: I'm an incoming freshman to college for a CS major, what should I know?

#274

Post by aliceryhl »

Gibbon1 wrote: post #235
random32840 wrote: post #225

1. A large (and growing) chunk of the industry considers object oriented programming to be absolutely terrible, but that's what they'll teach you in college. Learn functional programming and data-oriented programming in your spare time before your mind has completely set into OO. Make each of the three approaches intuitive. It will be way better for you down the road, and it will help you actually evaluate which appr…

> What if you develop RSI and lose the ability to type large volumes of text? 4. Never ever let an employer work you to the point that you get RSI. Let them fire you first. 5. Ditto your mental health. 6. Learn to say no.

Man I wish preventing RSI was this simple. I have had growing RSI issues for nearly two years now and I just don't know what I can even do to stop it..

It isn't just using computers; so many things require using my hands. Reading a book causes it unless I use a stand, writing on paper causes it, using a phone causes it, cooking can cause it, sometimes I even get it from using knife/fork when eating.

When RSI is causing me trouble, I just can't do anything at all besides taking a walk or watching a movie, and sometimes I just need to _make_ something.

I've started to learn voice control software for my computer, but it is going to take a lot of practice and configuration until I can be productive this way.

Re: Ask HN: I'm an incoming freshman to college for a CS major, what should I know?

#276

Post by novok »

The hardest part about getting & changing software jobs is the algorithms interview part. Really dive deep and get good grades in your algorithms class and you will have a foundation that will help you change jobs and get more pay for years to come.

Re: Ask HN: I'm an incoming freshman to college for a CS major, what should I know?

#278

Post by zerr »

jimhefferon wrote: post #36

Lot of good advice here. Another is: take courses in accounting and management. First of all, the path up from being a coder is to lead a group of coders. Second-- who knew? -- a lot of this stuff is interesting.

Not necessary, people management is a different path. One can successfully stay as an individual contributor.
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