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Ask HN: I realise data science is not for me and feel depressed

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Re: Ask HN: I realise data science is not for me and feel depressed

#81

Post by tomr_stargazer »

saalweachter wrote: post #38
saalweachter wrote: post #8

Firstly, finish your degree. For most employers, just checking off the degree is more important than exactly what it is. This is especially true for software engineering. You will have many, many coworkers who have degrees in physics or bioinformatics or mathematics and work as SWEs. Most of their stories will be exactly the same as yours, although "...but there weren't any good paying jobs so..." will be in the runn…

Hmm, re-reading your post and thinking more about the specifics, I think the next steps vary a lot depending on your personal experience and resources. You can basically break a "software engineering" degree down to three components - writing code, "core theory", and "specialist knowledge". You may already have "writing code" down well enough for entry level gigs; if not, side projects are a fine way to get you there…

Thank you for this amazing comment. It has helped me reorganize my understanding of the relationship between computer science and software engineering.

Re: Ask HN: I realise data science is not for me and feel depressed

#83

Post by jll29 »

I think you put a lot of effort in, and as a result you learned where your real passion lies. Good!

Many people I know, including smart ones, took a lot longer than you to find out what they would like to do than you. You may found further areas (other than SWE, or other sub-parts of computer science) that you may like even better, and life is long enough to try 2-3 things.

Finish your degree, because it's always good to finish what you start: people who do not know you will have to judge you by your paperwork, and if they can see "whatever he started, he finished, and he did so well" that is going to help you later.

I read your post carefully and you wrote that you like making things. Have you considered doing software development for embedded systems? In that space, you can interact a lot with physical systems, which you might like - whereas in other parts of SWE you often work on cloud machines that you will never see or touch.

Re: Ask HN: I realise data science is not for me and feel depressed

#84

Post by 2143 »

Ajef wrote: post #78

I think some of the other posts have covered advice regarding the transition to SWE very well. You write you are: > in the process of receving EU passport This threw me off somewhat. Does this mean you're an EU member state citizen currently living in Russia and applied for a passport in your home country? I'm not sure I understand what you mean otherwise. Aquiring citizenship (for a passport) is either very expensiv…

From what I understand:

There are countries in Europe that are not a member of the European Union. Eg: UK, Switzerland, Norway.

From what the OP said, they are from Russia, and studying in another eastern European country. (Russians (as well as plenty of non-Russians) have a tendency to go to Europe/UK/USA/Canada etc for higher studies I think.)

Russia is not a member of EU.

The eastern-European country the OP is studying in is probably a member of EU, and from there the person is trying to acquire an EU passport.

I'm guessing OP wasn't studying in Ukraine (which AFAIK isn't in EU), because then they'd have bigger problems at the moment than data science seeming like a waste. (By the way, I see unconfirmed reports that Ukraine has just been made a EU member. Like, today).

tl;dr: non-EU citizen trying to acquire EU citizenship.

Re: Ask HN: I realise data science is not for me and feel depressed

#86

Post by drcoopster »

whoknew1122 wrote: post #72
rg111 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To OP: Good advice. Listen to this. Focus on finishing the degree, and if possible, get as good grades as possible. That will open a lot of doors. ____ To this comment: I have switched from Physics to Deep Learning. This is more because of "getting to know myself better" than money. I grew up being good at math (scorewise when little, and later, actually getting and understanding) and science. And I had a lot of biog…

Agree except possibly the 'good grades' part. I'm self-taught and work at a FAANG. I'm also a technical interviewer. I have never once asked for or looked at a candidate's GPA. Looking at someone's GPA honestly wouldn't help me much at all. It's not like I know how rigorous 's math or economics departments are. Unless you went to a college that's a household name in your geographical region (for example, Harvard in t…

Totally agree. I do a lot of interviews for my employer and no one cares about your GPA or really even your degree once you have some work experience.

I've been working in IT and software development since I left high school; it was never a barrier that I went to school to be an aircraft mechanic and don't have a tech-related degree.

Re: Ask HN: I realise data science is not for me and feel depressed

#88

Post by francisofascii »

I was a CS major and during my first "real" internship, I was feeling the same way. I dreaded coming to work. It was a long day. I was working in a windowless office, writing PL/SQL to generate reports and trying to learn COBOL for some legacy billing system. I was not offered full time work, fortunately. Everything worked out when I got a job doing Web Development with .NET and JavaScript. For me, just the change in technology was enough. And I needed to grow up a little more. I still work as a developer and my days fly by.

Re: Ask HN: I realise data science is not for me and feel depressed

#89

Post by nikhilsimha »

marcus_holmes wrote: post #42
fortytwo79 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Speaking as someone who has hired hundreds of software engineers, I can tell you that having a degree at all tells me a lot about your work ethic. Sure, I'd prefer a comp sci background, but your degree is nearly as good. It's an indicator of how you think. You know what other degree I see a LOT of in SWE? Music. I've hired countless music majors.

I have the opposite experience, almost. I've hired and trained lots of people with CS degrees who think they know everything and barely know the basics. I massively prefer people who flunked university and just got a job writing code because they could. University no longer trains people to think, instead it's about jumping through hoops and dealing with pointless administrative bullshit [0]. source: I have a Master'…

> the best coder I ever hired taught herself to code while getting off heroin in a Glasgow slum

Those words bust the biggest bias I realized I had/have - against addicts. Thank you very much!

Re: Ask HN: I realise data science is not for me and feel depressed

#90

Post by dvtrn »

sarusso wrote: post #53
marcus_holmes wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have the opposite experience, almost. I've hired and trained lots of people with CS degrees who think they know everything and barely know the basics. I massively prefer people who flunked university and just got a job writing code because they could. University no longer trains people to think, instead it's about jumping through hoops and dealing with pointless administrative bullshit [0]. source: I have a Master'…

Wow. Pretty strong opinions here. Completing a degree means you can commit and deliver, IMO. Instead, leaving for writing code just because you can tells me that you took the short path, and that your missing basics (the real ones, which teaches you University) will knock at your door some day. My 2 cents.

Completing a degree means you can commit and deliver, IMO.

So does a lot of other valuable and still relevant lived experiences, and they come without the price tag.

But we all already know that.

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