Computer science majors

[Anonymous]

Companies have been desperate the past few years and with attrition and other issues they hired anyone they could get. Now they only need 80% so they are laying off the bottom performing 20%.

The best employees have little to worry about. If they get laid off because they were on a downsized team they will likely find something else. For the foreseeable future, Companies are just getting more strict with whom they hire.

For new grads…. Get an internship. It’s Jess risk for a company to try out a kid for 3 months. If they prove themselves, they’ll get hired on full time. But yes. It’s going to be harder to get that internship in the future, where now companies like Amazon. Google, Microsoft, etc; we’re hiring and enticing sophomores CS or closely tech majors.

[Anonymous]

^^ “it’s less risky”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Companies have been desperate the past few years and with attrition and other issues they hired anyone they could get. Now they only need 80% so they are laying off the bottom performing 20%.

The best employees have little to worry about. If they get laid off because they were on a downsized team they will likely find something else. For the foreseeable future, Companies are just getting more strict with whom they hire.

For new grads…. Get an internship. It’s Jess risk for a company to try out a kid for 3 months. If they prove themselves, they’ll get hired on full time. But yes. It’s going to be harder to get that internship in the future, where now companies like Amazon. Google, Microsoft, etc; we’re hiring and enticing sophomores CS or closely tech majors.

The basic point is that there will be demand for CS jobs in the future. A CS degree will be marketable across many industries and sectors. Add a business or data science minor, even better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Companies have been desperate the past few years and with attrition and other issues they hired anyone they could get. Now they only need 80% so they are laying off the bottom performing 20%.

The best employees have little to worry about. If they get laid off because they were on a downsized team they will likely find something else. For the foreseeable future, Companies are just getting more strict with whom they hire.

For new grads…. Get an internship. It’s Jess risk for a company to try out a kid for 3 months. If they prove themselves, they’ll get hired on full time. But yes. It’s going to be harder to get that internship in the future, where now companies like Amazon. Google, Microsoft, etc; we’re hiring and enticing sophomores CS or closely tech majors.

The basic point is that there will be demand for CS jobs in the future. A CS degree will be marketable across many industries and sectors. Add a business or data science minor, even better.

Yes. Although as the number of CS grads increases, the salaries will not be as lucrative and the jobs not as glamorous. Solid career but not worth forcing a kids who hates CS into it for the money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the benefits to being a computer science major at a small liberal arts school versus being a computer science major at a bigger university where you might be in the engineering school or the school of arts and sciences depending on the university’s options. Does either generally fair better in terms of getting jobs or into graduate programs after college?
Looking for knowledge to help my high school junior in their college search. Most likely wants to major in computer science or maybe computer engineering and minor in business/economics . Thanks for any advice in this arena. Strong academic student with high gpa and high tests scores which they will be able to submit anywhere.

Let me take a different tack with this: the first step is getting in. If this is a DS (80% chance, which is the point), he is negating any SLAC admissions advantage he might have — as a male — by framing an application narrative around the stereotypical male intended majors. If he has any other interest which he can demonstrate, alongside CS, which is non-stereotypical, he should do so. This is true for private national universities as well — only less true, as the gender imbalance tends to be less extreme. State flagships are of course a different ball of wax, where you might have to formally apply as a CS major from the get go…

Men should not say they are interested in “stereotypical male stuff” (never mind that they are actually interested in it) but should instead pretend to be interested in creative dance or something just to game the admissions system. Real galaxy brain take there. 🙄🙄🙄

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Companies have been desperate the past few years and with attrition and other issues they hired anyone they could get. Now they only need 80% so they are laying off the bottom performing 20%.

The best employees have little to worry about. If they get laid off because they were on a downsized team they will likely find something else. For the foreseeable future, Companies are just getting more strict with whom they hire.

For new grads…. Get an internship. It’s Jess risk for a company to try out a kid for 3 months. If they prove themselves, they’ll get hired on full time. But yes. It’s going to be harder to get that internship in the future, where now companies like Amazon. Google, Microsoft, etc; we’re hiring and enticing sophomores CS or closely tech majors.

The basic point is that there will be demand for CS jobs in the future. A CS degree will be marketable across many industries and sectors. Add a business or data science minor, even better.

Yes. Although as the number of CS grads increases, the salaries will not be as lucrative and the jobs not as glamorous. Solid career but not worth forcing a kids who hates CS into it for the money.

Agreed. It's a tough major, so one must like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is majoring in CS and minoring in business at T15 university so I hear his experience. Although he is only a freshman, he tells me that they don't really teach actual programming languages. They teach you the concepts and theory behind it so you can learn the languages (I assume on your own). The core areas of CS study should be the same at most institutions, whether liberal arts colleges or large universities. Both large institutions and small institutions share a set of curricular recommendations from the Association of Computing Machinery and the IEEE Computer Society. At least in that aspect, there isn't that much difference between CS at a larger vs a smaller college - you will learn the core material. My daughter is at a top 3 LAC and, although she is not a CS major, some of her friends are and they all easily landed top tech jobs in large cities before graduation. So bottom line is, you will learn CS in either types of institutions and there are obvious differences as well as advantages and disadvantages between a large vs small college. It all comes down to where you fit better at.

Thank you. This is very helpful.
My DC teaches himself languages and coding all the time so I know he is going to love comp Sci as a major.
Is your son’s T15 school a school where he had to declare major before applying?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the benefits to being a computer science major at a small liberal arts school versus being a computer science major at a bigger university where you might be in the engineering school or the school of arts and sciences depending on the university’s options. Does either generally fair better in terms of getting jobs or into graduate programs after college?
Looking for knowledge to help my high school junior in their college search. Most likely wants to major in computer science or maybe computer engineering and minor in business/economics . Thanks for any advice in this arena. Strong academic student with high gpa and high tests scores which they will be able to submit anywhere.

Let me take a different tack with this: the first step is getting in. If this is a DS (80% chance, which is the point), he is negating any SLAC admissions advantage he might have — as a male — by framing an application narrative around the stereotypical male intended majors. If he has any other interest which he can demonstrate, alongside CS, which is non-stereotypical, he should do so. This is true for private national universities as well — only less true, as the gender imbalance tends to be less extreme. State flagships are of course a different ball of wax, where you might have to formally apply as a CS major from the get go…

You have figured out one of my concerns-
Ironically it seems my DS could have more luck getting into a highly ranked small college if college apps highlight his other interests while intending to major in CS but at the bigger schools he has to apply as CS or computer engineering and will be faced with more competition. I’m hoping he likes my alma mater (Ivy) but not sure that tuition makes sense for CS if he can get into a big state school..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the benefits to being a computer science major at a small liberal arts school versus being a computer science major at a bigger university where you might be in the engineering school or the school of arts and sciences depending on the university’s options. Does either generally fair better in terms of getting jobs or into graduate programs after college?
Looking for knowledge to help my high school junior in their college search. Most likely wants to major in computer science or maybe computer engineering and minor in business/economics . Thanks for any advice in this arena. Strong academic student with high gpa and high tests scores which they will be able to submit anywhere.

Let me take a different tack with this: the first step is getting in. If this is a DS (80% chance, which is the point), he is negating any SLAC admissions advantage he might have — as a male — by framing an application narrative around the stereotypical male intended majors. If he has any other interest which he can demonstrate, alongside CS, which is non-stereotypical, he should do so. This is true for private national universities as well — only less true, as the gender imbalance tends to be less extreme. State flagships are of course a different ball of wax, where you might have to formally apply as a CS major from the get go…

You have figured out one of my concerns-
Ironically it seems my DS could have more luck getting into a highly ranked small college if college apps highlight his other interests while intending to major in CS but at the bigger schools he has to apply as CS or computer engineering and will be faced with more competition. I’m hoping he likes my alma mater (Ivy) but not sure that tuition makes sense for CS if he can get into a big state school..

Asian male?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the benefits to being a computer science major at a small liberal arts school versus being a computer science major at a bigger university where you might be in the engineering school or the school of arts and sciences depending on the university’s options. Does either generally fair better in terms of getting jobs or into graduate programs after college?
Looking for knowledge to help my high school junior in their college search. Most likely wants to major in computer science or maybe computer engineering and minor in business/economics . Thanks for any advice in this arena. Strong academic student with high gpa and high tests scores which they will be able to submit anywhere.

Let me take a different tack with this: the first step is getting in. If this is a DS (80% chance, which is the point), he is negating any SLAC admissions advantage he might have — as a male — by framing an application narrative around the stereotypical male intended majors. If he has any other interest which he can demonstrate, alongside CS, which is non-stereotypical, he should do so. This is true for private national universities as well — only less true, as the gender imbalance tends to be less extreme. State flagships are of course a different ball of wax, where you might have to formally apply as a CS major from the get go…

You have figured out one of my concerns-
Ironically it seems my DS could have more luck getting into a highly ranked small college if college apps highlight his other interests while intending to major in CS but at the bigger schools he has to apply as CS or computer engineering and will be faced with more competition. I’m hoping he likes my alma mater (Ivy) but not sure that tuition makes sense for CS if he can get into a big state school..

Asian male?

Non Asian male.

? Is UVA or UMD better for CS?
(Tuition aside)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the benefits to being a computer science major at a small liberal arts school versus being a computer science major at a bigger university where you might be in the engineering school or the school of arts and sciences depending on the university’s options. Does either generally fair better in terms of getting jobs or into graduate programs after college?
Looking for knowledge to help my high school junior in their college search. Most likely wants to major in computer science or maybe computer engineering and minor in business/economics . Thanks for any advice in this arena. Strong academic student with high gpa and high tests scores which they will be able to submit anywhere.

Let me take a different tack with this: the first step is getting in. If this is a DS (80% chance, which is the point), he is negating any SLAC admissions advantage he might have — as a male — by framing an application narrative around the stereotypical male intended majors. If he has any other interest which he can demonstrate, alongside CS, which is non-stereotypical, he should do so. This is true for private national universities as well — only less true, as the gender imbalance tends to be less extreme. State flagships are of course a different ball of wax, where you might have to formally apply as a CS major from the get go…

You have figured out one of my concerns-
Ironically it seems my DS could have more luck getting into a highly ranked small college if college apps highlight his other interests while intending to major in CS but at the bigger schools he has to apply as CS or computer engineering and will be faced with more competition. I’m hoping he likes my alma mater (Ivy) but not sure that tuition makes sense for CS if he can get into a big state school..

Asian male?

Non Asian male.

? Is UVA or UMD better for CS?
(Tuition aside)

UMD

My DC majored in computer science at a LAC (ranked in the 40s by USNWR) and did very well. Five years out, has a great career and makes a lot more money than I do. DC loved the liberal arts experience and developed close relationships with professors and still maintains those connections today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Big school = better exposure to industry and research, which can be enriching. I remember on CS professor I had, on the last day of class, would show us the stuff he was working on. That was super-cool and also motivating.

Small school = possibly closer interaction with faculty. If they get a balanced education, for example they can write or present well, even better.

There's a shortage of CS people and that's not going to change, so job prospects good either way.

Is there still a shortage of CS folks? Tech companies have laid off tons of thousands in the past few months.

Just stop. The layoffs were less than 1%.
The tech industry needs people not the other way around and will for years to come.

+1. My husband can't find Cloud architects and others to fill roles, and the ones he can find demand exorbitant salaries--this is for government contracts (not DOD).
If your student is already experienced in CS/programming as a high schooler he may be more interested in comparing CS catalogs at the individual schools. A student going into college starting from the beginning may not want the more specialized upper level classes.

This seems significant to me. I have a relative who is a very smart kid who was admitted to a “Tech” university with a top ranked CS department. They have struggled a bit, and while they’ve done ok, they’re discouraged, because they’ve found that a large number (majority?) of the students in the major are those who had a LOT of experience in HS — the types that summer jobs coding or spent their summers coding “for fun.” The bit from a previous poster about “learning the languages elsewhere” sounds true. At least at this student’s school, it seems that it is expected that you will have a certain baseline of knowledge coming in, and those kids who have limited previous experience are at a disadvantage. That may be true to some degree everywhere, I suspect it would be less prevalent at a smaller, less purely tech-focused university.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the benefits to being a computer science major at a small liberal arts school versus being a computer science major at a bigger university where you might be in the engineering school or the school of arts and sciences depending on the university’s options. Does either generally fair better in terms of getting jobs or into graduate programs after college?
Looking for knowledge to help my high school junior in their college search. Most likely wants to major in computer science or maybe computer engineering and minor in business/economics . Thanks for any advice in this arena. Strong academic student with high gpa and high tests scores which they will be able to submit anywhere.

Let me take a different tack with this: the first step is getting in. If this is a DS (80% chance, which is the point), he is negating any SLAC admissions advantage he might have — as a male — by framing an application narrative around the stereotypical male intended majors. If he has any other interest which he can demonstrate, alongside CS, which is non-stereotypical, he should do so. This is true for private national universities as well — only less true, as the gender imbalance tends to be less extreme. State flagships are of course a different ball of wax, where you might have to formally apply as a CS major from the get go…

You have figured out one of my concerns-
Ironically it seems my DS could have more luck getting into a highly ranked small college if college apps highlight his other interests while intending to major in CS but at the bigger schools he has to apply as CS or computer engineering and will be faced with more competition. I’m hoping he likes my alma mater (Ivy) but not sure that tuition makes sense for CS if he can get into a big state school..

I studied CS at Harvard and it was a huge waste of time and my parents' money ... I ended up with the same post-undergrad job in Big Tech as my friends from UMD. You don't need a CS degree to get a tech job coming from an Ivy especially if you're going to be a PM. All the rich kids who went to private high schools did a humanities major that they cared about and ended up at Google anyways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the benefits to being a computer science major at a small liberal arts school versus being a computer science major at a bigger university where you might be in the engineering school or the school of arts and sciences depending on the university’s options. Does either generally fair better in terms of getting jobs or into graduate programs after college?
Looking for knowledge to help my high school junior in their college search. Most likely wants to major in computer science or maybe computer engineering and minor in business/economics . Thanks for any advice in this arena. Strong academic student with high gpa and high tests scores which they will be able to submit anywhere.

Let me take a different tack with this: the first step is getting in. If this is a DS (80% chance, which is the point), he is negating any SLAC admissions advantage he might have — as a male — by framing an application narrative around the stereotypical male intended majors. If he has any other interest which he can demonstrate, alongside CS, which is non-stereotypical, he should do so. This is true for private national universities as well — only less true, as the gender imbalance tends to be less extreme. State flagships are of course a different ball of wax, where you might have to formally apply as a CS major from the get go…

You have figured out one of my concerns-
Ironically it seems my DS could have more luck getting into a highly ranked small college if college apps highlight his other interests while intending to major in CS but at the bigger schools he has to apply as CS or computer engineering and will be faced with more competition. I’m hoping he likes my alma mater (Ivy) but not sure that tuition makes sense for CS if he can get into a big state school..

I studied CS at Harvard and it was a huge waste of time and my parents' money ... I ended up with the same post-undergrad job in Big Tech as my friends from UMD. You don't need a CS degree to get a tech job coming from an Ivy especially if you're going to be a PM. All the rich kids who went to private high schools did a humanities major that they cared about and ended up at Google anyways.

Every major has the same story. Connections get you the pretty jobs coming out the schools you use connections to get into. Everyone else (who didn't have those connections going in) gets the same jobs as the kids from state schools. And as a PP showed, kids with connections can go to any school and come out with the pretty job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Big school = better exposure to industry and research, which can be enriching. I remember on CS professor I had, on the last day of class, would show us the stuff he was working on. That was super-cool and also motivating.

Small school = possibly closer interaction with faculty. If they get a balanced education, for example they can write or present well, even better.

There's a shortage of CS people and that's not going to change, so job prospects good either way.

A shortage? Seems like there's a glut.
NP

I’m in the field and am responsible for the hiring for my group. We’re still struggling to find and retain top CS/DS people. Still seems like a shortage to me.