Is internship a must for CS major?

[Anonymous]

I don't know if there's a "right way" or a "wrong way," as your niece and nephews established it's not a prerequisite for getting hired. It certainly wouldn't hurt to show success in a work environment and earn some money, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We are Indian-American. I would say it is an absolute must for my DS.

Perhaps OP is White, but we have to always include racism and bias in our calculus at all times. My kid is not going to be given handouts and he is not networked. Whatever he gets in life, he will get only because he is exponentially better than others. So yes, internships, independent projects, research etc...everything counts and is essential.

On my team of 30 developers, 3 are US born non-Indian and non-Asian (2 AA, one white). One is Iranian, one is Sudanese, one is Korean. The rest are Indian or Pakistani (i.e. not born in US). All are US citizens (US federal contractors).

TBH, Indian/Pakistani is somewhat the default.

Why do you think that is? Are white kids just late to the game (i.e. just now getting com sci degrees, whereas the Indian/Pakistani teammates you referenced were in comsci years ago?) Seems like 90% of kids these days are going to college for comsci degrees (or IT). When I read the college plans of schools like TJHSST, all I see are comsci degree kids. I am starting to wonder if there are going to be any medical doctors in 10 yrs.

Medical doctors are getting imported from India. Mainly because 4 year medical school in India starts after 12th grade, unlike US. Fully qualified young doctors come from India to the US, do their residency all over again (while being paid a stipend) to be able to practice here, and before you know the American dream is theirs. Without the stress of student debt, or unemployment, or being able to clear medical school.

It will be ridiculous for my kids to become medical doctors in US by studying in US medical college because medical college starts after 4 years of undergrad. It costs money and precious years of your youth (20s and 30s) where you have basically not even enjoyed life, dated, married, travelled, or built up a nest egg. Then these people come out with huge debts and a paycheck that a newly minted CS grad is getting.

My CS kid is getting $$$ in merit aid to do CS. We are UMC with 100% EFC. Our only cost will be the money for his food and car. He will already be ahead by 200K by the time he finishes his degree. And he will start earning by 21.

Having a medical degree= job security YOu can say what you want but if the kid is passionate he will be a great medical doctor and they can pay off their loans quickly too.

I don’t trust the lack of basic science education reflected in the Indian system and among Indian doctors.

Sure.
And yet...US is flooded with Indian and Indian origin doctors from coast to coast. And Indian-American kids are leading the widening achievement gap in US education system because they are taught by their immigrant parents at home who recieved their science education in India.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We are Indian-American. I would say it is an absolute must for my DS.

Perhaps OP is White, but we have to always include racism and bias in our calculus at all times. My kid is not going to be given handouts and he is not networked. Whatever he gets in life, he will get only because he is exponentially better than others. So yes, internships, independent projects, research etc...everything counts and is essential.

On my team of 30 developers, 3 are US born non-Indian and non-Asian (2 AA, one white). One is Iranian, one is Sudanese, one is Korean. The rest are Indian or Pakistani (i.e. not born in US). All are US citizens (US federal contractors).

TBH, Indian/Pakistani is somewhat the default.

Why do you think that is? Are white kids just late to the game (i.e. just now getting com sci degrees, whereas the Indian/Pakistani teammates you referenced were in comsci years ago?) Seems like 90% of kids these days are going to college for comsci degrees (or IT). When I read the college plans of schools like TJHSST, all I see are comsci degree kids. I am starting to wonder if there are going to be any medical doctors in 10 yrs.

Medical doctors are getting imported from India. Mainly because 4 year medical school in India starts after 12th grade, unlike US. Fully qualified young doctors come from India to the US, do their residency all over again (while being paid a stipend) to be able to practice here, and before you know the American dream is theirs. Without the stress of student debt, or unemployment, or being able to clear medical school.

It will be ridiculous for my kids to become medical doctors in US by studying in US medical college because medical college starts after 4 years of undergrad. It costs money and precious years of your youth (20s and 30s) where you have basically not even enjoyed life, dated, married, travelled, or built up a nest egg. Then these people come out with huge debts and a paycheck that a newly minted CS grad is getting.

My CS kid is getting $$$ in merit aid to do CS. We are UMC with 100% EFC. Our only cost will be the money for his food and car. He will already be ahead by 200K by the time he finishes his degree. And he will start earning by 21.

Having a medical degree= job security YOu can say what you want but if the kid is passionate he will be a great medical doctor and they can pay off their loans quickly too.

Its not always easy getting a medical degree and often CS folks make more than doctors. My CS degree spouse makes more than my internal medicine sibling. The CS degree depending on what you do can be equal job security.

Wait till the economy tanks at the same time as your spouse hits his late 40s-50s and gets laid off. Doctors never get laid off for lack of work and can work into their 70s if they feel like it. Also, the employment landscape changes over time. Over a 30 year working lifespan, what's hot today may not be so in 10 or 20 years. The professions (Medicine, Law, Accounting, core engineering) on the other hand will always be in demand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We are Indian-American. I would say it is an absolute must for my DS.

Perhaps OP is White, but we have to always include racism and bias in our calculus at all times. My kid is not going to be given handouts and he is not networked. Whatever he gets in life, he will get only because he is exponentially better than others. So yes, internships, independent projects, research etc...everything counts and is essential.

On my team of 30 developers, 3 are US born non-Indian and non-Asian (2 AA, one white). One is Iranian, one is Sudanese, one is Korean. The rest are Indian or Pakistani (i.e. not born in US). All are US citizens (US federal contractors).

TBH, Indian/Pakistani is somewhat the default.

Why do you think that is? Are white kids just late to the game (i.e. just now getting com sci degrees, whereas the Indian/Pakistani teammates you referenced were in comsci years ago?) Seems like 90% of kids these days are going to college for comsci degrees (or IT). When I read the college plans of schools like TJHSST, all I see are comsci degree kids. I am starting to wonder if there are going to be any medical doctors in 10 yrs.

Medical doctors are getting imported from India. Mainly because 4 year medical school in India starts after 12th grade, unlike US. Fully qualified young doctors come from India to the US, do their residency all over again (while being paid a stipend) to be able to practice here, and before you know the American dream is theirs. Without the stress of student debt, or unemployment, or being able to clear medical school.

It will be ridiculous for my kids to become medical doctors in US by studying in US medical college because medical college starts after 4 years of undergrad. It costs money and precious years of your youth (20s and 30s) where you have basically not even enjoyed life, dated, married, travelled, or built up a nest egg. Then these people come out with huge debts and a paycheck that a newly minted CS grad is getting.

My CS kid is getting $$$ in merit aid to do CS. We are UMC with 100% EFC. Our only cost will be the money for his food and car. He will already be ahead by 200K by the time he finishes his degree. And he will start earning by 21.

Having a medical degree= job security YOu can say what you want but if the kid is passionate he will be a great medical doctor and they can pay off their loans quickly too.

I don’t trust the lack of basic science education reflected in the Indian system and among Indian doctors.

How exactly has it affected you? Your Indian doctor did not know if a tomato was a fruit or vegetable? An anecdote would be nice to understand where you are coming from.

Becoming a doctor in the US is not a rosy path for Indian doctors. They have to repeat their residencies (because it is required in the US) and much like any US doctor kid can be placed anywhere in the US. After Residency, their visas do not allow them to stay (it's called an exchange visitor visa) so they have to either leave the country for a period of time (I think it's 3 years) or take up a job at an under-served area of the country (downtown hospitals or boondock hick towns that no US doctor wants to go and work at). Then get a job, wait for many years for a green card, etc. A friend of mine who went through 6 additional years of specialized education after US residency had to go live outside the country before coming back.

Remember that the ones do come here are the cream of the crop. Have to be since they are taking away residency slots from US-born kids that went through med school. Yes, some med school kids do not get matched to a residency.

Also, most med schools in the US only require about six core "pre-med" courses. That's a semester worth of courses for a motivated kid, maybe two. No reason to make them waste time in undergrad college. But the system is what the system is.. corrupt and focused on extracting as much revenue from parents as possible to give your snowflakes the 'college experience'.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We are Indian-American. I would say it is an absolute must for my DS.

Perhaps OP is White, but we have to always include racism and bias in our calculus at all times. My kid is not going to be given handouts and he is not networked. Whatever he gets in life, he will get only because he is exponentially better than others. So yes, internships, independent projects, research etc...everything counts and is essential.

On my team of 30 developers, 3 are US born non-Indian and non-Asian (2 AA, one white). One is Iranian, one is Sudanese, one is Korean. The rest are Indian or Pakistani (i.e. not born in US). All are US citizens (US federal contractors).

TBH, Indian/Pakistani is somewhat the default.

Why do you think that is? Are white kids just late to the game (i.e. just now getting com sci degrees, whereas the Indian/Pakistani teammates you referenced were in comsci years ago?) Seems like 90% of kids these days are going to college for comsci degrees (or IT). When I read the college plans of schools like TJHSST, all I see are comsci degree kids. I am starting to wonder if there are going to be any medical doctors in 10 yrs.

Medical doctors are getting imported from India. Mainly because 4 year medical school in India starts after 12th grade, unlike US. Fully qualified young doctors come from India to the US, do their residency all over again (while being paid a stipend) to be able to practice here, and before you know the American dream is theirs. Without the stress of student debt, or unemployment, or being able to clear medical school.

It will be ridiculous for my kids to become medical doctors in US by studying in US medical college because medical college starts after 4 years of undergrad. It costs money and precious years of your youth (20s and 30s) where you have basically not even enjoyed life, dated, married, travelled, or built up a nest egg. Then these people come out with huge debts and a paycheck that a newly minted CS grad is getting.

My CS kid is getting $$$ in merit aid to do CS. We are UMC with 100% EFC. Our only cost will be the money for his food and car. He will already be ahead by 200K by the time he finishes his degree. And he will start earning by 21.

Having a medical degree= job security YOu can say what you want but if the kid is passionate he will be a great medical doctor and they can pay off their loans quickly too.

I don’t trust the lack of basic science education reflected in the Indian system and among Indian doctors.

How exactly has it affected you? Your Indian doctor did not know if a tomato was a fruit or vegetable? An anecdote would be nice to understand where you are coming from.

Becoming a doctor in the US is not a rosy path for Indian doctors. They have to repeat their residencies (because it is required in the US) and much like any US doctor kid can be placed anywhere in the US. After Residency, their visas do not allow them to stay (it's called an exchange visitor visa) so they have to either leave the country for a period of time (I think it's 3 years) or take up a job at an under-served area of the country (downtown hospitals or boondock hick towns that no US doctor wants to go and work at). Then get a job, wait for many years for a green card, etc. A friend of mine who went through 6 additional years of specialized education after US residency had to go live outside the country before coming back.

Remember that the ones do come here are the cream of the crop. Have to be since they are taking away residency slots from US-born kids that went through med school. Yes, some med school kids do not get matched to a residency.

Also, most med schools in the US only require about six core "pre-med" courses. That's a semester worth of courses for a motivated kid, maybe two. No reason to make them waste time in undergrad college. But the system is what the system is.. corrupt and focused on extracting as much revenue from parents as possible to give your snowflakes the 'college experience'.

A semester’s worth? LOL you lost all your credibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of my DS will be attending college in the fall with the intention to major in CS at UVA. I've always thought that an internship is "highly recommended" for a CS major after the 2nd or 3rd year; however, my recently graduated niece and nephews just disproved my way of thinking.

My niece recently graduated with a CS major from GMU. She graduated in three years through a combination of credits from AP courses in HS and summer classes at GMU and NVCC. Instead of summer internships, she took summer classes at GMU and NVCC. She got several job offers and accepted an offer from Google. Nephew #1 recently graduated with a CS degree from UVA school of engineering. He did the same thing as his cousin. He also got several job offers and accepted an offer from Microsoft. Nephew #2 recently graduated from VTech with the same profile as nephew #1, and he accepted an offer from Oracle.

All three graduated in three years and didn't do any internships while in college and yet they all got high paying offers from employers. That got me thinking, why even bothers with internships when you can graduate early and make more money that way?

Am I wrong on this?

Glad to hear this. DC is at UVA and having a hard time getting an internship. Hopefully it will work out soon.

Didn’t your kid go to the spring Career & Internship fair? Search on Handshake? LinkedIn presence w/link to GitHub? Trawl Indeed? Just plain ol’ network?
I will say that the closing dates for some applications are ridiculously early, like end of April 2022 for Summer 2023.

For CS? A deadline a year ahead does not make sense, as employers would not know what courses the student was taking the following year, nor would they be prepared for tech interviews.

Deadlines a year ahead may be more common in investment banking, but not in CS.

Wrong

Can you link to an internship posting that lists a deadline to apply for summer 2023?

Have your kid do the research

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We are Indian-American. I would say it is an absolute must for my DS.

Perhaps OP is White, but we have to always include racism and bias in our calculus at all times. My kid is not going to be given handouts and he is not networked. Whatever he gets in life, he will get only because he is exponentially better than others. So yes, internships, independent projects, research etc...everything counts and is essential.

On my team of 30 developers, 3 are US born non-Indian and non-Asian (2 AA, one white). One is Iranian, one is Sudanese, one is Korean. The rest are Indian or Pakistani (i.e. not born in US). All are US citizens (US federal contractors).

TBH, Indian/Pakistani is somewhat the default.

Why do you think that is? Are white kids just late to the game (i.e. just now getting com sci degrees, whereas the Indian/Pakistani teammates you referenced were in comsci years ago?) Seems like 90% of kids these days are going to college for comsci degrees (or IT). When I read the college plans of schools like TJHSST, all I see are comsci degree kids. I am starting to wonder if there are going to be any medical doctors in 10 yrs.

Medical doctors are getting imported from India. Mainly because 4 year medical school in India starts after 12th grade, unlike US. Fully qualified young doctors come from India to the US, do their residency all over again (while being paid a stipend) to be able to practice here, and before you know the American dream is theirs. Without the stress of student debt, or unemployment, or being able to clear medical school.

It will be ridiculous for my kids to become medical doctors in US by studying in US medical college because medical college starts after 4 years of undergrad. It costs money and precious years of your youth (20s and 30s) where you have basically not even enjoyed life, dated, married, travelled, or built up a nest egg. Then these people come out with huge debts and a paycheck that a newly minted CS grad is getting.

My CS kid is getting $$$ in merit aid to do CS. We are UMC with 100% EFC. Our only cost will be the money for his food and car. He will already be ahead by 200K by the time he finishes his degree. And he will start earning by 21.

Having a medical degree= job security YOu can say what you want but if the kid is passionate he will be a great medical doctor and they can pay off their loans quickly too.

I don’t trust the lack of basic science education reflected in the Indian system and among Indian doctors.

How exactly has it affected you? Your Indian doctor did not know if a tomato was a fruit or vegetable? An anecdote would be nice to understand where you are coming from.

Becoming a doctor in the US is not a rosy path for Indian doctors. They have to repeat their residencies (because it is required in the US) and much like any US doctor kid can be placed anywhere in the US. After Residency, their visas do not allow them to stay (it's called an exchange visitor visa) so they have to either leave the country for a period of time (I think it's 3 years) or take up a job at an under-served area of the country (downtown hospitals or boondock hick towns that no US doctor wants to go and work at). Then get a job, wait for many years for a green card, etc. A friend of mine who went through 6 additional years of specialized education after US residency had to go live outside the country before coming back.

Remember that the ones do come here are the cream of the crop. Have to be since they are taking away residency slots from US-born kids that went through med school. Yes, some med school kids do not get matched to a residency.

Also, most med schools in the US only require about six core "pre-med" courses. That's a semester worth of courses for a motivated kid, maybe two. No reason to make them waste time in undergrad college. But the system is what the system is.. corrupt and focused on extracting as much revenue from parents as possible to give your snowflakes the 'college experience'.

A semester’s worth? LOL you lost all your credibility.

Great comeback! Clown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of my DS will be attending college in the fall with the intention to major in CS at UVA. I've always thought that an internship is "highly recommended" for a CS major after the 2nd or 3rd year; however, my recently graduated niece and nephews just disproved my way of thinking.

My niece recently graduated with a CS major from GMU. She graduated in three years through a combination of credits from AP courses in HS and summer classes at GMU and NVCC. Instead of summer internships, she took summer classes at GMU and NVCC. She got several job offers and accepted an offer from Google. Nephew #1 recently graduated with a CS degree from UVA school of engineering. He did the same thing as his cousin. He also got several job offers and accepted an offer from Microsoft. Nephew #2 recently graduated from VTech with the same profile as nephew #1, and he accepted an offer from Oracle.

All three graduated in three years and didn't do any internships while in college and yet they all got high paying offers from employers. That got me thinking, why even bothers with internships when you can graduate early and make more money that way?

Am I wrong on this?

Glad to hear this. DC is at UVA and having a hard time getting an internship. Hopefully it will work out soon.

Didn’t your kid go to the spring Career & Internship fair? Search on Handshake? LinkedIn presence w/link to GitHub? Trawl Indeed? Just plain ol’ network?
I will say that the closing dates for some applications are ridiculously early, like end of April 2022 for Summer 2023.

For CS? A deadline a year ahead does not make sense, as employers would not know what courses the student was taking the following year, nor would they be prepared for tech interviews.

Deadlines a year ahead may be more common in investment banking, but not in CS.

Wrong

Can you link to an internship posting that lists a deadline to apply for summer 2023?

Have your kid do the research

CS internship deadlines for summer 2023 have not passed. None of them. You are trolling.

[Anonymous]

I never stated that deadlines have passed. I merely stated that many 2023 announcements are already posted and close early. By “early,” I meant +/- one year ahead of start date.

Again, have your child do the research.

[Anonymous]

There was one 2023 posting that closed in April. My child applied. Data point of ONE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We are Indian-American. I would say it is an absolute must for my DS.

Perhaps OP is White, but we have to always include racism and bias in our calculus at all times. My kid is not going to be given handouts and he is not networked. Whatever he gets in life, he will get only because he is exponentially better than others. So yes, internships, independent projects, research etc...everything counts and is essential.

On my team of 30 developers, 3 are US born non-Indian and non-Asian (2 AA, one white). One is Iranian, one is Sudanese, one is Korean. The rest are Indian or Pakistani (i.e. not born in US). All are US citizens (US federal contractors).

TBH, Indian/Pakistani is somewhat the default.

Why do you think that is? Are white kids just late to the game (i.e. just now getting com sci degrees, whereas the Indian/Pakistani teammates you referenced were in comsci years ago?) Seems like 90% of kids these days are going to college for comsci degrees (or IT). When I read the college plans of schools like TJHSST, all I see are comsci degree kids. I am starting to wonder if there are going to be any medical doctors in 10 yrs.

I’m the PP. I can’t speak to why Indian and Pakistani kids study CS at such high rates other than

- I think the Indian government founded a network of excellent technical universities decades ago that have been producing high quality CS grads for a while now. Don’t know about Pakistan.
- English speaking Indians and Pakistanis have a huge leg up in offering offshore development services, which led to a lot of that work being done in those places, which means an experienced pool of tech workers. Many of those people have immigrated go the US and become US citizens and now work in tech here.

As for why American kids don’t study CS at such high rates, I don’t know. My own kid finds CS boring, and I think growing up UMC has made him somewhat blind to the allure of being able to earn a steady living.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We are Indian-American. I would say it is an absolute must for my DS.

Perhaps OP is White, but we have to always include racism and bias in our calculus at all times. My kid is not going to be given handouts and he is not networked. Whatever he gets in life, he will get only because he is exponentially better than others. So yes, internships, independent projects, research etc...everything counts and is essential.

On my team of 30 developers, 3 are US born non-Indian and non-Asian (2 AA, one white). One is Iranian, one is Sudanese, one is Korean. The rest are Indian or Pakistani (i.e. not born in US). All are US citizens (US federal contractors).

TBH, Indian/Pakistani is somewhat the default.

Why do you think that is? Are white kids just late to the game (i.e. just now getting com sci degrees, whereas the Indian/Pakistani teammates you referenced were in comsci years ago?) Seems like 90% of kids these days are going to college for comsci degrees (or IT). When I read the college plans of schools like TJHSST, all I see are comsci degree kids. I am starting to wonder if there are going to be any medical doctors in 10 yrs.

Medical doctors are getting imported from India. Mainly because 4 year medical school in India starts after 12th grade, unlike US. Fully qualified young doctors come from India to the US, do their residency all over again (while being paid a stipend) to be able to practice here, and before you know the American dream is theirs. Without the stress of student debt, or unemployment, or being able to clear medical school.

It will be ridiculous for my kids to become medical doctors in US by studying in US medical college because medical college starts after 4 years of undergrad. It costs money and precious years of your youth (20s and 30s) where you have basically not even enjoyed life, dated, married, travelled, or built up a nest egg. Then these people come out with huge debts and a paycheck that a newly minted CS grad is getting.

My CS kid is getting $$$ in merit aid to do CS. We are UMC with 100% EFC. Our only cost will be the money for his food and car. He will already be ahead by 200K by the time he finishes his degree. And he will start earning by 21.

Having a medical degree= job security YOu can say what you want but if the kid is passionate he will be a great medical doctor and they can pay off their loans quickly too.

Its not always easy getting a medical degree and often CS folks make more than doctors. My CS degree spouse makes more than my internal medicine sibling. The CS degree depending on what you do can be equal job security.

Wait till the economy tanks at the same time as your spouse hits his late 40s-50s and gets laid off. Doctors never get laid off for lack of work and can work into their 70s if they feel like it. Also, the employment landscape changes over time. Over a 30 year working lifespan, what's hot today may not be so in 10 or 20 years. The professions (Medicine, Law, Accounting, core engineering) on the other hand will always be in demand.

It all depends on your qualifications and other things, like a clearance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We are Indian-American. I would say it is an absolute must for my DS.

Perhaps OP is White, but we have to always include racism and bias in our calculus at all times. My kid is not going to be given handouts and he is not networked. Whatever he gets in life, he will get only because he is exponentially better than others. So yes, internships, independent projects, research etc...everything counts and is essential.

On my team of 30 developers, 3 are US born non-Indian and non-Asian (2 AA, one white). One is Iranian, one is Sudanese, one is Korean. The rest are Indian or Pakistani (i.e. not born in US). All are US citizens (US federal contractors).

TBH, Indian/Pakistani is somewhat the default.

Why do you think that is? Are white kids just late to the game (i.e. just now getting com sci degrees, whereas the Indian/Pakistani teammates you referenced were in comsci years ago?) Seems like 90% of kids these days are going to college for comsci degrees (or IT). When I read the college plans of schools like TJHSST, all I see are comsci degree kids. I am starting to wonder if there are going to be any medical doctors in 10 yrs.

I’m the PP. I can’t speak to why Indian and Pakistani kids study CS at such high rates other than

- I think the Indian government founded a network of excellent technical universities decades ago that have been producing high quality CS grads for a while now. Don’t know about Pakistan.
- English speaking Indians and Pakistanis have a huge leg up in offering offshore development services, which led to a lot of that work being done in those places, which means an experienced pool of tech workers. Many of those people have immigrated go the US and become US citizens and now work in tech here.

As for why American kids don’t study CS at such high rates, I don’t know. My own kid finds CS boring, and I think growing up UMC has made him somewhat blind to the allure of being able to earn a steady living.

Have you guys noticed how kids of parents who played basketball play basketball? My kids played volleyball. A majority of the parents (both) played VB growing up or in college. Many played on adult teams and wanted their kids to do so as well. Same goes with CS and Indians. A lot of them are in IT and know it's an easy route to good income and reasonable job security. Many of them also do not necessarily have an education in CS, especially the Y2K cohort. I've known and hired many housewives with Biology and other misc. degrees with about 6 months of "IT training" to test code and make code changes to Y2K bugs. Many of them are IT leaders in a variety of companies today. A CS degree is not needed for the vast majority of business application development/modifications that we do today.

P.S. I realize sports and job are not the same (so don't waste your time pointing that out) but was making the point about how parents guide their kids in a certain direction across all cultures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We are Indian-American. I would say it is an absolute must for my DS.

Perhaps OP is White, but we have to always include racism and bias in our calculus at all times. My kid is not going to be given handouts and he is not networked. Whatever he gets in life, he will get only because he is exponentially better than others. So yes, internships, independent projects, research etc...everything counts and is essential.

On my team of 30 developers, 3 are US born non-Indian and non-Asian (2 AA, one white). One is Iranian, one is Sudanese, one is Korean. The rest are Indian or Pakistani (i.e. not born in US). All are US citizens (US federal contractors).

TBH, Indian/Pakistani is somewhat the default.

Why do you think that is? Are white kids just late to the game (i.e. just now getting com sci degrees, whereas the Indian/Pakistani teammates you referenced were in comsci years ago?) Seems like 90% of kids these days are going to college for comsci degrees (or IT). When I read the college plans of schools like TJHSST, all I see are comsci degree kids. I am starting to wonder if there are going to be any medical doctors in 10 yrs.

Medical doctors are getting imported from India. Mainly because 4 year medical school in India starts after 12th grade, unlike US. Fully qualified young doctors come from India to the US, do their residency all over again (while being paid a stipend) to be able to practice here, and before you know the American dream is theirs. Without the stress of student debt, or unemployment, or being able to clear medical school.

It will be ridiculous for my kids to become medical doctors in US by studying in US medical college because medical college starts after 4 years of undergrad. It costs money and precious years of your youth (20s and 30s) where you have basically not even enjoyed life, dated, married, travelled, or built up a nest egg. Then these people come out with huge debts and a paycheck that a newly minted CS grad is getting.

My CS kid is getting $$$ in merit aid to do CS. We are UMC with 100% EFC. Our only cost will be the money for his food and car. He will already be ahead by 200K by the time he finishes his degree. And he will start earning by 21.

Having a medical degree= job security YOu can say what you want but if the kid is passionate he will be a great medical doctor and they can pay off their loans quickly too.

Its not always easy getting a medical degree and often CS folks make more than doctors. My CS degree spouse makes more than my internal medicine sibling. The CS degree depending on what you do can be equal job security.

Wait till the economy tanks at the same time as your spouse hits his late 40s-50s and gets laid off. Doctors never get laid off for lack of work and can work into their 70s if they feel like it. Also, the employment landscape changes over time. Over a 30 year working lifespan, what's hot today may not be so in 10 or 20 years. The professions (Medicine, Law, Accounting, core engineering) on the other hand will always be in demand.

OP lost me when s/he included ambulance chasers as a job with a lifetime of security. There's a reason why these people may need to work into their 70s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of my DS will be attending college in the fall with the intention to major in CS at UVA. I've always thought that an internship is "highly recommended" for a CS major after the 2nd or 3rd year; however, my recently graduated niece and nephews just disproved my way of thinking.

My niece recently graduated with a CS major from GMU. She graduated in three years through a combination of credits from AP courses in HS and summer classes at GMU and NVCC. Instead of summer internships, she took summer classes at GMU and NVCC. She got several job offers and accepted an offer from Google. Nephew #1 recently graduated with a CS degree from UVA school of engineering. He did the same thing as his cousin. He also got several job offers and accepted an offer from Microsoft. Nephew #2 recently graduated from VTech with the same profile as nephew #1, and he accepted an offer from Oracle.

All three graduated in three years and didn't do any internships while in college and yet they all got high paying offers from employers. That got me thinking, why even bothers with internships when you can graduate early and make more money that way?

Am I wrong on this?

Glad to hear this. DC is at UVA and having a hard time getting an internship. Hopefully it will work out soon.

Didn’t your kid go to the spring Career & Internship fair? Search on Handshake? LinkedIn presence w/link to GitHub? Trawl Indeed? Just plain ol’ network?



I will say that the closing dates for some applications are ridiculously early, like end of April 2022 for Summer 2023.

For CS? A deadline a year ahead does not make sense, as employers would not know what courses the student was taking the following year, nor would they be prepared for tech interviews.

Deadlines a year ahead may be more common in investment banking, but not in CS.

Completely false. It is not what you know but who you know. My Niece just got her job in IB internship through one of her uncles three months ago for summer '22. Another nephew got his CS internship from my wife who works for CACI literally last month.