Did anyone worry their DC was unprepared for their major (or college)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You need to pick a major in college that translates into a good paying job. Most engineering majors lead to good paying jobs.

I studied CS at VTech and hated it but I am working in Cyber Security for Freddie Mac and get paid a lot of money for it. I don't like what I am doing but it is certainly better than being broke.

Why do you need to pick a major that way? I love what I'm doing and have a massive amount of professional and personal freedom. It's not lucrative by any real standards, but I'm not broke at all. I'd much rather do what I love than have lots of disposable income that I have no real time to enjoy.

I picked CS because I was a first generation immigrant. I needed to make a lot of money so that I could purchase a home in Langley for my kids to attend Churchill/Cooper/Langley pyramid. Even though I hate my job, I know the future will be better for my children, hopefully.

This worked in parent times because we didn’t have to be very good at CS to get CS-related jobs.

Now that the crunch is coming, kids who want to make money at CS will have to be interested enough in CS to get and stay good at CS.

I think that bright kids who can handle math and just want to make money should major in actuarial science or accounting, with some CS classes, not CS.

The “oh, yuk!” moats around actuarial science and accounting are higher, the classes are generally easier, the competition is lighter, the available career paths are more diverse, and the jobs that competent adults in those fields do can be a lot of fun.

Another issue is that continuing education is built into those careers in a structured way. No one expects U.S. actuaries to become self-taught experts in Korean actuarial standards just for fun.

Meanwhile, good CS people who want to stick with hands-on CS work have to like it enough that they do all kinds of huge CS projects and learn new languages just for fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You need to pick a major in college that translates into a good paying job. Most engineering majors lead to good paying jobs.

I studied CS at VTech and hated it but I am working in Cyber Security for Freddie Mac and get paid a lot of money for it. I don't like what I am doing but it is certainly better than being broke.

Why do you need to pick a major that way? I love what I'm doing and have a massive amount of professional and personal freedom. It's not lucrative by any real standards, but I'm not broke at all. I'd much rather do what I love than have lots of disposable income that I have no real time to enjoy.

I picked CS because I was a first generation immigrant. I needed to make a lot of money so that I could purchase a home in Langley for my kids to attend Churchill/Cooper/Langley pyramid. Even though I hate my job, I know the future will be better for my children, hopefully.

PP above is smart. He is working to live, not living to work. Onlynpeople with some trust fund can afford to pick a particular college degree without considering the job and salary prospects.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You need to pick a major in college that translates into a good paying job. Most engineering majors lead to good paying jobs.

I studied CS at VTech and hated it but I am working in Cyber Security for Freddie Mac and get paid a lot of money for it. I don't like what I am doing but it is certainly better than being broke.

Why do you need to pick a major that way? I love what I'm doing and have a massive amount of professional and personal freedom. It's not lucrative by any real standards, but I'm not broke at all. I'd much rather do what I love than have lots of disposable income that I have no real time to enjoy.

I picked CS because I was a first generation immigrant. I needed to make a lot of money so that I could purchase a home in Langley for my kids to attend Churchill/Cooper/Langley pyramid. Even though I hate my job, I know the future will be better for my children, hopefully.

PP above is smart. He is working to live, not living to work. Onlynpeople with some trust fund can afford to pick a particular college degree without considering the job and salary prospects.

No, sounds like PP is working to have an overall miserable life. Has not mentioned working to enjoy traveling or hobbies, but simply to pursue an UMC rat race existence that is devoid of much pleasure.

There are multiple pathways to jobs that aren’t CS…could have been finance, accounting, engineering, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You need to pick a major in college that translates into a good paying job. Most engineering majors lead to good paying jobs.

I studied CS at VTech and hated it but I am working in Cyber Security for Freddie Mac and get paid a lot of money for it. I don't like what I am doing but it is certainly better than being broke.

Why do you need to pick a major that way? I love what I'm doing and have a massive amount of professional and personal freedom. It's not lucrative by any real standards, but I'm not broke at all. I'd much rather do what I love than have lots of disposable income that I have no real time to enjoy.

I picked CS because I was a first generation immigrant. I needed to make a lot of money so that I could purchase a home in Langley for my kids to attend Churchill/Cooper/Langley pyramid. Even though I hate my job, I know the future will be better for my children, hopefully.

PP above is smart. He is working to live, not living to work. Onlynpeople with some trust fund can afford to pick a particular college degree without considering the job and salary prospects.

um, isn't the reality exactly the opposite of what you posted? He is living to work. Joining the rat race to obtain money and things. Not following passion or interest--just slogging away so his kids can in turn slog away.

[Anonymous]

OP, my son is at RPI and also went in without having completed full calculus. He ended up failing the main intro calc class despite working quite hard to pass it. It was a shock to him, failing, but I wanted to let you know that this is relatively common at RPI and supports are there to retake the class and move on. A lot of the kids have never failed before, so it can be a shock, but RPI wants them to succeed and there are many extra support resources available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, my son is at RPI and also went in without having completed full calculus. He ended up failing the main intro calc class despite working quite hard to pass it. It was a shock to him, failing, but I wanted to let you know that this is relatively common at RPI and supports are there to retake the class and move on. A lot of the kids have never failed before, so it can be a shock, but RPI wants them to succeed and there are many extra support resources available.

Ugh, well this is exactly what I feared. I suppose it’s good your DS decided to remain at RPI and hopefully stayed in his major?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, my son is at RPI and also went in without having completed full calculus. He ended up failing the main intro calc class despite working quite hard to pass it. It was a shock to him, failing, but I wanted to let you know that this is relatively common at RPI and supports are there to retake the class and move on. A lot of the kids have never failed before, so it can be a shock, but RPI wants them to succeed and there are many extra support resources available.

Ugh, well this is exactly what I feared. I suppose it’s good your DS decided to remain at RPI and hopefully stayed in his major?

Yes, he wants to stay and will continue with the same major! Despite the academic difficulty of the classes, he really likes RPI. We offered / encouraged him to consider changing majors or even transferring to an easier school, but he seems to like the challenge of RPI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, my son is at RPI and also went in without having completed full calculus. He ended up failing the main intro calc class despite working quite hard to pass it. It was a shock to him, failing, but I wanted to let you know that this is relatively common at RPI and supports are there to retake the class and move on. A lot of the kids have never failed before, so it can be a shock, but RPI wants them to succeed and there are many extra support resources available.

Ugh, well this is exactly what I feared. I suppose it’s good your DS decided to remain at RPI and hopefully stayed in his major?

Yes, he wants to stay and will continue with the same major! Despite the academic difficulty of the classes, he really likes RPI. We offered / encouraged him to consider changing majors or even transferring to an easier school, but he seems to like the challenge of RPI.

Yes, I had been uh, gently encouraging DS to choose a larger, state school (OOS) where he received good merit aid, thinking the program might be slightly easier (same courses freshman year of course, but less rigorous approach, and if he decided not to do engineering after all, had a lot more choices for alternate majors) but he seems to be set on RPI. I will definitely have him do some calculus over the summer but I know it will still be difficult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, my son is at RPI and also went in without having completed full calculus. He ended up failing the main intro calc class despite working quite hard to pass it. It was a shock to him, failing, but I wanted to let you know that this is relatively common at RPI and supports are there to retake the class and move on. A lot of the kids have never failed before, so it can be a shock, but RPI wants them to succeed and there are many extra support resources available.

Ugh, well this is exactly what I feared. I suppose it’s good your DS decided to remain at RPI and hopefully stayed in his major?

Yes, he wants to stay and will continue with the same major! Despite the academic difficulty of the classes, he really likes RPI. We offered / encouraged him to consider changing majors or even transferring to an easier school, but he seems to like the challenge of RPI.

Yes, I had been uh, gently encouraging DS to choose a larger, state school (OOS) where he received good merit aid, thinking the program might be slightly easier (same courses freshman year of course, but less rigorous approach, and if he decided not to do engineering after all, had a lot more choices for alternate majors) but he seems to be set on RPI. I will definitely have him do some calculus over the summer but I know it will still be difficult.

It will be tough AND he will do fine! I am the PP whose son failed calculus. There is a lot to like at RPI and our son has been happy there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The big question is if your kid really is interested in engineering or simply picked it because it seems to lead to good jobs.

If your kid really isn't interested in the material, it will probably end badly (and hopefully quickly and then can find a major that works better). This is the case for even kids with high stats and rigor.

My CS kid is at a Top 10 school and there are plenty of kids scoring between 1-5 points (out of 100) on tests where the Mean score is a 68. They aren't stupid...but they picked CS because of external influences, don't like it and aren't any good at it.

You need to pick a major in college that translates into a good paying job. Most engineering majors lead to good paying jobs.

I studied CS at VTech and hated it but I am working in Cyber Security for Freddie Mac and get paid a lot of money for it. I don't like what I am doing but it is certainly better than being broke.

+1. You may not like all the content but putting in the work necessary to get through shows grit and resilience that you'll need once you start working. The vast majority of jobs, regardless of whether or not it in an area you 'love' involve a good chunk of gruntwork or admin work not related to your 'passion'. Better off getting paid a great salary while suffering through that vs. not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS will start a Mechanical Engineering program in the fall. He only took 2 APs (both Computer Science), never took AP in another science or math. He has not taken Calculus (took PreCalc as a junior, but it wasn’t Honors so he was only approved for PreCalc 2, whatever that is, for senior year). His grades in his math/science courses in HS average a B+, which is same as his overall GPA after junior year.

He is going to a school ranked in the top 50 for Engineering (ranked in top 75 overall). All I read is about how rigorous the program is. I’m worried it will be too difficult for him. I was kind of surprised he was accepted TBH.

Anyone have a DC where you were worried about the same issue? How did they do? And should I have him take a Calculus course over the summer?

A childhood friend started in Engineering at BU as a freshman and found that she was unprepared for the rigor and that Engineering didn't really suit her personality (bubbly, very popular). She switched to the Bschool at BU at some point during freshman year and was able to carryover some courses from the Engineering school and graduate on time. This was a great default option for her and although she was not a superstar at the School (her GPA was not high) she has had a good career in business, starting out as an auditor at Deloitte and moving over to FP&A at a startup. Now she is in PE. If your son is decently good at math you may want to read up on the policies around transferring credits to other programs and set some realistic expectations. So many college students think that once they start down a path be it premed or journalism or whatever that they must continue but at a certain point that can be very self-defeating and close off a lot of opportunities that they were better suited for. As Kenny Rogers says, you have to know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. There is nothing wrong with going in a different direction with your college major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The big question is if your kid really is interested in engineering or simply picked it because it seems to lead to good jobs.

If your kid really isn't interested in the material, it will probably end badly (and hopefully quickly and then can find a major that works better). This is the case for even kids with high stats and rigor.

My CS kid is at a Top 10 school and there are plenty of kids scoring between 1-5 points (out of 100) on tests where the Mean score is a 68. They aren't stupid...but they picked CS because of external influences, don't like it and aren't any good at it.

You need to pick a major in college that translates into a good paying job. Most engineering majors lead to good paying jobs.

I studied CS at VTech and hated it but I am working in Cyber Security for Freddie Mac and get paid a lot of money for it. I don't like what I am doing but it is certainly better than being broke.

+1. You may not like all the content but putting in the work necessary to get through shows grit and resilience that you'll need once you start working. The vast majority of jobs, regardless of whether or not it in an area you 'love' involve a good chunk of gruntwork or admin work not related to your 'passion'. Better off getting paid a great salary while suffering through that vs. not.

Of course if you hate what you study, don't have any natural talent for it and flunk your classes (which happens a lot in STEM classes)...well, what's the point of that?

Even if you are only focused on career outcomes, there are many, many pathways you can choose such that you don't have to suffer and do terribly in one that is not the right pick for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my Calc 101 class, in Engineering school, 43 of 45 students had at least 1 full year of HS calculus.

Those other 2 were at a big disadvantage, but they persisted, camped out at office hours, and got through that and other math classes. GPA was not great, but they did graduate and they had no trouble finding jobs after graduating. E School is very hard for nearly all students. One needs to be both diligent and persistent.

The big issue is that only having a mediocre understanding of Calculus will haunt an engineering student and make every subsequent engineering and physics class harder. He can probably tough his way through the class (or there's a small chance it will come to him naturally) but really he's likely to benefit from a preview this summer. A community college class will probably only have half the rigor of the RPI class, so that would be a good choice. Just don't take it for credit. He doesn't want to skip over Calc 1 at RPI, but take it a second time.

This is excellent advice. Just take the class, so he'll have a couple chances to absorb and understand the material. Congrats to your kid on getting into RPI!