Word of caution for aspiring CS majors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's good that they're not expanding the seats. My English major found a good high-paying job quite easily out of school, but I know there are not clearly established paths for those majors as there are (or at least used to be) for CS majors.

Please share firm and $.

I won't name the firm but it's a large consulting firm with quantitative focus. Salary is around $90k. I agree with the advice to go to the best school you can get into, do as well as you can in that school, and don't accept the notion that you are limited by your major. My English major also took math, econ, government, etc, so firms knew she could do the work.

100% My spouse graduated from Hopkins in Econ/foreign language double major. Got picked up by a consultancy, trained and is one of the highest paid software consultants w/ own company. Not a math or CS or engineer. My best friend was an English major that went to Med school --pediatrician.

Many other paths.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are English majors in high demand?

Kids that have actual social skills are in demand more than. Kids that can communicate effectively, look people in the eye when talking, write effectively. Kids with great time management skills and EQ.

All of these executive functioning disorder/adhd Geniuses glued to a screen, not so much.

These are the great soft skills to have, but you also need some real skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are English majors in high demand?

Kids that have actual social skills are in demand more than. Kids that can communicate effectively, look people in the eye when talking, write effectively. Kids with great time management skills and EQ.

All of these executive functioning disorder/adhd Geniuses glued to a screen, not so much.

My husband always tells our HS sons--if you put down the iphone and channel more time in face-to-face and real world you are going to fare so much better than the others of your generation. Set serious limits.

Read the 'Anxious Generation'--if nothing else doesn't convince you that tik tok and SM and iphone are dumbing the h*ll out of our kids and making them socially inept IRL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are English majors in high demand?

Kids that have actual social skills are in demand more than. Kids that can communicate effectively, look people in the eye when talking, write effectively. Kids with great time management skills and EQ.

All of these executive functioning disorder/adhd Geniuses glued to a screen, not so much.

These are the great soft skills to have, but you also need some real skills.

No sh*t. It was in response to go to the best school you can and major in something else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a liberal arts degree (economics and something soft) from the highest ranked school you can.

Recruiting for finance, consulting, and corporate /strategy roles are much much easier if you are in English and economics major coming from Rice or Vanderbilt or Emory compared to CS at Purdue…..

Ask around people!!!

Unless you have good connections/networking, that will not help.

DS will graduate from an Ivy, commencement is today, and he is still looking for for a job, as most of his friends who don't have connections. Those with connections have good jobs.

Your kid had to join the clubs in schools and network network network….
Nothing lands in your lap.

+1. Some seem to think it's not fair when a person gets in the door a job interview due to connections, but you need to work to develop those connections.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are English majors in high demand?

Actually, yes. The future is bright for humanities majors.

For low paying jobs.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/14/here-are-college-majors-with-the-highest-and-lowest-rate-of-return.html


College majors with the highest and lowest return

A recent study published in the American Educational Research Journal found that engineering and computer science majors provide the highest returns in lifetime earnings, followed by business, health, and math and science majors. Education and humanities majors and arts majors had the lowest returns of the 10 fields of study considered.

STEM, health and business majors are among the highest-paying, leading to average annual wages that are higher at the entry level and significantly greater over the course of a career compared with liberal arts and humanities majors.

Adjusted for college rank?

Anthro majors at Dartmouth do not equal anthro majors at UMD

sure, but even so, an anthro major at Dartmouth, is not going to have an easy time finding a job compared to a CS or business major from a T50.

I almost minored in anthro; I think it's a very interesting field, but hard to find a good paying job.

I think one of the most popular majors at Dartmouth is anthropology and a lot of kids get jobs at investment banks. It’s a known thing there….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very soon the CS degree will be considered obsolete

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are English majors in high demand?

Actually, yes. The future is bright for humanities majors.

For low paying jobs.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/14/here-are-college-majors-with-the-highest-and-lowest-rate-of-return.html


College majors with the highest and lowest return

A recent study published in the American Educational Research Journal found that engineering and computer science majors provide the highest returns in lifetime earnings, followed by business, health, and math and science majors. Education and humanities majors and arts majors had the lowest returns of the 10 fields of study considered.

STEM, health and business majors are among the highest-paying, leading to average annual wages that are higher at the entry level and significantly greater over the course of a career compared with liberal arts and humanities majors.

Adjusted for college rank?

Anthro majors at Dartmouth do not equal anthro majors at UMD

sure, but even so, an anthro major at Dartmouth, is not going to have an easy time finding a job compared to a CS or business major from a T50.

I almost minored in anthro; I think it's a very interesting field, but hard to find a good paying job.

I think one of the most popular majors at Dartmouth is anthropology and a lot of kids get jobs at investment banks. It’s a known thing there….

Outcome for English major at Dartmouth is not good at all
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?182670-Dartmouth-College&fos_code=2301&fos_credential=3
$55730

Lower than the median for the Catholic University of America at $76452.
Yikes.

I suspect the anthropology story is false or it's a rare weird tradition developed at Dartmouth for that particular major.

[Anonymous]

What a bunch of know it alls! LOL. You house fraus kill me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What a bunch of know it alls! LOL. You house fraus kill me.

Exactly. It's not about what I know what you know.
We have reasonably good data and information theses days.

You better use them in making big decisions rather than some rumors you heard like anthropology at Dartmouth will get you a consulting job when data shows you a similar humanities major at the school get you 55000 salary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What market isn't saturated?

Also, this is why it is so hard to get admitted to a CS program -- they aren't expanding the seats to meet student demand unless there is market demand.

UMD CP actually halved the CS class, but I think that was due to too many students who are not ready for it being interested in it, and wanting to keep the classes more intimate. UMD is also developing its AI/ML programs.

Job market is cyclical, but low level IT jobs have all been offshored. The big thing now is AI and ML, both of which are related to CS degrees. Some colleges are now starting to offer AI majors. That's the next big thing.

UMD may limit seats to increase demand for their program, but they are not adjusting to match the job market. Schools could care less about that.

I know UMD CS grad this cycle who does not have a job, including from previous internships. Planning a gap year abroad teaching English.

yes, but even in boon years, there are many students who majored in non CS who can't find jobs.

There are very few industries where a job is guaranteed: home health service, teachers, especially special ed teachers. But, no one is pushing their kids into those fields.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are English majors in high demand?

Kids that have actual social skills are in demand more than. Kids that can communicate effectively, look people in the eye when talking, write effectively. Kids with great time management skills and EQ.

All of these executive functioning disorder/adhd Geniuses glued to a screen, not so much.

good thing my CS major kid can communicate effectively and look people in the eye (debate team), and write effectively (IB DP grad), as can many other students of other majors, not just English.

English majors aren't in high demand, though. So, it's better to major in STEM or business AND communicate and write effectively.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What market isn't saturated?

Also, this is why it is so hard to get admitted to a CS program -- they aren't expanding the seats to meet student demand unless there is market demand.

UMD CP actually halved the CS class, but I think that was due to too many students who are not ready for it being interested in it, and wanting to keep the classes more intimate. UMD is also developing its AI/ML programs.

Job market is cyclical, but low level IT jobs have all been offshored. The big thing now is AI and ML, both of which are related to CS degrees. Some colleges are now starting to offer AI majors. That's the next big thing.

UMD may limit seats to increase demand for their program, but they are not adjusting to match the job market. Schools could care less about that.

I know UMD CS grad this cycle who does not have a job, including from previous internships. Planning a gap year abroad teaching English.

yes, but even in boon years, there are many students who majored in non CS who can't find jobs.

There are very few industries where a job is guaranteed: home health service, teachers, especially special ed teachers. But, no one is pushing their kids into those fields.

True.

There are plenty of jobs out there. Very few worth a potential $200k college investment.

CS is one of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What market isn't saturated?

Also, this is why it is so hard to get admitted to a CS program -- they aren't expanding the seats to meet student demand unless there is market demand.

UMD CP actually halved the CS class, but I think that was due to too many students who are not ready for it being interested in it, and wanting to keep the classes more intimate. UMD is also developing its AI/ML programs.

Job market is cyclical, but low level IT jobs have all been offshored. The big thing now is AI and ML, both of which are related to CS degrees. Some colleges are now starting to offer AI majors. That's the next big thing.

UMD may limit seats to increase demand for their program, but they are not adjusting to match the job market. Schools could care less about that.

I know UMD CS grad this cycle who does not have a job, including from previous internships. Planning a gap year abroad teaching English.

CS departments limit seats because the field is so lucrative they can't get people to teach for a professor's measly wage.

+1 they didn't do that to increase demand. It was done because there was too much demand; quality of the transfers wasn't very good (they had a low bar, and they've cut the transfers by several hundred, while increasing direct admit); not enough professors to keep the class sizes from exploding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What market isn't saturated?

Also, this is why it is so hard to get admitted to a CS program -- they aren't expanding the seats to meet student demand unless there is market demand.

UMD CP actually halved the CS class, but I think that was due to too many students who are not ready for it being interested in it, and wanting to keep the classes more intimate. UMD is also developing its AI/ML programs.

Job market is cyclical, but low level IT jobs have all been offshored. The big thing now is AI and ML, both of which are related to CS degrees. Some colleges are now starting to offer AI majors. That's the next big thing.

UMD may limit seats to increase demand for their program, but they are not adjusting to match the job market. Schools could care less about that.

I know UMD CS grad this cycle who does not have a job, including from previous internships. Planning a gap year abroad teaching English.

yes, but even in boon years, there are many students who majored in non CS who can't find jobs.

There are very few industries where a job is guaranteed: home health service, teachers, especially special ed teachers. But, no one is pushing their kids into those fields.

True.

There are plenty of jobs out there. Very few worth a potential $200k college investment.

CS is one of them.

As are the vast majority of majors. Outside of T10 and maybe a couple of majors (and I would include CS), most majors aren't worth $60K+/year investment, which is why DC is at UMD majoring in CS rather than oos/private.