Conflict: Major based on money or passion?

There is a quote by scott tinley i've had in my office for 20 years...'do what you love to do and an income will follow. life is too short to hate your job'.

I'm one of those guys who chose CS mainly for the career prospects and stuck with it. I find the subject interesting enough to learn and self-study, but I'll admit that in no way do I "love" programming. The thing is that CS is a very versatile degree, and there's many solid career options in tech/business that don't require true programming wizardry. I am a worthless programmer compared to any real SW developer, but I'm also a lazy person and therefore perfectly satisfied with my dull IT job that still pays me enough to be happy.

I'm sure that's not the originator of that quote. I heard that quote 30 years ago and it is BS.

I love running and kite-boarding. If I do nothing but that, I'll have an income? Don't think so.

Some good responses about CS here. Normally you just get comments that it is the perfect job (when it isn't) and nothing about the downside.

When I grew up, one of the richest guys in the neighbourhood was a chiropractor. So there you go.

First thing I would recommend is learning how to express your thoughts in a clearer, less rambling manner, and learn the value of paragraphs.

thanks for that positive contribution.

Even as a PT, I have to say, your assessment of chiropractic is unfounded and inaccurate. There are no credible studies that show manipulation causes vertebral artery dissecations that can't easily be refuted by studies that say that they don't cause them. Medical professionals do not offer any more scientifically based treatments. Drug protocols fix nothing. They only encourage people to become dependent on medication instead of working toward correction. As a runner (I assume you are), you should be against this.

Balanced wrote:

Randy Oldman wrote:

Other benefits of Chiropractic

- independence

- active all day

- human interaction

- flexible hours

- mobility, you can take your skills anywhere

.

Drawbacks:

You spend your days at best scamming peoples out of money by practicing quackery that is no better than placebo. And at worst you spend your days actively harming people by delaying them from seeking actual scientifically-based medical care or by causing strokes and vertebral artery dissections.

So I guess that's something to consider too.

Just do really well in school regardless. Crush your UG grades (by just applying yourself . . . most of your classmates will be performing to about 60% of their potential) and you will have many options in four years. Worst case you have to do a post bac for med school etc. A hard science/CS/engineering degree won't keep you out of most grad schools, and you will be employable out of undergrad. Grad school is essentially obligatory for humanities and soft science majors, and even with M/S/C Laude/Phi Beta Kappa/etc. you won't be able to do as much as you would with median type grades in engineering. You are young, gut it out, get to know your professors, avoid distractions, go to every class and work as hard as you can. It will pay off.

At the end of the day unless you're in engineering or hard sciences your UG degree is irrelevant.

False dichotomy. You act like the only/best way to get rich is becoming a programmer. If you're only a freshman and your grades are only "okay" and you don't really like programming, that is a HORRIBLE sign. You have to at least be competent at what you do to make money.

Look into other high-paying careers like actuarial or finance that you might be have a chance at being good at. Being a programmer isn't for you, maybe one of those things is.

Best advice i've read yet.

OP, unless you're in something pretty specialized that will likely determine what you do for a living, your undergrad degree does very little. The vast majority of people go into careers not remotely related to their degree. If you plan on going to grad school, that's where you really need to do well. Also keep in mind that your average student changes majors up to 3 times throughout their college career (mostly premed and engineering), so don't think you're too good to consider another career path. If you're good at what you do and have connections, you'll find money in almost whatever field you ultimately choose.

Didn't read the whole thread so if this was mentioned before I apologize... My advice is to double major. Even if it's not CS, do something that can pay the bills and something else that interests you. I wish I had done that. It may put you back a semester, but it's better than going back for a masters in something new that you *think* you will like but have no experience in.

superjoggingtime wrote:

Just do really well in school regardless. Crush your UG grades (by just applying yourself . . . most of your classmates will be performing to about 60% of their potential) and you will have many options in four years...

...You are young, gut it out, get to know your professors, avoid distractions, go to every class and work as hard as you can. It will pay off.

At the end of the day unless you're in engineering or hard sciences your UG degree is irrelevant.

And even in hard sciences, as long as there is some inter-disciplinary coursework in your undergrad degree (eg. took an elective microbio course in a chemistry major), there is quite a bit of flexibility in grad school.

The poster above hit it bang-on: Have fun, learn to learn, and work reasonably hard. Pursue subjects and people you find interesting. Good things will result from this.

get used to it.. wrote:

Even as a PT, I have to say, your assessment of chiropractic is unfounded and inaccurate. There are no credible studies that show manipulation causes vertebral artery dissecations that can't easily be refuted by studies that say that they don't cause them.

Medical professionals do not offer any more scientifically based treatments. Drug protocols fix nothing. They only encourage people to become dependent on medication instead of working toward correction. As a runner (I assume you are), you should be against

You might as well have said, "even as someone who is completely untrained to evaluate the efficacy of medical treatments."

If you're taking out loans, it is an investment that better produce some returns. So, if you're taking out loans, you should major in a field that will produce money regardless of personal happiness. If you're financially secure, and you're doing it to broaden your horizons, major in a field that you're passionate about regardless of financial considerations.

Too many people say, "Just do what you love and you'll be successful." That's a load of crap. If you're paying $20k per year to learn something, it better be worth that investment.

What is it that you don't like about CS? A CS degree will open doors for a lot of other opportunities other than just programming. Sure, programming will probably be the easiest entry into the technology world, but once you're in there is a lot of potential for trying different things. My first CS class was as a bit of a struggle for me, and to be honest I wasn't that great of a student. I loved programming but all the other stuff was just noise to me.

What is it about techology that you like? Do you like creating things, improving on processes, or overall enjoy problem solving?

One thing is for sure, programming in a corporate evironment is nothing like a university setting.

I would continue on for at least another semester and give it a fair shot. You may come around. If you decide to continue with CS, find a small company to work for out of college. It will be very hard work but it may give you the opportunity to get into things other than programming like systems design, marketing, etc.