I made a thread yesterday about going to school for CS and I still have some questions if anyone could be kind enough...

I made a thread yesterday about going to school for CS and I still have some questions if anyone could be kind enough to provide some advice

I'm 25 and heading back to school. A few years ago I was a CS major so I'm not starting completely from the bottom, but I am bushing up on my programming right now. I'm working through my old textbook and re-learning c++ to be able to take data structures. Here are the questions I have

1) I have 14 classes to take to get a AS in computer science, but only four of them will be CS related. Six of them are math and two are physics. Given my age, is this too much? I can probably graduate by next year, but obviously I'd still need two more years to get a BS. Should I stick to CS or try another IT major that doesn't have as much math? I enjoy programming but I wonder if this is the right idea or not. I still want to get the CS degree as I think it'll give me the best chance to land a job at least

2) While in school, what jobs can I get as a CS undergrad? What jobs would be a waste of time?

3) Other than what I learn in school, what else should I learn? I was thinking of picking up an intro to linux book and learning that. How do I figure out where to branch out/specialize?

...

Why would I ask adv when people here program/have gone to school for it/have graduated and gotten jobs in IT?

because school advice isn't technology

It's still Sup Forums related

If I need advice for why a thot won't text me back I'll go to /adv/

it's more technology related than half the threads on here

Still wouldn't surprise me if it gets moved anyway

You really don't learn much in your classes. They teach you the basics and kind of where your focus should be but it's pretty much up to you to actually learn to do anything useful. The difference between people who only know what they learned from classes and people who pursue programming in their free time is painfully obvious by the time graduation comes. Just find some problem you want to solve and then try to solve it with some program.

And your degree depends on what you want to do obviously. I doubt an Associates in CS is enough for most CS positions. I'd say what's most important is to try to get some work experience. Even if you can't get a real internship you can usually find someone who will let you TA or write some dumb scripts in python or something.

w2c swimsuit like this with hole in cooter spot so I can fuggy duggy a qt wearing it?

This is one of the most sociopathic, contrarian boards on the chans. They'd rather talk consumer electronics.

You will have A LOT more luck on /r/cscareerquestions.

im not your dad you stupid fuck

I know the classes alone aren't enough, I'm just talking in terms of degree value and job prospects. And I definitely want work experience but I have no idea where to apply too or what jobs to look for
I had a pretty good thread yesterday. Figured I might as well try my luck today

What does that matter? I graduated with a BS in IT, yet program every day along with some operations work. Most of my coworkers have a BS/Masters/PhD in IT or CS.

Just put work into what interests you in your off time, it pays off.

It matters because I need advice from people who know what they're talking about?

You're going to graduate and be far behind your peers in your career. Just go get a job as a full time junior dev and move up from there

Then here

1. If you're not keen on math, do IT, continue programming anyway, shit level IT is barely above help desk. Build your troubleshooting skills, get good with Linux or at least familiar enough to solve your own problems. Get into Windows if that's your thing, I personally hate it and never bothered. If you're into CS go for it, the math will largely go unused though unless you take up a profession that involves it. Get good with something like Ruby/Python & Bash, get familiar with git, some sort of config management (salt, ansible, puppet, etc). Learn a bit of SQL, if that's your thing look into stuff like Pandas/Numpy, Hadoop/Hive (more 'big data'), some sort of RDBMS (e.g. MySQL). If you're interested in the opposite stuff like Solr/Elasticsearch is worth looking at (Elasticsearch is like 90% of my job).

I might have a preference for the data side of things since it is my job.

2. Pretty much anything, just make sure it's semi relevant to your degree, help desk even. Preferably an internship so you can learn actual production practices and get exposed to new shit.

3. Do it. Play with many things, try to get good with stuff that you like. Show some initiative, even if your grades suffer a bit who gives a shit. Once you get the paper and a single job your GPA no longer matters.

I think above all is knowing how to troubleshoot and quickly carve a path to a solution. I'm currently working with someone who has almost no troubleshooting skills (who has a PhD mind you) and it's like he knows nothing half the time.

And how do you figure that? And how am I suppose to get a job as a dev when I'm still learning the bare basics?
So regardless of what I do, as long as I keep programming in my spare time I'll be okay? I really just don't want to waste my time in school, even if I have to stay in longer I'd rather do that and get it right. As far as finding what I like to do, is it basically just a matter of trying out different things until stuff sticks? Where should I start? Right now I really want to focus on c++ and learning it as much as I can for now, but eventually I do want to specialize in a particular area

You'll get a taste of several areas in any CS curriculum worth its salt. If there's anything you experience that you particularly like, go for it.

windows isn't an OS
it's a toy

More or less, yes. Everything I did in my spare time for the entire duration of my degree was infinitely more valuable than the degree itself. The degree is just there to prove you're not completely full of shit and brain dead pretty much. As long as you're capable, have some troubleshooting skills, and can do some programming & scripting you should be fine for just about any Junior position.

>with hole in cooter spot so I can fuggy duggy a qt
go to bed, cletus

Okay, I feel a lot better

Does the degree really not make much of a difference? If that's the case, why is there so much emphasis on math in CS? Whereas with other IT degrees it's almost non-existant

Bump

moar?

nah i wish

>1) I'm old
I started college at 21, graduated at 26 with a bachelors in CS. Got a job at 64k/yr, now making 105k + bonus at age 30. I hire older people who decided to get into programming later in life because they tend to be more driven. Age doesn't matter if you can pass the interview and culture fit.
>2) What jobs
Tech support, technical internships, pretty much any regular college kid job. Technical/related internships will be best for experience and for the resume, tech support sucks but seems relevant on the resume, and regular jobs are what they are. Any job is better than no job.
>3) Other than what I learn in school, what else should I learn?
Learn to use a bash terminal effectively. Learn about build tools (maven, gradle, ant), and version control (git), then learn about cloud-related technologies like containers (docker) and container orchestration (swarm, cloud foundry, whatever).

Basically, you should be coding in school in the same way that you would in a professional setting. Do everything in github so people can see what you've been working on. A guy who can write code is nowhere near as valuable as a guy who can write code and knows how to use all the tools necessary to get that code into a production setting.

Where do you live? That salary sounds pretty sweet. But honesty, at this point I just want to get the degree. It's not so much about the money anymore as something personal for me. Are there any good resources for getting a start on all the things you mention?

Also I'm curious about your location. I live near NYC and I do worry that no one will want to hire me because I'll be starting off at a much older age than most grads. I am somewhat open to relocating but I do want to really cap on making good money while living here for once in my life

I graduated in upstate NY, took an internship in Arlington, VA, took my first real job in Raleigh, NC, and got my current job in Chicago. Your raises will be 10-40% every time you jump jobs vs 3-10% yearly at the same job. Change every couple of years, and be willing to move to where opportunities are.

Also, fuck NYC. I get requests for interviews at companies there all the time and just fucking ignore them.

>good resources
You actually sound like you're not ready to write any meaningful (or even trivial) code that would find build tools useful, so forget about those for now.

Just take any git tutorial (use a CLI, dont use a GUI client).

Then get good at whatever marketable language you choose, Java and Node.js are pretty hot right now. Do some tutorials and make sure you commit/push your progress in git as you go. Learn the basics (like what you've been doing at school) and then set out to build a useful thing. Your useful thing can be whatever you feel like, I'd suggest building a RESTful web service (maybe something that reads data from some local DB or calls another web service and transforms the data in some way). Just find any tutorial for doing something like that. It'll probably introduce you to some useful framework as well, and might even include usage of a build tool. Most instructional sites (udacity, codecademy, etc) contain tutorials like this.

The shit I learned, in order:

School:
>a little C++
>Java
>a little Python
>git
>ant
>HTML/CSS/JS
Jobs:
>Java
>Maven
>Bash
>Spring framework (3.x)
>Spring boot
>Gradle
>Various JS front-end frameworks (jQuery, Angular)
>Node.js
>Containers
>various job-specific tools (splunk, swarm, various proprietary tools)

That's over a span of about 9 years.
When you interview, people will expect you to know the basics of your programming language, data structures, and runtime (big-O type of shit). If you know any frameworks, build tools, and version control, that's icing on the cake.

... and dont act like you know things if you dont, it makes it super awkward for both the people in the room.

You moved to VA for the internship? How much did you get paid for that? And you're saying it would be in my best interest to jump job to job? What's wrong with NYC? Granted I wouldn't want to actually LIVE in manhattan, but I'd settle for jersey city or hoboken or somewhere half decent in hudson county if I can get NYC-tier salary.

I haven't coded in almost two years, so right now I'm basically playing catch up. The last programming class I took left off at structures, but the book I have finishes with classes, inheritance and polymorphism, so I'd rather be ahead than behind. My hope is to finish the whole book before the first day of the classes, so I have about 5-6 weeks. I'm taking data structures and computer sys and architecture. What should I really focus on to be ready for both of those?

As far as languages, should I stick with c++ and learn as much of it as possible or branch out to other stuff? How do I pick which language to work with the most? Or is this all moot for now?

As a side note, is it exciting moving from job to job and state to state? When I was younger I always wanted to do that. Now I'd be happy with a job period lol but it sounds pretty sweet, or is it stressful?

fucking degenerates can't even operate a pair of scissors
neo-Sup Forums

bump

do you mean AS as in as level like british college desu? an as level is a load of shit barerly worth more than a gcse no one will hire you with just that. If you dont mind going for 4 years you could probably find a uni which will have a cs degree with foundation year

Yo OP during my degree I threw resumes out and got a job as a semi-office bitch at a web dev (mainly gross CMS) agency.

As long as you're not a fucking retard you can get hired above 90% of canididates. Please have the minimum of social skills or it's going to be difficult. Most entey level places are looking for someone who knows the minimum and can work in a team without killing someone.

Intro to linux??? dude just install some linux based OS and mess around with the command line. If you want a job in this industry stop using fucking windows. at the bare minimum OSX is a decent dev environment.

I did a CS degree. I'd say it was worth it because I sure as fuck wasn't going to learn some of the inane shit in my own time (other than the fact that your resume WILL be pissed on if you dont have a degree).

who dis?

not him but west coast pays the most for tech jobs.

i talked to someone who said after 10-15 years in the midwest/east coast. she moved to the west coast and made her first million in 2 years

different languages are for different jobs.

dont listen to anyone badmouthing any language, they are all the best at some specific job.

pick a field thats matured, and still growing. if its new to everyone you wont be as far behind.

also check out edumy courses. they are usually 200 but go on sale for 10 a lot.

once you buy them you are the materials for life

sauce?