Ok, I just saw this thread...so I figured I would get some input from you all.

In one year, I am going to begin college, and the college which I plan to attend, has a computer science major option, and since computers are my life, and I've always planned on majoring in some form of computers, I figure science is the way to go. Am I right? I am big into anything that is computer related, and have been working with them since...well since i was about 12yr old. Computers and I, just seem to click. I'm sure some of you are the same way. I'm big into hardware, networking, somewhat graphics, and not as much programming, but then again, that might be because I never gave it a shot lol. Basicly I wanna make the big bucks someday, and believe me I wanna do more than sit in a cubicle all day, typing away at programs, I love all aspects of computers, not just programming. Ok im rambling now...so anyways, is computer science going to give me what I want out of college? Or am I going to waste 4 years learning something thats going to leave me jobless in the next 10 years? Thanks guys...hopefully I can get some insight from people who have been through this situation.

~michael

Computer Science entails:
lotsa math (calculus, etc.)
lotsa object-oriented programming
digital circuitry and engineering
discrete math and logic
science courses (e.g. chemistry, physics)
low-level implementation of hardware
lotsa computer theory
theory behind programming languages
algorithm design and development

Computer Science DOES NOT include:
working with Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac, etc.
learning about/how to use software
hands-on computer networking
assembling computers
learning to program in a wide variety of modern-day languages

As far as whether you'll end up jobless with a Comp. Sci. degree ... doubtful. It took a turn for the worst after 9/11, but career opportunities are beginning to open up again.

What's important to remember is a computer science degree isn't so much about learning about computers as it is a math/science/engineering degree. In fact, it's not about USING computers at all!

A person with a comp sci degree can easily stumble their way into a field such as electrical engineer, mathematician, etc. etc. It's more of a scientific school of thought.

So...I won't be using a computer much in my field of study? Like I said, I'm fasinated with all apsects of computers, and I want to follow them throughout my life. Will this open up a field of study where I will be happy? Or am I just putting myself into tons of math classes, which I'll just be miserable (well, you know what I mean.)

It depends. Do you like math? Are you good at math? Are you one of those people with a mathematical/scientific/logical mind? If so, you might find computer science very fascinating.

Computers will be used to an extent for their compilers in programming courses, but for the most part, most computer science courses don't involve the use of computers - or any hands-on courses. It's mostly theory.

system admin is the way to go if your not wanting to sit at cubicle all day all my system admin buddies go to slashdot.org UBER central
LINK

You would still need to get a degree in something though. If you simply want to be one of those people who does some networking, system admin, etc and nothing more, see if your university offers I.T. along with a bunch of certification courses.

If you want to prove you're dedicated to the math/science end of computers - and, most importantly, are an invisionary - then comp. sci. is for you.

you sell computer science so well dani. just reading your post has made me want to stay in comp. sci.

- :cry: discouraging for wannabe programmers like me.I'm thinking of taking some courses only about programming.I know a good programmer needs to be good in math but I'm only interested to learn maths at a minimum.Math theory doesn't interest me either.Where do I go after getting a certificate of programming languages?

Basically, the computer industry is focused at growing and expanding new technology. If everyone just went to school to learn how to program in a bunch of current languages, we'd all still be using the first version of DOS. Programmers would become experts at programming in QBASIC and nothing new would ever happen. New technology, new programming languages, new concepts and ideas - that's what computer science is about. It's about being a scientist and an invisionary - expanding technology and integrating new ideas.

If you just want to be a programmer in today's languages, all you need are certifications to prove you're capable of programming in those languages.

If you want to be able to adapt abstract skills for the future of computing, then you'll need to learn the fundamentals of how computers work - down to digital logic - and learn how those fundamentals can grow and adapt to new languages and new technologies. That's computer science. Remember - the digital logic is the only thing that stays the same in computers. Operating systems, programming languages, software, hardware - those are all current technologies that are always being replaced when computer scientists and computer engineers come up with better designs and algorithms.