Member Avatar for Loopah

Hello everyone. I am currently a freshman student in college. I am currently majoring in Computer Science. I have ran in to some really tough stuff lately that is leaving my wondering whether I should continue in this major or not. I love computers but maybe I need to be in a different major that works with computers. We have been talking about digital logic and structures, classes, pointers, etc.. I am totally lost, so lost in fact that I can't even concentrate.

Now for the stuff I like to do. I love Math, am pretty good in the Calculus I am taking (Currently in Calculus 2). I really like maintenancing computers and trying to find problems wrong in the system. Like finding and getting rid of spyware/viruses, or just making them run smoother. Is this a job I could be doing? What would the major be? Thanks so much.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by nizzy1115

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A short, practical roadmap for based on what you said and ’s point about entry-level support work.

There are a few distinct tracks that match your tastes (math + hands-on troubleshooting). Desktop/help-desk and field support focus on repairing and maintaining machines and are accessible quickly; systems/network administration and cybersecurity move into deeper technical work (scripting, servers, networking, forensics); computer engineering leans toward the hardware and digital-logic side if circuit-level design interests you. For job descriptions and typical educational paths see the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics entries for Computer Support Specialists and Network and Computer Systems Administrators.

Concrete things to try this semester (low risk, high info value):

  • Join the campus IT/help desk or volunteer in a lab to see day-to-day work.
  • Take one applied elective (Operating Systems, Networking, or Intro to Embedded Systems) to test interest in systems vs. theory.
  • Build a small home lab with virtual machines and practice OS installs, backups, and basic forensics workflows.
  • Earn a starter cert like CompTIA A+ to formalize troubleshooting skills, then consider Network+ or Security+ if security piques you (, Security+).
  • Try a short cybersecurity pathway to sample malware/forensics work (see CyberSeek career pathways).

A caution: many entry-level roles prioritize quick turnarounds; to avoid being "one of many," combine hands-on experience with a couple deeper skills (Linux, scripting, networking) and internships. If foundational CS theory truly drains you, a pivot to IT/CE or a targeted cybersecurity route is reasonable — but test with real tasks before changing majors.

Member Avatar for nizzy1115

"I really like maintenancing computers and trying to find problems wrong in the system. Like finding and getting rid of spyware/viruses, or just making them run smoother."

Do not take offense to this, I am saying it as strictly informative. I work in a school district of 12 schools, and each of them has a "tech aide" who is basically a part time soccer mom, (most know hardly anything about computers besides the basics), and they get paid $9-12 an hour to trouble shoot computers and get rid of spyware and such. If they can't fix it, we have them just reimage them with images we have premade. I'm sure in corporate this is how the system goes too. We have a saying, if you can't fix it in 15 minutes, reimage it because its not worth your time. If you want to make a carreer out of it you really need to get into really technical stuff as the market is flooded with people that only know "some" about computers.

I too am currently a student but I'm studying mechanical engineering. I thought about switching majors when i was a freshman too because my classes are pretty damn hard. I decided to stick with it and things are getting better. Yeah its still really hard, but if college was easy, wouldn't everyone go? I'd stay just stick with it if you can, you never know what you can do.

"Aim for the sky, but shoot for the stars."

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