Online Agri Business Degree, Computer Degree?
Q: I am confused about what I would like to pursue in college. I love
computers, and am thinking about majoring in computers. My problem
is, I'm not sure what I could do with a computer degree. Already I
know that I like to deal with software and not hardware. But I have
already taken two Visual Basic programming courses and they were ok.
Actually, they were quit frustrating. Beside programming, I'm not
sure in what direction I could go with a computer degree. Besides
liking software, I would like a career where I can work at home if
needed. What can I do in computers, besides programming?
A:It would probably be helpful for you to think through what it is you like
about computers. Is it the precision? The control? The intellectual
challenge? The book _What Color is your Parachute_ includes a set of
exercises that would help you get at your underlying motivations.
Depending on what those are there may be lots of different majors and
careers that could satisfy them.
At the moment you stand a good chance of being unemployeed or
underemployeed; there have been many IT layoffs. But, in a few years when
you graduate the economy will hopefully have turned around.
The first two languages I ever learned were Fortran and Lisp. I found
Lisp frustrating at first. With practice and experience, I got better
at programming in general. There are still times when it can be
frustrating, especially when trying to fix a nasty bug.
You might look over some research done by Jane Margolis of UCLA, as a
possible source of inspiration:
http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/pages/margolis.html
As far as other things you can do with computers, there are several
things, such as QA, system administration, network administration,
and software configuration management. All of these jobs will require
a certain amount of programming.
If possible, get a copy of Frederick Brooks' THE MYTHICAL MAN-MONTH.
Although it is outdated in terms of the projects discussed, in my
opinion, it gives a very good sense of the kinds of issues a
programmer will face during their career.