Is it bad to major in computer science if you don’t know anything about it?

[krystalice]

Like nothing- because that’s what I’m planning to major in since I’ve always been pretty interested in computers and programming, coding etc.

[Hello Bubble]

As long as you are somehow into math, you should be fine 

[katt]

It's not bad if you're interested in it but if you think it's not for you change as quickly as you can so you don't end up wasting time/money

[DolphinGremlin]

You'll learn it during your courses DW. Once you start knowing more about it, you can decide if this is something you really want to pursue or not. 

[plutto]

You'll learn it during your courses DW. Once you start knowing more about it, you can decide if this is something you really want to pursue or not. 

This

[Grape Soda]

You should know the basics of your major.

Its def the field to go into now but most people dont know what exactly their major entails, which is what causes people to drop their majors.

Aka lose money and start over. At least know what you're getting yourself into and the qualifications of the job you want.

[Stepkdramafan226]

Its not a bad idea. I majored in I.T. with little knowledge of computers. Basically I was very dumb when it came to computers. . 

There are so many resources online that can help you catch up while you are taking classes. You are gonna see students that probably know a lot and can probably work for google or some shit like that but don't let them discourage you. You can grow and develop your skills and always be open to learning new things. 

 

I went from pouring nail polish remover on my hard drive to get rid tea I spilled cos I believed a troll online  to now working daily with servers, switches and creating a path to become an IT Systems Engineer. 

 

If my dumbass can do it then you can do it 

[Nsfw]

yes

[Daddy Marx]

Wait I misread

 

 

 

 

No it isn't bad at all

 

 

 

 

 

Most people who start it as a degree have never done it before, but are curious af about it

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the whole point of the course is to teach you it, so you'll learn it all in the end anyway 

[Khyler]

Yeah it's fine. They actually assume that you don't know anything about the degree.

If you actually look at your curriculum, you'll see that computer science is not programming for 3 years straight, there's actually logic gate, digital circuit, system architecture, assembly, discrete structure, calculus, linear algebra, algorithm, network topology and maybe 2 classes of programming. 

The demography is like :

People who don't know alot of stuff about computer science and did science classes in high school

People who know alot of stuff about computer science and did science classes in high school

People who changed major (from teaching, psychology, biochemistry, math/physics even med major) or already completed a degree

People who did IT or something equivalent in their country, probably had an internship

 

You just need to work hard bro

[WheeTaeLover]

Definitely not! Depending on the university you go to, there are introduction courses (either one or two or maybe three (including Data Structures) depending on the college) that will help you get started on programming, and it's possible to do well in these courses, even if you start out with zero programming whatsoever-just start out the class with a good and healthy mindset and confidence and work ethic. I know many people who started out with zero programming experience in college, and they did well in the major lol, because of the confidence, mindset, and work ethic they put into the class in order to succeed (an ex that I dated for two weeks in the first semester of my freshman year ghosted me, because he wanted to focus more on in his classes in a routine fashion and I guess that did well for him lol  ). Most intro programming courses start with either Java or Python, which aren't hard languages for the beginner. 

 

As a second-year computer science and mathematics major in a university that is well-known for its CS program (my interests are in Artificial Intelligence: Neural Network, Machine Learning, and Data Mining, and Data Science (a reason why I also double majored in math as well)), being a computer science major is tough (not going to lie), but with the right group of friends, the right professors, the right classes, and the right work ethic, confidence, mindset, and direction, you'll be fine. Just don't slack off, keep up with the assignments and lessons from the class, and definitely seek out help (from either the professor or the TA of the certain class) when you need so. Also, with Computer Science as a major with people of varying experiences from noobs (people who started with zero experience whatsoever) to freelance coders (people who have been coding for their entire life), Impostor Syndrome is widespread, but don't let that get into your head (which I should have done lol) and worry about yourself and your own progress and not about others (soon enough, you'll be with the "freelance coders" one day with the right amount of confidence and mindset-it's just that for many people, it's a slower progression than others). The classes that will be important for you if you're planning to work in the tech industry in the future after graduation are Data Structures and Algorithms since interviewers love interviewing candidates about their knowledge in these topics, and if you're planning to go to grad school, the classes that will be important for you are Discrete Mathematics, Algorithms, and electives focused on what field you're planning to go to (for me, since I'm interested in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, I'm planning on taking Artificial Intelligence-related and Data Science-related electives such as Data Mining, Applied Statistics, Neural Networks, etc. in future semesters)-also for grad school, it doesn't hurt to take at least one grad class (if your advisor lets you) sometime during your college career-it actually makes you look good and prepared for grad school apps. 

 

Also, for the person who said something about being good in math in order to be good in computer science, it is true that math is a foundation to computer science (especially with the theoretical side of computer science-where Discrete Math and Algorithms come into handy), but depending on what field of computer science you're interested in, it may or may not play a huge role. For instance, theoretical computer science is math heavy; data science and artificial intelligence (maybe graphics) is about equal in programming and math (but sometimes slightly more into math when you're focusing on the theoretical side of these fields); security and software engineering/programming (maybe animation and game design) is more programming than math (I have friends who "suck" in math, but do very well with programming stuff). For me, I'm better in math than programming (also another reason why I decided to double major in math), so for the fields that I'm interested in for now, my skills are adequate for now (I'm planning to look into the theoretical side more lol). So, don't be discouraged if you suck in math, sure math does provide a foundation for programming, but all because you suck in math, that doesn't mean you suck in programming...actually programming is more planning/scheduling logic than actual math lol. 

 

Here is a link of some resources from my university's Intro to Programming class that will help you get started on programming and help you solidify your foundation on programming (his notes are great, and there are programming assignments for practice when you feel confident that you can apply what you learned on your own to practical applications): 

https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~scottm/cs312/index.htm

[WheeTaeLover]

Yeah it's fine. They actually assume that you don't know anything about the degree.

If you actually look at your curriculum, you'll see that computer science is not programming for 3 years straight, there's actually logic gate, digital circuit, system architecture, assembly, discrete structure, calculus, linear algebra, algorithm, network topology and maybe 2 classes of programming. 

The demography is like :

People who don't know alot of stuff about computer science and did science classes in high school

People who know alot of stuff about computer science and did science classes in high school

People who changed major (from teaching, psychology, biochemistry, math/physics even med major) or already completed a degree

People who did IT or something equivalent in their country, probably had an internship

 

You just need to work hard bro

 

For my university, it's introduction to programming (some people skip it because of the AP Computer Science credit-I did (and it wasn't a great idea lol)), then data structures + discrete math, then computer architecture, then operating systems (the class that everybody hates the most), then algorithms, then 6-8 computer science electives depending on your computer science-related interests (some people take the "blow-off" computer science class as GPA boosts (because they know they'll end up as tech industry workers anyways lol and there's only a couple software engineering-related electives offered in my university which many of them take up), but then there's others who have a keen idea of what they want to do in the future and take electives related to what they want to do in the sometime future. The math classes taken alongside the CS classes are Calculus (either an accelerated two-class sequence (which most CS majors take) or a slower-paced and in-depth three-class sequence: for the accelerated sequence, it's Calculus 1 + first half of 2 and then Calculus second half of 2 + 3; for the regular sequence, it's Calculus 1, 2, and 3 ofc.), Probability/Statistics (most CS majors take the Statistics department version but some, especially those who want more pure math or want to double major in math, take the math department version instead), and Linear Algebra (in the form of Matrices/Matrix Calculations). Ironically, the computer science program in my university falls under the "Natural Sciences" college  instead of the deserving Engineering college (long story short but involves the CS program founded by a bunch of math professors lol), so we don't have to take some of the "hardware" classes mentioned above LMFAO. As for the demography, definitely agree with that (for the "lots of science classes in high school", don't forget math classes too lol). 

 

For high school starters (if your school offers AP), if your school offers AP Computer Science Principles and/or AP Computer Science, DEFINITELY take the opportunity to take these classes and make sure to get a solid grasp on the material offered for those classes. If not (and in additional to these APCS courses), take a bunch of math and science courses: I highly recommend you to take AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics (never took AP Statistics in high school since it was bad in my high school, but kicked me in the azz in the start when I took my first Probability/Statistics class lol), AP Physics 1 or AP Physics B, and AP Physics C (I know many CS majors who didn't take AP Physics C in high school, but if Physics is required in your curriculum, should take the opportunity to take the AP equivalent since Physics, one way or the other, is a kick in the azz, no joke). AP Biology and AP Chemistry are recommended as well (just as a boost to your high school curriculum and get AP credit). I'm not sure about IB though (my school never offered IB lol). 

[rebelheart]

You don't have to know everything about CS before enrolling in it but it's one of those fields where you have to have a passion for in order to succeed. And by that I mean, you code or read up on CS related things on your own time for fun. There is a huge misconception that you can just major in CS and get a trendy developer job right out of college, but that is not the case anymore. Like Kpop, tech has become a saturated and cut throat industry. 

 

to answer OP: it's not necessarily bad, but it is worrisome. Would you major in biology if you didn't know anything about it? How about east asian history? You don't really go to college to start finding out what you're interested in because that would be a waste of time and money, you're supposed to have somewhat of a clue before that.

[Mrs. Morale]

No. That's why you major in it to learn about it.