Why did you study computer science when you knew you wouldn't be able to pursue it as a career? This was a question posed to me by a great friend a few days ago, and my response was a simple "because I despise computer science." In fact, it is fairly uncommon for people to complete a degree only to abandon it when they begin their careers.
To be honest, I didn't set out to study computer science; rather, I intended to ignore it. However, my enthusiasm for the subject gradually waned, and by the fourth semester of my degree, I was already asking myself, "Do I despise computer science?" Perhaps the term 'hate' is too harsh to describe how I felt about studying computer science, but I honestly don't want to do anything else.
How I learned that I hate computer science...
It all began when I discovered how many classes I would have to take in order to complete this degree. Looking back, I understand that the issue was not so much the number as it was how important these courses were in the actual world. It disturbed me to know that I was studying and working so hard on a topic for the express goal of getting a passing mark, which was often the case. It's possible that the quizzes and exams for that topic will be the last time you touch on it completely.
Another reason I despise computer science is coding. Perhaps not the part of coding itself, but the fact that these programming languages need a lot of theoretical knowledge. After studying some obscure major, my buddies who eventually became software engineers and programmers didn't have to cope with half of these theoretical concerns. As a computer science major, I spent evenings poring through mathematical theories because our teachers were more concerned with whether or not these codes were up to code than with whether or not they worked.
In a funny twist, coding was actually enjoyable for me until I encountered a compilation mistake and had to troubleshoot. It may be torturous to be unsure of what the issue was. It might take a minute to detect the issue, or it could take days. And, at the end of the day, you'd be astonished if it was anything as little as a missing character or an entire function module that caused the problem. I've had classmates switch majors as early as our third semester due to their fear of coding. They were easily chased out of a room by the sight of a plain black or white screen with colorful coding letters and symbols.
Unfortunately, it took us a long time to discover that the amount of time we spent trying to get our scripts to operate properly was making us into social people. Personally, I was so focused on earning excellent marks that I would shut myself out from the rest of the world and sleep a lot simply to get my codes to function. My desire was motivated by the prospect of a high-paying career, but in fact, that was not all that mattered.
When it finally dawned on me, I had to decide what was best for my health, and continuing about it the way I had been was clearly not the way to go. I resolved to seek assistance whenever and wherever I could, and if I couldn't, I would accept whatever result I received. The most crucial aspect was that I would discover something enjoyable to accomplish. Surprisingly, the interest I discovered created the foundation for my present professional path, and the only connection to computer science is that it requires me to use a computer.
At the end of it all, I know that, as much as I worked to earn my bachelor's degree in computer science, others of my classmates breezed through it. This led me to believe that, rather than my despising computer science, it is plausible that computer science despised me. In any case, the experience has been significant in shaping my life for the better.