Computer Science vs Chemical Engineering

Off Topic
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[quote]LoRez wrote:
A coworker just shared this today regarding learning to code. Seems pretty much spot on: Coding Bootcamp | Learn 1-on-1 with a Mentor | Thinkful™

It’s a little heavy on analogies, but should give you some insight if you do decide to go down the [applied] computer science path.[/quote]

Slight hi-jack. I know you and spart code and was wondering how long it would take to get good enough for an entry level job when learning code alone. Say 3-5 hours of daily study.

**Does the language being learned better ones chances Ruby Rails vs…

Curious, because as opposed to other career switches coding seems like one where going back to school is not necessary just willingness to learn.

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[quote]maverick88 wrote:
Slight hi-jack. I know you and spart code and was wondering how long it would take to get good enough for an entry level job when learning code alone. Say 3-5 hours of daily study.

**Does the language being learned better ones chances Ruby Rails vs…

Curious, because as opposed to other career switches coding seems like one where going back to school is not necessary just willingness to learn.[/quote]

It depends on your background, your talents, and what you actually spend that time doing every day. Anyone can learn the rudiments of programming languages, but actually getting something useful done usually requires more than that.

I’m not sure what you mean by “entry level.” If you mean an internship, maybe you could find an open-minded company. Entry level in most companies I am familiar with means “just graduated from college,” and there are plenty of college graduates to choose from without hiring an unknown quantity. There aren’t any programming “mail rooms” from which you can move up to development. If you want to get a job with a medium-sized company, you’re going to have to build up a portfolio of projects so that you can show that you are competent. Or you can find a very small company that really needs someone to learn on the job for a lower salary.

Web development is a pretty crowded space. If you have some basic skill you can find smaller clients who need projects done, which does at least build up a portfolio.

If I could pick something right now that would appeal to smaller companies, it would be learning Objective-C or Swift and iOS development, or android development. There’s still a bubble there, a lot of companies want presence in the app store, and if you are willing to work cheaply enough they’d consider you. Who knows how long that is going to last. There are other niches as well, but I don’t think it is as easy as you imagine.

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[quote]jzy50309 wrote:

[quote]nephorm wrote:
When I first got to college, I was astounded by the number of people I saw in computer science and engineering who picked the major because they thought it would be lucrative. At the time, I had aspirations to go into more theoretical aspects of computer science, so I found that distasteful. I also thought it was shortsighted. If your goal is just to pick something maximally profitable, as I said before, there are more efficient ways than science and engineering. Hopefully you pick something you can enjoy or tolerate, and make reasonable money doing it.
[/quote]
I understand what you are saying, but besides actuarial science (which has the highest suicide rate), medical fields (which would take several years at this point for me to get into), and certain trades (most, if not any I have no sort of network to get into) I do not see much better options/ways. Unless you can enlighten me?

I have considered getting my MBA after graduation, as a way to open more opportunities for myself. I would also like to note that I have not sacrificed my happiness for wealth. I would thoroughly enjoy heading into an engineering or computer science related field. Both are fields that I know would challenge me intellectually, and can help assist me in becoming financially “well off”. [/quote]

You can make good money in several finance related fields if that sort of thing interests you. Accountants, for example, make good money.

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[quote]maverick88 wrote:

[quote]LoRez wrote:
A coworker just shared this today regarding learning to code. Seems pretty much spot on: Coding Bootcamp | Learn 1-on-1 with a Mentor | Thinkful™

It’s a little heavy on analogies, but should give you some insight if you do decide to go down the [applied] computer science path.[/quote]

Slight hi-jack. I know you and spart code and was wondering how long it would take to get good enough for an entry level job when learning code alone. Say 3-5 hours of daily study.

**Does the language being learned better ones chances Ruby Rails vs…

Curious, because as opposed to other career switches coding seems like one where going back to school is not necessary just willingness to learn.[/quote]
What is your situation? What is your current career?

If you’re putting in 3-5 hours a day of coding, I assure that most of that time will be spent reading and debugging, which isn’t inherently bad although not necessarily desired. Everyone is different, so arbitrary timetables aren’t exactly accurate. Maybe a couple of months depending on what you want to get into.

For the short term, your best bet would be just polishing off a decent beginner level application and trying to land an internship or junior developer role at a startup or small(ish) company. This could range from very easy to very hard depending on where you work, but there are opportunities out there to work remotely as well.

If you’re good at marketing and build up a decent portfolio, you can certainly try freelancing. Now that’s a hustle especially if you have less than a few years of experience, but the work is out there for sure.

Languages you invest your time will depend upon what you want to develop and then your preference following that.

Interested in web development? You would obviously want to know HTML, CSS, and jQuery, which should be pretty easy to learn. Then you have query languages like SQL and its variants. From there, there’s Ruby, Python, PHP, Java, and C# to choose from among others. I don’t do much back end web development, but I would say that Python is my preference in most instances.

There is mobile development, which I work in. Go with Objective-C and Swift for native iOS. Swift is fully supported by iOS 8 and is backwards compatible with iOS 7. Java for native Android. I also use various middleware platforms like Appcelerator, which uses JavaScript, and Kivy, which uses Python, to build cross platform applications. You can do this with Unity, which primarily uses C#, too. You can also look into developing for Windows mobile devices using .NET and Silverlight if that interests you.

There is more obviously, but those either fit under the umbrella of the two aforementioned areas or require more education to get into.

Then there are the elements of development that transcend programming languages. For example, you may know a language’s syntax and libraries, but that doesn’t mean you know how to use it for the best effect within with respect to the software requirements.

It ultimately comes down to what you want.

If you’re already in a fairly stable situation financially, I don’t recommend working for less than you’re worth. If this is not true, then fuck it. Take on a development role for less pay to gain some experience. You’d still likely be making more money than you would be if you just accepted any old job.

As long as you are willing to learn as you described, everything should work out fine. Good luck.

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spar4tee: do you enjoy your career? Mentally stimulating? Enjoyment factor?

tweet

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[quote]theBird wrote:
spar4tee: do you enjoy your career? Mentally stimulating? Enjoyment factor?

tweet[/quote]
I am very new lol. I’m not sure if I’d even describe what I do as a career. My main focus is my own business plans, so I’d say that’s definitely challenging and fun.

I definitely love teaching now. It’s a very unique challenge.

As for as actual development, I find my sense of reward to be directly proportional to how much I care about or value the product that I’m working towards.

It’s a mixed bag really, but I definitely like the direction that I am heading. I can expand on this more later. Pretty tired. :slight_smile:

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[quote]usmccds423 wrote:

You can make good money in several finance related fields if that sort of thing interests you. Accountants, for example, make good money. [/quote]

I have actually considered this route, as starting my own business or project management is something that I think is something I would really enjoy. I had an internship at Deloitte where we marketed a new product to a company (all simulated) and it was mainly based around project management.

Although the starting and median salaries according to 2014 and 2015 put those with degrees in finance and accounting about 25,000 less than those with a chemical engineer or computer science background. The median difference is much more, but I do not know exactly what the survey criteria is. I know accountants can make quite a bit once they get their CPA.

Still chemical engineering serves as a good base, and once I graduate with my undergrad I am looking forward to pursuing my MBA. Management of a large engineering company would satisfy a lot of the criteria I am looking for in a career. I do think that one who manages projects and oversees should have a strong background in that specific career field. Thus why I want to have the engineering undergrad background. I think this will help with acquiring the respect of your co-workers respect and boosting morale. Although I have nothing to base this on but my own intuition. Sorry if that is unclear, my brain doesn’t seem to be working today.

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There is a lot of uninteresting idiots in these majors who know that being what they are they wouldn’t make it in anything else.

You look like one yourself. It might be the way.

Also you look like a person who speak a lot but always end up being a flake. Shut the fuck up

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[quote]jasmincar wrote:
There is a lot of uninteresting idiots in these majors who know that being what they are they wouldn’t make it in anything else.

You look like one yourself. It might be the way.

Also you look like a person who speak a lot but always end up being a flake. Shut the fuck up[/quote]

Wow insightful, constructive advice. Did you think of that all on your own? And how does one exactly “look like one…” over a thread. Think you meant to use the word “sound”, as we have never met in person. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, appreciate you taking the time to write out a post regardless of how unconstructive it was. I don’t see why you felt necessary to post at all, as there are plenty of other threads where you could post your “helpful” advice. Then again, I guess there will always be those miserable pricks that would rather spread negativity than positivity.

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I think your ‘‘plan’’ is common and lame. You are not going to make it against the crowd of other people who have the exact same plan and didnt fuck up.

At this point I would focus on finishing my bachelor. I would get a trade or get into real estate and start working now.

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[quote]jasmincar wrote:
I think your ‘‘plan’’ is common and lame.

At this point I would focus on finishing my bachelor.[/quote]
Wasn’t that his plan? lol

Did you mean “I would [not] focus on finishing my [bachelor’s]”?

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[quote]jzy50309 wrote:

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:

You can make good money in several finance related fields if that sort of thing interests you. Accountants, for example, make good money. [/quote]

I have actually considered this route, as starting my own business or project management is something that I think is something I would really enjoy. I had an internship at Deloitte where we marketed a new product to a company (all simulated) and it was mainly based around project management.

Although the starting and median salaries according to 2014 and 2015 put those with degrees in finance and accounting about 25,000 less than those with a chemical engineer or computer science background. The median difference is much more, but I do not know exactly what the survey criteria is. I know accountants can make quite a bit once they get their CPA.

Still chemical engineering serves as a good base, and once I graduate with my undergrad I am looking forward to pursuing my MBA. Management of a large engineering company would satisfy a lot of the criteria I am looking for in a career. I do think that one who manages projects and oversees should have a strong background in that specific career field. Thus why I want to have the engineering undergrad background. I think this will help with acquiring the respect of your co-workers respect and boosting morale. Although I have nothing to base this on but my own intuition. Sorry if that is unclear, my brain doesn’t seem to be working today.[/quote]

You might want to also consider job availability and prospects if you haven’t. Folks with degrees in accounting can work in just about any finance related job and a lot of analytically positions as well. Public accounting, while lucrative, isn’t the only option.

I also think it’s admirable your goals are so ambitious, but I’d caution you to temper your expectations when you get out.

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[quote]spar4tee wrote:

[quote]jasmincar wrote:
I think your ‘‘plan’’ is common and lame.

At this point I would focus on finishing my bachelor.[/quote]
Wasn’t that his plan? lol

Did you mean “I would [not] focus on finishing my [bachelor’s]”? [/quote]

The first one he didn’t finish.

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[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
You might want to also consider job availability and prospects if you haven’t. Folks with degrees in accounting can work in just about any finance related job and a lot of analytically positions as well. Public accounting, while lucrative, isn’t the only option.

I also think it’s admirable your goals are so ambitious, but I’d caution you to temper your expectations when you get out. [/quote]

Thank you usmccds423 for your input. The financial “route” (accounting, finance…) is something I haven’t spent a lot of time researching. I also appreciate and heed the word of caution.

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[quote]jasmincar wrote:
The first one he didn’t finish.[/quote]

I do not see this is a viable option; it would be difficult to say the least to find another internship (graduation requirement) with my less than stellar GPA, as well as me being out of school for over three years. I have a chance at doing it all over again (for my military service, paid in full). It may take me longer to achieve my goal, but in the long run I foresee it being much more beneficial, in many regards.

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[quote]jzy50309 wrote:

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
You might want to also consider job availability and prospects if you haven’t. Folks with degrees in accounting can work in just about any finance related job and a lot of analytically positions as well. Public accounting, while lucrative, isn’t the only option.

I also think it’s admirable your goals are so ambitious, but I’d caution you to temper your expectations when you get out. [/quote]

Thank you usmccds423 for your input. The financial “route” (accounting, finance…) is something I haven’t spent a lot of time researching. I also appreciate and heed the word of caution. [/quote]

Sure, no problem. I’ve been in a similar position (I left active duty in 2008). So I can relate at least in some respects.

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[quote]jzy50309 wrote:

[quote]jasmincar wrote:
The first one he didn’t finish.[/quote]

I do not see this is a viable option; it would be difficult to say the least to find another internship (graduation requirement) with my less than stellar GPA, as well as me being out of school for over three years. I have a chance at doing it all over again (for my military service, paid in full). It may take me longer to achieve my goal, but in the long run I foresee it being much more beneficial, in many regards. [/quote]

You could just retake the courses that hurt you the most. Wouldn’t that fix your GPA issue?

I never did an internship and you might be able to have the requirement waved because of your service. That’s how I was able to avoid the requirement. If your counselors are reasonable you should be able to persuade them that 4 years active service more than fulfills the limited experience an internship provides.

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Also, if you can finish the first degree the post 9/11 GI bill can be used for an advanced degree. I was able to finish my undergraduate degree and get 3 graduate classes paid for before my benefit ran out.

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[quote]jzy50309 wrote:

[quote]jasmincar wrote:
The first one he didn’t finish.[/quote]

I do not see this is a viable option; it would be difficult to say the least to find another internship (graduation requirement) with my less than stellar GPA, as well as me being out of school for over three years. I have a chance at doing it all over again (for my military service, paid in full). It may take me longer to achieve my goal, but in the long run I foresee it being much more beneficial, in many regards. [/quote]

You could find a way to make the school believe you had an internship. It might not be as hard as you think.

It is the same thing everwhere, they want you to have an internship to give you a diploma but there is so few available. The higher education system doesnt care about you and is wasting your time.

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[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
You could just retake the courses that hurt you the most. Wouldn’t that fix your GPA issue?

I never did an internship and you might be able to have the requirement waved because of your service. That’s how I was able to avoid the requirement. If your counselors are reasonable you should be able to persuade them that 4 years active service more than fulfills the limited experience an internship provides. [/quote]
I appreciate you taking some time and trying to help me find some other viable options, but I really do believe I have exhausted all measures. Unfortunately Penn State’s policy on retaking of courses is a bit different from other institutions, they even out the averages of the grades. So if you failed the class once and got an A again you would be left would a C. I would need to retake a bunch of classes to bump that GPA to a “competitive” level and it would take quite some time. The school has to approve of the internship, and needs to find a relationship between what I do in Air Force to my degree. They do not coincide at all.

The undergrad at Penn State was in security risk analysis, something that at the time I thought would be “cool” to study. With my low GPA, lack of a portfolio, and experience it would be difficult to achieve my goals with the degree. Even more difficult after serving in the Air Force, with a field that was relatively new when I was attending school. A better option is to just start over, at a reputable engineering institution close to home (pocket my monthly stipend) and actually put in the work. It would give me a chance at fixing all the issues I had with my previous degree and more importantly achieve my goals.

I am going to see if any of the credits transfer over, but considering that the degree I am interested in is considerably different I doubt any will. Still I hope