How hard is computer science?

[Cs342]

How difficult is it to study computer science? I've heard from some people majoring in CS that it's insanely hard and you get no social life while others say it's easy.

[ShadowCaptain]

How difficult is it to study computer science? I've heard from some people majoring in CS that it's insanely hard and you get no social life while others say it's easy.

 

Its hard

 

A few of my friends studied though and we still hung out and played games in the evenings online....... he went out all the time drinking and partying too no reason it gives you any less social life than anything else you can study

[Archangel1994]

I'm doing a computer science study right now and I've got this to say: It's not easy by any means but it's not exactly hard to the point where you have to give up your social life. Say I have 2 weeks for an assignment. Work hard on it and it can be done in a few days leaving the rest for pretty much yourself.

 

It also depends on the subjects. Databases for instance is a hard subject (For me at uni at least, 50% failure rate or so) but I passed it, yeah social life didn't exist for that subject but computer architecture/networking is pretty easy and I've got tons of time to hang out.

 

Bottom line is: If you do your planning correctly and you work hard enough for a few days then you got plenty of time for social activities

[ZetZet]

Calculus man, it kills you.

[peacemak3r]

Comes down to interest as well, seen some people crash and burn in the area if they weren't very interested in it from the beginning.

[Bogica]

It's hard mate. If you are not good at calculus it's going to be even harder but it's not the end of the world, calculus can be learned if you have the will power and dedication to practice it for weeks. It won't kill your social life but if you want a social life, gaming time and success then you are going to have to learn how to manage your time. Time management is key.

[Samfisher]

With interest and some early preparation, you can cruise through it with hard work.  No interest?  Why are you even doing CS?  Many people will probably stumble at the programming/database phase of the course.

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

It's not rocket science ...

 

 

:lol:

 

 

... but yeah, it's pretty hard. 

[eLucid]

If math isn't your thing. You're not going to have a fun time. Let's just leave it at that.

[CyberBro]

It has definitely been a challenge for me, in my final year of a Computer Science Bachelor's, but I have loved it. The only way it would be impossibly hard is if you dont manage your time and leave all your work to the last minute. You can certainly have a social and still get good grades, I think without a social life I couldn't do the course personally, can't think about work all the time.

[Paralectic]

Is Computer Science just programming?

[protato117]

I'm doing a computer science study right now and I've got this to say: It's not easy by any means but it's not exactly hard to the point where you have to give up your social life. Say I have 2 weeks for an assignment. Work hard on it and it can be done in a few days leaving the rest for pretty much yourself.

 

It also depends on the subjects. Databases for instance is a hard subject (For me at uni at least, 50% failure rate or so) but I passed it, yeah social life didn't exist for that subject but computer architecture/networking is pretty easy and I've got tons of time to hang out.

 

Bottom line is: If you do your planning correctly and you work hard enough for a few days then you got plenty of time for social activities

so I'm about to enter my second semester and it has database...what makes it difficult? and what should I expect?

also, to the OP...interest, dedication, understanding of the subject, and time management is absolutely key...I've seen some of my classmates drop the subject half way through because they simply couldn't code due to lack of interest and understanding. But I love this subject its challenging and definitely interesting at least for my end. 

[Archangel1994]

so I'm about to enter my second semester and it has database...what makes it difficult? and what should I expect?

also, to the OP...interest, dedication, understanding of the subject, and time management is absolutely key...I've seen some of my classmates drop the subject half way through because they simply couldn't code due to lack of interest and understanding. But I love this subject its challenging and definitely interesting at least for my end. 

Well in our case we have to learn it alongside graphics (Another hard subject) and it's a 2000 page book to learn in about 8-9 weeks.

[kwljunky]

Well in our case we have to learn it alongside graphics (Another hard subject) and it's a 2000 page book to learn in about 8-9 weeks.

 

What graphics API are you learning it with? And Do you mind telling me the name of the coursebooks? 

 

I'm doing a computer science course, but without the graphics, spent half a year getting maths skills up before I delved into graphics. 

[Archangel1994]

What graphics API are you learning it with? And Do you mind telling me the name of the coursebooks? 

 

I'm doing a computer science course, but without the graphics, spent half a year getting maths skills up before I delved into graphics. 

I'm not doing it yet, I have to wait until the 4th quarter.

 

I was told we are using SQL though

[kwljunky]

I'm not doing it yet, I have to wait until the 4th quarter.

 

I was told we are using SQL though

Ah I see, well wish you the best of luck with the studies, I have not got onto SQL yet, starting the relational databases module in Feb so that's when I will learn it. 

 

However as way to prepare, I was told good things about this book: Head first SQL

 

 

Don't know if it will help but, people recommended it to me for the "exploratory" and "laid back" style of the book. I prefer those, than those books that are just a complete reference books, made by experts, talking in so much jargon that it makes my head explode.

 

[SparkySamZa]

All I shall say is engineering man, engineering.

[gill2k]

It is indeed quite a challenge.  I spent 5 years getting my degree when it could've been shorter.

 

I found my courses to be all theory based.  I had to read a ton of material (textbooks, slides, handouts), a ton of math, and a ton of problem solving, particularly in assignments / labs / and possible projects.  Some nights and weekends I'll be coding for into the wee hours of the morning trying to get an assignment or project done.  

 

Some courses were fun for me though.  Cryptography was offered at my university at the time and I thought that was more like a puzzle-solving course so I breezed through it.  Learning about graphics, at least in theory, was interesting enough for me, though coding my assignments in Java was not.  Learning Database, particularly using SQL, has helped me a ton with my current job.

[Leonard]

How difficult is it to study computer science? I've heard from some people majoring in CS that it's insanely hard and you get no social life while others say it's easy.

It is extremely hard if you are not a tech savvy person but fairly easy if you are a tech savvy person and by tech savvy i don't mean Internet Explorer and mindcraft, i someone who does advanced lynda.com tutorials or similar in your spare time. 

[GoodBytes]

As a student that will graduate soon (hopefully), it's hard... very hard.

You have "easy" and interating courses, but you have many very hard courses.

Plus, if you want a CV/Resume that stands out for jobs, you need personal projects, the more the better. So there goes your summers. You can still relax and have fun in summer, But you have work to do.

You can probably pretty much forget PC gaming. My computer still has a GTX 260 for reference. I just don't want to upgrade, but I only play occasionally, and when I do, it's more on my WiiU, as the games I play are not story driven per se (or simple), so I have no problem not touching the game for a month or so, and come back. (Mario Kart, Donkey Kong, Pinkmin, Mario games, etc.) For reference, I started the Witcher 2... when it was released, I completely forgot the story, and absolutely no time to play it.

I like to see Computer Science as one of the harder fields to take at University, I am sure Med is much harder, but I like to see Computer Science right up there with the hard ones, is what I am saying.

Take it, if and only if you like software development.

[LemonSpice]

its hard but also depends on what type of mindo you have and how interested you are and what your background knowlage is

[MrTomnus]

I used to do computer science. I had switched to it from another course before I started my first year because I wanted to do something a bit broader. Personally, I found it very boring. I absolutely love PCs and programming is super fun, but I found the content on my course every uninspiring. It was mostly to do with the lecturers and the pace at which we were going through the content. That's probably more to do with the university I'm going to though and not the computer science course in general.

 

Now I've switched to another computing related course, I'm much happier than I was before. I get to do all the same programming I was originally doing, but just applying the learning differently and going through the course at a much faster pace.

 

I think if you have a passion for anything to do with computers and are willing to learn new things, and perhaps spend some time trying to grasp some topics, I think you will be absolutely fine. Good luck!

[shadowblitz3]

Pretty hard. But still not as hard as engineering

[Trik'Stari]

Define computer science? I'm beginning a Network Security class..... Really hoping I didn't sign up for the most difficult thing in the IT field.....

[GoodBytes]

Pretty hard. But still not as hard as engineering

Yea, no. Computer Science is several folds harder than Engineering. I guess it depends on where you live and university, and what is the university strong points (each university have their set of program that they focus on, and build their reputation on. There is no university that is best at everything, even the big schools like Harvard).