rks102

I have three options and I need to decide ASAP because my career is on the line.

1. Statistics major/Computer Science and Biology Minor

2. Computer Science major/Biology and Math minor

3. Microbiology major/Computer Science and Math minor

My goal is to get a good paying job right out of college so I can pay off my debts before I move onto grad school.

ucbalumnus

University Graduate Career Surveys

terenc

What the heck are those slashes for: does it represent double majors?

You also realize that minors in of themselves are not "necessary" for getting any job - you get a minor if you're actually interested in the area. A CS major with no minors is not at any disadvantage compared to a CS major with a math minor. Both will get an interview (assuming same GPA), and it'll come down to how they perform in the interview.

Nonetheless, CS majors tend to have the most job opportunities.
But you should do what you actually find interesting and fun. The last thing you want is to be stuck in a boring, uninteresting job, even if it pays well.

sumzup

Stats is a great complement to CS depending on your interests within CS (there are several subfields of CS which absolutely rely on statistics).

rks102

The slashes separate major and minor (s).

And the reason I would like to have minors is to supplement my major.

Also, who cares if I'm not truly passionate about CS? In this economy, I shouldn't be wasting my time and money studying something that won't get me a job.

GLOBALTRAVELER

If you decide to take the software path to a CS-related career, why not be a Math/Stats major with a strong concentration in CS? A math major, especially if choosing the B.A.-version of the degree would give you the most flexibility with dual-majors.

First the Math/Stats part. A typical B.A. in Math program is 12 courses (average) consisting of:

1) Calculus I
2) Calculus II
3) Calculus III
4) Linear Algebra
5) Differential Equations
6) Real Analysis I/Advanced Calculus I
7) Abstract Algebra I

Your Stats concentration can be:

8) Probability Theory
9) Mathematical Statistics
10) Statistics elective
11) Statistics elective
12) Statistics elective

The Math/Stats part should be around 40 semester credits.

The Computer Science part, with a software emphasis so no digital circuits or computer architecture courses:

1) Object-Oriented Programming (Java or C++) I
2) Object-Oriented Programming (Java or C++) II
3) Discrete Structures
4) Data Structures (prereq: OO Programming & Discrete Structures)
5) Algorithms (prereq: OO Programming & Discrete Structures)
6) Organization of Programming Languages (only core CS course that MAY can be omitted)
7) Operating Systems (must have)
8) Computer Networks (used too much in industry to ignore)
9) Database Systems (used too much in industry to ignore)

The Computer Science part should be around 30 credits

Math/Stats (40) + CS (30) + General Education (40) < 120, so you would still have room for other electives.

BlueProtoman

CS is hard. And math-heavy. If you're not passionate about it, you will NOT do well in it. End of story.

rks102

FYI, I am a biology major with 48 credit hours transferring from a private LAC to a state school.

Global Traveler, wouldn't CS be a better major than Math?

TBQH, I have enjoyed Calc I and Calc II as well as my Stats class and I was thinking about going with the Stats major and minoring in Biology and Computer Science.

The problem is I can't double major in Stats and Computer science because then I'd be spending more money.

BlueProtoman,

In this economy, everything is difficult. If I attend lectures, go to labs, do my homework, study for tests, and get help from my professor during office hours, what's stopping me from succeeding at Computer Science and getting a job out of college?

GLOBALTRAVELER

Depends who you ask on this board.

CS-only majors will say CS.

Math/CS majors like myself will say Math (with strong concentration in CS) :-)

BlueProtoman

rks102, your lack of passion will. Whom do you think your future boss would rather hire; someone who coasted by on a CS degree because he thought it would land him a job, or someone who's been programming since he was ten, makes computer games in his spare time, wrote a database for his high school's cafeteria, and got contracting work on Odesk at 16?

If you're not motivated enough to be willing to work on personal projects in your spare time because you think it's fun (fun enough to put your MOTHER****ING HEART AND SOUL into most school projects, of which there should be plenty), you will not succeed. You will be miserable, you will hate your job, you will get clinically depressed, you will not want to get out of bed, and you will hate your life. Money does not buy happiness. Long-term pleasure does.

Here's a course catalog for Stony Brook's CS department. Most of the courses have their lecture notes available to the public. I suggest you peruse them. If you find yourself having to be pulled away from the course websites, things are looking good for you.
CSE Courses

Are you so interested in a large portion the material shown here that you would be willing to learn it, apply it, and be passionate about it? Do you have the urge to learn this in your spare time? Are you willing to learn a library, concept, etc. that wasn't taught in class just to enhance your project, even if it's not required for the grade? (e.g. does the idea of learning SQL for a game development class tickle your fancy? Are you even willing to take the time to read most of SQL's Wikipedia page?) Are you willing to debug for hours on end, only to find that a simple missing semicolon is the cause of your problems? Are you willing to go to office hours even if your grades are already good, just to learn something or shoot the breeze about void pointers? Are you willing to STAY THE **** ON TOP of current technology, languages, and tools after you graduate?

If yes, sounds great! Welcome to the club. Start learning to program on Udacity.

If not, then assuming you go to a good school for CS (you DID do the research, right?), you will either drop out or become a mediocre graduate who may not be skilled enough to survive a round of layoffs. You will be a disgrace to programmers and computer scientists alike.

rks102

I'm starting CS 101 right now on Udacity.

And I wouldn't tell an employer I am doing CS for the money, that wouldn't be very smart.

I just don't see what other major I can switch to for job prospects. My college doesn't offer engineering.

What if I major in something I'm truly interested in and supplement it with computer science courses and math courses (which I am interested in)?


And would CS be interesting to me if I am interested in hacking, torrenting, playing MMORPGs, and working for the CIA/FBI?

GLOBALTRAVELER

There is NOTHING WRONG with studying/working in an area that you do not 100% like. If you like the area SOMEWHAT, then that is good enough to pursue it. At the end of the day, one has to survive and in the USA, everything costs, so why not prepare yourself for non-struggling survival?

Nothing wrong with that either, but you don't want your primary major to be too far off because you want to catch the eye of hiring managers. Some hiring folks are like "if they didn't major in math/CS/engineering/stats/I.T. then I don't want them". Some hiring folks (and I won't lie, I kind of have this mindset) are like "I want someone who had to go through what I went through in college".


That depends on your interests. I do work for the "No Such Agency" so it is cool that your work relates to national security. As far as hacking, etc...there are more specialized training courses for that, but academically, you can start off with math courses in number theory and abstract algebra and math/CS hybrid courses in cryptology.

rks102

Globaltraveler,

I think I'm going to go with the Stats major. Simply because Microbio is useless and CS might be too time consuming for me to graduate on time. I also LOVED my intro stats course and my math courses.

Question: Will I be able to become an actuary as a stats major? Will I qualify to take the exams? How hot is the field right now?

Also, can I be qualified for any finance/accounting/investment banking job?

Here are the math classes ill be taking for this major:

Linear Algebra
Calc I-III
Intro to Stats
Applied Linear Models I-II
Intro to Stat Theory
Intro to Prob Theory I-II
Statistical Consulting
Bayesian Theory and Data Analysis
Exploratory Data Analysis

Computer Science classes:

Intro to Comp Sci
Intro to Software Systems
Discrete Structures for Comp Sci
Data Structures


Science:
Intro to Bio I-II
Intro Chem I-II
Organic Chem I with lab
Molecular Biology
Genetics


So basically taking all of these courses gives me a Stats major and a Biology and Computer Science double minor.

I have the option of taking my general ed coureses during the summer so I can take more computer sciences courses during the year or possibly start a business minor.

Does my cirriculum look solid enough for employment? What can I add?

What should I do? Does my cirriculum look solid?

GLOBALTRAVELER

You (or I) will have to look up the courses needed to prepare for the Actuary exam. I do not know them off of the top of my head.

As for investment banking, that field is more based on your school than major. If you are not attending an Ivy League or Psuedo-Ivy (like Stanford, Cal-Berkeley, Georgia Tech) then you virtually have no chance (well very little) of getting into IB.

BlueProtoman

Glad to hear you've decided on something you like! Just being able to program (even without the background of a full degree) will set you quite a bit ahead of the competition. Since you're doing stats, maybe learn R or something, if it's not in your curriculum already.