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Am I wasting my time majoring in CS at this point? : r/ArtificialInteligence

    


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  




  
  
  
  
  
  



  
  
  
  



  
  
  
  















  
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r/ArtificialInteligence
•
1 day ago
Luccipucci
Am I wasting my time majoring in CS at this point?
Discussion

Like the title says, I’m a current CS student with probably around 2.5/3 years left till I graduate. A lot of people are telling me with how advanced ai is getting I’m wasting my time (alone with off-shoring plus a horrible market for junior devs). Should I switch my major or is graduate school/PHD the new path for CS? It’s one of the few things I’m truly passionate about so it makes me sad to think about switching.
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AutoModerator
•
1d ago

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tomatoreds
•
1d ago

If by CS, you mean you’re only interested in software development, you are right. But there is a lot more to CS including systems, architecture, storage, networking etc. Look beyond programming and you’ll find a career in CS to be rewarding.
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Luccipucci
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1d ago

Yeah I’m definitely leaning more towards the architecture and AI side of things. Thank you for your reply
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No-Tension9614
•
22h ago

I would honestly say perhaps management side of IT. Some kind IT leadership role. Like I would build towards that. Where you are the spearhead of a department rather then a foot soldier (an IT technician, programmer etc).

I would look towards ITIL, Six Sigma, positions that push towards Director, Service Delivery, etc
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Ok-Document6466
•
21h ago

At least for a few years before machines do those things better too. Lol.
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u/cosmicloafer avatar
cosmicloafer
•
1d ago

How about a PhD in AI, I hear they get paid well
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Luccipucci
•
1d ago

I’m considering that. I think a field like AI ethics could also be interesting
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Jim_Reality
•
20h ago

AI "ethics", lol.
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Luccipucci
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15h ago

I think it’d be cool and important to try and protect working class people from automation and malicious CEOs trying to replace employees. Although I don’t know if that’s even possible or what the field really even is lol
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u/sleepnaught88 avatar
sleepnaught88
•
8h ago

Who the hell is going to hire you to do that? No offense. Companies are there to make money, they give very little about “ethics”.
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u/Xziz avatar
Xziz
•
1d ago
Comment Image
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SoupOrMan3
•
1d ago

Sorry, but I can’t feel any pitty for people developing AI. I guess they have families, but they are directly guilty for this shit. I’m glad they’re going down the drain with the rest of the people.
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u/Prior_Section_4978 avatar
Prior_Section_4978
•
19h ago

Yes, exactly my opinion. Very interesting to see some people which contributed largely to this situation issuing us warnings about the things they created, but also continuing to furiously developing these things. They clearly have sociopathic traits.
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u/tirby avatar
tirby
•
1d ago

Don't stop. The tech we have access to today is not replacing intelligent, trained software engineers. Everyone will say well wait 6 months or a year and then it will be smarter. Well maybe. Maybe not.
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u/East_Transition9564 avatar
East_Transition9564
•
1d ago

OpenAI just announced their software engineer agent today.
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Negative_Gur9667
•
22h ago

Link pls
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u/East_Transition9564 avatar
East_Transition9564
•
21h ago

https://openai.com/index/introducing-codex/
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u/Double-justdo5986 avatar
Double-justdo5986
•
22h ago

They announced it a while ago
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u/East_Transition9564 avatar
East_Transition9564
•
21h ago

Ok they just released it then
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Luccipucci
•
1d ago

Thanks so much for your reply
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SoupOrMan3
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1d ago

How did you switch from “won’t” to “maybe” and didn’t feel the need to rewrite your comment?
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u/tirby avatar
tirby
•
14h ago

im not following what you mean can you explain?
}
u/Livid_Possibility_53 avatar
Livid_Possibility_53
•
1d ago

If this is your passion I would encourage you to stick with it. CS jobs will definitely exist in 5 years, will AI wipe them all out in our lifetimes? Who knows, we thought we would have nuclear fusion by 1970 and look at us 50 years later.

Off shoring has always been a thing and it comes in waves every 10 or so years, usually they don’t work out.

I would actually encourage you to try and get a job right out of ugrad, the loudest people are the ones that are typically not employed
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Luccipucci
•
15h ago

It’s true, we’re really in the fuck around and find out phase of all of this
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u/IXI_FenKa_IXI avatar
IXI_FenKa_IXI
•
1d ago

The difference between a full fledged Computer Engineer/MS and "just" a programmer is enormous. And any company worth working at know this. Competition might get harder but if you really like it, keep going. Ain't much easier elsewhere.
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Luccipucci
•
15h ago

That’s what I’ve heard. It’s hard everywhere so might as well stick to something I actually enjoy
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u/IXI_FenKa_IXI avatar
IXI_FenKa_IXI
•
14h ago

Also as someone with many friends in the field: it's a VERY broad field and some devs will be effected more than others, some not at all (given current state and prospects of AI).

My best friend for example is a consultant working with industrial product design and close to the customers. Highly stimulating and incorporating many high-end skills of project work, mathematics, 3D-modeling, social skills and ofc programming. Co-pilot can make engineers like him CODE a bit faster but AI isnt even in the ballpark of replacing him.
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Videoplushair
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1d ago

The CEO of NVIDIA said don’t go into computer science to learn coding this is exactly what he said in 2024

“In fact, it’s almost exactly the opposite. It is our job to create computing technology such that nobody has to program, and that the programming language is human. Everybody in the world is now a programmer. This is the miracle of artificial intelligence.” ￼
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u/robogame_dev avatar
robogame_dev
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1d ago

Yes this is correct, the market for developers will shrink, so it will be mostly senior devs augmented by AI who get the remaining spots. Musical chairs. If you're a new grad and there's senior devs willing to take the same pay, they're gonna hire the senior devs.

That said u/Luccipucci the best thing you can do is to focus on your ability to make and self-publish your own stuff. Nobody needs to give you the opportunity to release software into the world, and THAT is only getting easier.
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Luccipucci
•
15h ago

Thank you for your comment. The main reason I’m doing CS is so I can one day build my own projects. That’s what really excites me about it
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cocoaLemonade22
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1d ago

Correct, but you just might not get paid for it.

And if/when you release it, a million of others may use AI to release a clone (if it's valuable enough, of course). If it has gotten easier for you, it has gotten easier for everyone.
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u/robogame_dev avatar
robogame_dev
•
1d ago
• Edited 1d ago

This is true - and moreover, soon the AI will be capable of the entire software business process from ideation to revenue - however that said, there is going to be a brief period where humans + AI are the meta, and while it has every competitive caveat you mention, it still might be OP’s best bet if they want to leverage their interest and skills in CS.
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GooseD20
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23h ago

I'm a lot older than most students my age, I just got out of the military a couple years ago after an 8 year career with them. I started going to school and have two years left, I was a CS major my freshman year but after taking an AI course, I changed majors without hesitation.

Being older, I'm well behind my classmates as far as experience goes, I didn't grow up with an ipad in my hand (not a flex, just the reality that I have far less experience with the technology than kids growing up with them these days) and most of my classmates have been coding since before highschool as a hobby. They wiz by me on assignments.

Combine that with the fact I have a lot of friends that work in software and CS that have a decade of experience in the field, and some of them have been laid off as well. It's just not a good outlook for me.

So my outlook for a career in CS is like this:

    I'm older and less experienced than my class mates, who code circles around me.

    The folk in my age group that are being laid off have a decade worth of a resume behind them.

For these two reasons, I swapped. It's not something I want to compete with, on top of competing with AI.
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Luccipucci
•
15h ago

I fear I may be in the same boat. I took a break from school during Covid and went back while working last semester(just knocking out pre reqs) im not sure if I’ll be able to keep up with the competition but I’ll try. I took a few coding classes in highschool but nothing too advanced.
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u/Double-justdo5986 avatar
Double-justdo5986
•
22h ago

What white collar job is even safe?
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Luccipucci
•
15h ago

True
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u/sleepnaught88 avatar
sleepnaught88
•
8h ago

Nursing and some other medical occupations

That’s about it, honestly
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Bilbo2317
•
21h ago

}

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u/shaunscovil avatar
shaunscovil
•
18h ago

The field of computer science isn’t going anywhere. AI is only making it more important to learn.

Of course, it’s worth pondering how AI will disrupt higher education, and questioning the cost/benefit of paying for a CS degree vs. leveraging free (or less expensive) online learning resources and gaining real world industry experience today.
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Luccipucci
•
15h ago

To be honest I enjoy school so I’ll probably stick with it. It’s also great for meeting people and being able to ask my prof questions(both about coursework and more industry level stuff). Plus with how competitive this field has gotten I think the boot camp/self taught dev are dying out
}
u/shaunscovil avatar
shaunscovil
•
14h ago

The experience of university is great, but the cost is ridiculous and increases significantly year over year. It seems like a bubble that is overdue to burst, and AI could be the thing that causes it to happen.

David Eagleman did an interesting episode of Inner Cosmos, where he explored the question: “What does AI mean for the future of education?”

https://youtu.be/T5UgWryTe6U?si=rIyYpl_h4_93KByx
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u/OldCoconut9802 avatar
OldCoconut9802
•
16h ago

You could qualify for AI engineering roles.
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u/Thick-Buddy-2021 avatar
Thick-Buddy-2021
•
16h ago

That is the question most computer science students have. I come from tech background, worked for Google, Microsoft and other big tech companies. I tell you with confidence that most repeatable tasks are being automated. What they teach today in CS is good foundation but by the time most kids graduate those skills may no longer be in demand.

I strongly recommend to don’t just suffice to what they teach you in school and do side projects and read books on AI and the future of automation. You need an edge to stay ahead. One good read I recommend which is less deep tech and more guidance is this book on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F7F22GK5), read the part that is focused on individual and how they should plan ahead. Pretty much the first 9 chapters and the last 2 chapters would give you the mindset around how to prepare and put yourself up for success.

Don’t let fear paralyze you, think ahead and educate yourself since other kids probably aren’t.
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Luccipucci
•
15h ago

Thank you for your reply, I will look into that book
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u/johnnysegway avatar
johnnysegway
•
9h ago

Cyber Security is big right now, in UK two major retailers are literally losing £10M’s per week due to security breaches.
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u/argdogsea avatar
argdogsea
•
8h ago

We’re an AI shop and our bar for devs is just going up. We need people who know what they’re doing. Not AI spew.
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u/sleepnaught88 avatar
sleepnaught88
•
8h ago

I’m a junior going for CS. I won’t be returning for the fall. It’s quite clear now that AI will replace the majority of jobs relevant to CS. I honestly can’t think of a safe alternative either unless it’s nursing or something else with a lot of hands on work.

I honestly think the trades people were right all along. With the severe shortages in skilled trades, that’s the far better time investment than university now, unless you’re exceptionally gifted. I just wish I wasn’t in my 30s, the pivot to the trades will be a rough one.
}
u/Mundane-Fox-1669 avatar
Mundane-Fox-1669
•
3h ago

What will you pivot to now
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u/sleepnaught88 avatar
sleepnaught88
•
3h ago

I work in manufacturing, I’ll probably stay where I am and pivot to maintenance. Industrial maintenance will always have a job. I considered becoming an electrician, but the apprentice pay is atrocious. I can’t survive on that for 4 years, especially at this stage of my life.

I was hoping a CS degree would be a ticket out of this place (and state), oh well…
}
u/azimux avatar
azimux
•
7h ago

My opinion, and only time will tell if you chose the right path or not, but, if you're passionate about CS then my gut tells me you should just major in CS. I would personally only switch if either A) You're more passionate about something else but chose CS for job prospects, or B) you found some other major that you think is strategically better so much as to be worth abandoning your passion for.
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u/Digital_Draven avatar
Digital_Draven
•
3h ago

Data Science
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pashabitz
•
1d ago

It's not a waste of time but you need to immediately prepare for a completely different world out there and focus your learning on slightly different things.

I wrote more about this today: https://pashabitz.substack.com/p/the-software-engineering-kawagara
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SilentBoss2901
•
1d ago

Come on dude, haha
}
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