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Does it make sense to switch majors from comp science to comp system? I like comp science but all the math is killing me. And plus i want to be a programmer and comp system offers a lot of programming courses. Need some advice please!

Programming is math. CS is programming. CS is math.

Having said that .. choose the program with the curriculum you find most interesting.

My college give to much math courses that are hard as hell. I got a C in Calculus 1, so im thinking im going to fail Calculus 2 numerical methods and differential equations. Also, if i stay with CS for a bachelor i am going to have to take more higher level math and extremely hard courses.

Yeah, if calculus gives you problems, you will have to work extra hard or find another discipline.

Were u been sarcastic?

No, not at all. Calculus is pretty easy compared to some of the heavier maths that a CS student needs to take.

If not saying you shouldn't try .. but you do need to be prepared to work hard.

Just to give advice I need to know some stuff.

1. Why do you want to be a programmer rather than an IT guy?
2. What do you plan on programming?
3. How are you doing in your programming courses and what have you taken?

1) When i wrote my first program i liked the feeling of doing something and saying "hey i did that." Also, i think programming is fun.
2) I plan to work in creating software or applications for companies.
3) On my programming classes i have gotten an A on VB.net and intro to C++

I guess those are better reasons than some other people have said in the past. Given that, stick with the curriculum that is best suited for software engineering. Computer Science is the route to go but if that other curriculum is a variation on CS then maybe consider that if it's less math heavy. Math skills is a good to important thing to have as a software engineer but in most job positions it's probably not critical and necessary. Just know that programming will become much harder as you progress and get into actual software engineer with object-oriented methodolgy, design patterns, UML (Use-case, class, sequence diagrams, etc.), assembly code, compiler related stuff, algorithm analysis, etc. If at any point you don't enjoy what you are doing in the classroom immediately switch your major. It'll be exactly the same in the real world, without as many pointless programming projects. If you don't have a sincere passion for this field you will be miserable once you go into the job world.

Btw, what exactly is this other course of study you are thinking of taking? Could you list some of the classes you must take? It might give me a better idea if it is suited for what you want to eventually do.

P.S.: If you ever plan on being a developer for games or something similar you WILL need strong skills in math and physics. I say this because many people start off their college careers as computer science majors with this dream in mind because they enjoy "gaming". They soon come to the realization that programming games isn't anything like playing them.

heres the link to the Computer system major: http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/academics/ ... ch_cs.html


and heres the link to the Comp science major: http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/academics/ ... rams.shtml
(click download catalog entry)

Computer Systems major is what I thought it was. It's gearing you more towards network engineering/administration. The reason why some programming is in there is because as a networking guy you may be required to do some minor programming like installation stuff, scripting, some minor programming for client and server-side stuff. The programming courses will only scratch the surface and won't prepare you enough to be a developer. Now, it's not saying you can't start off as a networking guy and move to a developer role as you develop on the job training...but that's no the goal of this degree.

can anyone vouch for Volatile?

His posts are bang-on.

I equally like programming, hacking, web design and graphics arts.

Hi
If you want to be a programmer then i think you must take interest in mathematics also. It is not a big thing. If you concentrate then i m sure you will find it very interesting.

http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/academics/ ... h_tet.html

WOuld that curriculum be better than computer system if i wanted to do network administration?

or this one:

http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/ugradprograms/cis.htm#cis

You can either grab yourself up by the bootstraps and do the work required to get a degree or there's always other career paths available.

mainframe, if you've hopes of becoming a SysAdmin, experience is the key. A degree more or less gets you the interview. If it came down to someone with just home-brew experience needed to get the job done, and a graduate who can't recall what ping is, I'd hire the one with experience.

I'm not trying to totally downplay the degree part of your IT career. It is important, don't get me wrong, but it's not THE part. Experience is key, Education is important, and certs are icing on the career cake.