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What Do You Do When CS Isn't Fun Any More?
wonderless asks: "Long ago and far away, I thought that I was going to be a Great Geek, and that I was going to provoke a revolution in the computer industry--and indeed, the world--with my mastery of technology. I could hardly wait to throw myself into an intense, highly technical curriculum and shine. But as I said, that was long ago and far away. Now I'm one semester away from graduation, with a 3.5 average overall and a lackluster 3.0 in CS, and I'm liking it less and less every day. I used to be able to say that at least it pays well, but now I can't even take solace in that. I drag myself to classes and through projects, and it all seems really pointless--I'm just implementing what's written in the book, and eradicating the countless off-by-one bugs is nothing short of mind-numbing. I'd like nothing better than to recapture the feeling of joy I used to get out of doing this, and to once again be able to say I'm doing what I love. What do you do when it isn't fun any more, but you'd like it to be?"
Quit. Join the French Foregin Legion.
see how long it takes you to appreciate love and adore the wonderfull joys of CS. I am guessing one day tops!
Hit the networks. See what Oprah recommends. Maybe Maury can help you out. Find someone to scream at(maybe a professor - pick a feisty one) and duke it out on Springer.
"On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog!" - a dog
Dude, like you gotta go into Management or something. Quick, look in the mirror and see if your hair is starting to get pointy.
Jack
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Are you an SF Fan? Are you a Tru-Fan?
I have two degrees, one in CS and one in Archaeology. CS isn't what I want my career to be in, but I can take my computer skills and development knowledge and apply it to archaeology problems.
Yeah, and I can take my engineering degree and apply it to 18th-century western European literature.
If you celebrate Xmas, befriend me (538
My Bartender's Acedemy degree has gotten me much more tail than my EE degree.
CS + Archeology!
You can then get a job studying old XT, DRAGON-32 and COMMODORE-64 machines...
Make even shorter URLs - 8LN.org
I spent three years in the Army and I love my nice indoor programming job. Even if I am having to spend time this week debugging three year old uncommented VBA programs when I don't know VB Script.
Best Slashdot Co
Can I borrow your tinning kit for a second? This wumpus corpse isn't getting any fresher!
Three Step Plan:
1. Take over the world.
2. Get a lot of cookies.
3. Eat the cookies.
Just get a girlfriend, marry her, knock her up and wait 9 months. CS will look pretty darn good then.
Heh. Before that hit alt.sysadmin.recovery. It should scare you away; wish I'd seen it.
"Remember, any tool can be the right tool." -- Red Green
If religion were a science, standardized testing for the existance of a god would instantly demonstrate no gods (or other supernatural forces) exist.
So, religion, to continue to exist, would have to propose that God deliberately hides whenever we look, and that would make religion look very dopey.
Oh, wait a minute.
Nevermind.
I am for the complete Trantorization of Earth.
Very good advice, but I'd like to add that one shouldn't just look for any coop or internship. Find something interesting.
I did a coop for a Department of Defense contracter. Writing code for sonar/radar targetting systems is a lot more satisfying then writing yet another web backend (e.g.: contrast "Congratulations - you've just completeled your first succesful web transaction" with "Congratulations - you've just detected, identified, and tracked your very first Russian Tango.")
All editorial writers ever do is come down from the hill after the battle is over and shoot the wounded.
I had the same problem. I went to Nevada and spent a weekend getting as much poontang as I could afford, with no strings attached. When I came back I was ready to get back to work.
--
Mabelode the Faceless
Is that a game about dead potatoes?
They are called girls. Thats what Lisa from The Simpsons is. A girl. They are soft, sometimes nice, and have boobies. Boobies are good. Once you've discovered girls (one may even be your Pascal teacher!), you should persue them. For years you won't even be able to build up the courage to do anything other than puke on them, or maybe drool and stutter uncontrollably, but eventually you may get the courage to ask one out. After another few years of that, assuming you haven't slit your wrists from the pain of rejection, one may even say yes! Even though it'll most likely be out of pity, you too may get a shot at boobi... i mean girls. Yes girls, recompiling your kernel for the 8millionth time may be fun, but nothing beats girls! Or trolling on /. ... but the hour is late, and that is a different tale ...