Frustrated computer science student

[SuperSusanoo]

Hello people,

I am currently a computer science student and I think that what I am doing is not making any sense. Everyday I wake up and go to a class that doesn't make any sense to me. I study just to pass a foolish exam. That's not learning. That's not life. The reason why I chose computer science is because when I start programming, I lose the notion of time. I don't really know anything about software development, but I feel that I like it because even if I have to program a very simple thing in html, I can't stop doing it until it's done. I have never been able to understand what the teacher explains even since kinder-garden. I don't know if my mind gets distracted when I don't understand an idea. What should I do?. My grades are very good, but I just realized grades are not enough.

 

[Drakkith]

I have never been able to understand what the teacher explains even since kinder-garden.

Can you elaborate a bit on this? How have you been able to get to where you are without understanding what you've been taught? When you're given a goal, such as to write a piece of software or bit of code to perform a certain task, can you write it? Do you understand why it works the way it works?

 

[Mark44]

I am currently a computer science student and I think that what I am doing is not making any sense. Everyday I wake up and go to a class that doesn't make any sense to me. I study just to pass a foolish exam

Based on a couple of threads you started, but not knowing anything else about you, I would guess that you're in a computer science class, but haven't had the prerequisite classes (if any). What is your background in programming? You mentioned doing something in HTML, but that's not a very good preparation for a class that deals with writing a compiler or in writing MIPS assembly code.

You said you have very good grades, so you must be doing something right.

 

[Dr. Courtney]

Hello people,

I am currently a computer science student and I think that what I am doing is not making any sense. Everyday I wake up and go to a class that doesn't make any sense to me. I study just to pass a foolish exam. That's not learning. That's not life. The reason why I chose computer science is because when I start programming, I lose the notion of time. I don't really know anything about software development, but I feel that I like it because even if I have to program a very simple thing in html, I can't stop doing it until it's done. I have never been able to understand what the teacher explains even since kinder-garden. I don't know if my mind gets distracted when I don't understand an idea. What should I do?. My grades are very good, but I just realized grades are not enough.

Stick with it. There is a lot of drudgery in any major. Trust your profs. There really is something you need to learn through the drudgery. I would worry more about your future if your profs made it fun and interesting all the time.

You seem like you have the gift and the passion. At some point, the light will go on, and it will all make more sense.

For me, the light went on when I read Bjarne Stroustrup's book on "The C++ Programming Language." Even though I never programmed in C++ professionally, he taught me a lot about software design, prototyping, and planning not just for the first release of a program, but for the whole lifespan of a project. Even though my PhD is in Physics, my first two engineering jobs relied heavily on my programming skills. My passion for good, well tested code and the lessons I learned from Bjarne paid big dividends.