is computer science a good choice for a degree?
 

thinking of selecting computer science degree, is this a good choice?

Yes it is. It is very valuable in the workforce today. Very good pay and lots of opportunities.

But need to note that the learning curve is very steep. Also these days it is very difficult to get in the course unlike 5 years ago

would it still be a good course after graduation? one professor says it's brick laying with enough labour supply liao down the road

Computing grads last year and the year before are highly sought after. But the market may change 4 years later and become overly saturated. Because this is one of the hottest courses now and likely to produce many computing grads. In the early 2010s it isnt so popular.

There's going to be a glut of CS graduates in the future especially since the universities are expanding like crazy just to profit.

No government regulation to control the intakes at all. Enter at your own risk.

Only the best of the best earn top salaries, making it no different from any other degree.

In fact, if you're mediocre, you'll probably get below average pay.

it is a good choice, if not the best bachelor degree to have today.
Software engineers are high in demand, tech companies and startup pay extremely well.
The average grad also get paid higher than other industries average grad

outside of gov and unprofitable startups, where else can one earn decently?

also how many can stay relevant after 20 yrs?

Software engineers is starting high pay, but studies show that it stagnant after 10 years, as experience is not valued beyond that amount of time. Compared to other professions that are rewarded as one gets more senior.

Choose your career wisely.

looks like much non-software engineer here giving false information & I am hoping to clear things up. I am a software engineer myself and I daresay the prospect is extremely good. Of course, if you are an average engineer, you won't get far.

Let's just face it, most Singaporean are non-technical people. They don't know how the tech industry is like, with a typical traditional mindset thinking business/law/doctor is still the hot stuff. Top-paying companies? they are all involved in the tech field (google, facebook, amazon, and so on.) They all have one thing in common, they value talented engineers the most over other roles. Don't even need to bring up how much they are paying (excluding other benefits like rsu that they hardly offer to other roles)

Startup? most are tech-driven and they are the most important roles. Just take a look at your daily life. Lazada, Shopee, Grab, Deliveroo, Carousell (can they even function without an App...?)
I can hardly imagine any companies to be successful nowadays without being tech-driven.

If you are good, don't even need to work for as long as 20 years. Software engineers have their leveling in most companies, so the advancement is always there. A simple job search on Linkedin also shows that most postings are related to software engineering.

why does the prime minister family have so many computer science graduates if it doesn't have a good prospect?

How easy is it to get a job in the US with a non-technical background? Computer Science background with H1B1 visa will give you an edge

I have been a software engineer for 12 years and I can tell you that there is clear ageism in the industry. Why 10 years is the peak is because technology changes about once every 5-6 years. So any experience beyond that is not worth paying the extra.

This is unlike say a doctor, whose value increases through the years. You can go online to look at salary surveys done by companies. Look at how age correlates with salary and you can see it affects a lot for software engineers.

Yes there are people earning 300k in silicon valley, but I'm just referring to SG scene. People are less ageist over there.


Last thing to think about, would you pay top dollar for a 40 plus year old software engineer? How about paying top dollar for a 40 year old doctor?

You know the answer.

Software engineering has always been seen as a young man thing. Even Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview "Young people are smarter". This gives an idea of the thinking of executives in the industry.

Plan for the long term.

I graduated with nus computer science degree years ago, best choice in my life
Go for it if you have the passion, not just about the salary. won't have trouble finding jobs at all even with the ongoing crisis

It is the best option nowadays and there are no other degrees that are better than a computer science degree and it will stay the same for like 3 years or more. The thing is that once you have completed the computer science course you are ready to apply to any country in the world for an internship. I worked at a lot of companies when I was achieving the experience and now I work at s://.generationix.com/los-angeles-managed-it-services/ and I am very happy with that. The thing is that when you start you get a low salary and every half of the year you get a good raise in your salary and that is awesome. You can easily earn more than 3000 Usd per month working as a developer.

Sorry for two comments, I forgot to log in to my account.

It is the best option nowadays and there are no other degrees that are better than a computer science degree and it will stay the same for like 3 years or more. The thing is that once you have completed the computer science course you are ready to apply to any country in the world for an internship. I worked at a lot of companies when I was achieving the experience and now I work at https://www.generationix.com/los-angeles-managed-it-services/ and I am very happy with that. The thing is that when you start you get a low salary and every half of the year you get a good raise in your salary and that is awesome. You can easily earn more than 3000 Usd per month working as a developer.

Make sure you have at least some decent level of interest in CS first. Too many people flooding CS for the $$$. You need to be able to stand out among the fluff.

If by 40 plus years u still stuck as a software engineer, then don't blame the industry... blame yourself.

If you don't know how to make use of ur experience to command higher pay, then don't blame the industry... blame yourself.

If you refuse to upgrade yourself, stay ahead of the trend every 5-6 years, then don't blame the industry... blame yourself.

If you don't know how to fact check that statement by zuckerberg and pidgeonhole yourself into that train of thought, then don't blame the industry... blame yourself.

Take computer engineering if u are that worried.

Systems programming (think IOT controllers,your monitor firmware) is always needed and the people who learn comp science arent equipped to deal with that.

The people who knows about these are all from a dinosaur generation and going to retire soon....

This. 40 plus local techies are from just after the dot com burst where CS is a dumping ground

I see a lot of people on reddit and this forum saying they regret not studying CS. As a CS grad these are some things I wish I knew.
- Not sure if these people know that getting into top companies requires serious Leetcode grinding. We are talking like 3 - 6 months outside of school/work studying something that has no relation to your job, and this doesn't even guarantee passing the interview.
- In SG, the offices of big tech companies (Google, FB ...) are mainly ops and sales departments. There is little SWE headcount, so getting in is quite tough.
- As many people have already mentioned, SWE must be prepared to learn things on their own accord. You commonly hear of people learning things that interest them after work and maybe working on pet projects. So if you are someone that just likes to cruise through, it can be done but you may be falling behind your peers.
I would say CS is worth it if you like coding and enjoy building things/solving problems. If you like finding out things on your own, learning more on your own accord, then CS is for you.

computer science
 

computer science degree is very high demand degree now and in coming years .
for [url=s://allsafeit.com/it-consulting-in-los-angeles]it support[/ Jobs and other jobs this degree is very important.

computer science
 

computer science degree is very high demand degree now and in coming years .
for [url=s://allsafeit.com/it-consulting-in-los-angeles]it support[/ Jobs and other jobs this degree is very important.

NUS, NTU comp sci very in demand and valuable degree. But tough to get in. If you don't make the cut, go for standard biz degree.

Private uni comp sci, like every other private degree, is utterly useless and only serves to relegate you to the lower class of society.

You don't wanna be a SIM doggy getting abused by NUS superiors, do you? Lol.

#simdegreesmatter

I also think there's alot of misconception surrounding the tech landscape in sg, esp from those not in the industry. We are not discriminated for their age, in fact experience are valuable here, provided u are keen to keep up to date with tech and know ur worth. It's an extremely rewarding and lucrative field only when u enjoy doing it, I guess this also apply to all other professions. Hope this helps :)

anyone working for fortinet knows whether it is a good company?

It's great, and job prospects are good initially at the start with great salary.

But after graduation, looking into the mid or long term, you will realize progression for comp sci students really stagnates.

huh, whats this all about?

Crazy high salaries for CS graduates. Prof Ben Leong (NUS) recently made a public post on his Facebook:

"I do an annual salary survey with my ex-students working in the top tech companies (they are mostly in the US, some are in Singapore). Not all my ex-students will respond but I generally get ~50 responses. The median data point is L5 engineer drawing roughly ~$300-400K p.a. They represent the most "successful" CS students holding what are likely the highest paying jobs in the industry."

s://.facebook.com/benlwl/posts/10161643230827166

If don't mine taking the course. a couple need not have to wait for bto. straight can apply for a small pte apt within 4 years after graduation in their late twenties. Also can retire in early fifties comfortably. Really good choice!

But if u hate the job, u suffer for life.

Take if you don't mine the job. If lost interest can always change role whereas the same may not be feasible for some other disciplines.

I'm one of those folks in a FAANG company graduated from local u. Graduated around ten years back when it was a dumping ground. I love computers and technology. I make 400k sgd a year.

If you have passion and interests, go for it. Try out some basic online courses to see if it is something of an interest. Never know when Cs become dumping ground again.

good choice maybe 3-4 years ago.

now? not so much, its overly saturated and the job market is hiring TALENTS or mid - senior devs, not average fresh grads.

so unless you're going into NUS / NTU , can get almost perfect GPA average and intern at FAANG for 2 semesters , dont bother.

when u come out u'll work at some garbage tech site pulling 3.2 to 4.6 k while your friends are all pulling 6-7k.

if ure from SIM , dont bother also lmao ask anyone working in large tech companies, ask them to check their slacks or teams or whatever messaging app they use . got anyone itro themselves saying "Hi I from SIM" ? nope, not a single one.

All NTU / NUS / SMU / SUTD / SIT.

Yea SIM grads have it a little tougher. I tried to refer my friend (studies some tech related degree in SIM, 1st class) directly to my boss but s/he wouldn’t even consider him for an internship not to say an interview.

My friend told me big O notation wasn’t taught in school and he doesn’t know any sorting algorithm by heart without googling them. He told me in his studies he just copy & paste can work can already. (O.O) At least I still see potential in him as he loves learning. Just that the gap can be a little big..

Wrong question. It should be, are you interested in computer science enough to make a living for the long term? And define what is 'good'? Ur good means....$$$? Prestige? Social standing? Fulfilling your life purpose?

Every degree is a good degree because they are there due to demand and supply forces in the SG market, and there will be exceptional talents in every field, even hawkers:)

I have an IT diploma and it is good but it is useless to me...

Tech, while it seems rosy now, is cyclical.

Few years down the road, there will be oversupply of tech graduates.

MNC for local uni grads, SME for private uni grads. :(

Hard truths. :(

not sure if SME even wants private uni grads

not trying to **** on them but some of them legit CMI. Like gurlsintech said, copy paste, dunno sorting algorithm, etc.

some of the private uni kids i met cant even ****ing do 3 different variations of loop. wtf how ? ask for simple fizz buzz also cannot... wtf jialat

wah sad ehh, degree wasted.

All wanna be swe and not interested to try other roles haha

yup 100%

dunno why people even bother with private unis for tech. waste money.

private uni for finance / business makes sense. those fields dont change that much... companies are quite lenient in hiring private uni students.

but for tech? 99% 0 chance, especially in Singapore. if in the US then maybe, since US have bootcamp people getting into FAANG with no CS degree but in Singapore? no such thing.

Sg has higher standard for CS grad Becos there are limited GOOD positions , I mean those large tech /MNC positions not some small firm who need a tech staff. But now everyone eyeing this cake, more and more CS students each batch in recent years just driving up the competition

Also there are competitions from top graduates in China, other SEA countries, scholar studied in US/UK

I would still say CS is a good degree cos it can land u a job in the current trend for technology company success. But 10 years down the road when there are surplus of supplies of talented CS skilled workers, u need to start worrying for graduates replacing u at any moment