is computer science a good choice for a degree?

[sg1234]

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

Originally Posted by sg1234

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

Originally Posted by Unregistered

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

Originally Posted by Unregistered

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?

[Headengineer]

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

[Headengineer]

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.