

Ask HN: Finishing science program - should I switch to programming? - tmp_git_111204

I'm mid-20s and finishing my undergrad ("hard" science) soon at a half-decent school.  However, I'm ambivalent about continuing on as I'm not sure I have much to offer as a graduate student in my field.  ("Good, he did not have enough imagination to become a mathematician" - David Hilbert).<p>This, and reading threads like https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3310355,  leaves me worrying that in a few months I'll be just another science grad with no career path.  I like CS but I feel that my skills (a mixture of pure and applied math, physics, a little CS, and stats) aren't really valuable to anyone and I don't know what to do to change that.<p>I've tried several times to learn web programming, but haven't managed to get deeply into it after encountering too much framework magic, or too much language ugliness (I like Lisps and ilk, but where are the mature, understandable web stacks to learn from?), or feeling that I'm dishearteningly far from understanding how a full-size interactive web site really functions.  At the same time I don't even know if this is something I want to do - maybe I'm too perfectionist or thin-skinned or something, but maybe it's not a field where I can really do contribute something worthwhile - I have no idea.  I thought about something more mathematical like machine learning or something more systems-oriented but again don't think I can develop useful facility in these areas during the next semester or so.<p>So apparently I don't really know what I'm asking.  As it stands, maybe I have the wrong mindset for programming (see above) - but should I try to do something more 'academic' (like try to get into a CS or stats grad program) or what?  Should I just try to be more obsessive/less perfectionist or is programming the wrong choice?  What about in the short term?<p>Thanks!
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thejteam
Perhaps instead of asking whether or not you want to do programming, ask what
industry interests you. A general science background should do you a lot of
good, especially if you can also write and speak intelligently. Being able to
write software is an added bonus that should make you more effective.

I personally can't stand web programming either. Although most startups you
read about here are web companies, the world is much larger than that. I write
simulation software. Other people do business applications. Some people work
in finance and some work in defense.

If you are concerned that your skills do not directly translate to an industry
or you are having a hard time getting hired, try finding the smaller(not
necessarily startup) companies in your industry. I have found that it is much
easier for somebody with more general technical skills to get hired at a
smaller place.

Hope this helps and good luck.

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TheRealmccoy
Whatever you do in future,but learning to program is a very good plan.

After 10.5 years in Sales and at 34 years of age, I am learning it now.

Trust me, you would never regret this decision of yours.

Good luck!!!

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mapster
Take a wait and see attitude for now. Work in your field and get a sense of
the opportunities. In ecology one runs into programming (models, data
analysis, etc.) quite often.

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hendrix
I'm in a rather similar situation (23/m/just finished Molecular
Biology/Business degree). Personally, I'm still interested in the life
sciences, but the flexibility and salary of for-profit business is much more
attractive than the academic career. So I started teaching myself
C++/Java/perl while looking for jobs.

There are many applications of CS, have you thought about Finance (quant or
operations/bioinformatics/defense industry (if you are a usa citizen)....

