

Ask HN: About to start CS degree, any tips? - jlt

Hi guys!<p>So I&#x27;m about to start my CS degree in September, and I&#x27;m wondering if there was anything I should know?<p>I&#x27;ve been writing software for about 6 years already, and am pretty competent.<p>Thanks,<p>Josh
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bsmartt
Take public speaking. And don't slide by, ace it.

Use your elective credits to soak up business, finance, marketing, etc.
classes.

Start working with web frameworks (django, rails, node) before you graduate.

Hit up those conferences while you can, most offer student discounts. This is
a good way to explore the different sectors of the software development world.
You can walk around the vendors areas and talk to recruiters at most companies
this way, and you can often find engineers who will be happy to kill a few
minutes talking about their company culture, etc.

Google Summer of code.

Get involved in open source communities, who always need volunteers. This can
be a good segway into getting your hands dirty and contributing.

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erbdex
"Here are Joel's Seven Pieces of Free Advice for Computer Science College
Students:

    
    
        1. Learn how to write before graduating.
        2. Learn C before graduating.
        3. Learn microeconomics before graduating.
        4. Don't blow off non-CS classes just because they're boring.
        5. Take programming-intensive courses.
        6. Stop worrying about all the jobs going to India.
        7. No matter what you do, get a good summer internship."
    
    

Src-
[http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/CollegeAdvice.html](http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/CollegeAdvice.html)

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arh68
Find the best professors and take all of their classes. Set your sights on the
400-levels.

It's _not_ a race to the end.

The CS courses cross-listed as SOC, ECON, etc will tend to be interesting.
There will be Linguistics majors in NLP.

Keep reading RFCs.

Keep all your code _private_ , on a remote server, and _version-controlled_.

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iends
Double major in a non-CS degree.

~~~
bsmartt
Do you really think this is universally good advice?

~~~
iends
Almost always.

If you're CS program that was like mine you were in a program that is full of
guys who largely wanted to build computer games. Diversity of relationships is
very important, especially in college. Adding a second major (math, econ,
history, etc) will give you this diversity and will also give you a different
perspective on certain industries.

If the OP has been programming for 6 years, then a CS degree will not be
challenging at his average state school.

