
Ask HN: Beyond internships, what should a CS major focus on? - intern-forever
Hi I am a college student. Who&#x27;s kind of at a loss what to focus on next.
By the end of January, I will have finished four internship (2 at big 4&#x27;s) and a month long externship. In addition, I will have spent a year TAing and also have strong GPA. Okay, finished with humble brag. I am a dick.
In short, by most accounts on this sub, I am in a good position. However, between January 2017 and when I graduate in May 2018, I am at a loss for what the most fruitful thing to focus on is.<p>As a rather risk averse individual, going for gold with my own startup is not in the near horizon, nor is grinding away in academia for pennies.<p>This leaves me with the options of:<p>0) Graduating sooner<p>1) Trying to climb up the prestige ladder and work at a hedge fund<p>2) Freelancing while in school and also publishing mobile and web apps on the app store<p>3) Developing a tangential skill set like perhaps design that may be useful later<p>5) Starting a sustainable business that I can convert into a side business post graduation.<p>6) Something else?<p>Option one, I am against because next year will be my last chance at being a college kid. Option two, seems rather crass and well lifeless. The other options, I am unsure.<p>Definitely, I am thankful to be in this position. However, my biggest fear right now, is that I will look back two years from now, and shudder at how narrow minded I was.<p>For those who have been in similar positions, do you have any suggestions for how I should proceed next.
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brudgers
Curious what you _want_ to do?

By which I mean none of the options have much of anything to do with Computer
Science...the closest is building apps. It's also the second most concrete
after graduating sooner.

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intern-forever
Hmm... Interesting observation.

Honestly, a little unsure what I want to do next. Up until now, there has been
a clear agenda of 1) get to college -> 2) do well in college -> 3) get
experience so you can get good job.

My professional goal after graduation is to operate a side business while I
working full time. It seems that college is the best time to foster that.
However, somewhat unsure how to broach that.

