
Ask HN: What software engineering space should I get into? - bernardino
Brief background: I&#x27;m a second year college student. I&#x27;ve built small programs&#x2F;applications in class, used algorithms extensively, learned about data structures, discrete structures, etc. My school&#x27;s undergraduate lower division courses encompass C++ and Python. Thus, I&#x27;m only comfortable with the latter languages but I think now it&#x27;s only a matter of learning the syntax if I wish to know a language. Outside of class, I&#x27;ve also built a few small applications&#x2F;programs using Rails, Ruby, RSpec, Python, etc.<p>Writing small programs&#x2F;applications for particular academic problem sets are fun in their own way but not entirely exciting. Side projects are particularly more exciting than academic projects, but I have yet to find a space that grabs me. From surfing the web, front-end software engineering seems fairly spectacular (given that I love design and dictating what constitutes &#x27;good&#x27; design). Though I&#x27;m unsure whether the latter space will see significant growth in the future. I have also briefly looked into machine learning&#x2F;artificial intelligence engineering but not extensively thus I have yet to personally find it as a great space (though I am aware it will have significant growth in the near future). But above all, I currently use my computer 3&#x2F;4&#x27;s of the day for the majority of the week, and I am particularly not fond of it. I&#x27;ve then thought of looking into product management, but that&#x27;s a slightly different ball-game (would you recommend?).<p>I have also looked at potential companies, and the list I have compiled are mostly product studios (one where they primarily build products for clients but also builds their own ventures). The latter seeming refreshing because every quarter or so, you have a new product to build and deciding how build and the design factors that come into are intriguing.<p>I suppose what I am looking for is:
- Something fairly exciting
- In significant demand
- Has significant growth in the future (5-10 years)
- Has great pay<p>To the question: What software engineering space should I get into? I know a lot of variables come into play with choosing a software engineering space, particularly one&#x27;s likes and dislikes and it really comes down to that, but otherwise: What software engineering space would you recommend? What is particularly exciting about your space? What is not exciting about your space? Is it something you see yourself doing for years to come? Is there some other space you wish you could get into?<p>Any other advice related to my position is welcome!
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perfmode
A few things I find interesting:

* databases and data management

* distributed systems

* implications of the finiteness of the speed of light

* protocols

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jetti
I would second distributed systems. I regret not taking more classes on the
subject in grad school.

