
Ask HN: Double Major CS/Math or Single CS Major? - coreyja
I am going to be a Freshman in college next year attending Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. I figured out that if I just do a Single Major in Computer Science I can probably graduate in three years. To do a Double Major with Computer Science and Math it would take another year and almost $50,000. Either way I will also be getting a minor in Economics. Do people think the Double Major is worth it in terms of getting a good job out of college and differentiating myself from other people?<p>I want to work in the computer software industry. Not exactly sure on what, just yet.<p>Thanks!
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jamesbrewer
I'll share something with you that I've only recently come to understand:
Unless you're really interested in both subjects then double majors aren't
worth the time and sweat you put into them. The fact is that the double major
MIGHT give you a slight advantage when it comes to getting an interview, but
after you have a year or two of experience under your belt your double major
won't matter much at all. Software companies want people who can get things
done, not people who can take more technical courses than any human should.

I was considering a double major in Applied Math and Computer Science but I've
recently decided to go a similar, but different route. Instead of taking all
of the Applied Math courses that I don't foresee myself using, like Partial
Differential Equations and Numerical Methods for Differential Equations, I
will be picking up a few math courses that I actually WANT to take, like
Probability Theory and Stochastic Processes.

Take courses you want to take. Take courses that will help you in the long
run. If you don't get a double major, then so what? Just go build something
awesome and you'll get a job no problem.

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fmw
A large part of our industry is self-taught. You don't need a specific degree
to get a good job - or even a degree at all. Some bigger companies are a bit
more formal (e.g. Google, Microsoft) and prefer hiring graduates, but even
they look at merit before academic background. There are some jobs that
benefit from academic experience, e.g. being a quant on Wall Street, but math
or physics is a lot more useful for that than CS. If want to work in a field
like that (or want to keep your options open) I'd recommend doing the double
major or alternatively just major in math, while polishing your CS skills by
working on open source software and maybe a few CS courses.

Getting a job out of college or differentiating yourself shouldn't be the
prime motivator for this decision (if considered at all). Whichever way you
graduate, you will be fine. It isn't like you're trying to decide between
majoring in pottery class at a community college and going to med school.
Future employers will be a lot more impressed by the depth of your
understanding of your field than how many classes you took and the extra
curricular activities are even more important (e.g. open source, internships,
personal projects).

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rguzman
Math is probably the hardest thing you can study. You should do it if you can
do so without hurting your grades. It will broaden your intellectual horizons.

As a practical skill, however, math ain't all that much. Learning how to write
and communicate well and how to make people like you (i.e. social skills) are
far more important in just about any industry (software included).

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brudgers
If you have excellent academic credentials math or computer science you can
get a good job out of college - having a double major might give you a slight
edge in some settings if you have excellent credentials in both - but good
credentials in both is not as good as excellent credentials in one or the
other.

I will add that other than for personal interest a minor in the dismal science
probably won't make your resume stand pop out of the stack in the way in which
a minor in something like art, english or philosophy will - those are the
one's which make people think, "at least the interview might be interesting."

Finally, the stronger your math skills the more options your education will
provide over the course of a technical career.

Good luck.

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impendia
I faced the opposite decision... a double major in math and CS or just the
math major, and decided to do only the math major. It was the best decision of
my college career. But I still took the upper level CS courses that interested
me! So drop the math major, but learn Galois theory (or whatever) anyway.

That said, I don't recommend graduating in three unless for economic reasons
you have to. If you can, take the fourth -- study abroad is awesome, as others
suggested -- it is also a great chance to take advanced courses in other
disciplines. I took an upper-level philosophy course, it was _hard_ and I
learned a ton.

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dmazin
I'm a junior in applied math, and I'm noticing that a whole lot of my fellow
applied math majors are also computer science majors. I've also seen that lots
of the professors who let undergraduates do research look for experience with
C or R. I should be learning programming if I want to go to grad school,
shouldn't I?

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wallflower
I would argue that social skills are more important than a double major.
Consider doing a year abroad? Good luck, some of the people you meet will
become lifelong friends.

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coreyja
Ya I had thought about doing a year abroad but realized I wouldn't be able to
with doing a Double Major. I hadn't thought about how I could do a year abroad
with the Single Major and not have to worry about which classes to take.

I had thought of going to Singapore as a really cool place to study abroad.
Any other suggestions?

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barry-cotter
Don't pay 50 grand to spend a year abroad. Do whatever degree you decide to do
as fast as humanly possible and then either start your working life, go to
grad school, be a bum for a year, or volunteer someplace.

Also, all of those people talking to you about social skills and college,
ignore them. Spending three or four years getting older, making mistakes and
doing stuff _will_ make your social skills better. Deliberately making your
social skills better works _much, much faster_ and can be done anytime, though
I must admit college is an easy time to do it.

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NonEUCitizen
Agreed re: not paying 50K to spend a year abroad. Software developers are in
high demand -- find a job abroad so you get paid to learn a new culture.

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jlmendezbonini
My first thought was to recommend the double major because I believe that a
stronger math background opens a lot of doors, specially in the software
industry. Now, considering your last statement and the fact that you also have
a minor in economics I'd say you're better off saving those 50K and extra
year. Getting involve in open source projects it's a much better strategy to
differentiate yourself that getting a minor/major, at least in the software
industry.

Good luck!

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coreyja
I believe that I will have a strong enough background in math just with the CS
curriculum that my school offers and the double major was really just to set
me apart and in part because I enjoy math.

Do you think that your economics minor has benefited you? Are you in the
software industry?

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mwerty
Not having a math degree will impact you later if you want to get into grad
school in math/financial math. If you are pretty sure you are going into
software, ditch the math degree.

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sga
I'd suggest a Comp. Sci. and Statistics combination.

