Is studying CS worth it anymore?
Posted by usaiq@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 51 comments
I am starting Uni in Computer Science in September and I was really exited when I received my unconditional offer in a good uni. But after all the layoffs in the tech industry and all the AI replacing job, is it even worth it to study CS anymore? Is there anyone in a smiliar situation? Can I work in another industry with a CS degree?
EyeAware3519@reddit
If I were in my 20s now I would be learning a trade.
usaiq@reddit (OP)
What trade?
Ok-Blackberry-3534@reddit
Electrical engineering.
OldGodsAndNew@reddit
The power industry is exploding at the moment. I have job offers coming out of my ears and I don't even do anything particularly interesting or massively clever, just know how a substation works
MegaM1lls@reddit
I don’t work in power but have always been curious, I work in food industry mechanical/electrical, do you reckon it would be hard to switch? Kind of fed up with the factory environment where you’ve got to suck arse to get anywhere, been out of my time for 8 years and got to the point of wondering if the grass is greener
EyeAware3519@reddit
Installing heat pumps, EV chargers, solar panels or whatever the new tech the government are pushing. Get the required certs, set up your own company and you'll be shitting money.
Or if you want to work for a company maybe get into installing wind farms or something.
CS is dead. I've been fortunate enough to have a 30 year career in it but I'll be moving on to something else when my current contract ends.
Acceptable-Split6348@reddit
lol no it isn't. It's still ridiculously lucrative for the amount of responsibility and effort.
Due-Presentation4344@reddit
Become a plumber or electrician.
usaiq@reddit (OP)
I've been thinking about that tbh
New-Process-52@reddit
Get an ai cerrifcate
Xemorr@reddit
Study what you want to study, work hard. Don't be put off by others.
BoopingBurrito@reddit
All industries go in cycles. Right now tech at the dry end of the cycle, in a few years it'll be much more fluid again. The industry will adapt to the disruption of AI, companies will figure out to what extent AI can actually replace staff vs multiply their capabilities, and also to what extent it causes major fuck ups that cost them more money than the AI has saved them.
That having been said you ask the right question -
Yes, you absolutely can. And, in fact, you'll be quite popular because you'll at least partially understand the technology that likely underpins whatever business you're working for. Or you'll be better able to speak to clients/customers/the public about technology related stuff.
rjm101@reddit
Any job that is primarily on a screen is being disrupted so just be aware and it's true what others have said most of the time I'm just providing instructions to claude and telling it to do things differently if it looks like crappy code these days. Hand coding is dying big time and by the time you finish that degree the landscape would also likely be very different. Considering the rate of change happening at the moment I would consider an apprenticeship more valuable. Your skills will stay up to date and you'll have loads of commercial experience by the end of it.
Don't think its too late to change courses by the way. In my first year of uni I saw many people switch up.
Consider dentistry, we need lots of those and it seems to pay relatively well and I don't see how AI can replace that ever.
DLNN_DanGamer@reddit
I mean, if you want to go down the "if you can't beat em, join em" approach, AI requires computer scientists to exist, to progress and for their maintenance.
Wishmaster891@reddit
i like that analogy
Leather-Positive1153@reddit
Don't listen to all the doomers here, if you're passionate about CS study it absolutely. The market goes up and down and its been pretty poor due to over-hiring in covid and other factors at play, but there will be periods where it will go up again.
bracken43@reddit
I’m about to graduate with my CS degree at a good Uni in the summer - so much of the entire subject has changed exponentially in those 4 years, it’s a different world to when I started the course, and half of what I’ve learned feels quite frankly useless tbh.
If I was just starting now, I would 100% skip Uni and go straight into learning a trade or do some apprenticeship. Unless of course you’re really interested in Computer Science.
itsthecat1120@reddit
out of interest did you secure a grad job?
bracken43@reddit
No, basically just been pushing through this year to get it done but I'm disheartened by the general state of things and don't really even want to work in this industry. I'm doing fine and projected to get a First, but I likely won't use the degree in the way I anticipated when I started, prospects seemed a lot better 4 years ago lol.
Not to say it's all doom and gloom but this is just me personally, as I said someone that truly wants to do CS shouldn't be put off going for it
itsthecat1120@reddit
I am a business computing student in final year, I have been focussing on finishing this last term and trying to get a good grade on my disseration. However, I have had trouble landing grad schemes and internships so I was just asking to see how others are doing.
bracken43@reddit
Yeah, it’s not an easy time rn for graduates. The degree will always be useful in some capacity but who knows where we’ll actually end up afterwards 🤷♂️
I’m currently cramming the last few thousand words of my diss tonight and tomorrow so that’s all I’m thinks about rn lmao, best of luck to you
itsthecat1120@reddit
Thank you bro, have a good day and good luck to you:)
kcon123@reddit
If I could do it all over again I would have done something like medicine, dentistry or vetinary.
A career that actually requires professional certifications, is gate kept and has reasonable job security.
Prestigious_Emu6039@reddit
Been in software dev for 30 years.
The higher up the chain you are, the safer you are.
usaiq@reddit (OP)
But I would be in a graduate job after I finish uni
TJTheGamer1@reddit
Speaking as a post grad myself, the job market is ruinous. I'm afraid to tell you any industry is going to suck getting into.
usaiq@reddit (OP)
So you are saying I am cooked if I study anything?
TJTheGamer1@reddit
No, i just saying its going to be tough. The job market is capricious and a degree isnt a garuntee of getting a job, its pretty much just the ticket to get your foot in the door.
Extracarricular experience and connections are going to be very important.
spartan0746@reddit
The reality is you don’t know what the job market will be like in 3/4 years. The market now feels the same as it did to me when I left uni in 2013, if anything it was worse then with a higher unemployment rate.
You have to do your best to get into a good position.
All the interns we had at our company found good roles after graduating as they put effort in beyond their degree; societies, internships, courses and projects.
It’s just not easy mode like it was right after Covid, it’s going back to a more normal market.
spartan0746@reddit
What is your degree in?
Kudosnotkang@reddit
That’s the spirit
Prestigious_Emu6039@reddit
There is a lot of work out there, but also a lot of devs.
The way to move in this, and other similar industries, is to try and work up early by moving jobs frequently as you negotiate based on previous salary. Staying at one place sees you locked into their pay structure.
Due-Presentation4344@reddit
AI is going to (and already is) remove the majority entry level roles.
Prestigious_Emu6039@reddit
In my company no, it's a tool only, we have human Devs.
TheUserHasNoName1@reddit
Yeah ours too. From our experience so far, AI is a useful, and sometimes very powerful tool, but it isn't a magic button that will render developers pointless.
It's still important to have capable developers who understand the languages and systems they are working on, and they can harness AI to it's fullest to help them with tasks.
AI isn't going to replace developers, but developers who use AI will do more than developers who don't is what our takeaway has been.
cardboard-collector@reddit
Yeah our shit devs are still shit (maybe even more so) with AI.
It still needs someone with scalable thinking to ensure the output is decent
Due-Presentation4344@reddit
Totally agree - but avoided hiring for 12 months as we had planned. Our developers are making good use of cursor.
TheUserHasNoName1@reddit
Interesting that Cursor is your guys choice. We recently had a couple people to each of Cursor, Claude, Codex, and Copilot. And cursor was actually the first to be taken out of consideration for us as the people using it didn't enjoy it. And when they switched to Claude they found it much better (ignoring the current issues with Claude usages)
Due-Presentation4344@reddit
In fairness we haven’t revisited alternatives for some time. It’s probably a case of having used and stuck with it. I know from SLT meetings they’re far more efficient than previous though.
I manage a department of ERP consultants so I only work with developers on scope and projects. My guys use Chat GPT.
Thomas5020@reddit
Wouldn't dare. UK is pretty dead for CS/IT outside of London as it is, and that's forgetting the rise of automation, AI and continued outsourcing.
No_Chemist2922@reddit
CS will never go out of style with the infinite possibilities in the industry, there's so much to do and AI will only serve as a tool to extend your skillset instead of replacing you.
It's getting very competitive, but even the average CS grad can do relatively well compared to other professions.
supremethinking@reddit
Yo bro im in the same situation its between CS, software engineering, and electrical engineering. Its really hard to choose as CS job market it cooked. Aerospace etc doesn't pay good in UK.
boringfantasy@reddit
It’s probably over, yes. Learn a trade, law or medicine. If you can’t switch easily then maybe do embedded software engineering. But that’s also being decimated by Claude.
Teembeau@reddit
What do you want to do? Honestly, to build systems, a lot of the CS theory is a waste of time now. I learned how file systems and disk drives and the fetch-execute cycle works, and if you're building almost any software you are about 3 layers above that.
I liken it to chefs. They need to know what cheese is used for what. They don't need to know how to make cheese, and they don't need to know how to milk cows.
Cool-Raspberry-8963@reddit
Yes you can work in most industries with your degree. Once you have a degree you can apply for a 'graduate scheme'. They normally accept any subject, typically you need a 2.1 for the majority of schemes. Have a read of The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers Guide, has lots of information about the top graduate schemes and all the different options out there.
blenderider@reddit
https://www.ft.com/content/7325e967-5f4e-40b1-af3f-7d2351781843?syn-25a6b1a6=1
You might find that article interesting.
Are you interested in product management? Pursue what you're genuinely interested in. If you're curious and willing to work at your craft, you'll find opportunities.
You have to give employers a reason to invest in you as opposed to just your degree. Do you genuinely enjoy coding projects on the side? Build a portfolio that draws attention. Network, etc.
supersy@reddit
I was interested in the article too - https://archive.ph/zrPD4
ClimbsNFlysThings@reddit
Yes and logical thinking to drive the machines is still needed. Moreover I worry about the pipeline of the engineers who are going to look after the systems we build.
fear_thegamer@reddit
The job market will go through boom and bust cycles. Right now it’s at a bust cycle. It might change by the time you graduate, that’s all you can hope for. Generally speaking, almost every field is saturated with graduates and job seekers. Sorry I don’t have a reassuring response, but I do worry about how the job market is going to be for your generation.
PaleMaleAndStale@reddit
We are in the midst of a technological revolution. Computer systems are not going anywhere and will always need people to design, build, support and develop them. The only reason there might come a time where there are no IT jobs is if AI evolves to a point where it can replace all humans and then there won't be jobs in any field.
The job market, and the tech job market especially, is cyclical. It goes from boom to bust every few years. Right now we are in a downturn. Who knows what the market will be like when you graduate.
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