What major should I pick?¶
People feel a lot pressure to pick the ‘perfect major’: one that is guaranteed to get them a great job, doing something they love, with an excellent salary.
I can’t speak to all options, but if your interest is programming, then relax.
Many students agonize over the distinctions between computer engineering, computer science, and software engineering,
There are no wrong answers. Careers related to computing are so diverse and widespread, there is a home for everyone regardless of your interests and talents.
Computer science is an extremely broad field. In school, the emphasis tends to be on underlying science, abstract concepts, and theory.
Closely related, software engineering tends to focus on large scale systems. More emphasis is placed on practices and techniques from other engineering disciplines.
Computer engineering tends to involve more hardware as well as software, and the development of software that involves hardware/software interactions.
If your interest is writing programs, you can major in any of these fields and get an excellent and fun job.
In my experience, programming is a meritocracy: talented individuals are rewarded for their effort. One of the most successful programmers I know was a dual major in English and Philosophy. Not everyone can carve out a great career in computer science as a liberal arts major, or by dropping out completely, but it happens.
The primary common characteristic shared by all successful people in this field is that they worked their tails off for years, often decades, to get where they are today.
The point is, worry less about the exact major and more about the effort you put into it.
More to Explore
Consider the Goshen College quiz if you really have no idea what you want to do and aren’t even sure computers are your thing.