Читать книгу Women of Color in Tech - Susanne Tedrick - Страница 25

If you decide that a traditional undergraduate degree is the way for you to go, computer science and engineering are not the only paths that you can take. People who are in technical professions have degrees in fields such as mathematics, business, information technology, and even liberal arts.

A computer science or computer engineering degree could place you closer to certain job opportunities and allow you to move into other roles during your career. If you are contemplating a career as a software developer or in artificial intelligence, this might be the more appropriate route.

But when selecting a college major or concentration, you'll want to think about what your overall interests and career goals are and how a program you're considering will best serve those needs. As a possible alternative, you could take computer science or computer engineering as a minor to supplement another course of study. This way, you can explore the field while not committing to a full-blown course of study.

Computer science and computer engineering (CS/CE) programs are not easy nor are they cheap. You will more likely be able to ride out the difficult parts of a CS/CE program and complete it if you enjoy what you're learning, enjoy rigorous learning paths, and are able to bounce back after academic setbacks. You may find it difficult to stick with a CS/CE program if you're doing it for other reasons, like it looks good on your resume.

This is, sadly, not to say that you won't experience “tech elitism” from others. I find that this is more prevalent in software development circles, where those who did complete CS/CE programs in well-regarded colleges and universities try to minimize the education, contributions, and backgrounds of those who studied at “lower-tier” CS/CE schools or coding boot camps. However, you should not allow other people's narrow-minded perception influence what education you pursue. It's usually people who are insecure, are mean-spirited, and have close-minded views that exhibit those types of behaviors and attitudes.