I'm a STEM field student, Should I get into engineering or programming and how do I decide really? - Developers

I've always been a STEM oriented kid, but honestly I've never been good at independency or risk taking, and only good at being told what to do. Thinking about exact career details has always made me really nervous and panicky (I'm a millennial, and have aspergers to boot). I guess I fear not earning enough money to survive, and the idea of risk sounds mortifying. I've always liked math and computers, but just because I like messing with computers and software doesn't mean I'd necessarily like programming. And to boot most colleges only offer programming classes online or at like night. I mean engineering sounds more accessible. I always notice on programming forums like here that people are super independent and don't go to school, all this self teaching and doing random projects in hopes of building a portfolio. That sounds way out of my comfort zone. Is programming even going to remain a well paying job in the future? I know this is a bizarre and personal thread, but I am getting to the point in my schooling that the overlap in math courses between programming and certain engineering majors are going to end.

Why not major in engineering and take a few classes in computer science? Not even a minor, just a couple classes to see if its for you. You could also just go no major for a semester or two and dip your toes in everything you're interested in. One thing I've learned about life and college is that minors are worthless.. It's the knowledge that you have that impresses an employer. Also, do what makes you happy. Right now I'm a computer science major, but I am a musician at heart. I want to make money to support my hobby, so I'll keep majoring in computer science because money and I'll take some classes about music because music. I guess the main thing you have to realize is that you can't go through college doing something you don't like. If you get a degree in something you don't like, you'll end up getting a job doing something you don't like, and you'll then wake up everyday hating life. Just do what you want to do, and it's normal to not know exactly what you want to do.

[QUOTE=The Baconator;44556119] Is programming even going to remain a well paying job in the future? [/QUOTE] Nobody knows. What I do know is that a lot of jobs are migrating to programming, especially business type jobs. A lot of finance/economics/science majors now learn programming because a lot of jobs are now programming-based.

You could go into a field of engineering that can involve some programming like electrical or computer engineering.

I can tell you that from my experience as a computer engineer for two semesters at university they had us working with some semi-low level programming with microcontrollers during my freshman year. If you go into engineering, you'll certainly be learning at least the basics of programming at some point. I'd recommend that if you have the aptitude for it, going into engineering. It's a discipline that has so many applications that it is probably one of the most useful majors you could go into, in terms of the variety of work you could do with the skills you learn. And probably the best thing about programming is that it is [i]very possible[/i] learn about it and excel at it independent of a formal educational environment.

This is solely based on advice I've heard from other people, but a CS major is mostly only a couple of classes in pure programming, a lot of the rest is teaching you how to think (With some operating systems and compiler design thrown in). There's plenty of people who major in physics or engineering or something like that and go on to be successful programmers, because those still give you a very solid foundation in problem solving while also giving you a wider variety of skills (There's also probably tons of programming jobs involving overlap with various types of engineering, seeing as just about everything uses some form of software now). It also gives you a really good fallback if either industry crashes. At least, that's what it's like today; in 20 years people might lean more towards hiring only pure CS grads. In fact, even right now, you'll have more trouble getting hired as a programmer without a CS degree, but you still won't suffer as an engineering major.

If you're going into Engineering or Neuroscience/Developmental Biology: MATLAB is the de facto language of the fields.

Seriously, get into engineering. [quote]I've never been good at independency or risk taking, and only good at being told what to do.[/quote] That won't help you either as a programmer or an engineer. Programmers are still going to have to engineer a solution which requires creativity and the risk of loss of time. Get involved in some activities that involve working with other people and require strategy and planning. It doesn't matter whether you go into, but the skills you learn doing that will differentiate you from all of the other applicants/students [quote] I'm a millennial, and have aspergers to boot [/quote] So you're 14, you've got plenty of opportunities to get things right, I didn't have any clue what i wanted to do 7 years ago. Best thing to do is make sure you don't mess up your grades, they unlock your path to getting into the good engineering schools. Aspergers shouldn't limit your ability to be creative and solve problems. I know its difficult knowing you're being judged for what you do in a job, but if you are writing code as a programmer, you still have opportunities to fail just as much as an engineer would. I wouldn't see working as an engineer having any more risk than other jobs. [quote] I've always liked math and computers, but just because I like messing with computers and software doesn't mean I'd necessarily like programming. [/quote] Don't be a code monkey [quote] And to boot most colleges only offer programming classes online or at like night. I mean engineering sounds more accessible. I always notice on programming forums like here that people are super independent and don't go to school, all this self teaching and doing random projects in hopes of building a portfolio. That sounds way out of my comfort zone. Is programming even going to remain a well paying job in the future? [/quote] Your programming is evidence of you learning, being independent, and building solutions - all things schools are going to look at if you apply for a science major or an engineering major. [quote] I know this is a bizarre and personal thread, but I am getting to the point in my schooling that the overlap in math courses between programming and certain engineering majors are going to end. [/quote] Don't be afraid of missing out on some topics as you start to specialize.

[QUOTE=The Baconator;44556119]I've always been a STEM oriented kid, but honestly I've never been good at independency or risk taking, and only good at being told what to do. Thinking about exact career details has always made me really nervous and panicky (I'm a millennial, and have aspergers to boot). I guess I fear not earning enough money to survive, and the idea of risk sounds mortifying. I've always liked math and computers, but just because I like messing with computers and software doesn't mean I'd necessarily like programming. And to boot most colleges only offer programming classes online or at like night. I mean engineering sounds more accessible. I always notice on programming forums like here that people are super independent and don't go to school, all this self teaching and doing random projects in hopes of building a portfolio. That sounds way out of my comfort zone. Is programming even going to remain a well paying job in the future? I know this is a bizarre and personal thread, but I am getting to the point in my schooling that the overlap in math courses between programming and certain engineering majors are going to end.[/QUOTE] Programming is solving a lot of problems in stem fields so it's likely that most engineering jobs are also going the way of the dodo. Today, many quality software projects aren't even charging money for stuff you would usually pay for because of piracy and are choosing to give it away for free and huge companies like the Unreal Team and Crytek are charging very little for their huge and successful projects. Also, remember that the job of a programmer is to destroy his own job and others in one shot.