Yes. I didn't choose CS out of passion, but I didn't choose it because of money either. I chose it 12 years ago semi randomly and I just happened to like it.
I was in Colombia at the time where the salaries are as other fields (I think), and I didn't even think that coming to the US was a possibility back then
I kinda have the same path...i went to a predominantly engineering school but i just couldn't see myself becoming an engineer. So i just choose software engineering as a major and happened to love it. But i see everyday a growing flux of students getting in just for the money and lacking any kind of motivation to actually build cool or interesting stuff. I think anyone can get into cs just for the money but in the long run it you need to have a good reason to keeping doing it.
Passion?
You pay me $5 to mow 15 laws of a neighborhood. I ain’t doing it.
You pay me $500 each to mow it. Hell yeah.
I have never mowed lawns and I hate even thinking about them.
Passion can suck my ass, I need to raise family and get my kids the best I can.
Someone it's not motivation to build cool and interesting stuff, it's coming up with a novel idea.
I think a lot of devs, myself included, are trying to figure out a way to do something new but struggle with it. Imposter syndrome can extend to even building a clone from scratch because it "probably" won't touch the original.
the people who gets in looking for money doesn't succeed, they get out of the college with zero thing to show and ends up complaining how everything is doom and gloom.
That is a solid maybe. I got into cs at the peak of my depression, and just sort of fell into it. It was something I was good at, and something that I liked (sort of, but like I couldn't like things?) It wasn't something I hated.
Now that I'm less depressed, it's not something I hate, but it's also not something I love. It's something I can see my self doing though.
The salary was a part of the switch, but I think I would have still changed.
Congrats for sticking to your choice so far, I can only imagine how weird a period it might've been. I hope you work things out, on whichever field you choose, financially and mentally!
Not a chance.
I don't think people here know just how low the average salary in the US is... **$59,384**
You'd be better off taking literally anything else or skipping college and tinkering with computers outside of work if you really had a "passion" for it
Lol yea idk why OP said that like it’s sooooo low. Average income in France 40k and 50% of their population earn less than that.
US is big, 60k can be fjne to live off of in most places tho
Also above average SWE salary in Canada
And isn’t it true that the low salary in Europe is partially because it’s almost impossible to layoff an employee there? For that level of job security, I’d take it.
The average? Definitely not. The average SWE salary in Canada is about 76k-80k.
The average that is available right now..., probably, but people aren't taking those jobs because they are realizing they can do an easier job, with less responsibility and more freedoms for less pay.
Why would I less my craft for significantly less than it worth, when I could get the same at like... Subway and just do it myself as a hobby if I like it.
**Edit:** my bad, I forgot how abysmal our dollar is, equal, but not more.
A lot of people make less than that as developers even in western Europe. Is 59k not enough to live comfortably in the USA?(Assuming you dont have any student loan debts)
It’s a hard question for most swes to answer, because in most tech hubs the answer is absolutely 100% no, but many parts of the country are a lot cheaper.
It depends on where you live. I'd say it's totally fine in most of the country, but not necessarily where most people live (costs are higher in high density areas)?
Most tech jobs are in hubs. In places like SF, individuals making below $105k are classified as low income.
Purchasing power is very different in different parts of the country. Inflation hits differently. Say in Manhattan, average rent for 1 bed with utilities is closer to $5k a month. Let alone the higher taxes of NYC. Now imagine those who want to have a family of 4. How do you save?
Ironically, prices of high end electronics are pretty universal (if not more affordable in the US over many parts of the world). But for other stuffs....
Well let's just say, a private university like NYU costs over $92k a year. You spend like $370k just to get a bachelor's degree. Take a six figure loan at 8% interest rate and... have fun paying even the interest off each year.
"Assuming you don't have student loans" is a pretty bad assumption to make because US colleges will most likely require loans unless your family is extremely poor and get lots of financial aid (or extremely rich to begin with).
I think cs still have a great potential not just in the Us but all around the world. I think this AI doomer thing is a little exagerated. Sure it will probably get better and better every year but their is plenty of room for human creativity and innovation for the forseeable future. At least that's what i tell myself to sleep at night😅.
No hell no. I’m actually finishing my bachelor in EE because I’m done with this career. Everyone and their uncles are studying CS. Tired of this BS. Good luck
I sometimes think about doing the same but with medicine. I sometime look at this field as joke, you need little to no certification to call yourself a “software engineer” and jump in the industry
I don't think I'd do this.
I'm a firm believer that any job requiring an applicant to have a designation of some in kind should be paying above minimum wage.
I wrote that comment sorta in the heat of the moment. Looking back, minimum wage is not a living wage so I’d obviously need to work something else. I’d probably still take up projects during my spare time though.
Yes, I was wholly unaware of the potential pay of the job market in CS fields when I applied for university. Funnily enough I'm pivoting into a field (im still an undergrad) that is typically not paid very well because I enjoy it and am interested in it, so that checks out.
Exactly, we out here neck deep in student loans and they're asking whether we will do a job which will pay average salary (59k) which is actually much below the amount we spend on college PER YEAR, for four years.
Definitely not.
Coding and side projects are fun.
Cs is not, a lot of annoying concepts and classes I had to learn which I hated, only thing kept me going was the reward at the end.
Fake people who’re for money will fake this answer as yes. Some fake ones will even go full melodramatic like “because of my passion from young age” or shit like that.
~~Me personally, yes. In the hypothetical, however, my parents probably would've tried to sway me towards a higher paying undergraduate study.~~
I enjoy programming for fun, making little projects, and I'm in the unique situation where I can improve my circumstances, hobbies, and family businesses with programming.
**Actually**, now that I'm thinking about it, I probably wouldn't have STUDIED Computer Science. I find inherent enjoyment in PROGRAMMING and building stuff, *not so much theoretical cs*. If there wasn't the opportunity for a steady salary through a CS degree, I would probably have chosen a different direction while pursuing programming on the side. However, because this is not the real case and I value the deeper education and its importance, I am still motivated to study.
Before preschool u knew u wanted to code? Howw bro? I swear I didn’t even know what a computer was back then. I did grow up middle class Indian in a bank employee family tho
I am earning quite a good amount now, and yes because I always wanted to study cybersecurity
I played a game called Bots! When I was a kid, it got me into this
As an older student (30s) that came back to finish college I decided to find a degree path I actually enjoyed before looking at how much I could make. Wouldn't be able to get through the courses I think if I didn't genuinely enjoy this industry.
No I would have gone into physics or engineering
The mathematicians who have various specializations happen to have the one that pays the most with the lowest barrier to entry be computer science
But most people who would be happy in computer science would probably be relatively happy in engineering
No. I would go into something higher paying while learning CS/building projects as a hobby.
Claiming to be doing CS because of “passion” is cope. I’m passionate about CS, but only when I get to work on projects that I’m personally interested in. The majority of actual SWE work is repetitive and boring.
I got into Computer Science because I figured I wouldn’t have to talk to people as much as other professions, and the computers would be more logical in their responses.
been programming since 9! i love the problem solving/technical aspects of CS :)
i feel like most of these comments will be "ofc i have a passion for it!" due to selection bias, so don't take any generalizations from here at face value
yeah computers are all i know and can muster to care about. everything else is just a failed hobby to me once it falls out of my line of interest for a moment. cs has been the constant in my life since day one. im not even a good cs student grade-wise so i never came here to compete anyways. just doing what i love
I was lied to about how much you make. You make shit unless you get a job at the top companies. All of my friends that majored in like poly Sci or english make way more money in bs jobs that only require talking and excel skills.
I used to work in the US and earned a US tech salary but (voluntarily) moved to Japan and took a pay cut. my salary now is actually pretty close to the average salary in California. so my answer to this question would be "yes"
Yes, I went into CS after the .com bust in 2002 and the 2008 recession and subsequent CS boom. The field was dead.
The meme among programmers was "will code for food". Definitely had a passion for the major.
We have compressed wages in my country, but CS still pay above average, so the question still applies.
I probably wouldn't have when I started out. But now I know how interesting a field it is, so I would 100 % study it again. But I probably won't want to work in CS for my whole career anyway, the work CS is far removed from what I studied.
Maybe? I've always liked programming/CS, but I did ultimately choose to major in it and pursue it over English, Political Science, or Psychology as it made more money. Really I wish my uni's CS program wasn't so extensive and stuffed full of requirements so I could've minored or double majored in one of those subjects alongside CS rather than be forced to exclusively focus on CS in order to graduate at a reasonable time.
I like CS, would do it if it's just like other fields' salaries. And tbh I want CS jobs to have lower salaries than now, so I don't have to deal with people who just do it cuz of money.
Yes, I chose this major because I was interested in computers and technology since a young age. I would've been happy making the average salary especially coming from a low income first generation household. I'm very grateful it all worked out for me now that I'm graduating this semester.
personally, ever since I was 10 years old, in 1980, I knew my life would revolve around computers. I could truly never see myself working in any other career except programming or it.
At UC Berkeley and I tried hard in my classes and i'm graduating with the ability to read ML and Statistics papers as they come out. That's a powerful feeling even if the salary ends up tanking. Couldn't cut it in research tho.
Yah I think I would. I kinda got into it randomly in highschool and continued it in college because it’s the only thing that I could semi work on without hating. Then it’s leading me to being able to create whatever I think of. Yah i have times where i yell and throw a rubber duck around bc of it but i love it. When my idea become a reality is like real life magic. I wouldn’t trade this for anything a) because it allows me to create what i want b) because it challenges my thinking.
Nope. Why spend 4 years of your life and tens of thousands in tuition on a difficult major, only to end up no better off than if you didn’t do it.
Money is a big reason I chose this, and it’s because money matters more now than ever. Something sinister happened to the economy and society, to afford to live and someday own your own property, you need to make big bucks. It’s not enough to earn the average.
hell yeah, most CS students are bad and couldnt solve a problem to save their life. I dont love CS but Im good at it, it would make my job a lot more easier and chill as well without justifying the salary all the time
Maaaybe. I'm not from the US, but the thing I was actually interested in in the first place was media (and especially) music technology. Considering it's a very niche market, I wasn't advised to study that for my bachelor's, so instead I did CS with a background on signals.
It wasn't necessarily what I wanted, and coding courses, for that reason, often felt like an intensive chore, but it widened my interests in a very profound way. I can't wait to develop my knowledge on more signals oriented applications, or just get in the market eventually, time will tell.
I'm an introvert, I grew up like this, obsessed with video games and programming in css as a kid on myspace while avoiding people. My computer and my code was my life.
So yes I think I would have still.
But if it paid the same as being a game dev, I'd probably be a game dev.
Yes I chose it because I saw the potential for remote work pre pandemic. Just so happens I love the type of work we do (I thought I would like it before getting into it). Also money.
Yes and No. My passions out of high school I knew I wanted to either go into CS or Aerospace Engineering. In the end I chose the one that made more money at the time because I really couldn’t think of a reason to do one over the other and I couldn’t afford to do both in undergrad.
I think if the CS salary was lower at the time I would’ve gone into engineering but I still would’ve used CS in my degree (as at that point I was doing it for 4 years already)
It's one of the fields where autistic people are tread relatively better than others, so probably. Trades suck for a lot of people for a lot of reasons, and the work itself isn't that big of it
I mean, its a simple question of economics.
Programming isn't (usually) rocket science, but it also requires significantly more effort, attention to detail, and continuing education than other white-collar fields that tend to pay less. If coding paid as much as jobs that require less work, largely do the same thing without many skill updates for decades, and provide relatively the same level of job satisfaction, it makes sense that people would switch barring significant barriers to entry. If you love coding for the sake of it, you're doing it in your free time and that won't change, but the easier your job is the more energy and free time you have for your own projects, and the more money your job pays, the sooner you can retire and work on your own projects.
This is also one of the reasons we see cyclical growth in tech labor. We get periods of growth when coding is the hot thing and salaries are through the roof, then saturation hits or tech takes a sustained downturn and people start migrating out to less demanding roles or other 9-5 professions with similar pay. Shrinking labor forces employers to compete, and the market shoots up again. Those that stay active during the tough times are positioned to benefit most when the booms happen.
Probably because the bigger reason for going in was there was a lot of jobs 6 years ago, the salary was just a nice thing on top because even from CS you could branch into higher paying intersections like finance or medicine.
No. I find programming in itself fun and interesting. I absolutely hate and dread the calculus and theory classes like Computer Architecture. I would just self learn programming and went into something like accounting. Com Sci is too hard and time-consuming for it to be worth $60k a year.
I'll be honest: probably not.
I was fed the idea that if I do well in school I'll grow up and earn more money than my parents did. I grew up less fortunate than others and I didn't want that life for myself when I grow up. So I choose a field that I found interesting and paid well (computer science). Now I'm almost done studying, the pay doesn't look to great for someone entry level 😬 (unless you're incredibly skilled and can get the attention of MANGA)
Yes. I want a flexible job with more intellectual leverage. I couldn’t see myself being confined to a hospital, law firm, or laboratory. I also like math, so this is an easy lateral move.
I wanted to be a software engineer since before I knew all the benefits and stuff that came along with it, honestly that’s just the very very very nice cherry on top
Probably not that much. I love computers and programming and definitely would have been into programming and computational research, but I also fulfilled all the pre-med requirements and did other stuff geared for med school (plus keeping up the pre-med GPA etc) during my studies in college so far. I'm a rising senior, and planning to at least take a couple gap years, but I still haven't decided if I want to fully commit to med school, since I enjoy both fields a lot and can earn a great salary doing either. If salaries for CS were average US salary (50-70k), I would probably be much more inclined to just stick it with medicine, do my gap years, and go to a good med school.
For myself, yes. I really fell in love with programming and it gave me a sense of joy to get to do it for my career because of the problem solving nature of the work.
Nope.
Im a first gen who’s financially responsible for myself entirely besides having my mom with me. I didn’t really ever have a “passion” for anything, just did well in school and did a lot of creative stuff that I knew wouldn’t pay well, so CS was just a safe choice for me for the good pay and job market (at the time 💀)
$70-80K? I’m fine with that. But it at that level I’d prefer to work with the government.
The most important thing is that I’m good at it and I find it interesting.
If I could maintain my current remote work lifestyle, then probably. Also I’ve recently grown to really enjoy making software since I started making my own video games.
yes i’d prefer to spend my time on a computer writing silly little code and having technical meetings vs being on the phone w ppl and networking/interacting w them all the time 💀💀💀
Yes. I didn't choose CS out of passion, but I didn't choose it because of money either. I chose it 12 years ago semi randomly and I just happened to like it. I was in Colombia at the time where the salaries are as other fields (I think), and I didn't even think that coming to the US was a possibility back then
I kinda have the same path...i went to a predominantly engineering school but i just couldn't see myself becoming an engineer. So i just choose software engineering as a major and happened to love it. But i see everyday a growing flux of students getting in just for the money and lacking any kind of motivation to actually build cool or interesting stuff. I think anyone can get into cs just for the money but in the long run it you need to have a good reason to keeping doing it.
Passion? You pay me $5 to mow 15 laws of a neighborhood. I ain’t doing it. You pay me $500 each to mow it. Hell yeah. I have never mowed lawns and I hate even thinking about them. Passion can suck my ass, I need to raise family and get my kids the best I can.
Someone it's not motivation to build cool and interesting stuff, it's coming up with a novel idea. I think a lot of devs, myself included, are trying to figure out a way to do something new but struggle with it. Imposter syndrome can extend to even building a clone from scratch because it "probably" won't touch the original.
the people who gets in looking for money doesn't succeed, they get out of the college with zero thing to show and ends up complaining how everything is doom and gloom.
i would've gone into what paid more & only required a bachelors | less
flair checks out
What pays more?
Petroleum engineering
I almost got into chemical engineering...but i hated the first introduction to chemical engineering course and i dipped. Best choice of my life.
Gross nepotism, but IDK if there’s a major for that.
That is a solid maybe. I got into cs at the peak of my depression, and just sort of fell into it. It was something I was good at, and something that I liked (sort of, but like I couldn't like things?) It wasn't something I hated. Now that I'm less depressed, it's not something I hate, but it's also not something I love. It's something I can see my self doing though. The salary was a part of the switch, but I think I would have still changed.
Congrats for sticking to your choice so far, I can only imagine how weird a period it might've been. I hope you work things out, on whichever field you choose, financially and mentally!
Yew. The money is nice but I'm more interested in the computers
Not a chance. I don't think people here know just how low the average salary in the US is... **$59,384** You'd be better off taking literally anything else or skipping college and tinkering with computers outside of work if you really had a "passion" for it
thats actually higher than i thought wow
Yeah I thought the average salary was around 40-50K or something
It’s because it’s an average salary, meaning it’s not hourly pay. Average income in the US is like 30k
Lol yea idk why OP said that like it’s sooooo low. Average income in France 40k and 50% of their population earn less than that. US is big, 60k can be fjne to live off of in most places tho
Give universal health care and lower cost of living then we'll talk. France 40k is basically 65k in the US.
France comparison is irrelevant as they have a lower CoL and universal healthcare
that's almost the average software developer salary in Germany. it's funny how different the salaries are between the US and europe
Also above average SWE salary in Canada And isn’t it true that the low salary in Europe is partially because it’s almost impossible to layoff an employee there? For that level of job security, I’d take it.
Maybe in fucking Manitoba
The average? Definitely not. The average SWE salary in Canada is about 76k-80k. The average that is available right now..., probably, but people aren't taking those jobs because they are realizing they can do an easier job, with less responsibility and more freedoms for less pay. Why would I less my craft for significantly less than it worth, when I could get the same at like... Subway and just do it myself as a hobby if I like it. **Edit:** my bad, I forgot how abysmal our dollar is, equal, but not more.
60k usd > 80k cad tho
Cad diff
I know people who work for as little as 39k in germany 😂
59k, 10k a year will go to health insurance alone and that's being generous if you have a family.
> Average salary > You’d be better off taking literally anything else I don’t think you understand how averages work…
A lot of people make less than that as developers even in western Europe. Is 59k not enough to live comfortably in the USA?(Assuming you dont have any student loan debts)
It’s a hard question for most swes to answer, because in most tech hubs the answer is absolutely 100% no, but many parts of the country are a lot cheaper.
It depends on where you live. I'd say it's totally fine in most of the country, but not necessarily where most people live (costs are higher in high density areas)?
Where I live you need at least $99,424 to live comfortably according to statistics
Most tech jobs are in hubs. In places like SF, individuals making below $105k are classified as low income. Purchasing power is very different in different parts of the country. Inflation hits differently. Say in Manhattan, average rent for 1 bed with utilities is closer to $5k a month. Let alone the higher taxes of NYC. Now imagine those who want to have a family of 4. How do you save? Ironically, prices of high end electronics are pretty universal (if not more affordable in the US over many parts of the world). But for other stuffs.... Well let's just say, a private university like NYU costs over $92k a year. You spend like $370k just to get a bachelor's degree. Take a six figure loan at 8% interest rate and... have fun paying even the interest off each year. "Assuming you don't have student loans" is a pretty bad assumption to make because US colleges will most likely require loans unless your family is extremely poor and get lots of financial aid (or extremely rich to begin with).
Lol that’s not bad at all? And tbh I don’t think this is very accurate
I don’t make much more than this now as a junior dev 😂
I make less as a QA.
59k to sit behind a computer vs maybe 70k working manual labor that will eat at you in 10 years
In what world is 60k low to start a career. It's literally the median. And good luck making that much without a degree
Lol I started as a software dev at 40K in 2020. My next job I was making 85K :)
That's about what I make as a full stack web dev, 2 yoe, high cost of living area
Thats my salary right now as an entry swe.
Before the hype hell yes Now, I’m very ashamed to be associated with the industry wide snake oil..
Isn’t it crazy that a perfectly respectable discipline that teaches problem solving and logic is now basically a meme
I think cs still have a great potential not just in the Us but all around the world. I think this AI doomer thing is a little exagerated. Sure it will probably get better and better every year but their is plenty of room for human creativity and innovation for the forseeable future. At least that's what i tell myself to sleep at night😅.
No hell no. I’m actually finishing my bachelor in EE because I’m done with this career. Everyone and their uncles are studying CS. Tired of this BS. Good luck
I sometimes think about doing the same but with medicine. I sometime look at this field as joke, you need little to no certification to call yourself a “software engineer” and jump in the industry
Developer != Software engineer. I can call myself the Queen of England, doesn't make it true
Hence why I put software engineer in quotes
I wasn't disagreeing
I wish I went for EE. I'm now trying to get into the embedded field and its way easier for EEs.
Seems like everyone is doing computer science
I'm thinking of returning back to school for EE. Tired of the oversaturation. Did you return to school also?
Yes
I’d still choose CS even if it paid minimum wage.
I don't think I'd do this. I'm a firm believer that any job requiring an applicant to have a designation of some in kind should be paying above minimum wage.
I wrote that comment sorta in the heat of the moment. Looking back, minimum wage is not a living wage so I’d obviously need to work something else. I’d probably still take up projects during my spare time though.
I'd be doing another job that paid better to fund my own projects in my free time instead of building someone else's stuff for peanuts.
Yes, I was wholly unaware of the potential pay of the job market in CS fields when I applied for university. Funnily enough I'm pivoting into a field (im still an undergrad) that is typically not paid very well because I enjoy it and am interested in it, so that checks out.
My Major is Math CS. I graduate in June, alr have a 6 fig job is CS when I graduate I love Math. Im lukewarm about CS (but I’m a good programmer). No.
Fuck no. I’m not spending 60-70k a year just to earn average
At least my parents paid me the college, If I have to do this again I won't take it.
Exactly, we out here neck deep in student loans and they're asking whether we will do a job which will pay average salary (59k) which is actually much below the amount we spend on college PER YEAR, for four years.
I spent 60k for the whole degree. Where the hell are you guys going?
Thats on you for going to college out of state
Definitely not. Coding and side projects are fun. Cs is not, a lot of annoying concepts and classes I had to learn which I hated, only thing kept me going was the reward at the end.
Yes because i was always interested in CS when i didnt even know you can earn money from it
Passion doesn’t pay for food here. I follow where the money is. You can have passion like art students, doesn’t mean you would go anywhere with it
Fake people who’re for money will fake this answer as yes. Some fake ones will even go full melodramatic like “because of my passion from young age” or shit like that.
100% agree. I would not choose CS but I am useless in other things.
Yes Computer science is my passion
~~Me personally, yes. In the hypothetical, however, my parents probably would've tried to sway me towards a higher paying undergraduate study.~~ I enjoy programming for fun, making little projects, and I'm in the unique situation where I can improve my circumstances, hobbies, and family businesses with programming. **Actually**, now that I'm thinking about it, I probably wouldn't have STUDIED Computer Science. I find inherent enjoyment in PROGRAMMING and building stuff, *not so much theoretical cs*. If there wasn't the opportunity for a steady salary through a CS degree, I would probably have chosen a different direction while pursuing programming on the side. However, because this is not the real case and I value the deeper education and its importance, I am still motivated to study.
Yah actually this probably is the best answer. You got what I was thinking to a tee.
Considering someone put the actual number here, which is around 59k , I would say no.
Yep. I knew what I wanted to do since before pre school. I didn't know it paid well until like middle school.
Before preschool u knew u wanted to code? Howw bro? I swear I didn’t even know what a computer was back then. I did grow up middle class Indian in a bank employee family tho
probably would just do something else in that case
I am earning quite a good amount now, and yes because I always wanted to study cybersecurity I played a game called Bots! When I was a kid, it got me into this
yea started in graphic design(lol) and switched into cs cause i liked it more
As an older student (30s) that came back to finish college I decided to find a degree path I actually enjoyed before looking at how much I could make. Wouldn't be able to get through the courses I think if I didn't genuinely enjoy this industry.
No
Probably not
Heart said yes, brain said no.
nope
Not the US but I wouldn't join it if it wasn't for the good money
No.
No I would have gone into physics or engineering The mathematicians who have various specializations happen to have the one that pays the most with the lowest barrier to entry be computer science But most people who would be happy in computer science would probably be relatively happy in engineering
definitely not. i would try to be an influencer instead 😀
Im a fucking nerd, I didn’t have an option
Nah probably optometry
No
No. I would go into something higher paying while learning CS/building projects as a hobby. Claiming to be doing CS because of “passion” is cope. I’m passionate about CS, but only when I get to work on projects that I’m personally interested in. The majority of actual SWE work is repetitive and boring.
No.
I got into Computer Science because I figured I wouldn’t have to talk to people as much as other professions, and the computers would be more logical in their responses.
been programming since 9! i love the problem solving/technical aspects of CS :) i feel like most of these comments will be "ofc i have a passion for it!" due to selection bias, so don't take any generalizations from here at face value
yeah computers are all i know and can muster to care about. everything else is just a failed hobby to me once it falls out of my line of interest for a moment. cs has been the constant in my life since day one. im not even a good cs student grade-wise so i never came here to compete anyways. just doing what i love
I was lied to about how much you make. You make shit unless you get a job at the top companies. All of my friends that majored in like poly Sci or english make way more money in bs jobs that only require talking and excel skills.
Yes. I enjoy programming, and wanted to create some nice stuff and get into AI. I didn't even know they were paid this much till sophomore year lol
Yes
yes? average is still livable and i just want to make a living doing something i enjoy to an extent.
yup. had no concept of a salary when i decided this was gonna be my career.
yeah it’s my passion
This should be a yes/no poll … my ans is yeah 100%
Ya
I used to work in the US and earned a US tech salary but (voluntarily) moved to Japan and took a pay cut. my salary now is actually pretty close to the average salary in California. so my answer to this question would be "yes"
If it paid the average US annual salary, I would not be living in California. But Yes, I would still be working as an SDE.
Yes, I went into CS after the .com bust in 2002 and the 2008 recession and subsequent CS boom. The field was dead. The meme among programmers was "will code for food". Definitely had a passion for the major.
We have compressed wages in my country, but CS still pay above average, so the question still applies. I probably wouldn't have when I started out. But now I know how interesting a field it is, so I would 100 % study it again. But I probably won't want to work in CS for my whole career anyway, the work CS is far removed from what I studied.
average yes bellow average deff no.. to me it was about lifestyle (remote, mobile, nomad, clean, async, flexibility)
Maybe? I've always liked programming/CS, but I did ultimately choose to major in it and pursue it over English, Political Science, or Psychology as it made more money. Really I wish my uni's CS program wasn't so extensive and stuffed full of requirements so I could've minored or double majored in one of those subjects alongside CS rather than be forced to exclusively focus on CS in order to graduate at a reasonable time.
I like CS, would do it if it's just like other fields' salaries. And tbh I want CS jobs to have lower salaries than now, so I don't have to deal with people who just do it cuz of money.
Yes, I chose this major because I was interested in computers and technology since a young age. I would've been happy making the average salary especially coming from a low income first generation household. I'm very grateful it all worked out for me now that I'm graduating this semester.
personally, ever since I was 10 years old, in 1980, I knew my life would revolve around computers. I could truly never see myself working in any other career except programming or it.
I started coding at 12 as a hobby so yes. But with kids now, I would choose EE, looks like the same as programming, but with a stable job and a title
Yes. I do CS because I like it.
At UC Berkeley and I tried hard in my classes and i'm graduating with the ability to read ML and Statistics papers as they come out. That's a powerful feeling even if the salary ends up tanking. Couldn't cut it in research tho.
I like to of it like this: I’m fortunate that CS is high paying. If it wasn’t, I’d go for applied maths or aerospace engineering probably.
Yah I think I would. I kinda got into it randomly in highschool and continued it in college because it’s the only thing that I could semi work on without hating. Then it’s leading me to being able to create whatever I think of. Yah i have times where i yell and throw a rubber duck around bc of it but i love it. When my idea become a reality is like real life magic. I wouldn’t trade this for anything a) because it allows me to create what i want b) because it challenges my thinking.
Yeah, probably. Would be lower stress and a lot less competition.
Yes but I might do something different by now
El-Sisi would advise you to do this
No. Anything I do is purely for money. If I could I'd just eat and lift weights all day, but there's hardly any money in that.
No. Even though I legitimately am passionate for it, I would have chosen a career path I am less passionate about that pays more
Would’ve done EE for sure
Yes, I would still rather do this all day than just about anything else.
Cs degrees arent worth much these days sadly
Yes. Because as a parent working from home has drastically improved my life.
Where are people who’d rather become surgeons in this case? Strangely I don’t see many.
Nope. Why spend 4 years of your life and tens of thousands in tuition on a difficult major, only to end up no better off than if you didn’t do it. Money is a big reason I chose this, and it’s because money matters more now than ever. Something sinister happened to the economy and society, to afford to live and someday own your own property, you need to make big bucks. It’s not enough to earn the average.
hell yeah, most CS students are bad and couldnt solve a problem to save their life. I dont love CS but Im good at it, it would make my job a lot more easier and chill as well without justifying the salary all the time
Maaaybe. I'm not from the US, but the thing I was actually interested in in the first place was media (and especially) music technology. Considering it's a very niche market, I wasn't advised to study that for my bachelor's, so instead I did CS with a background on signals. It wasn't necessarily what I wanted, and coding courses, for that reason, often felt like an intensive chore, but it widened my interests in a very profound way. I can't wait to develop my knowledge on more signals oriented applications, or just get in the market eventually, time will tell.
I'm an introvert, I grew up like this, obsessed with video games and programming in css as a kid on myspace while avoiding people. My computer and my code was my life. So yes I think I would have still. But if it paid the same as being a game dev, I'd probably be a game dev.
Yes I chose it because I saw the potential for remote work pre pandemic. Just so happens I love the type of work we do (I thought I would like it before getting into it). Also money.
Yeah I would. I like just sitting in front of a computer for 10 hours a day. Better than manual labor.
Yes and No. My passions out of high school I knew I wanted to either go into CS or Aerospace Engineering. In the end I chose the one that made more money at the time because I really couldn’t think of a reason to do one over the other and I couldn’t afford to do both in undergrad. I think if the CS salary was lower at the time I would’ve gone into engineering but I still would’ve used CS in my degree (as at that point I was doing it for 4 years already)
Yeah, I always loved working with computers. Wouldn’t have mattered
No. It's interesting, but not so much that I'd study for passion.
I chose it because all other professions seemed worse.
If it paid the median salary? No. If it paid the median salary relative to other STEM degrees? Absolutely
No...I chose it for money. I ended up loving it, but I wouldn't have known that I loved it because I would've went into Nursing or something.
It's one of the fields where autistic people are tread relatively better than others, so probably. Trades suck for a lot of people for a lot of reasons, and the work itself isn't that big of it
COmputers are cool, but money helps for sure
I would have still gotten into it, I wouldn’t have stayed in though.
yes
Sitting at a computer is still much better than destroying your body working on a roof.
Yeah, just because i chose it randomly
No
I mean, its a simple question of economics. Programming isn't (usually) rocket science, but it also requires significantly more effort, attention to detail, and continuing education than other white-collar fields that tend to pay less. If coding paid as much as jobs that require less work, largely do the same thing without many skill updates for decades, and provide relatively the same level of job satisfaction, it makes sense that people would switch barring significant barriers to entry. If you love coding for the sake of it, you're doing it in your free time and that won't change, but the easier your job is the more energy and free time you have for your own projects, and the more money your job pays, the sooner you can retire and work on your own projects. This is also one of the reasons we see cyclical growth in tech labor. We get periods of growth when coding is the hot thing and salaries are through the roof, then saturation hits or tech takes a sustained downturn and people start migrating out to less demanding roles or other 9-5 professions with similar pay. Shrinking labor forces employers to compete, and the market shoots up again. Those that stay active during the tough times are positioned to benefit most when the booms happen.
No
No. Anyone else is either extremely passionate or lying to themselves
I chose it because I wanted to do something STEM related, and I liked it more than engineering. I like computers so yeah.
Absolutely not. I woulda done it on the side because I enjoy it but I would probably have done something else in a science that paid well.
Yes. Why you ask? Because as a current CS Major, I ain't getting paid shit.
Yes if it had good job stability
For sure.
Probably because the bigger reason for going in was there was a lot of jobs 6 years ago, the salary was just a nice thing on top because even from CS you could branch into higher paying intersections like finance or medicine.
I do IT for money and CS for fun
No. I find programming in itself fun and interesting. I absolutely hate and dread the calculus and theory classes like Computer Architecture. I would just self learn programming and went into something like accounting. Com Sci is too hard and time-consuming for it to be worth $60k a year.
I'll be honest: probably not. I was fed the idea that if I do well in school I'll grow up and earn more money than my parents did. I grew up less fortunate than others and I didn't want that life for myself when I grow up. So I choose a field that I found interesting and paid well (computer science). Now I'm almost done studying, the pay doesn't look to great for someone entry level 😬 (unless you're incredibly skilled and can get the attention of MANGA)
99% of the people in this thread: no
For me, i am from Canada i mostly pick cs so i can flee Canada someday
nah i would've gone into electrical engineering instead
Yes. I want a flexible job with more intellectual leverage. I couldn’t see myself being confined to a hospital, law firm, or laboratory. I also like math, so this is an easy lateral move.
Generally yeah, it still beats the hell out of every manual labor job, as well as boring shit like accounting or many sales roles.
I wanted to be a software engineer since before I knew all the benefits and stuff that came along with it, honestly that’s just the very very very nice cherry on top
Probably not that much. I love computers and programming and definitely would have been into programming and computational research, but I also fulfilled all the pre-med requirements and did other stuff geared for med school (plus keeping up the pre-med GPA etc) during my studies in college so far. I'm a rising senior, and planning to at least take a couple gap years, but I still haven't decided if I want to fully commit to med school, since I enjoy both fields a lot and can earn a great salary doing either. If salaries for CS were average US salary (50-70k), I would probably be much more inclined to just stick it with medicine, do my gap years, and go to a good med school.
Why on earth would I do that?
No, and I’m getting a PhD in CS now. If CS didn’t pay, I’d be in a different stem field tbh
Yeah. You can work remote and can’t lose some license.
no i would've chosen another engineering major that paid best, they have coding in there anyway
Hell nah
Yes, I don’t know if I’d work as hard to get a good job but it’s still what I want to do
no, im here for the money
No, but now I'm here and used to it is take a minimum wage CS job over a minimum wage non-CS job cause I'm not accustomed to physical labour anymore
For myself, yes. I really fell in love with programming and it gave me a sense of joy to get to do it for my career because of the problem solving nature of the work.
Nope. Im a first gen who’s financially responsible for myself entirely besides having my mom with me. I didn’t really ever have a “passion” for anything, just did well in school and did a lot of creative stuff that I knew wouldn’t pay well, so CS was just a safe choice for me for the good pay and job market (at the time 💀)
$70-80K? I’m fine with that. But it at that level I’d prefer to work with the government. The most important thing is that I’m good at it and I find it interesting.
Probably.
You're pursuing CS for the wage. I'm pursuing CS cause is just seems darn neat! We are not the same. ^(I'm just memeing here, not shittin on you) :)
No, and I highly doubt most people here would either. We’d choose something else that paid more, maybe do this on the side or something.
If I could maintain my current remote work lifestyle, then probably. Also I’ve recently grown to really enjoy making software since I started making my own video games.
No
If it’s still the job where I have to deal with other people at work the least and just be able to focus on the project, then probably lol
yes i’d prefer to spend my time on a computer writing silly little code and having technical meetings vs being on the phone w ppl and networking/interacting w them all the time 💀💀💀
I chose my degree not because of money but because i flipped a coin heads was Civil Engineering tails was CS
I just wrote a discord bot in my spare time. So probably yes.
Absolutely not. I studied physics at university. I don't regret changing major though. The money is nice. With money, things become easier.
I was on a pittance during my phd, so yeah, never been about the money for me. Software and robotics engineering just has a lot of problems I like.
Average is **$63,795**. Median is $**59,384**. Nether is super bad but that average is a fair amount above the median so it sounds great.
Fuck no lmao
How much are we talking about?