Should I go into computer science?

Are you comfortable learning a lot of languages?

I already know Spanish and American Sign Language.

You have to learn Java, Unix, JavaScript, C, C++

That sounds like you’re talking about your grade in Geography.

You need to become comfortable with lifelong learning, because you’ll have to keep up

with changes to the software languages you know and the new languages you’ll have to learn.

Based on the movies, hacking looks like a pretty cool use of my talent.

The biggest growth in IT is in IT security, though criminals do manage to make money via hacking and malware.

You have to be able to protect it from threats with tools like the firewall, manage buffer overflows and train users on recognizing social engineering.

My father says I shouldn’t become a code monkey, because the work is getting replaced by software libraries and coders in India.

Software libraries are just modules of code.

It still takes a talented person to connect them, and more importantly, debug them.

Learning a few software languages isn’t hard.

Computer science majors should understand computer architecture from the hard drive to the network.

And you have to set up cryptography to encrypt data sent by your computer, manage keys,

maintain password files and set up authentication methods.

Why bother with encryption anymore? Then NSA has all the keys.

You also need to build up a portfolio of your work.

I am going into computer science, not computer graphics.

A computer science degree says you took classes. Computer science graduates need software portfolios

like projects, code portfolios and websites to show to prospective employers.

It sounds like computer science is becoming as regimented and complicated as every other engineering degree.

That’s why computer science is often part of the engineering department.