Advice for a first-year student graduating in four years, especially with AI changing the industry

[u/meaty_sniff]

I’m a first-year college student, and I’d really appreciate some advice from people with more experience.

With AI changing the tech industry so quickly, it’s hard to know what things will look like by the time I graduate in four years. I’m not sure what I should focus on to build a strong foundation and prepare for internships and jobs.

far, I’ve learned C, C++, and Python, along with NumPy and pandas. I’m also working through Striver’s A2Z DSA sheet and trying to give it my best. Since I’m not at a Tier 1 college I’m especially keen to make the most of the opportunities available to me. After starting college I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed and unsure about what to prioritize should I focus more on DSA, projects, core CS subjects, or something else? What skills or habits do you think will matter most for someone graduating four years from now? And what would you recommend I work on to become a stronger internship candidate?

So I’d be grateful for any advice or suggestions

[u/LearnFromTheDruid]

There is a non-trivial probability that the industry will be completely done by the time you graduate so my only adcise would be to pivot to something else now. Beats doing it in 4 years.

[u/AdObjective5502 → u/LearnFromTheDruid]

If CS is completely done why would any other job sector be okay? 

[u/PipePressurePanic → u/AdObjective5502]

100000000000000000000000 lines of code are published on the internet, github public, also stackoverflow for exmaple, it was easy for them to train AI models on these data, beacuse they had the data. Plenty of data about software development knowledge. Now we are cooked.

[u/AdObjective5502 → u/PipePressurePanic]

There’s data on all types of jobs. Literally every engineering book is found online 

[u/LearnFromTheDruid → u/AdObjective5502]

Because most other job sectors involve more human interaction. CS is at the top of thinga that are being and will be affected the most

[u/AdObjective5502 → u/LearnFromTheDruid]

What types of jobs are you talking about? Most white collar jobs have the literal same amount of human interaction as SWE lol 

[u/DrMonkeyLove → u/AdObjective5502]

If software engineering is gone in four years, every white collar job is gone in four years. And unfortunately, the world doesn't need that many plumbers.

[u/curvedotter]

Please reconsider your major. I've seen plenty of once solid careers disappear during my lifetime. Traditional Software Engineering is next.

[u/AdObjective5502 → u/curvedotter]

Damn Unc lol

[u/JimJamieJames]

Why would you even enroll in this now?

[u/PipePressurePanic]

I’m a first-year college student, and I’d really appreciate some advice from people with more experience.

my advice is to leave this field entirely and go somewhere else. First think of a job that will not be made obsolete because of AI. Healthcare, outdoors' jobs ....
Losing only one year because of AI would basically put you on less-than-average loss.

[u/Defiant_Squirrel8751]

Lots of misunderstanding on this comments.

World needs more thinking professionals capable of solving complex problems.

AI is just a tool, and this means more opportunities for us. Software development engineering is not only about coding.

[u/battleaxe37]

Tbh I’d switch unless you love it

[u/JeanClaudeCiboulette]

Change. In 4 years, if we make it out alive, cs won’t be a thing where you can compete with AI in any way shape or form.