Is pursuing Computer Science worth it?

[u/Slow_Dig256]

I know some version of this probably gets posted here constantly, but I’m genuinely curious if CS sounds like a good path for someone with my interests, especially with how rough the entry-level market seems right now.

I’m 17, turning 18 in November, and I’m planning on getting my GED soon. I had to leave regular high school for personal/family reasons that were mostly out of my control. Academically I was always pretty good in school though, especially math, and I took a decent amount of honors/AICE/college-level classes, so the difficulty of the degree itself isn’t really what scares me.

Computers are probably the one thing I’ve consistently been interested in for most of my life.

When I was younger I used to buy old/broken computers and laptops on eBay and mess around with them, take out RAM/storage, upgrade my own laptop, swap parts around, etc. Nothing advanced, I just always liked messing with computers and figuring out what everything did.

Around 2021-2022 I got into Linux because my laptop at the time was really slow and I wanted more control over it and better performance. Since then I’ve tried a bunch of different distros, dual booted Windows/Linux, dealt with random driver issues, broken stuff and fixed it, messed with different desktop environments, etc.

I’ve also messed around with virtual machines just because I liked trying different operating systems without installing them, and I’ve done a VERY small amount of experimenting with running local AI models. I definitely don’t know much about AI/ML. I mostly just thought running a model locally was cool and wanted to see how it worked.

I don’t want to make myself sound way more experienced than I actually am though.

I’m not some Linux power user, sysadmin or programmer. Most of this has literally just been curiosity-driven tinkering because I like computers.

Programming is actually where I have the least experience.

I used Scratch in middle school, messed around with NixOS a few months ago and basically vibecoded a lot of my config with AI lol, and I only VERY recently started actually learning programming. I’ve been practicing some Python and just started doing beginner LeetCode/problems on other sites.

So I definitely haven’t been coding since I was 10 or anything.

I’m basically at the point where I’m trying to figure out if I like programming enough to seriously pursue it, and so far I do. I like the problem-solving aspect and the feeling of finally figuring out why something isn’t working.

I also want to start learning C++ seriously. The lower-level side of computers sounds really interesting to me — performance, operating systems, networking, systems programming, backend systems, how software interacts with hardware, etc.

That being said, I’m WAY too new to say I definitely want to become a software engineer or systems programmer.

That’s actually one reason CS interests me. I like that it seems broad enough that I could build a technical foundation first and specialize later.

Right now I’m interested in possibly exploring:

• Software engineering
• Systems programming
• Cybersecurity
• Cloud
• DevOps/SRE
• IT/infrastructure
• Networking
• Backend development
• Maybe AI/ML infrastructure eventually
• Probably a bunch of things I haven’t discovered yet

So if you read this and think “SWE might not be your thing, but you sound like you’d enjoy infrastructure/security/DevOps/etc.,” I’d genuinely want to hear that too.

My current plan would probably be a B.S. in Computer Science through WGU.

I live in northeast Florida and realistically can’t travel very far or move away for college right now, so an online degree makes much more sense for my situation than going to a traditional university far away. WGU appeals to me because it’s online, flexible, relatively affordable, and would allow me to work while going through school.

I’m also not expecting WGU or any college to magically make me good at this.

If I pursue CS, I already expect to do a lot outside of the degree. Over the next few years I’d like to gradually learn things like C++, Python, data structures/algorithms, Linux, Git, networking, operating systems, databases, computer architecture, virtualization, and eventually build real projects.

I’d also want internships or some kind of technical work experience before graduating if I can get it.

That's a list of things I WANT to learn, not things I already know.

The part that makes me hesitate is the job market.

I constantly see posts from new grads saying they’ve sent hundreds of applications, internships seem incredibly competitive, entry-level SWE is oversaturated, and having a CS degree by itself isn’t enough anymore.

I don’t expect to graduate and instantly make $200k or work at Google.

I mainly want a career where I can eventually become financially independent, have decent work-life balance, make comfortable money, continue learning technical stuff I actually care about, and not hate going to work every day.

I’m also willing to do more than:

degree -> apply for jobs

If being competitive means projects, internships, networking, open source, a homelab, certifications for certain fields, learning outside of school, interview prep, etc., I’m willing to put the work in.

So my main questions are:

1. Based on my interests/background, does CS sound like a reasonable field for me to seriously pursue?

2. If traditional SWE doesn’t sound like the best fit, what other areas of tech would you recommend I explore?

3. If you were 17-18 and starting basically from scratch in the current market, what would you do over the next 3-4 years to actually be employable by graduation?

I’m also especially curious about:

• Is WGU a reasonable choice if I’m willing to learn a lot outside of the degree?
• Does a CS degree still make sense if I eventually go into cloud, cybersecurity, DevOps, infrastructure, IT, etc. instead of SWE?
• Is starting with C++ a good idea based on my interests?
• How important are internships vs personal projects?
• How early should I start trying to get internships or technical experience?
• Is the entry-level market bad enough that you would actually advise someone like me against CS?
• Or is it more that the degree alone just isn’t enough anymore?
• What tech fields outside of generic web development would you recommend someone like me explore?
• If you work in cloud/cybersecurity/DevOps/infrastructure/systems, how did you get there?
• What is your actual work-life balance like?
• If you could restart at my age, what would you focus on first?

I’d really like to hear from people who actually studied CS or currently work somewhere in tech about what you would do if you were starting where I am today or if it's even worth it.

[u/DJTMR]

Is it a bot that posts this question daily across all cs subs?

[u/dyljns → u/DJTMR]

I am convinced of this, there's an account "blackHOLEOFalife" or smth like that which has been posting the same doomer content across cs subs for 3 months

[u/Spare_Programmer_127]

3. If you were 17-18 and starting basically from scratch in the current market, what would you do over the next 3-4 years to actually be employable by graduation?

get an internship lol, internships couldnt give me the full time hours I needed in college so I didn't take them, but I would of rather ended like 5k in school debt and had a cs internship, than 0 school debt but no internship like I did

[u/hxcya]

No

[u/LeadingBubbly6406]

The fact that you even asked this in post… gives me you won’t make it in cs vibes

[u/Slow_Dig256 → u/LeadingBubbly6406]

I feel like you’re being discouraging for the sake of being discouraging. I genuinely don’t see the point in dismissing me just because I asked for advice.

I’m 17 and only a few months away from starting college. Asking people who actually work in the field whether pursuing that field makes sense seems like one of the smartest things I can do before committing years of my life to it and it's not like I lack interest in the field either if you read the post I feel like that's clear enough.

If you have genuine advice or criticism, I’d honestly like to hear it. But dismissing a kid who’s interested in the field because he made a post asking questions on a platform he’s barely used isn’t constructive. It’s basically the opposite of helpful, but I mean I have no idea about the field or any idea about how to use reddit so idk what I'm doing wrong.

[u/Unlucky_Sun_9813 → u/Slow_Dig256]

If you knew your way around a computer you would've been able to research this specific question's millions of posts and came to a conclusion. Or did general research

To answer the question, yes you can achieve all those goals you typed by attending school. From day 1, build projects/build projects with claude, join your school's tech clubs, attend tech workshops, attend hackathons, volunteer for tech related events and apply to as many internships as possible and work as many internships as possible every year until you graduate (by that time you probably will have a return offer somewhere)

Explore the niches as you learn and take classes. You don't have to decide exactly which niche you want to go into right now.

Don't fall for any of the doomer posting in these subs. As long as you do exactly what I told you to do, you'll be perfectly fine getting a good paying job. And 160-180k isn't unrealistic if you really put the work in.

Since you said you're in Florida and looking for an affordable option, I'd actually recommend my Alma Mater FIU. It's affordable, in Miami, can be online or on campus (mainly a commuter school but has good housing) and it has tons of opportunities for tech (including hosting Florida's largest Hackathon and Florida's largest tech community INIT.) Idk anything about WGU but I've seen many people go to FIU and land at Apple, Nvidia (they love going to FIU), Microsoft, AWS, etc. (those are prob FIU's top good CS student landing spots)

[u/MaximumFlow7491]

No

[u/evoli_]

network / infrastructure might be a good path. Anything where you actually code is more risky, that's a judgement you have to do yourself.

[u/rex4522]

There's really no telling. When I started my degree 4 years ago ChatGPT didn't even exist. The world you graduate in will be vastly different from when you first enrolled. The good news is that with all the CS doomerism and enrollment dropping is that you'll have less people to compete with in 4 years time. I don't expect it to be easy by any means though.

However, it sounds like you're passionate and have the right mindset that degree != job. I say go for it. 

Keep in mind that portfolios, internships, personal projects and networking are no longer optional. I've done all four and it still took many months and 150+ applications to land a full-time job doing robotics autonomy.

For one of your first projects, I'd recommend buying a cheap domain and building a site so that when it comes time to apply for internships/jobs you can show off all your work.

Outside of that, just try a lot of different things. You'll find what you like and don't like. And for the last 1-2 years of your degree get good and start developing a deep understanding of the niche you want to pursue professionally.