Intro & Career choice questions

[Skuzz]

First off I would like to say I am new to the site. I just discovered it while searching for an answer to my following questions on Google. After spending some time reading various responses and posts in the different topic ranges I have to say you have a very nice community being fostered here (not something that I am used to seeing on online forums.)

I am a 2nd (going into my 3rd after this co-op semester) year CSc student on the west coast of Canada. I plan on becoming a regular in this community and hope I can contribute.

Alright! To my question:

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Before going into CSc I was a Chemistry student, I have always had a natural love for any branch of Science. To this day I am not really sure what happened that made me end up in CSC and not Chemistry. That being said, I am extremely happy in this department (I love the material equally) and I do not wish or plan to switch in the future.

My University offers a plethora of different kinds of CSC degrees, and as I go into 3rd year I need to start making the decisions on which one to pursue. Due to my interest in Science I am contemplating doing an emphasis in Numerical Analysis, and Bioinfomatics type courses. My ideal job would be to take my CSC knowledge and apply it to another field of science that I can be interested in (working in research, or developing software). Although I obviously want to make a strong living (who doesn't want to be wealthy?) I find money is not my main drive. I would rather make 70k a year working in a science industry than 120k a year working in a business field.

So my question comes down to: Is this a smart choice? You see a lot of hate on the internet directed at CSC being a bad degree choice (founded without evidence IMO) Am I taking to big a risk in trying to go into such a field? Is there anyone here that has a more scientific emphasis that knows the field?

I have a friend who is very adamant on taking lots of SENG/Business courses with his CSC. A lot of people feel this is the smart choice going into the 'real world'.

The University also offers a specialized program in "Network and Communications" that I could see myself being very interested in.

As you can see my interests run all over the place, so building on this I have to ask one last question: Would it be a mistake taking a general CSC degree with a variety of courses from different fields when I have an opportunity to do a great specialized program in SENG or Networking? (or others)

Disclaimer:

I realize that this is just an undergraduate (and not even halfway through it as I still have 3 semesters of co-op left to test the water myself). I have also done a lot of research myself on Google, and Ive attempted to utilize my University's advisers but I find they are not helpful with these kinds of questions. I also realize how broad and difficult to answer these questions are, I don't want a perfect answer, I just want some input =)

Thanks for any responses I receive, and I hope to get to know some of you on the site in the future.

[Skuzz]

Oh, and sorry for the long post =( I wanted to give as much information as I could.

[rdrake]

Well, there are pros and cons to each. If you generalize then you can be trained in a specific area by a company that hires you. If they are willing to spend the extra time on you this is great.

If you were to specialize they would be able to hire and you use right away, but your use will be somewhat limited. You can do one thing very well, but not so much others if and when the time comes.

I'd say go to a career fair or something and talk to actual employers. See if they look for specific training or if they're willing to put the time in to get you up to speed in the area where they need you. If your university has co-op I'm sure you can get into contact to potential employers through that department.

[Skuzz]

rdrake @ Tue Sep 21, 2010 9:26 am wrote:

Well, there are pros and cons to each. If you generalize then you can be trained in a specific area by a company that hires you. If they are willing to spend the extra time on you this is great.

Thank you. This is a good point.