Before heading back for Spring semester of my Freshman year, I constantly got the question, “what classes are you taking?” I would list off my business classes and then my core classes, and I would always finish with computer science. That’s when I was met with wide, concerned eyes. I even had some friends tell me that I was going to hate computer science. These not-so-positive reactions worried me; maybe I was going to hate it and maybe I was going to be really, really bad at it. But what I found was so much more.
Steve Jobs has a quote, “Everyone in this country should learn how to program a computer… because it teaches you how to think.” And while I am no where near skilled enough to completely program a computer, his quote rings true for so many reasons.
Computer Science Teaches Life Lessons
I cannot tell you how many mistakes I made in my very first computer science class. Every scary error message and infinite loop that was spitting out thousands of characters felt like a setback. But it was from those very mistakes that I learned the most. And so I stopped fearing the mistakes and failure, but instead embraced the ways I was able to grow from them.
I also realized, very quickly, that nobody is naturally good at computer science. It takes effort and it takes help. While I absolutely hated asking for help and admitting I did not know what I was doing, I had to if I wanted to learn. Reaching out really isn’t so bad, and sometimes in life you need to be able to find that help.
It teaches you how to problem solve
The point of computer science is to solve problems and think logically. And when you code, you have to solve problem after problem. It is much easier to solve a problem in small bits than in whole. And so each little breakthrough reinforces how you think through the process and how you move forward.
It makes life easier
Yes, the problem solving may take hours to complete, I’ve spent close to 6 hours at a time on some programs, but those six hours can save dozens of hours of work in the future. Think of collecting data. It is so much simpler to write a program that reads and analyzes the data for you than to do it all manually.
Technology is all around us
Technology is everywhere. It’s ignorant not to realize just how much we rely on technology every single day for every single purpose. But to truly understand what your technology is doing, and to be able to troubleshoot, you should know some programming. At this point, we are stuck with evolving technology and it’s worth taking the time of understanding it.
It’s rewarding
Above all, computer science is rewarding. After getting all those error messages and working for so long, it feels like a miracle when your program works and executes efficiently. I’ve never felt more accomplished than when I finished my programs and experienced the outcome. It’s in that final moment when you realize all the hard work was completely, 100% worth it.