Venting My degree is going to be useless

[ThatStateOfMind]

I'm pursuing a degree in comp sci but I'm increasingly feeling like it's going to be useless. I've started struggling to even code things anymore, like I have a mental block. I can sometimes fall back on ChatGPT to help me with these block but it hasn't helped recently.

I'm also completely fucked when it comes to technical portions, I suck ar Leetcode. That's mostly lack of practice but I want to try and practice it, see if I can get better.

It doesn't help that I'm unsure if I even want to work in this field. It's super duper late to change, and I can't afford to. Not metaphorical, physically can't afford to.

If I don't work in the comp sci field though, I will have wasted four years of my life on bullshit. I wouldn't even have an idea of what to do.

I want to hurt myself so bad, but my girlfriend is at her sister's wedding bridal thing, and I can't have her coming home to that.

Why is it so hard for me to accept that the field might not work out? Am I moronic for thinking like this? I feel like my value is tied to this degree and career at this point, and I don't know where to turn. That's why suicide feels like the main answer right now.

I've spent the past 10 minutes crying over this and only now can I actually see and type, since my eyes aren't absolutely covered in tears. There might still be typos if autocorrect can't sorr out what my eyes can't see.

I feel so lost and alone.
And I can't go to or afford therapy . Fml

 

[Pale_Rider]

I was a CS major ( didnt go far 3 semesters ) , and I can say that education alone ( including prerequisites ) is invaluable as a human. Education really is key. Even just as a human who wants to understand the world around us. No matter what else happens. Thats my opinion. Your experience there was inherently valuable.

 

[Ligottian]

I graduated college in 1982 with a degree in accounting that turned out to be useless. A woman at an employment agency told me that ten years before she could have had me several offers that very day,

 

[TooManyChances]

AI is going to make a lot of people want to ctb.

 

[telekon]

AI is going to make a lot of people want to ctb.

ChatGPT saved me I think. I had no purpose or direction before I started talking to that thing and I wouldn't have a job right now if it wasn't for it, or I at least wouldn't be as productive. Idk I think it's a two way street.

AI won't make people kill themselves, AI might actually be the one to kill us one day, and that's what I'm afraid of

 

[helencry]

I know a few graphic designers that are basically fucked bc of AI

 

[SummerChristmasEve]

If you ever do decide to work in a separate field, at the very least you'll have that degree, which gives you an edge over a good amount of other candidates. Most of the people I know which jobs that require degrees are working in fields completely unrelated to their majors.

I have legitimately been applying to jobs that barely pay minimum wage that require applicants to have degrees.

So even if you decide to switch majors last minute, or just thug it out or something, just get that degree. Whether you stay in that field or not.

 

[fallendevil]

If it makes you feel better, my mom graduated with a comp sci degree in the 1990s and never used it. Im not from an insanely rich family, but we live in a nice neighborhood and she was able to get decently paying jobs in healthcare.

Trades have a lot of value because they require meticulous labor, a lot of community colleges have trade courses for a cheap price. Best of luck.

 

[ThatStateOfMind]

I was a CS major ( didnt go far 3 semesters ) , and I can say that education alone ( including prerequisites ) is invaluable as a human. Education really is key. Even just as a human who wants to understand the world around us. No matter what else happens. Thats my opinion. Your experience there was inherently valuable.

I do feel like my worldview is overall more rounded, mainly from general ed classed more than anything else though. I can appreciate that

I graduated college in 1982 with a degree in accounting that turned out to be useless. A woman at an employment agency told me that ten years before she could have had me several offers that very day,

That's honestly kind of shocking. I've heard finance used to be *the* major to have in the past.

ChatGPT saved me I think. I had no purpose or direction before I started talking to that thing and I wouldn't have a job right now if it wasn't for it, or I at least wouldn't be as productive. Idk I think it's a two way street.

AI won't make people kill themselves, AI might actually be the one to kill us one day, and that's what I'm afraid of

It helps me a lot. I use it a lot for basic tasks. Even something like scheduling a very busy day. I've also used it to reformat my resume numerous times. It doesn't help that OpenAI can't police GPT well and it's very easy to get it to break rules. Yet, they're not focusing on that, and they want to make superintelligence a thing, that's a worry of mine. We need restrictions on these AI companies and fast, because development is breakneck speeds right now.

If you ever do decide to work in a separate field, at the very least you'll have that degree, which gives you an edge over a good amount of other candidates. Most of the people I know which jobs that require degrees are working in fields completely unrelated to their majors.

I have legitimately been applying to jobs that barely pay minimum wage that require applicants to have degrees.

So even if you decide to switch majors last minute, or just thug it out or something, just get that degree. Whether you stay in that field or not.

You really think so? I can't imagine a super unrelated degree would give me any sort of edge but I very well could be wrong. Also requiring a degree for minimum wage is preposterous. I think I'm just going to push through the degree. Whether I use it or not, I don't want to live with that regret later of not getting it.

If it makes you feel better, my mom graduated with a comp sci degree in the 1990s and never used it. Im not from an insanely rich family, but we live in a nice neighborhood and she was able to get decently paying jobs in healthcare.

Trades have a lot of value because they require meticulous labor, a lot of community colleges have trade courses for a cheap price. Best of luck.

Believe it or not, this comment did make me feel much better. I don't seek to be rich. I just want to be able to afford a home (though that line is becoming blurred as home prices go up). Trades seem like a path I could take. I've been looking into careers where I can use my skills outside of comp sci, and banking seems like a decent option. It's a career field with multiple paths, pays meh but enough to get by, especially credit unions, and I'm good with numbers, so I'm considering that as well. Probably would help that I'm getting a minor in Mathematics

 

[PI3.14]

Trade school is great I hear if ur in the US.

If I can go back in time I would have done ME or would've completed my EE degree but even engineering is kinda competitive.

CS future is very difficult to predict now. It's not that you're doomed, it's that no one can tell you how the job market is gonna treat u when you graduate.

I do hear that it's getting more and more competitive though. See if you can get an advice from fresh graduates and senior workers.

Also, don't fear to switch your direction in life. CS is just one way of getting a good job, there are other ways. Do what you love or the thing that at least won't make you feel miserable.

Always ask around before you make any big decision though, make sure the advice comes to you from experienced individuals.

 

[Lyn]

Hey, I hear you. I really do. I know it probably doesn't fix anything, but you're not alone in this, not by a long shot.

I got a degree too. You know what I mostly use it for these days? A cutting board. Literally. So yeah, I get the feeling of "what was the point?"

But listen, you're not broken. Struggling with coding, feeling blocked, falling behind on Leetcode… that's not failure. That's just being human, especially in a field like comp sci that loves to chew people up and make them feel like they're not good enough. You're not the only one who leans on tools like ChatGPT — a lot of devs do. No shame in that.

And you don't have to have your whole future figured out right now. So what if it's late to change paths? People reinvent themselves at 30, 40, sometimes even later.
Modern world just changes to fast and it's extremely difficult to keep up.

You're allowed to question things. You're allowed to feel stuck. But that doesn't mean you're worthless or doomed or have wasted your years or life itself.

 

[fallendevil]

Believe it or not, this comment did make me feel much better. I don't seek to be rich. I just want to be able to afford a home (though that line is becoming blurred as home prices go up). Trades seem like a path I could take. I've been looking into careers where I can use my skills outside of comp sci, and banking seems like a decent option. It's a career field with multiple paths, pays meh but enough to get by, especially credit unions, and I'm good with numbers, so I'm considering that as well. Probably would help that I'm getting a minor in Mathematics

Comp sci/any of the "STEM" majors in general have always been competitive and difficult, you're just hearing about it more because of social media and because we're in a recession so every degree is technically "useless" since it's a lot more common with the middle class whereas it used to be a status symbol for already wealthy people. Trades will always be valuable because physical labor is too dangerous to be replaced by AI, at least for now. Good luck.

 

[bravelytothewinter]

i'm a layman, but i've been interested in tech most of my life and i don't really believe that LLM's are going to "replace" all programmers, LLMs are definitely pretty good at design and architecture, but you always are gonna need someone who's controlling the LLM who
A.: Knows what it's doing and how to test it if it fails
and
B: Can actually tell the LLM how to build a decent program in the first place. Everything will get easier of course but there will always be a need for programmers or domain subject experts.

 

[_Gollum_]

CS isn't just coding, though. You could choose to pursue something that doesn't involve a lot of coding, such as database administration, systems engineering, or security analysis.

 

[pinstripe]

It's okay. It's okay to be done with everything. Don't worry about it. Just rest.

 

[Ligottian]

I know a few graphic designers that are basically fucked bc of AI

They aren't the only ones that are fucked or will be soon. When I started a job in 1985 when I was 25 ,we clocked in and out using paper cards. I'm 65 and retired now and am still terrified of much of digital shit. How many of you would be willing to take "the chip"? Oh well, if it comes to that I have a handy dandy solution.

 

[TBONTB]

Hey, I hear you. I really do. I know it probably doesn't fix anything, but you're not alone in this, not by a long shot.

I got a degree too. You know what I mostly use it for these days? A cutting board. Literally. So yeah, I get the feeling of "what was the point?"

But listen, you're not broken. Struggling with coding, feeling blocked, falling behind on Leetcode… that's not failure. That's just being human, especially in a field like comp sci that loves to chew people up and make them feel like they're not good enough. You're not the only one who leans on tools like ChatGPT — a lot of devs do. No shame in that.

And you don't have to have your whole future figured out right now. So what if it's late to change paths? People reinvent themselves at 30, 40, sometimes even later.
Modern world just changes to fast and it's extremely difficult to keep up.

You're allowed to question things. You're allowed to feel stuck. But that doesn't mean you're worthless or doomed or have wasted your years or life itself.

Is that Chat Gpt at work?

 

[Lyn]

Is that Chat Gpt at work?

What?

 

[Off_Switch]

It's going to get ugly for everyone in this next decade. Like the internet, A.I. is going to hurt the human race much more than it helps.