Is CS not meant for beginners or do I have severe ADHD?
-
Quote:
Second, your description of your "basic CS course" is so absurd that I think you are making it up.
Yes, I agree, something is fishy about the post.
-
My first weeks at university were also overwhelming. I simply could not follow courses, in part because I had no good study habits. I even failed my first exam. This did not stopped me from finishing the 5 year course on time, with fairly decent grades. It is normal that you feel "dumb", although I doubt that you are. Double down on the effort, pick up good study efforts and evaluate again in a few months. If you come to the conclusion that it is not for you, change. There is no shame in it. The student loan can be daunting, but again relax. Nobody is going to cut-off your head or put you in prison for failing to pay it. Yes, it is a big deal, but not a life and death kind of thing.
-
Probably in these days, college CS programs assume you know how to use a computer and have some programming skills. In my days, it wasn’t the case. We started with basic and wrote for a command line interface. The command line was all they had then. Now, the classes may expect you to write for a windows type user interface and that will demotivate a beginner quickly. And, that’s wrong. Too much catch up. My daughter faced the same when she had her first class in programming where the expectation is that the class would go immediately into programming for Mac and IOS operating systems (windowed experience) using swift. She and the rest of the students in the class were miserable. Now, she is taking a python class and they are teaching her to program to a command line window (the old-fashioned UI). It is much easier and not overwhelming. For you, what ever class you are taking is wrong and the expectations are too high (assuming you are new to programming). Take a single language (basic, python, C) to learn the basics of programming. Then try another language. Then take some classes that focus on program/structural design. Get the basics under you. With a class on one language, it should build on itself. First, you discover the I/O functions so you can communicate with the program and see its behavior. Then you learn more concepts, variables, arrays, functions, other structures. After a couple of programming classes, you can take the class you’re taking now.
-
Hi! Thank you for your great reply. Sorry, that I reply today, but I took a week off just to program and read books on programming games. I didn't even watch my lectures. I started to program a simple strategy game in java on a console (so far). And it's funny because you gave me an advice to do something I'm passionate about, and I actually did and it helped a lot. I learned more than from lectures and from reading usual books so I'm happy and I feel so much better, even if I didn't send my school assignment on time, I gained some confidence. I would like to thank you for your spiritual support too. I'm an athesit and a former christian, but I appreciate your prayers and kindness :) When it comes to programming languages I like java and object oriented principles, but what I don't like are books on java. I learned some basic syntax and concepts in c++ (I don't program in c++ though.) just to be able to understand the books on c++ because they are way better. There are more books on problem solving and game development written for c++ programmers than for java programmers. Java books tend to focus more on prewitten libraries and bank applications and that's not as fun as learning by making games. When it comes to PHP and SQL, well... I'm not that passionate about it right now, because I still learning java and I feel is too much for me at the moment. Okay, so that was it :) Thanks again.
I'm glad to hear you are doing better. Hopefully, you will be able to use your passion in a Special Problems or capstone class someday. The foundational knowledge you are learning now is important, but as you go higher up in your learning, you may find out that the ability to creatively apply your foundational skills is more important than merely being able to reiterate the material. I'm just a staff programmer, but I believe creativity and passion are the key components for successful graduate students and the future leaders in the IT industry. I'm confident in your effort and pursuit. Please remember to find ways to keep Computer Science study relevant to you. I understand CS can be unnecessarily theoretical at times but appropriate coordination with your advisor and professors should allow you to find a learning path that both meets university requirements and allows you to flourish.
-
You'd have six months to catch up on your schooling while learning the ropes. If you think that is "jumping from one thing to another", then yes, you should just throw in the towel. I think you're allergic to work.
It was only in wine that he laid down no limit for himself, but he did not allow himself to be confused by it. ― Confucian Analects: Rules of Confucius about his food
Gerry Schmitz wrote:
I think you're allergic to work.
Really? :laugh: And how did you come up to that conclusion? I never met you :-D Did you read that from the tarrot cards or see that in a crystal ball? Maybe you should try another fortune teller lol :laugh:
-
:-D Thank's sorry for late reply. So that is how it works... They are after the money :-\ That make sense, becuase it so strange that the requierments for college application were so low while the degree itself is really hard to take. Your comment was very insightfull, have a nice day :)