What advice would you give to a CS student today?

Question

I was often invited to speak with CS students at many universities. I loved it!I wanted to inspire and guide them since I felt overlooked when I was their age.After yesterday's meetup at my coworking space on tech startup failures, my friend's 20-year-old son dropped by to chat. He is studying computer science in his third year of university.It was a typical small talk, and he asked me about my business. &ldquo;As I recall, you worked in technology and recruitment," he said. How's the market now?He cleverly asked for advice about his future career. I quickly saw how important and valuable it was to him.I always had the right words to say to kids like him, so I started talking.I talked about how the market is changing, how demand is down, and how layoffs affected the situation.Then I got fully paralysed, and I couldn't think of what to say. I was a bit pessimistic, but I wanted to motivate him. I didn't want to discourage him by telling him that the market is hard for junior developers.I realized that I don't know what to tell him. I have NO clue what's "good" or "bad", or what the market will do, or which skills he needs. After working in tech recruiting for over 15 years, I don't know how to guide him.I felt helpless. In his eyes, I saw my younger self from 20 years ago, seeking advice from someone I trusted.After a brief pause, I realized that I needed to be practical. I promised him I would send him a written response via his father soon.That was the best I could do at the time. Being honest about not knowing everything felt better than pretending I did.Also, I gained some time to give this kid some thorough feedback.What advice would you give to a CS student today?

jpcom · Accepted Answer

Team up with some loyal friends who are effective at getting things accomplished and make a company. If you can dream it you can achieve it. Especially now, with the barrier for creating products being lower than it has ever been. Of course, it probably helps to have some internship experience or learn from someone who has already built a business so you don't make all the same errors that can be easily avoided. But in general I think we are telling people that they are not ready to make businesses, when in fact the tools are getting very good, so good that it might be advisable to advise people to start making businesses straight out of school.

palata · Answer

I don't have a lot to say, but I don't think that studying CS is the worst to find a job. My advice? Stay interested, learn about stuff. You'll end up somewhere.

danfunk · Answer

My 18 year old son is pursuing a degree in CS. I think about this question often. I also mentor graduates and it is indeed a very difficult job market right now.
We are in a period of rapid change. And rapid change ultimately favors the young.
AI is creating uncertainty. Eventually it will open up new fields, new jobs, new opportunities. CS feels worth the risk. The better you understand the forces that are shaping the world, the better off you will be.

jantric · Answer

Basically, network and get to know more friends and improve "people skills". Hard skills like programming are probably going to be less valuable.

austin-cheney · Answer

1. Get a masters.2. Or, set yourself up to work in an unrelated career field where you can still make use of your software education, like finance or engineering.

blinded · Answer

I would say to keep learning and get project and internships on your resume as early as possible, don't wait until senior year.