How do I decide what to do with my life between history and computer science?

I am currently doing my AS levels and the first one I did was my Computer Science paper 1 (OCR), I have always thought I was pretty good at computer science and it's essentially what I'd planned to do at uni and go into but then the past few months I've had doubts about whether I'd prefer history instead and yesterday's exam only made me think more on that as I got out the exam and cried because it was awful, I couldn't answer a number of the questions though I think this is due to lack of prep on my part as well as it being a bit of a **** paper.

Baisically as of current I'm doing 4 subjects. Computer science, maths, ancient history and early modern history. Next year we've got to drop one of these and this is also largely dependant on whether or not we pass our AS exams. As a result of my reaction yesterday my mum has only added to my seed of doubt and started talking about dropping computer science next year instead of my original plan of choosing between my histories, and then pursuing history at uni instead which she has suggested before.

Even if I do pass all my exams which maths is always debatable, I have that tomorrow, and now computer science could also potentially be hanging in the balance, I feel like whatever i pick is going to set me up for my choice for uni which I could really do with making before summer and results because I really need to do something to be able to put down on applications.

So my question to you people out there, what subject do you think I should drop next year and what would be better to do at uni?

Because I have always said computer science is where I'll go because the job market is huge, the pay is good, its an interesting field and people like techy hires especially in my case, a woman. However, when I compare myself to some of the higher up people in my class I nowhere near compare to their skill or knowledge. Then we have history which is so interesting and I could talk about for hours in varying topics but I just don't know what job I would do with it and I feel like it doesn't look as good.

This is very lengthy but any help would be like seriously appreciated

Reply 1

m_user1070

9

1) you could search up what you can do with those subjects, like the career prospects and see whether you like them or not
2) or you could do MOOCs (massive ope online courses) which are virtual and allow you to gain some experience in any field you want, you can use springpod or just search up MOOcs
3) you should also speak to your teachers, some of them have really good advice and you never know until you ask

Reply 2

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by Hufflepuff_101

I am currently doing my AS levels and the first one I did was my Computer Science paper 1 (OCR), I have always thought I was pretty good at computer science and it's essentially what I'd planned to do at uni and go into but then the past few months I've had doubts about whether I'd prefer history instead and yesterday's exam only made me think more on that as I got out the exam and cried because it was awful, I couldn't answer a number of the questions though I think this is due to lack of prep on my part as well as it being a bit of a **** paper.

Baisically as of current I'm doing 4 subjects. Computer science, maths, ancient history and early modern history. Next year we've got to drop one of these and this is also largely dependant on whether or not we pass our AS exams. As a result of my reaction yesterday my mum has only added to my seed of doubt and started talking about dropping computer science next year instead of my original plan of choosing between my histories, and then pursuing history at uni instead which she has suggested before.

Even if I do pass all my exams which maths is always debatable, I have that tomorrow, and now computer science could also potentially be hanging in the balance, I feel like whatever i pick is going to set me up for my choice for uni which I could really do with making before summer and results because I really need to do something to be able to put down on applications.

So my question to you people out there, what subject do you think I should drop next year and what would be better to do at uni?

Because I have always said computer science is where I'll go because the job market is huge, the pay is good, its an interesting field and people like techy hires especially in my case, a woman. However, when I compare myself to some of the higher up people in my class I nowhere near compare to their skill or knowledge. Then we have history which is so interesting and I could talk about for hours in varying topics but I just don't know what job I would do with it and I feel like it doesn't look as good.

This is very lengthy but any help would be like seriously appreciated

Couple points to pick up here.

•

Note that A-level CS is not required for a CS degree. You can drop that and still go in either route.

•

If you are struggling with A-level Maths, you may well struggle in a CS degree as it's a necessarily mathematical degree course.

•

CS does not have better job prospects than other options. The graduate outcomes for CS grads were so bad for so long that about 8 years ago or so the government commissioned two inquiries into the matter. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/518575/ind-16-5-shadbolt-review-computer-science-graduate-employability.pdf

•

Regarding degree subjects and graduate work, research has found that graduate career outcomes between STEM and non-STEM graduates are the same within 10 years of graduation: https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/report/The_employment_trajectories_of_Science_Technology_Engineering_and_Mathematics_graduates/10234421

A CS degree is not going to guarantee you a job, nor is a job in the computing sector necessarily going to pay more than alternatives in other sectors. The highly paid jobs in the computing sector are going to be comparably competitive to obtain as highly paid roles in other sectors. There are a huge number of CS grads not to mention grads of other subjects who have learned to program along the way anyway.

Bear in mind also that most graduates go into roles unrelated to their degree anyway. Most graduate schemes in e.g. the civil service, investment banking/management consulting, other financial services roles, the media, the civil service, generalist management/business oriented roles and so on (not to mention e.g. NGO or charity roles) don't have any required subject and they don't care what degree you did. I know someone who went into accountancy with a degree in history and politics at a big 4 firm, and someone else who went into the same with an engineering degree. It's a non-factor.

Unless you specifically enjoy CS I would not really suggest doing a degree in it because your job prospects aren't going to be any better and if you don't actually like CS related work then you aren't going to be pursuing those roles anyway. In which case pursuing generalist grad schemes would be the outcome, which you could do just as well with a history degree - which by the sound of it, you would enjoy much more and find much more interesting.

Also of note, there are numerous CS and similar (e.g. data science/analytics) "conversion" courses at postgrad level available often accepting any grads (I know one of the data scientists at my company whose first degree was geography then went into data science via conversion course), and you can get funding for a second degree in STEM fields (if part-time). However you can't get funding for a second degree in history and it's probably unlikely you could progress to a history masters degree from a CS background.

(edited 1 year ago)

How do I decide what to do with my life between history and computer science?

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