What advice or guidance would you give to a person entering the world of computing to be a computer scientist? I have only followed the programs offered by my local school, comptia a+, cisco cnna-cnne, but I would like to go further because I feel that computer science has what I look for in life I had my first computer at 18, currently 24
What worked for me is building and honing your tech skills with your own projects and look for a job that will get you on the right track for what you want to be in the future, 10 or even 20 years from now.
If possible do not accept the first job offer that’s makes you decent money but takes you away from what you’re really interested in. This is because the work experience you build now will help you move along. If you build less useful skills to get where you want to be, it’s gonna be extremely hard and will probably require you start from square one or two in 5 or so years.
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Hi @Comguaf4, welcome to Level1!
There are a bunch of computer focused jobs that aren’t too deep into the science. E.g. systems administration, basic programming, network engineering. The comptia+ and cisco courses are great stepping stones into that.
The rest below talks about computer science in the sense of “what is the science that makes computers work”.
Well, you got the computer. To get into the science part you probably should make sure to brush up on a bunch of math - at least you shouldn’t be afraid of it. Binary number system, mathematical logic should mean something to you as a starter.
Next you should find a field of interest. E.g.
- if you’re fascinated by how the hardware works, you should learn more about the science of making computers,
- if you’re fascinated by software and want to learn how to program you should learn about computer algorithms and computer languages.
- Maybe you’re fascinated how large quantities of data are processed efficiently and safely at which point you should learn how a database management system works.
- Maybe you find that traditional (von Neumann) computing is boring and you want to learn about the science of Quantum computing.
- Finally (in this writeup, not intending to make this a comprehensive list), there is the field of theoretical computer science which (among other things) asks what type of problems can be solved by computers at all - a question that is currently hotly debated around AI.
To get into it, I’d read a bunch online because there is so much stuff available and free. E.g. start with looking up a topic on wikipedia, follow links and references and see if they make sense to you. You’ll likely read a lot of terminology that you’ve never heard of, maybe you’ll pick up the names of some important people in their respective fields.
Don’t get hung up - the internet is very deep. Maybe set a time limit.
If you find that the last step is making you more curious than confused I’d recommend looking for a college/university that teaches computer science in the field you’re interested in.
After all, work is only science if it follows scientific methods. Colleges/universities should be able to teach you those, in case you have not yet had the opportunity to learn them.
Entering a collegue/university education in computer science is a big step because of the time commitment and costs involved. I would not recommend that lightly. The previous step (online research) should allow you to read course material without intimidation and confusion - something I wish I could have done before I went to university.
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Are you interested in building and configuring large systems, data centers, getting hands on designing them, making component choices?
Or, are you interested in the math and engineering that make computers work?
The first would be a technician path, the second is more computer science. There is absolutely over lap, but how much overlap you need would be up to you.
I know folks with “CS” degrees who are computer janitors, and those without who are system architects with budgets that make my head spin.
Just interested in clarification, as your a+, ccna. Are all on the technician side of things. Computer science may not be what your looking for vs doing a more specialized technician role.
What skills do you want to acquire, what do you want to work with. What do you see as the end “job”.
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I agree with most of what has already been said. What I would add is that “computer science” usually encompasses more foundational knowledge in operating systems, computer architecture, data structures and algorithms, logic, and math. Depending on what career path you are wanting to do this knowledge may be very important. It will often help you to be more flexible in your ability to learn new concepts and languages vs focusing solely on learning a specific technology or programming language.
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I don’t recall having worked with anyone employed as a computer scientist in my career, which has been in tech companies - some you have heard of, some you have not. Lots of software engineers, a few data scientists, some mathematicians, but never a computer scientist.
Most people who study computer science from what I can tell expect to become software engineers.
What is it that you mean by computer science? It might be that studying mathematics or physics builds a better foundation for your pursuit, I leave the following copy pasted blobs from Wikipedia in support of the notion:
Dijkstra studied mathematics and physics and then theoretical physics at the University of Leiden.
Knuth received a scholarship in physics…He then switched from physics to mathematics, and received two degrees…he earned a PhD in mathematics
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While a computer scientist may not be a common job title, computer science is a common education path and I am sure many of those people held a degree in it. I don’t think that pure mathematics or physics is the best path unless he is wanting to get into the theoretical side, but from his current education choices it does not sound like this is the case.
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Here is a map of computer science, much more concise and fun to explore than my writeup 
