What Computer Science Means To Me (and why it’s OK to hate programming)

I started my college career as an Open Option Engineering major. Sounds fancy, but all it means is that I got to sit through a 1-credit hour class designed to give us 'open optioners' an understanding of all Engineering disciplines to help us make the most informed major selection. The field that caught my attention the most, and managed to get me to enroll in the major, was Computer Science.

This doesn't really have anything to do with Computer Science.

The Computer Science presenter pulled out a pencil and told us to think of it as a computer. There are all sorts of things you can do with a pencil like math, writing, and drawing. However, to say that the study of math, writing, or drawing is the study of the pencil though is incorrect. The analogy made sense to me, Computer Science is the study of computers as tools and what can be done with them, not necessarily what can be done to them.

Four years later and I'm now entering the second semester of my senior year. I'll soon be a full-fledged Bachelor of Computer Science, according to my degree. According to my classmates and coworkers however, I am fairly unique Computer Scientist. You see, I hate programming.

It's hard for me to hit the nail on the head. Whether it be dreading the monotony of staring at thousands of lines of code all day, spending hours trying to find a single bug or syntax error, or picking up a new project and having no idea where to start, programming and I don't get along all that well.

It didn't start out that way. My first introductory programming class used Python and the short programs we had to write were like puzzles, fun and not overwhelmingly difficult. To this day my favorite programming language is still Python.

Then came the second course. We used a mixture of Python and C++, and while the assignments and projects were manageable, somewhere along the way I found myself beginning to hate programming. I felt that our professor, who primarily taught graduate courses, used lectures as a chance to show off how much he knew and I could hardly follow the code being written in three different applications with syntax and structures I'd never seen or used. I struggled, but made it through nonetheless.

Felines make excellent programmers.

At this point I've taken classes I hated like Data Structures and Principles of Programming Languages (lots of programming) and classes I loved like Algorithms and Computational Theory (not so much programming). While I can read and write code fluently enough if I have to, I would still much prefer to avoid it altogether.

The whole reason I became a CS major is because I think computers are the most fascinating devices man has ever created. They can be applied to any field and make pretty much everything faster, better, and cheaper. They're used for everything from simulating highly complex gene folding on the microscopic level to unmanning Wal-Mart's inventory and reordering systems.

A lot of people give me weird looks when I tell them I'm a CS major who hates programming. They think it's like saying I'm a self proclaimed literary genius who happens to be illiterate. But coding is not and will never be what I think of as the essence of Computer Science.

Einstein had mad programming skillz.

Saying Computer Science is only about computers is like saying astronomy is only about telescopes. Computers are the beginning, not the end. And while coding may be the means to an end, it is not the end itself. And that is what Computer Science is to me, taking these machines we've created and using them to make our jobs easier, show us things we never thought possible, and maybe make life a little better for all of us.

What do you think? Is my opinion of Computer Science dead-on or am I just a n00b without the balls required to be a hardcore programmer? Sound off in the comments!

Comments

[John]

Yesterday, i just decided to quit Computer Science. I am just like you, i can't stand programming. I love computers and am also fascinated by them. I do want to work in front of a computer 24/7 but i hate programming. But since programming is important, i guess CS is just not for me :(. I was thinking of switching to Computer Engineering but they also bombard you with programming, so now i might try Mechanical Engineering.

It is sad because ever since i was a kid, I've always wanted to create my own video game. Now that i am in Computer Science, i realize that there is more to game programming. It's not that easy.

I wish you luck though!

[terry]

Don't worry kid I was just like you. At the end of the day the most important thing to look for is the outcome. Creating software is all about making the impossible possible and making the hard things simple. If at the end of the day you have to do less work because of the software you created then its been a fruitful day indeed. The real fun is the outcome not necessarily the act of creating the software itself. Feeling like its a pain is a good thing and will help you to create small simple focused applications that just work without you having to look at them again too much.
I've been working in industry for nearly four years now and looking at software this way hasn't steered me wrong yet. Creating software can suck and be bitterly hard but the outcome if its done right can be beautiful.

[MM]

Well, one way of finding this site is by searching with keywords "hate programming" and that's what I did. Love computers but don't like programming. Now, my dream job would be working for some big firm or bank, doing computer stuff, database, networking, security maybe...anything that I could stand in front of the computer or servers.
I too, am right now in computer science major (second semester) but don't like programming. My question is, will I be able to get through all the courses although I do not like programming? And will I be able to find a job with minimal programming skills?
I'd appreciate any other advices that you have for me.

MM

[You Don't Know Jack]

First off, thanks to all of you for the feedback! The semester is definitely in full swing and I'm already used to the ass kicking I'm getting in every class.

John - Game programming is a lot different than Software Engineering, but there's no sense in pretending you don't need to know how to code to create games. And also look before you leap, a lot of the Aerospace Engineering students I know program just as much as I do, only they get to use MATLAB. Not so lucky them.

Terry - Thanks for the words of wisdom. I've been using Python a lot this semester, so that part of programming has been as much fun as programming can be. For my Software Engineering class we've been learning Java (which I'm a n00b to) and Eclipse. It's been a little rough, but I think I'm learning quite a bit and I like my professor which always helps.

MM - Some of my past professors doll out programming projects that you can easily spend 10 hours on and not get close. Fortunately, they're a lot easier to work with in their office hours and have always helped me understand what I don't get. I'm actually working in Marketing right now and having a technical background only makes me more valuable. It's valuable to have an understanding of the principles of programming so you can pick up new languages quickly, but I'm in the same boat as you where I will never get hired anywhere that requires me to be an expert with 10 languages.

[tre]

YES! i hate,despise, and wish that programming would just die. But i love looking smart with command lines in Linux.
All I want is to work with networks and security...none of this ruby/c++/c#/perl mess...

[You Don't Know Jack]

For those of you who like this blog, I think you'll also find this article pretty interesting:
http://cacm.acm.org/blogs/blog-cacm/45725-how-we-teach-introductory-computer-science-is-wrong/fulltext

[anony]

hi there!!!!!!!!
i am a computer engineering student from india,i have been studying computer science for last four years and now in next 1 month i will complete my engineering.
but guys although i have completed my four years succesfully you would wonder that i did'nt know a single programming language other than the basics of "C".
i am going to complete my graduation with a good GPA but due to my lack of intrest in programming i can't get a job through campus placement.
during my four years i read around 40 subjects like data structure,operating systems,databases,etc from which i like only a few subjects intresting they include Networking,databases,and Seurity.
for me computer science is a dull branch its does'nt have any reality at all,you all rely on a language that someone created of his own,he included all his likes and dislikes in it and we all dumbly follow that creepy thing.if we want to do any thing new out of those languages they said there is error in your program...so dont u think that this programming thing is totally a garbage of something!!!!!!!!

please reply!!!if i hurted someone(might be a programming freak) i am sory

[NoLuck]

I'm currently 3 classes away from completing my AS in Computer Science and I don't like programming either. Go figure that of these three I have to take, one is a C++ class. To bad I have ZERO desire to take it.

I realize programming is a worthwhile discipline to learn, but I simply don't think it's for me. So, here's hoping I settle upon a more interesting major before my summer break is up.

[KD]

Ok I'm in the exact same option. Only diff is I'm just about to start my final year in comp sci. But i hate the damn thing. Mostly because my classes require a bunch of programming. Now my question is: where do I go after graduation? All computer science jobs require programming of some sort.

[Coder]

Great article, programming is not for everyone, you either love it or hate it. Thanks for posting this! :-)

[sunny]

What are jobs that don't use a computer (I hate computers)?
Everyone is all: OMFG I liek my cmputers so much and da internet and myspace I luv technology and me an addict!

Chodes.

People who are helplessly addicted to computer are weak people. I am not one of them. I am a person who hates technology because of how time consuming it becomes and how it can take over most, if not all, of your free time.

Walking away from computers is easy for me, and I don't miss anything about them. The problem is that many jobs today require the use of computers, so there really isn't any way of getting past them.

Any suggestions of jobs that don't require computers? I want to live in the real world, not the virtual world.

Additional Details
Of course I'm using a computer. How on earth do you think I posted this if I wasn't?

ME : this exactly is my story.....i am an it engineer...i just tried to pass my courses....i was even scared of fundamental of computers in 1st semester.....i die in front of programming......its been 5 years i completed my engineering but still i m nt working ....cause i dont know wt to do.....i tried mba but hate finance and ms excel economics data analysis....i want a nice respectable job dnt knw wt to do........computers are like drugs i watched movies in it fucking trying to find girls in it and reallly dislike it much more like throwing away it....cause from childhood days i like playing outside.............but there is only one chance in life to do something as for ur first degree now i done it engineering bt i only have tat degree not a smallest knowledge and passion to do it

[Mrs. Alaa]

Hello guys
I really thought that I am the only one who finished her Bachelor degree in CS and did not like nor understand programming .. I had a little push from my family to study this so I could always blame them but its considered my one and only major I am always afraid of someone asking me about what I know .. I considered starting a new field but I also dont want to through all of my work a way .. I dont know where to look I feel everything I learned was theoritical. and now I dont remember a thing.

[Paul]

I am in a similar position, I love algorithms but hate programming for the sake of it. Personally, I feel I have kind of wasted 4 years of my life studying CS (and feel miserable). I am hoping to finish soon and move to Mathematics (problem solving, yey!), mainly because I don't want to spend the rest of my days (or nights hehe) doing something I dislike.