3, 4, 5. Then maybe 1 later if you change your mind. If you're new 3 might be difficult.

>>53672870
Depends on what you mean by new. I'm a freshmen at college but I've been programming for over half a decade now. I don't have any experience in a formal job though.

>>53673045
Where do you go to school?

>>53672670
>le "college experience" meme
Just graduate early faggot. Stop wasting your life partying and studying shit you don't care about.

If you really like CS, then use the extra time you have to take more CS courses. I don't know about most people, but I'm about to graduate and I wish I had more time to take almost all the courses my department offers but I didn't take.

>>53673079
UT at Austin

>>53673108
There's more to life than work and studying. Happiness is important too.

>>53673262
Like I said before, I'm taking basically everything I have a remote interest in. There's a few topics I'm avoiding just because I've never really liked them, but I'm taking all the CS courses that appeal to me.

>>53672670
Getp that degree anon. You live in Austin it's a party city anyway, graduating isn't gonna stop you from living like a college student. Better yet, get that degree and go work in Europe for a few years.

>>53673287
You'll be more happy with a stable job and high salary instead of stressing about exams every week. You can always party on the weekends.

>>53673317
Nah, that's not the issue. I'm definitely gonna get the degree, but the way things are going right now I'd be taking half the hours of any full time student if I didn't change anything. Trying to figure out what'd be the best thing for me to do with the extra time

>>53672670
Depends what your endgame is.

Are you just in it to get a good job? Then do 3 and 4.

Are you actually having a good time with your studies and interested in doing research? Do 1, pick another major that sounds like fun and complements CS, like Math or Systems Engineering.

Personally, in your shoes, i'd do 1. I'm a third year electrical engineering student, and while i've been having a lot of fun with the degree, I really regret not changing majors to physics or maths back when I was contemplating it a year or two back.

>>53673378
I'm more of in college to get a good job, but don't get me wrong - I love programming and CS interests me. That doesn't mean I love academia though. I'm more interested in creating useful products than I am in studying as much as I can.

>>53673409
Then just graduate as soon as you can and find a job. I'm not understanding why you want this 4 years of "college experience" bullshit.

>>53673409
Well, if you actually enjoy the material, then I still think 1 would be a great option. Don't forget that research doesn't necessarily imply academia. Lots of companies have R&D departments that require more background knowledge than simple codemonkeying.

>>53673420
Look, just because you're a salty cunt who just wanted to scrape by, get out the door as fast as possible, and go on to be mediocre, doesn't mean other people have to find college painful.

>>53673448
I graduated with a 3.99 and got a job at a top tech company. I did multiple semesters of teaching and an internship after my second summer. I'm just saying that if your main goal is to get a good job you don't need to pad your schedule with underwater basketweaving classes or take a double major.

>>53673420
I didn't think I'd need to explain to people why I wanted to have a good social life, but I guess I forgot I was on /g/

3 or 1. CS internships pay absurd amounts of money for internships. I've made at least 2000 every two weeks at all of mine, plus companies love that shit. My internship with epic got me hired full time.

>>53673432
I might look into research then. I'll talk to some professors and see what opportunities there are so I can feel out my options. Thanks anon.

>>53673481
>you can't have a social life outside of university

>>53673509
I posted this >>53673486
But I also thoroughly enjoyed research, except it doesn't pay nearly as well. Money was a priority for me because of student loans, but if that doesn't matter to you, do research. It looks about the same as internships, and if you want to get a masters or PhD in the future, it will be helpful.

>>53673540
>>53673486
Money right outside of college isn't that much of a stress, but I would like to set myself up to making decent figures in the future. Would you say it's better to get my foot in the door early with internships or make connections through research?

>>53672670
I'm not a computer science major. I my background is in engineering (BSEE getting MSEE). Whatever I say, YMMV.

I'm going to say that on average it takes about 128 hours to get a degree in engineering, that is 32 hours a year (again, rough estimates). So the whole:
>I only have about 40 hours left before I can graduate
>I'm a freshman right now
Is hard for me to wrap my brain around. For engineering, your "meat and potatoes" classes would occur during your last two years (last 62 credits approx.). These classes generally have projects in addition to the tests. What I'm trying to say is that I can't imagine "testing" out of *any* classes I took my jr and sr year. But that isn't important because you are a different major.

>Wat do?
Graduate. You have about 3 semesters left.

> I'd prefer to stay the whole 4 years
IMO, that is stupid. The only reason to extend your time there would be to do a Co-Op. And a co-op would only add three extra semesters...which you should do BTW (get the real world experience). College (tuition, housing, food) is expensive. Even if you have a full ride, it doesn't make sense to take 8 semesters total to do something you could complete in 3.

If you plan on getting a job after you graduate, then do a co-op and get some industry experience. Employers don't care about double majors or what you minor in. Get experience, graduate, pass your technical interviews, and profit.

Good luck.

>I came into college with the mindset I would have the whole "college experience,"
Things you never hear an engineering student say.

/reddit_wink

Look into co-ops.

>>53673657
Basic explanation is that CS here requires about 50 or so hours of CS specific classes in order to graduate. 60 or so hours are required for University Core and Natural Sciences core. CBE gave me nearly all of my core credits, and these last two semesters took care of the rest of them. Two CS courses last semester and one this semester means I have about 40 hours left.

Without getting all airchair psychiatrist, it's more of because I worked my ass off in HS so I had no social life. I come to college and my options are study hard and graduate early while staying a social recluse or enjoy myself and reap the rewards of my labor from HS. I choose the second option because I want to enjoy the time I have. I will look into co-ops too, I'm trying to look into all my options.

>>53673642
It depends on whether you want to go back for a masters or PhD. If you want to make maximum money, internships are the way to go. A lot of companies will offer you a full time position if you do well at them. My internship at usaa paid 2500 every 2 weeks, and then I got a full time offer for 95k a year.

>>53673664
>40 credit hours in 3 semesters is working your ass off
Co-ops are basically taking a break from university to work a 9 to 5 job. You will not get your rose coloured "social-life" that you expect from them. You can try to get your rose coloured social life in university. You can spend 4 years partying at frats, but then those people will forget you as soon as you leave. Though I probably assume that you are just an antisocial faggot in the first place and using your effort in high school to justify your lack of a social life, in which case even if you took literally no classes at all, you would end up playing video games all day instead of going outside.

>>53673811
Lmao, you responded to the wrong guy. Looks like you can't even get a fucking Mongolian cave-painting forum right faggot

>>53673767
As someone who was driven hard all his life, whenever I look back, I feel sad that I missed out on a lot of stuff people usually do. Do you want to have these regrets later on? My advice would be to take your time to smell the roses.

Also, one more thing. Make sure not to force yourself to slow down as much as possible. Trust me on this one. Just do it at an easier pace, but make it comfortable and enjoyable.

>>53673844
That's what I'm doing right now. I worked hard for the past several years, and I'm taking it easy and enjoying things now. It feels great

>>53673844
Just to expand a bit on this one. People usually consider getting a degree to be the finish line on their journey. You do everything to get a good degree and you're set. You get a good job and do it for the rest of your life. But, there is more to it than that. It's just a part of your journey. There is a reason some people take a gap year between HS and college, to go and travel a bit and gain life experience. Think of all the things that could can do when you get a degree, bit also think of all the things that you can't, that you should do now while you're young.

Sorry for getting all cliché on you. Just wish I had a chance to start it all again and really enjoy myself.

>>53673903
>It feels great
Glad to see you enjoy yourself. There is nothing better than plucking the fruits of your own hard labour.

>>53673903
If you're "taking it easy" then you should take 6 hours a semester. You wouldn't be thinking of these other options. You just want an excuse to give yourself for why you don't have a social life/girlfriend.

>>53673767
*Obviously*, this is your life. So do what you feel is best. But you came here asking for opinions so I'm going to give you my opinion (again).

>I worked my ass off in HS so I had no social life.
>my options are study hard and graduate early while staying a social recluse or enjoy myself and reap the rewards of my labor from HS.
That is dumb. Really dumb IMO. Undergraduate engineering isn't a reward for graduating HS and unless /g/ is right (and CS is a meme major) neither is undergraduate CS. Engineering majors don't have the same 'college experience' as people who major in psychology or business. It is supposed to be stressful. It is supposed to be competitive (never overtly, but you definitely feel it when the interview season starts for coops and jobs). That stress and competition prepares you for what you might see in the real world.

I can't imagine that CS is that different.

>I want to enjoy the time I have.
You picked the wrong major (IMO). If you are an engineering major then college isn't somewhere you go to enjoy life. Most people who attempt to get an engineering major fail.

The best thing you can do is work harder than you did in HS. Get the degree, better yet do the co-op and get the degree. Once you graduate you can be as sociable as you want. You can get a job. Or do what I did and take a few months off after you graduate to travel abroad before you start working.

This is my last post. Good luck. And I guess, party on Garth.

I took an extra year to do nothing because I still get my scholarship, feels good man.

>>53673937
College is easier than HS imo, also engineering majors are standard shit, you can still party while studying, just not during exam season.

>>53673907
I totally agree. Some things you can only do when you're young, and some things you can only justify when you're in college. I don't understand the rush of everyone to get a job and lockdown the routine of their life until retirement. That doesn't mean fuck around for as long as you can, but don't rush to get to the end when you really want the journey.

>>53673959
Nicely put

Whats with this meme that "there are things you can only do while in college", you can do drugs and party your ass off on any friday/weekend. And to get the really good drugs you need to start working.

>>53673937
Thanks for the advice. While I don't necessarily agree with you that I should be pedal to the metal until the end, I appreciate your advice.

>>53673936
>>53673811
If you're the same faggot that posted both of these, lol

I got most of what I needed from this post. Thanks for the advice anons. I'll monitor this thread until it 404's but I don't really plan on replying from here on out.

>>53673980
OP will find out once he actually starts college that he's too much of a pussy to do either of those things and go back to being the same social recluse he was in high school, so it really doesn't matter. But opportunities like doing cutting edge research with famous professors, being able to use fancy equipment, etc, are rare after graduating unless you work in academia.