| I'm thinking about the future of programming as a skill like math or writing. I could never cut it as a professional mathematician nor writer, but both skills have improved my ability to write code. Similarly, I think that having a year's worth of CS instruction could help me if I'd majored and found a career in a different field than CS. There are other areas that a STEM minded student could be interested in. Biology for example could benefit from a programming background. Knowing how to collect and groom data, analyze it, then export it as JSON or CSV is something you could pick up in a couple of classes and be useful to you for an entire career. Yes, CS is a great program if you have a passion for computers, tech, and programming. If you truly have that passion, I suspect that you'd be targeting CS programs without concern for whether or not there are jobs for grads and would be willing to figure it out when you get a degree. If you don't have that passion for CS above all else, however, you might want to consider another degree with a CS minor. If you're not headed directly into a 4 year bachelor's degree program after high school, I see that the local community colleges around me have maker programs where you learn a little programming, a little electronics, and a little 3D printing. That might be enough of a skillset to augment a degree in another field and let you differentiate yourself. You might check to see if you can get a certificate or AA in that if the market still looks uncertain after you graduate. Taking entry level courses in calculus, physics, and chem alongside a maker program for a couple of years might allow you to see the future of programming more clearly. > Personally, I do not yet have a definitive answer I don't think any of us do. Much of what I'm reading on this subject seems to be shifting so fast. Three months ago taste was going to be the big differentiator. Six months ago, OpenClaw was going to be the future. I'm afraid to say that my best advice is to wait and see like the rest of us. Don't stop taking CS classes in high school, but be ready to pivot into a CS minor and a science or engineering major if you encounter headwinds either with the CS curriculum or you see that two or three successive graduating classes of CS majors are finding employment to be difficult or impossible. |