[Blackstrat]

Depends on your goals and much of the advice that you'll receive will revolve around maximizing the college experience. This is certainly important. However, as a hiring manager for several decades, one of the things that routinely frustrated me was a stream of candidates from very good schools that were totally ignorant of basic business practices. Most graduates will not work for FAANG companies upon graduation. They will go into industry. And yes, right now AI/vibe coding is all the rage. The issue becomes what value does one bring to the company. I've seen this play out many times over the decades. So my suggestion is to burn a couple of electives on things like accounting and business management. Learn to write well and speak well in front of any audience. When you interview with an insurance company after graduation, for example, the hiring manager isn't going to be overwhelmed with your ability to write a compiler or even necessarily your vibe coding skills. They will likely be impressed more by your presentation skills, your ability to grasp business concepts, etc. Enjoy college, but don't become so rigidly engaged with technical topics that you limit your future opportunities.

[codingdave]

I fail to see how your past frustrations with the skills of your entry levels hires is OP's problem. OP should fulfill their own learning goals, not try to fit themselves into last century's corporate mold. If they have trouble getting hired because they need some accounting skills (unlikely, btw), they can solve that with a Coursera course or a few weeks at the local community college.

Undergrad is where you learn to learn, learn to think critically, and learn to adapt to changes in the world. Any coursework that fails to focus on those broader learning goals and just teaches vocational skills is an utter waste of their tuition money.

I'm not saying that such info is useless. I fully agree that it can be helpful. But don't burn tuition and college credits on that. Learn things in college that are more complex and require more engagement. Take yourself to a higher level of thinking, so instead of worrying about how some future interview at an insurance company would go, you never even have to step on the path that would make you want an interview at an insurance company in the first place.

[Blackstrat]

Apparently, you missed my opening statement. It depends on the OP's goals. But, by no means is my advice "last century". Many here approach their careers as if FAANG and technology was all there is. It's not. Tuition is unquestionably an issue. Nonetheless, it should be viewed as an investment. And no, Coursa is generally not an adequate substitute for an actual education. It's a way to familiarize oneself with a topic but by no means is it comparable to the typical university treatment. It's fine to believe that "it's different this time or today". It's not. History has shown repeatedly that it repeats. And contrary to what many think and hype, the current "AI" trends are not going to replace the need for human thinking. And if you believe it is, then why go to college at all?