http://qs1969.pair.com?node_id=613427

My message to the reader

The other monks might disagree with me, but there are two kinds of geniuses in this world. Geniuses of hard work and geniuses of innate talent. In college, I saw both. You can get to where you want to go with both paths.

Can you correctly identify a problem?
Can you break down a problem into understandable parts?
Can you write an algorithm to solve said problem?
Can you understand the limitations of computing?
Do you know how to go about finding the answers to your questions?

Geniuses of innate talent will know how to do 1, 2, and 3 without knowing the syntax of any language and even on brand new tasks or projects. Starting work, they do not feel lost or intimidated. 4 you get with education; complexities, architecture, processing, platform knowledge, and more comes with time. I did notice that for those who were not geniuses of innate talent, comp sci was miserable for them. They spent all their time asking for help from others to do their work, did not know or perhaps hadn't the motivation to learn how to find the answers to their own questions (#5, geniuses of hard work must do this), and were generally miserable because everything was a struggle.

I mean to say all that for you to make sure comp sci jobs are what you want. I do not have an innate talent for a lot of other fields, and I know I'd be unhappy if I felt lost in this one. Good luck in your choices.