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College Advice

College Students:



Q1: What is your major and what lead you to pick that major?

  • Stephanie: “I've intended to major in Computer Science since learning to code in middle school. Computer Science runs in my family, with my parents studying EE and CS, and my siblings both studying CS. Growing up, it was always considered the default major for me, unless I found something I enjoyed more and that was similarly lucrative. However, my interest was solidified after taking a Python class in 6th grade and discovering how exciting it was to build tangible solutions to problems. Prior to coding, I was involved with competitive math, but I wasn't able to create much with my knowledge. Learning CS gave me the ability to both solve problems and create.

Though I wasn't heavily involved, I did some competitive math and programming in high school. I also took CS61A at UC Berkeley, which is one of the most famous classes on campus and the first prerequisite for declaring CS. In these, I enjoyed the problem-solving process and loved discovering multiple ways to approach a single problem. My biggest commitment in high school was leading an organization for women in STEM called Superposition, which I'm still continuing to lead. We host the Bay Area's largest gender-focused hackathon, launched 100+ chapters worldwide, and have a vast community of women in STEM, many of whom are interested in CS. Though leading Superposition doesn't directly involve CS, I feel inspired by our community members and have been able to apply my CS knowledge by helping to code our website with HTML/CSS and analyzing our hackathon attendance with Python.”

  • Annie: “I'm a Computer Science major because I've always been fascinated by the potential of technology and wanted to turn that interest into a way to create a tangible impact."

  • Sakshi: “Materials Engineering - I knew I wanted to do something in engineering and something innovative. I also liked chemistry so it made sense.”

  • Anna: “My major is electrical engineering. I originally wanted to go into biomedical engineering, but after going to college I took a workshop, which introduced me to electronics and circuit designing. I really enjoyed the content of the workshop and as a result, I decided to pursue electrical engineering.”

  • Edward: “Economics because it is a STEM and has lots of applications.”


Q2: What advice do you have for high schoolers who want to pursue that major? (What do you wish you knew before you started your journey?)

  • Stephanie: “If you haven't yet, pick a language and learn to build something, even if it's a simple program. The particular language doesn't matter, but Python is a beginner-friendly one to start with if you're not sure. Find inspiration for projects around you, whether it's recreating a game or tool you use, or building a solution you wish existed. In my opinion, the most gratifying part of learning CS is building something of your own. Learning on your own is also an essential skill for CS because the material can be incredibly complex, so you'll have to do some independent studying to understand it all. Finally, build good study habits. CS is very difficult, much harder than most high school classes, but it is manageable if you study efficiently and have good discipline.”

  • Annie: “Don't be afraid to explore your passion! CS can be a daunting field just because of how many different areas fall under it, but if you're interested in any aspect of it, the best way to get more involved is just hands-on experience, whether that's coding up personal projects or joining teams to work on projects together or something else."

  • Sakshi: “That college prestige seriously does not matter in the long run and that you will be okay wherever you end up, because so many people are successful whatever college they go to.”

  • Anna: “I always thought of electrical engineering as a boring major, but it can actually be really engaging. Engineering is all about problem solving, and there are plenty of opportunities to do that in this field. Another important thing to know is that you can use the degree to work in a wide variety of companies and fields, so it offers a lot of freedom”

  • Edward: “Love the subject then learn it. (Example: If you want to be a doctor, be in clubs or volunteer in the field to get a taste of the major) never try to pick something purely because of the income. Be interested in your subject.”


Q3: What are the potential career options for your major? What are your future plans?

  • Stephanie: “In my experience, the most common career path is software engineering. Within that are many areas of focus, such as machine learning, cloud computing, databases, web development, etc. I'm currently interested in software engineering and product management, a role that collaborates closely with designers, engineers, business people, and more to ensure the success of a product. While I don't see myself coding every day as a software engineer long-term, I'm not sure that I would enjoy difficult decision-making and constant interaction with others as a product. During college, I hope to use internships to help me decide on my career goals.”

  • Annie: “The nice thing about CS is that you can find a use for it in pretty much any field. These days so many industries need software engineers, so you are by no means limited to just joining a tech company. My future plans are to explore the different applications of software engineering and narrow down what I'm most interested in!"

  • Sakshi: “Hardware/semiconductor chip industry or renewable energy innovation.”

  • Anna: “Since electronics are widely used today, there are a ton of career options with the degree. You can work for a tech company in designing laptops, phones, etc. You can design electrical circuits for cars, medical devices, manufacturing machines, and many other things. Personally, I would like to go into biotech and work on designing diagnostic tools and machines for the medical field.”

  • Edward: “Economics can do anything like CS, banking, data analyst, etc.”

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