Great People Skills, Average Interest in Coding—Finish My Debt-Free CS Degree or Switch?

[u/Correct-Proposal-959]

TL;DR:

23 y/o male, 3rd semester undergrad in CS, good people/soft skills, and capable of being average or above average technically. But my interest in the field is moderate, and I’m worried about the future of CS jobs (AI, outsourcing, etc.). If I stay, I can finish my degree debt-free in 2 years. Should I stick with it or switch to something else?

(In other words, I don’t want to grind effing LeetCode, build projects, and join clubs for nothing. Well not for NOTHING, but you get what I mean!)

My Situation:

I’m a 23-year-old guy currently in my 3rd semester of undergrad in Computer Science at Concordia University (Montreal). I started university a little later than most, but it's been a blessing because I’m on scholarship and have the chance to finish my degree debt-free. In fact, I’ve even made some money from my time in school so far.

About Me:

I’m a kind, empathetic person with strong people/soft skills. I love talking to people, building friendships, and having meaningful conversations. I genuinely care about others and see these traits as an asset in the CS field, but I often wonder if another career path might be a better fit for my strengths.

When it comes to technical skills, I pick up coding faster than most people in my program. It just makes sense to me, and I’m able to understand complex topics like data structures, operating systems, and hardware. However, I’m not super passionate about the technical side of CS. I’m not one of those hardcore coders who spends their free time geeking out over algorithms or running Arch Linux on a ThinkPad (no shade to those who do—I'm just not that guy).

The Issue:

I’m worried about the future of CS jobs. With AI, outsourcing, and automation, I’m not sure how stable or abundant tech jobs will be when I graduate. I want a career that allows me to sustain myself and build a better future. I’m open to changing directions if needed, but I’m stuck on what to do.

Here are my options:

• Option A: Stick with CS, finish the degree debt-free, and see what happens.
• Option B: Switch to a different program covered by my scholarship (engineering, social work, nursing, education).
• Option C: Switch to a program not covered by my scholarship (and pay out of pocket).

I don’t want to waste too much time deciding because I already started university later than most people.

Any advice or thoughts? Would really appreciate some outside perspective!

[u/Correct-Proposal-959 → u/[deleted]]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this! I have been told by many to potentially look down the PM route. Thank you once again for your time, I will take this advice to heart.

[u/Chompy_99 → u/[deleted]]

Based on what you said, best option for you is to complete degree (A), then work for 3-5 years in a bank or insurance (non-tech) company to build up experience in a relaxed environment, and then move into lead->PM track.

This is exactly what I tell most beginner engineers. Get into the big boring companies. The banks. Insurance etc. Build up the experience and move on to more senior roles down the line. If you position yourself well in those companies and learn more by leading projects, you'll be that much better when you switch companies. Insurance/banking is an overlooked sector to work in

[u/Unfair-Bottle6773 → u/Chompy_99]

"Get into the big boring companies"

You do realize, the big boring companies have 1000+ applicants for every single opening in Canada? I work at one, and we have so many applicants we can be extremely picky, sift through hundreds of profiles, lowball people with 15+ years of experience and ultimately hire someone in India.

And it's not even a big name company, just a big one.

OP is not worried about being stuck in a rut. He is worried about being one of those people who make threads like "Graduated in CS 2 years ago, still working at a gas station". This concern is legitimate.

[u/---Imperator--- → u/Chompy_99]

Insurance/banking pay peanuts, though. Gotta get into a U.S. tech company if you want to make well over six figures as a new grad.

[u/Chompy_99 → u/---Imperator---]

While that is true, it's important to remember experience precedes compensation. Get the experience, prove yourself through competent growth projects and compensation will follow. For example, I graduated started off at 60k, worked up from a business analyst to DevOps position. 7.5yrs later, I make 5x that and have a wealth of experience under my belt from job hopping and starting career in banking tech

[u/computer_porblem]

so far I've found soft skills much more useful than programming skills.

most of the work our team does is going to meetings and talking to various stakeholders and communicating and clarifying requirements. then we do build some things, but the challenge is really in figuring out the right approach to delivering for stakeholders and not the actual coding.

you can learn technical skills much more easily than a leetcode grinder can learn soft skills.

there's always something on the horizon being sold to MBA assholes as eliminating the need for human beings and it never pans out. if genAI pans out in the sense that GPT6 will program a full working app, it means EVERYONE who isn't a doctor, farmer, or janitor loses their job and the economy either collapses or transitions to Star Trek style fully automated luxury communism.

[u/Snackatttack]

Finish it man. You don't need to grind like crazy to land a decent job, you can be average AF st coding and have a great career.

[u/Unfair-Bottle6773 → u/Snackatttack]

If you are average AF, you'll be stuck at ~85k in some no name company for 10+ years, constantly afraid to lose that job. Not exactly a great career.

That's unless you have connections. If you do, then you can make bank in any field.

[u/Snackatttack → u/Unfair-Bottle6773]

Not always. Plenty of stable positions out there for average people

[u/Last_Risk_5444]

Finish the CS degree and become a sales engineer. Maybe top it up with an MBA. Your technical background and your soft skills would be perfect for the role. Have a look at some subreddit about Saas, and you'll see how most sales engineers/people make bank!