March 17, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR AIMEE WILLOZ IN MN
There are a number of majors you could choose: Computer Science,
Information Systems, and Computer Engineering come to mind. Not long ago,
there was a question posted about the difference between Computer Science,
Computer/Information Science, and Information Science/Systems. One of the
other mentors gave a good description of the differences, which might also
hope you focus in on a specific major. Here's a link:
http://www.uic.edu/orgs/gem-set/archive030304q5.htm. Computer Engineering
is more like Computer Science, but with more hardware classes (which help
you write code that's hardware-dependent.
As far as classes go (you mean high school classes, I think), I'd recommend
taking any programming class that's available to you in high school. I
think it's also helpful to take as much math and science (e.g., chemistry,
physics, etc.) as you can. These will give you a headstart in the college
courses you'll take, which move more quickly through the material. I'd
also recommend taking classes in English -- if you can't communicate your
ideas, you won't be as effective in the workplace as you could be. Above
all, have fun!