A chip off the old block

Jonathan called yesterday to say he wasn't so sure he wanted to continue to major in computer science. His exact words were "I can't see myself sitting in front of a computer coding all day." Deja vu! I said words very similar to that back when I was in college majoring in electrical engineering. I think my comment was "I don't see myself sitting in a cubicle punching out punch cards all day" (I date myself with punch card comment). I changed my major to art, hoping to study graphic design. Unfortunately, UC Santa Barbara didn't have a graphic design department, just a fine art department, so I majored in art with an emphasis in painting. Ah yes, such a lucrative major. And I SO never used it....

Now Jonathan is repeating my lament, pondering his future. It's what you do in college - explore things you never got to explore in high school, figure out what you want to do with your life - I totally get that. But I can also look back at that fateful decision in 1974 and see how shortsighted I was. I made that comment after trudging through the horribly boring courses you have to take as the foundation to prepare you to do the more exciting, fun stuff. Being an engineering major didn't mean I was doomed to cubicle-sitting for the rest of my life. I didn't have an advisor that knew me from Adam to help me think through my decision, and computing was a relatively new field then (they didn't even have a computer science major at UCSB then), so who was going to talk to me about all the cool, creative stuff that I could end up doing if I'd just do the drudgery of the first couple of years? No one. Jonathan, on the other hand, has a great advisor - a guy who actually worked at Microsoft - and he KNOWS Jonathan from Adam so, I did what any good mom would do - I told Jonathan to talk to Pete. Hopefully, Pete can give Jonathan a little insight into what might lay ahead for him. Maybe Pete will see that CS really isn't his thing and point him toward what Jonathan has always said he wants to do - computer animation and graphics - or maybe he'll be able to point out how the two can be combined. I don't know what he'll say, but I'm going to trust him to do his best to help Jonathan decide what to do.

If Jonathan does decided to pursue the more artistic end, I know the struggles he will face. I changed to art and entered a world in which I had never before walked. I was surrounded by kids who had been "artists" their entire lives. These kids had taken art classes for as long as they could remember. I had taken only the one I needed to fulfill the graduation requirement. I'd always liked to draw and paint but had never considered myself an artist, and besides, I was too busy taking math, science, foreign language, and advanced English classes to have time for art or photography - both of which I love now. Jonathan has followed much the same course - except he's never taken even one art class. It can be daunting to take a design or drawing class and see masterpieces being created by your classmates while you're scratching out something that looks like a 3rd grader drew it. Been there, done that, it wasn't fun. But who knows, with some guidance, some training, he might do really well. He does seem to be a natural when it comes to photography (according to his photojournalism teacher) and he obviously has an artistic eye. From what I could gather from the Whitworth catalog, he could take the digital art/printmaking track and not be forced to take ceramics, sculpture, painting, and drawing like I was. He would have to take design - a very good thing - and then could focus on the digital aspect and throw in some computer graphics, Photoshop, and photography. So, we'll see. He certainly has more options than I did for combining his analytical and artistic sides. I just want him to be happy and thrive.

I do worry that one reason he is rethinking CS is because it's hard and "not fun". How do you tell your kids without them rolling their eyes at you, that a lot of college is hard and not fun? If it were easy, everyone would go, and do well. Jonathan is not used to working hard for things, especially in school. Too much has come too easily for him and what hasn't been easy he's been satisfied to just get through. He needs to learn that, at some point, you do have to work really hard at stuff that's not fun so you can get to the fun stuff. I hope maybe Pete can help him see that too.

Off I go to do some not fun hard stuff at work....