Things I Wish I Knew Before I Majored in Computer Science | Life of a CodeHer

I'M SORRY I HAVEN'T POSTED IN FOREVER BUT I HAVE A NEW INTERNSHIP VIDEO OUT NOW Y'ALL :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66fGZzeAJNs

Congrats on Comp Sci! I was a comp Sci math minor ... I have never been without a job. Usually I was the only black female in many of my jobs. A lot has changed I graduated in 1998. FYI you don’t need to go to a top school to be successful ...trust me! ✌🏽

I don’t normally comment on Youtube videos, but finding your channel literally just made me sooo happy. I don’t see many black female coders on Youtube and it makes me feel great that I finally found someone I can relate to!😇

4:30 Don't be stressed out about needing to get a freshman internship, 90% of CS freshmen lack the technical skills for these internships.

Cs is really fun when you know what your doing. I think the best way to go is just go to Community college, so you can take all the intro/basic courses for cheap and you get a better chance to have a fun interactive class. Then transfer to take the more advance class.

Things i wish i knew before majoring in computer sciente: How to code.

i also major in computer science and i experience the same thing. CS is alot of work so you have to be really hard-working and try to put in all the effort. You don't have to study 24/7 but try to prepare like at least a week in advance for your test and do homework early. ALSO YES, MAKE FRIENDS WITH PEOPLE IN YOUR CLASS. to be honest, sometimes coding is like a teamwork effort..

I'm going to Carnegie Mellon for statistics and machine learning and theres like NO black people there so I'm nervous! Everyone is so smart and everything is a competition I feel like everyone is trying to prove themselves and I'm just like chill guys... We all got in so shouldn't that be enough proof of our intelligence? Jeesh lol. Totally relate.

I hate that I didn't think about college in high school at all until two years in college im going nuts on career choices

OMG!! Everything you said is soooo true! I just finished my first quarter as a freshman at UC Davis as a CS major with no experience (as the only black female in my class) and I LITERALLY went through everything you discussed. I was wondering though how you were able to score your internship with Google and what type of experience or projects helped? I did not apply for any internships for this summer unfortunately because I felt that I did not have enough experience or skills and was feeling kind of intimidated. Because of this I want to build my skills in CS so what tips would do you have for that? Awesome video btw!

Yeah, I've noticed that the CS major is super competitive, and everyone is vying to be the alpha nerd. I'm guilty of that, not gonna lie. I think that we also need to be able to tell CS students that it's okay to graduate in 5 years rather than 4, and it's okay to have a lighter workload which will allow you to sleep more than 4 hours per night. I don't think that CS has to be as cutthroat and competitive as it is. It's not helpful to anyone, and (as I understand it) there aren't enough programmers to meet demand right now. Besides, if we form a healthy, well paced, and collaborative environment, it will better prepare us for industry anyway.

We love a CodeHer!!!

Hey Maya, could you please do a video where you cover your internship/s and any projects youve worked on during college that have helped with your application process?

I’m also a black female and a 20yr old sophomore in computer science right now and I’m having a hard time understanding coding what do I do I feel like supposed to have an internship around this time...😭😭

Logic is the best course to prepare a student for CS

Wow I just fell in love with you in 10 minutes. I just finished my first year as a CS major and you address all of the concerns I was having but never spoke about. This video made me want to keep working my ass off and stick with it, so thank you! Also I am so happy to read through the comments and see all the other incredible women in the major, it makes me so incredibly proud to see such an intelligent woman like you representing! I really hope I can find a friend like you in the major you seem so incredibly genuine and your energy is sooo contagious! definitely subscribed :)

Thanks for your advice oml I’m going into computer science next year & I’m so nervous! Also it’s nice to get advice from a girl’s perspective (:

First!im going back to school after being out for over 6 years and going for computer science

Going into my second semester as undecided and I'm taking my first cs class. Wish I took it earlier like you said but I hope I enjoy it enough to potentially major in CS. Took a CS class in high school using CodeBlocks/C++ and I really enjoyed it. It just seemed natural for a logical and analytical data thinker like me. I guess I'm scared I'm not good enough to major in CS but this video gave me some hope! Please keep making videos, your personality is really unique and super helpful Maya!!

Taking Data Structures & Algorithms in Java rn and every time you say transverse I flinch LMAO I'm so hurt. I'm getting scholarships but no internships, I really should start applying to stuff and collaborating like you say but sometimes these STEM folk be acting wierd so it kinda feels like I'm doing this solo dolo for the most part. All about finding that network. On the real note though glad to see a sista in STEM xD Didn't expect to be this touched by a video. Keep it up girl!