Originally Posted by
Andy_K
My daughter (currently in high school) is thinking about getting a degree in computer science with a minor in creative writing. She wants to be a writer, but she also has an affinity for food and shelter. I also wanted to be a writer when I was younger, but I got a BS in math and physics for similar reasons.
I started my career by applying for a job as a technical writer at a small hardware/software company. After having me take a technical aptitude test they offered me a job as a programmer. Twenty-five years later I'm developing compilers. Life is strange.
In community college, I earned an A.S. in Computer Science. When I went to the 4-year, I found out I was a terrible programmer, at least in C++. I reasoned that I would never get the kind of programming job that I wanted without being able to work well in C++ so, I switched majors to my first love, writing.
In hindsight, it was probably not the most well-reasoned decision I made.
If I had it to do again, I would have stuck with CS. You don't need a degree in order to write creatively. I did love literary criticism classes, though. I miss writing about writing for appreciative professors too.