xXMarlboro_ManXx Posted September 10, 2009 Posted September 10, 2009 Hi all, I'm a college student and most normal chit chat I have with girls is about what are you studying in and stuff like that. I am a computer science major and I was wondering what kind of stigma is associated with being one. I always thought that it is a good thing to tell people because CS majors make good money and people think it takes some brains to do it but I know there is a definite nerdyness to it. I am not nerdy at all so thats not a problem. I am just wondering what you think of when a normal person says they are a computer science major? Bad? Good? Nerdy? Busy? Thanks in advance for the input.
Els Posted September 10, 2009 Posted September 10, 2009 Geez, I'm a girl and computer science was second on the list of MY choice of majors. Just get with the right girls and you'll be fine. Aren't there any girls in your major? They definitely won't judge you for it.
XuserX Posted September 10, 2009 Posted September 10, 2009 I'm not a chick but i can tell you I have no problem with women. I am a CISO, thus did CS, plus more. Its more on how you act. If you act like a nerd, you are (Believe me, I see tones of them in IT dept. all the time). Most of the time when I tell a woman what I do for a living, well after i explain it they are impressed and tell me they would of never thought that's what I did by the way I talk and act. so don't worrie about it. **** I use to be a skater.... lol hell make a joke out of it, if they ask what CS is tell them your a computer spy major..
Author xXMarlboro_ManXx Posted September 10, 2009 Author Posted September 10, 2009 Ya there aren't too many girls in my major at all. I'm not worried about finding the right girls I'm wondering if it is helping or hurting me when I tell them that I am a CS major.
Author xXMarlboro_ManXx Posted September 10, 2009 Author Posted September 10, 2009 I'm not a chick but i can tell you I have no problem with women. I am a CISO, thus did CS, plus more. Its more on how you act. If you act like a nerd, you are (Believe me, I see tones of them in IT dept. all the time). Most of the time when I tell a woman what I do for a living, well after i explain it they are impressed and tell me they would of never thought that's what I did by the way I talk and act. so don't worrie about it. **** I use to be a skater.... lol hell make a joke out of it, if they ask what CS is tell them your a computer spy major.. Ok so you know where I coming from there are a lot of nerdy people as CS majors. I am not one of them and I don't come off as one of them but I was wondering if there is a preconceived notion about CS majors being nerdy or if it is just a thing in the past. I have always been proud of telling people that I am a CS major but now that I think of it people might think that I am a nerd because of it. Of course once I have my 75k a year job I don't think there will be a problem with it.
lammie Posted September 10, 2009 Posted September 10, 2009 If the girl judges you by your profession then she's not worth your time kiddo! I personally have a thing for geeks, I have dated a quantum physicist, a philosopher and a mathematician... if you think CS geeky... HA! Think again!
Lish Posted September 10, 2009 Posted September 10, 2009 I can kinda relate to your question. The only differences lie in what we study and that I'm obviously female. I study Medicine and will be a doctor... and I find guys can feel quite intimidated when I tell them this. I don't brag about the grades I got in school and I don't really talk about what I study unless someone asks me.. so I'm not cocky about it. I'm very down to earth but like I said, I feel guys can be quite intimidated. I dunno why, I don't make a big deal about it. This is a general statement so before any of you men bite my head off, I'm not implying it's all men. I think that generally, men want to kind of look after their woman... perhaps want to bring home the most money, and perhaps what they find intimidating with me is when I'm a doctor, my earnings will be quite high & so not all guys will be able to match that. Does this make any sense to you men reading this? I can't really think of any other reason they would be intimidated as I'm quite laid back about what i do & don't throw it around. Or maybe the players out there will think I'm too smart to fall for their "charms" and so don't bother? Who knows. I think, like someone else said, if you come across as nerdy (ie. acting smart, constantly talking about what you do, and pretty much boasting) then yes, it can be a turnoff.
foreal Posted September 10, 2009 Posted September 10, 2009 You are extra hot if you look good and you have brains and you are on your way to a career that will enable you to pay your own way thru life. You could always tell the girls your major is Animal Husbandry instead...
bluewolf17 Posted September 10, 2009 Posted September 10, 2009 Nothing wrong with nerdy. I adore nerdy. I'm kind of a nerd. Nerd Nerd Nerd. As long as you are confident, outgoing and fun chicks will dig you. Who cares what your job is anyways? BTW, my male roomate has the same kind of job, and he has no problem getting cute women to like him. From dating and personal experience money and/or job security does not make a relationship. In fact, it can break it .I would rather have a guy who just really loves what he does and has passion in it, and other areas of his life.
EsmerKiss7 Posted September 10, 2009 Posted September 10, 2009 I have to agree qith XuserX, if I met you and you told me your major was CS, I would be impressed. I don't think it's nerdy at all, it seems interesting and when I think CS major the second thing that comes to my mind is successful - Which is something I totally admire.
Isolde Posted September 11, 2009 Posted September 11, 2009 I'm not sure why you would care what anyone thinks of your major; it's a personal choice. You don't go to college to have a "cool" major; you go to excel and meet others who want to excel in their chosen fields. Period. What you study or what job you hold doesn't define who you are. It's important, but not all inclusive. Life would be extremely boring if everyone was a stereotype, wouldn't it? If you're concerned that C.S. is too technical and dry, you can always minor in one of the liberal arts or even something like music.
GoodOnPaper Posted September 11, 2009 Posted September 11, 2009 Not a girl, but I am a science professor and I can say that there is a stark contrast between when I was in college ('80s) and what I see with my students now. Back then, you would have had a full-time job showing people that you really weren't as nerdy as your major indicated, but now science and technology interests are MUCH more mainstream -- Facebook and iPods alone have seen to that -- pursuing a career in CS or other scitech area is not a social detriment.
Pedigree Posted September 11, 2009 Posted September 11, 2009 I'm not sure why you would care what anyone thinks of your major; it's a personal choice. You don't go to college to have a "cool" major; you go to excel and meet others who want to excel in their chosen fields. Period. This is the truth. I've dated someone doing a macroeconomics major and it didn't amount to anything. But damn, I remembered having to hold the urge to drool when she spoke about gross domestic products, interest rates, and budget deficits. Being a guy, for a girl to have a set of intellectual skills, whatever those intellectual skills maybe, is something that holds great appeal to me. I'm sure girls feel the same way about guys, whatever their degree.
pandagirl Posted September 11, 2009 Posted September 11, 2009 CS does have the reputation of being nerdy, but I've dated a few computer developers in my day, who were very sexy AND smart. Which is the ultimate one-two punch, in my own opinion! But, are you saying YOU feel "nerdy," or that you think your major makes you appear nerdy. See the difference?
Author xXMarlboro_ManXx Posted September 11, 2009 Author Posted September 11, 2009 But, are you saying YOU feel "nerdy," or that you think your major makes you appear nerdy. See the difference? No I don't feel nerdy because of CS I was wondering if people thought that just because I am CS that it makes me nerdy.
Author xXMarlboro_ManXx Posted September 11, 2009 Author Posted September 11, 2009 Thanks for all the input guys it's really appreciated. After reading your posts you guys basically confirmed what I thought before. When I mention that I am a CS major many won't care, some will like it and a few will be turned off. I will not be changing my major to something else for any reason. Now all I have to do is find the right girl that will actually see it as a plus and it seems like there are some of you gals out there
shadowplay Posted September 11, 2009 Posted September 11, 2009 I'm not sure why you would care what anyone thinks of your major; it's a personal choice. You don't go to college to have a "cool" major; you go to excel and meet others who want to excel in their chosen fields. Period. Exactly. I think this is a silly question. Yes, CS is nerdy, but so what? No girl would reject a guy simply for having a nerdy major. If you're nerdy in general that might turn some girls off, but again, so what? You want to date a girl who loves you for all your dorkiness.
SmartIdiot Posted September 11, 2009 Posted September 11, 2009 So now that all the women have replied and basically said it's a non-issue, I'll give my experience on it. My background is I graduated with a degree in CS a few years ago from a liberal arts university in a town that is very outdoorsy. First I'm going to point out that in America you will be judged by what you do/study.That's just american culture. We have this really dumb tradition of thinking that what you do (or study) defines you as a person. The proof of this is in how most people interact in an elevator. One of the first questions will be "so what do you do?". Or as you have found in college, "so what are you studying". I've come to realize that not only is this very crass, but it's also not the norm for the rest of the world. It has become one of my goals that when I meet a new person that I never ask what they do, I ask what they like to do for fun. Second, you will have people that will not be impressed by your major. Not only not impressed, but will be openly rude about it. I can't tell you why, but I've found that if I meet a woman randomly though one of my non-tech hobbies (or worse: a bar), when asked what I study (or now what I do), and I said CS, her eyes would almost instantly glaze over and she'd find a way to both say "that's cool" and find a prompt exit to the conversation. This has happened to me more times than not. I'm socially inept sure, but there was never a reason for that. For meeting random guys it usually ends up being steered to "boy I bet you make a lot of money" and "I wish I could have life so easy". Third, don't trust that you aren't "nerdy". I don't consider myself a stereotypical nerd, and most people that first run into me don't think that either. Most people think I'm rather outdoorsy. But the truth of the matter simply is that compared to most people, I'm a total nerd. Everyone I knew in CS & EE was one at heart. And I embrace that fully. I've found that people are often intimidated by this. It's simply insecurity on their part and people will react in very weird ways to this. A fair number will find ways to put you down or exclude you simply due to this. It should go without saying that these people haven't grown up yet and aren't worth your time... Fourth, I think it's totally likely that your experience with this will be dependent on where you live. If you live in an outdoorsy sort of place like I do (and I like living in these sorts of places), you will likely have an experience closer to mine. If you live in a place that really values technology (such as a major city), I think you will be much more accepted. And lastly... Good luck. It can be challenging at times. The thing I hate the most about this field is the tendency for most of the people to have poor social skills (myself included). On top of all the work that is involved in this degree, I'd suggest trying to develop these skills as well when you can. People in business school are often pretty good with this... Learn everything you can from everyone you can. That's the real spirit of being a nerd anyhow.
stefspets Posted September 11, 2009 Posted September 11, 2009 I didn't read the above post, it was too long, but did notice that they had a CS degree in an outdoorsy town. Yeah I can see why people there might think it's nerdy. I was a CSE graduate (CS + engineering basically) and never once did anyone say anything bad about it. Honestly half the time when people ask you about your major I think they are doing it out of politeness and really don't care. That's been my experience. It's not nerdy, it's just a major, and if you're good at it you'll be making more $$ than all of your other friends when you graduate and get a job (true for bachelor's degree at least). Then you'll really be awesome because they will all be jealous.
looking4 green grass Posted September 11, 2009 Posted September 11, 2009 Rock your computer science major. There will be a girl out there who digs you no matter what you study. It might take a smart one to understand what you study, so steer away from the air head types.
MadDriver Posted September 12, 2009 Posted September 12, 2009 How about you try this experiment. Next time you meet someone, just say you're a business major. I bet it won't make any difference in the interaction. People just don't care.
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