Summary

I’d love to dive right into the academics of computer science and only discuss that; unfortunately, college is more complicated than learning in a vacuum. In addition to academics, you’ll encounter numerous challenges outside the classroom such as

• Handling stress and failure
• Paying for college
• Making friends
• Dealing with relationship issues
• Searching for jobs
• Maintaining a proper diet
• Working with crappy classmates or teachers

These issues are loosely related to your academics and require other skills to navigate.

In addition to discussing academics, this book covers the other non-academic information and techniques needed to navigate the college computer science major. The book is divided into four parts, and you should view them as layers on a pyramid to success:

At the foundation, the road to success starts with your motivation. It doesn’t matter what you’re trying to achieve; you have to believe in yourself to achieve your goals. People who don’t believe in themselves subconsciously self-sabotage and fail. You’ll encounter many obstacles in pursuing the computer science major and Part I gives you inner dialog that enables you to overcome them.

Once you have the right mindset, the second step involves recalibrating your life skills. People who wander through life rarely get anywhere. You have to create direction in your life via goals. Break goals into manageable chunks. Execute while being aware of your emotions and not allowing them to knock you off track. Be aware of how your interactions with others affect your success. Finally, don’t be afraid of falling short and learning from your failures. Part II arms you with the right approach to life so that you can set the right goals and reach them.

With a proper life foundation, you’ll be ready to learn about the different facets of the college experience in the third part of the book. You’ll learn how to approach academics, mental health, physical health, finances, work experiences, and how to balance everything. Part III is your theoretical introduction to the computer science major and everything you have to manage in college.

The first three parts of the book are your map through college: where are the dead ends and things to avoid? Where are the shortcuts and ways to be efficient? What are the must-experience parts of college? Part four is when you take your map and embark on your journey.

The fourth and final part of the book discusses your execution: what classes do you enroll in? How should you spend your summers? How do you meet people? What full-time job do you pick after graduation? I’ll provide sample milestones for each year of college, but don’t feel obliged to follow my template. Ultimately, it’s your life and adventure, so you call the shots.

College is a critical turning point in your life; make the most of it by streamlining your experience with the proper preparation. When you apply the principles outlined in this book, you skip the pitfalls that countless students before you have fallen for. Many accomplished people attribute their success to having a mentor who guides them through challenges and sets them up to succeed. If you’re pursuing a degree in computer science, this book is exactly that mentorship to help you to succeed.