Math undergrad vs Computer science
Hi, I am currently deciding what to pursue for undergrad in Germany, mainly because I am still undecided if I want to go into tech or finance or If I could even have my startup of some kind in the future eventually. I have 3 options that I am seriously considering:
-Mathematics at the University of Bonn with a minor in computer science
-Business Mathematics at the University of Mannheim - 70 percent math, 30 percent economics. I also have a dorm here, which Is a big plus.
- Computer Science at TUM - there are a lot of entrepreneurial clubs and activities that you can go to, which is a big bonus I think. And most startups in Germany start from here.
Sorry, if this has been asked a million times but I just can't decide as I don't have enough life experience yet. Thanks in advance. P.S I have very little programming experience, but I am pretty good at math, even winning some competitions if that's any help.
Don’t know anything about those schools, but all things considered equal, go with the pure math degree. CS is the most useless degree you can get, especially if you’re paying tuition. If you can succeed as a math major, you can become highly proficient in programming in a matter of 2-3 months. The math degree will give you an edge in your thinking that many of your peers in the industry won’t have, plus it’ll help in recruiting for quant firms if you ever decide to do that instead.
Thank you very much, I was leaning towards that option more anyways. Bonn is supposed to be the best university for mathematics in Germany and I would have great flexibility with the courses that I can choose from.
As a former math student from Germany, I would advise against studying it for career purposes only. You'll be studying together with very passionate and intelligent people. Especially at Bonn. At the end it's GPA and internships that matter for your career prospects. The degree will provide a marginal benefit at best. Math (at least in Germany) doesn't have a good effort to outcome ratio.
You can learn how to code some simple programs in one language in 2-3 months but to be truly competent in computer science in takes a computer science degree and years of coding afterwards unless your a savant with computers.
There are so many domains in computer science can't list them all here but here are some: 1) Front End - Java scripts, CSS, HTML, etc... along with many frameworks like Angular, 2) Application Layer - python, nodejs, java, etc...along with knowledge of how to build APIs, 2) database layer: SQL/NoSQL with DB like MSSQL, Cassandra, Oracle, etc...(long list), then understanding Cloud Computing - just with AWS need know IAS tools like cloud formation to spin up infrastructure like EC2s, S3, etc... then there is a long long list of services and databases just for AWS and that is only one cloud service of which there are many more like Azure/Google. That is computer science and only a small part of it.
Then there is data science which is more math/stats heavy which you learn languages like Python along with associated libraries many written with data science in mine. Data Science is not the same as Computer Science as CS you'll be in the code most of the day (when not in meetings) but with DS you can put your math/stats skills to use.
My advice is do what you really enjoy but tie it to a practical skill that can be applied.
Bonn for mathematics is great but as mentioned above unless you really want to spend some time in academia I would aim for TUM or Mannheim as it will be easier for you to land in industry after. My preference would be for TUM CS as you will keep all doors wide open for both tech and finance if you are truly undecided, if you lean more for finance I would pick Mannheim. Congrats these are all great choices.
Thank you
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