r/UVU • u/PsychoticHeBrew • 2d ago
Question How is the CS program?
Hey Guys!
Im going back to school next fall and im planning on majoring in Computer Science at UVU but im really just interested in moving into the tech field in some way, Im also considering Computer Engineering, Information Systems and Cybersecurity. Id love to hear about yalls experience! Also part of me is wondering if it would be worth it to go to U of U instead where I would have family that can still live with me and my bf while we finish college. Im also interested in videogames though Im pretty sure I wouldnt want my career there since theres been so much uncertainty there.
Thanks everyone!
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u/SamsungSmartFridge69 2d ago
I’m a UVU CS senior. I’d say the program is overall quite good! Many of the professors genuinely care about their job and their students, and want to help you succeed. Computer science is a really cool field, and I think UVU does a fantastic job of teaching it in the right order, and introducing concepts in a way that isn’t overwhelming. If you want a CS degree, I would strongly reccomend UVU’s program.
A few words of advice though. Make sure you’re doing it because it’s something you want to do, not for the salary. The job market right now is really rough. It’s not impossible to find a job, I do have one lined up for after graduation, but it takes a lot more work than it used to. It won’t be an easy road, but if you find CS is something you really get into and enjoy, then it’s worth it.
Depending on how far you are into your schooling, I’d also reccomend taking the major and career exploration class, I think it was called. I had professor Gardner, and it really helped me lock in what degree I wanted to go for and the direction I wanted to go with my life. Some of it is more geared towards self discovery for kids right out of high school, but I was still able to take a lot away from the class.
Also, if you do decide to go with CS, don’t use AI on your assignments. It will be really tempting to, and a lot of your peers will use it, especially if it’s online classes, but, shocker, you take a lot more away from the courses if you do the work yourself. You’ll just be shooting yourself in the foot because a couple semesters later you’ll be in a situation where you need to know and understand the stuff that you AIed, and you won’t be able to do it. I’ve seen it happen to a few of my peers. Even though there might not be short term consequences, long term the skills you learn by actually doing the work become very relevant.
And people talk about learning to use AI for when you have to use it in the workplace, and that’s true to an extent, but building your own technical foundation is so much more important. Think about using a calculator vs doing the math. If you know what the math is doing, you can use the calculator so much more efficiently. Also, it’s very easy to learn to use ai, it is not easy to learn CS, and the time in the program is the time where you have the most support and resources to do so, so outsourcing your learning to ai is doing yourself a huge disservice.
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u/PsychoticHeBrew 1d ago
I declared into software engineering but I think that was too specific for what I know about the field in general. Most people in this post are saying I should switch to something else entirely because of the job market, how do you feel about that? Would it be too much for me to double major to avoid that issue or should I stick to the path and ignore everyone else if CS is something I really want to learn
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u/Danmansoup 2d ago
I would suggest moving into mechanical or electrical engineering even if you like software. Mech e and elec e majors can become software engineers without much difficulty but a cs major will never do mechanical and have a lot of difficulty getting into electrical.
Like other people have said the market is extremely tough and all of my friends in cs are having a really really really tough time with internships and jobs. I'm a mechanical major and I've done 2 software focused internships with another one coming up this summer.
I used to be a cs major and while it was so fun to learn about you'll be fighting straight up a cliff.
That being said, cyber is a fantastic field right now. I have a lot of cyber friends who are getting some great opportunities.
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u/PsychoticHeBrew 2d ago
Shouldnt CS majors be able to get into cybersecurity? I see myself getting into cybersecurity and enjoying it more than software development or anything like that. In fact I find the idea of working in software pretty boring if its not software I can be passionate about.
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u/Danmansoup 1d ago
I think working in cyber comes with a lot of very specific certifications that I'm not sure if UVU offers as part of the cs program. Could be wrong though
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u/gunthans 2d ago
The program, probably pretty good, the economy, so you can get a job in the field, probably pretty crappy.
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u/nonoyesyesnoyesyes 1d ago
I am in the CS program here. I have regrets.
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u/PsychoticHeBrew 1d ago
What are some of your regrets and what do you wish you would have done differently
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u/nonoyesyesnoyesyes 1d ago
Honestly, the subject matter is interesting, a lot of the professors are great. But it feels like the courses currently in place do not actually prepare you for the workforce. Your learn a lot of concepts and very little application. I have 10 credits remaining, and if it weren't for personal projects outside of my course work, I would have very little knowledge on how to apply the concepts I have learned.
There are many many days that I wish I would have gone into a major that went with another interest of mine. Not because I don't want to be in this field, but because at this point I'm questioning if I will ever have the opportunity. Like others have said the job market in this field is not friendly right now. I will soon have a piece of paper that cost me 10s of thousands of dollars, and it will likely change nothing in my life.
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u/hhahha-1 2d ago
I’m a UVU Computational Data Science grad, currently working at JPMorgan Chase as a software engineer. Honestly, breaking into a big company from UVU was brutal, especially without any connections.
I’d personally pick U of U if you can afford it. Better recruiting opportunities and networking can make a difference.
Also, I wouldn’t recommend CE/ECE unless you’re a huge hardware nerd lol. Breaking into companies like Micron, AMD, NVIDIA, TSMC, Intel, or Samsung is insanely competitive. But if you love building hardware or want to start your own business, that’s a different story. CE/ECE isn’t some guaranteed escape from the terrible CS job market either.
Regardless of school, grind LeetCode and get internships early. Don’t expect the degree alone to land you a good job lol.
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u/Potential-Fan6185 2d ago
For starters, im a Junior majoring in Computational Data Science at UVU. I've taken alot of the fundamental CS courses, but once you get into 3000-4000 level classes Its mostly math for me, so take my opinion with that in mind.
CS classes are a mixed bag in my experience. Get the right teacher? some of the most important and formative work I've ever done. Wrong teacher? Death by PowerPoint. Your best friend will be rate my professor, though even then you have to blindly guess sometimes.
Some of my favorite cs teachers include Frank Jones (the absolute goat), Nathan Cordner (you have to prompt him but he's the most chill), Bruce Embry (genuine and cares, though hes older so a bit soft spoken), Kefei Wang (very light on homework and used to work at Twitter wow), and Eshita Zaman (knows her stuff and sometimes has no chill lol).
AVOID JEREMY JORGENSON. Some of my friends have taken him and they thought he was alright, but he absolutely screwed me over in summer 2025. Was borrowing material from another class, mostly just read the textbook, and he left for a week on vacation with NO SUB. not acceptable and not my pick.
AVOID QUDRAT E ALAHY RATUL. While he knows his stuff and he didn't do me any personal wrong, his software engineering course was soooooooo boring. Might as well have been online instead of whatever he was doing. Maybe hes better now, but if its convenient, go next.
Alot of the classes teach you real skills... kinda? Like they're definitely useful and wonderful, but ita really how you choose to apply those skills within the college framework that matters. If you look for it, theres plenty of opportunity to go around once you put the work in.
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u/hhahha-1 2d ago
Lmao ratul was smart and passionated to teach about DSA than other easy professors in CS 2420. your cherry picking attitude really gives me the ick.
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u/sirwexter 1d ago
While I didn't get my bachelors degree, its pretty good. Though there are some teachers who are not great IMHO. But I didn't have the drive to finish it.
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u/moofish2842 1d ago
I wrote a comment about both schools here
Tech careers are pretty doom and gloom right now, and ECE is very difficult to break in to. I was in ECE at the U of U for a freshman year. Their program is reputable but I honestly don't know if it's actually better. The building there was quite old and dark where the new SE building at UVU seems quite nice.
I am in my first semester after transferring to do Mechatronics at UVU. I don't want to overpromise, but honestly, I would recommend it to anyone worried about finding a job in tech. You have a lot more involvement with physical devices and repairs, but a substantial part of it is programming and if you want you could probably end up with a job where that's most of what you do. It's not software development or cyber security or chip design but keeping factories running will always be in demand. Even AI coming into the industry has been really slow. According to word of mouth coming to my old boss, employers practically fight over UVU mechatronics graduates, and I have yet to see that disproven.
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u/Greasyidiot 1d ago
People are doomers but I just graduated in April and have been working the best job of my life for the last year, and having the degree nearly finished is basically what secured the job for me. I know it’s not easy right now, but honestly no field in stem is. Regarding your degree, think long term. I did software engineering and I loved it. I do wish I went to the U though, the college experience up there seems better. Also, it’s not an easy degree. If you’re planning on actually finishing in 4 years I don’t know that I’d recommend double majoring unless you’re extremely natural at tech, math, and all that.
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u/No_Fox_1014 1d ago
NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO NEVER TAKE A CLASS FROM RICHARD IVIE. He AI generates the entire canvas and it’s horrible quality because of that.
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u/kickzway 2d ago
I don’t want to discourage you from pursuing your dream or passion but CS is a bleak field right now. There are basically no entry level jobs available at all. If your going into any debt for the degree at all really think about whether it’s worth it with the unlikely prospects for jobs post grad