# Calling all Computer Programmers/Software Engineers/Computer Scientists



## Ben8 (Jul 5, 2013)

I'm currently at university and I plan to get a degree in electrical engineering with a minor in computer science. I want to eventually work as a software engineer or some kind of programmer. My question is, as someone who deals with software/coding, what ways can programming and software be used to help people? I want to eventually get a job that is also rewarding and have the feeling that I am making a difference in the world. Any advice?


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## Psychophant (Nov 29, 2013)

In whatever ways you can think of. I've created administrative and other management software, which is extremely helpful to administrators or other manager types, and I also generally just like making cool/fun stuff for the amusement of myself and others. The science and thought behind computation is really an incredible thing, and it's kind of mind-blowing what you can achieve with a few clever algorithms and billions of CPU cycles per second. I'm pretty much self-taught, so my advice is to pick a relatively easy to learn, powerful language (I like C#), get an ebook, come up with some ideas for simple things you might like to make, and learn and play around. If you can find good classes at your college, take em, but the two intro classes I took were pretty so so. Programming is so wonderfully accessible to anyone with the will to learn and an internet connection, so take advantage of all the awesome resources online and start teaching yourself.


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