Although I can understand people's initial hesitation, this argument is not really valid because software engineering does not have to involve math.
I can completely relate to wanting to avoid classes. When I first started college, I was in the pre-engineering major. I had to choose at orientation which path in engineering to follow. Based on the chart that was drawn out in front of us, I noticed that Computer Science was the only engineering path that did not need Chemistry. And so, I entered the Computer Science major.
My first quarter was really tough and I actually ended up getting a D in my math course. I had to retake it the next quarter since the following course in the series required me to get a C or above. I was very discouraged but thought I would give it another try - and I did much better the second time around. I was actually good at math in high school but college was pretty tough. Luckily, my school had a great tutoring program - I'm not sure I would have made it through without them.
I had many doubts all throughout college while I was studying Computer Science. It started with math because I just could not hit my stride there - not to mention the programming courses that actually involved math. However, I kept pushing along because I would always find a class each quarter that I actually loved and wanted to continue in the major.
"But I don't want to suffer through my classes!" I can hear you thinking. "I want to study something I love."
Ah, the time of innocence. I miss that.
It is a good point though - but tell me of a major where someone loves every single class they take. There might be the rare person far and in between who actually does - but then again, that exists in Computer Science also. The way how requirements work for college degree programs, it's pretty rare that you will love every single class you take. I counter your thinking by saying that there will be classes you love to take - and that will make up for it. At least, that's what happened to me.
Here's a little known fact for those outside of Computer Science: You don't have to use math after college.
Obviously, I don't mean all math - we all use math, especially if you go out to eat as much as I do (who loves those tip calculators on iPhone/Androids? I do!). But there's definitely not a daily need to find the derivative of an equation or take the integral of some linear combination. In fact, in the area I'm in, I can tell you that I haven't done that since college.
There are so many areas in Computer Science - and many of them do not involve math. Of course, if you want to go into an area like game design, you better be comfortable programming math (which is why I did not end up there). But if you want to write web applications, mobile apps, even working on UI these days - depending what industry of course, you might not actually use any advanced math. Basically, once you're done with school, you can decide what area to go into - whether it is related to math or not.
The bottom line is this: don't let your dislike for math be an argument for not studying Computer Science. Of course, Computer Science is not for everyone. But if your main hesitation is the fact that you aren't good at math, try to get past that. It's such an amazing field with a huge variety of opportunities that something as small as disliking math should not stand in your way.
Disclaimer: In college, you will have to take math. There usually are A LOT of resources offering help - for example, at UCSB, I was a big advocate of CLAS which really helped get me through some of the tougher math classes. Take advantage of the tutoring services your school offers - there's really no reason not to.
What do you think of math? Love it or hate it?
Yours,
