I spent a lot of time scouring google with queries like “is computer science hard reddit” back when I was deciding whether I should go ahead and get a computer science degree. I wanted advice from someone who had boots on the ground in the computer science field.
I was in a weird spot in my life. I already had a degree in biology from a decent school. But honestly, fieldwork didnāt appeal to me, nor did becoming a teacher. I didnāt care enough about any particular discipline to go in deeper. So I was at loose ends, working odd jobs while I decided on my next move.
I had heard from a few of my friends that computer science was a good job… if you were up for it. With that ominous caveat, I took to Google to try to find the answer. Was computer science hard? More importantly, was it too hard for me? (Was it worth it for that hefty software engineering salary
Here were some of the answers I found after searching again today:
“I have a CS degree - while there is a lot of math, if youāre willing to study and take it serious, with all the resources nowadays I donāt see why you would have problems passing.”
ā PianoConcertoNo2
“Don’t choose a CS career if you just want money. Choose the CS path because you enjoy technology work.”
ā VA_Network_Nerd
“Computer Science is effectively a math degree that teaches you programming. If you are struggling with math, you will probably find computer science to be very upsetting and stressful.”
ā SouthernRhubarb
After scouring the internet, I realized my problem. I wanted someone to give me a straight-up:
“Yes, computer science is too hard”
or a:
“No, computer science is fine.”
However, like so many other things in life, there isnāt any one answer to the question. All the answers said the same thing: if you like math and tech, then youāll probably enjoy computer science enough to stick through a course or degree.
Ultimately, I decided not to get a degree. They were expensive, and I kind of wanted to get a move on in my life faster than four years. So I embarked on my own journey of learning computer science. I am now happily qualified to answer the question, “Is computer science hard?"
Letās jump in.
The short answer: Yes, computer science is hard. š
Iāll give you what I wish Iād had back in 2020, when I was wondering if computer science is hard. Yes, itās hard. But so are statistics, calculus, biology, English literature, social media marketing and psychology. Thereās no such thing as an easy subject. There are only people who make it look easy, and people who donāt.
A lot of folks ask questions like, “Is computer science harder than engineering?” or “Is computer science harder than medicine?”
My answer: these comparisons arenāt helpful. Like anything, if you want to learn it well enough to get a decent job, itās hard. Youāll have to apply yourself to pick up the lessons and code for hours in front of a screen cramped with code. It takes a toll on you. Itās not easy.
Come to the dark side

Regards and sorry for the interruption, Lane here! I built Boot.dev to give you a place to learn back-end development the...hard way? I mean easy? Maybe the "heasy" way? I don't know.
It's hard because you will have to write code... like a metric ton of code. It's easy because my courses have a built-in game that's pretty darn fun. Give it a try.
What exactly is hard about computer science? š
Why is computer science hard? Slightly paraphrasing Leo Tolstoy here: every difficult subject is difficult in its own way. Computer science is hard due to a unique set of characteristics.
Thereās a bias about who is good at computer science. š
Hereās a set of images created by DALL-E mini with the prompt, “computer scientist.” Notice anything?
Apart from looking like escaped demons from the ninth circle of hell, theyāre all white men. Thatās the predominant image of computer scientists on the web. (You can check out DALL-Eās disclaimer here about its biases and limitations.)
Why does that make computer science hard? Because for a long, long time, if you werenāt a straight white guy, you would face discrimination from peers, professors, and bosses.
And itās still the case today, if to a lesser degree. The LA Times published this article in 2022 about the lack of diversity in Silicon Valley, highlighting some of the authorās experiences as a Latina woman in tech. It sucks, but itās still true today, even if hopefully itās getting better over time.
Mistakes are easy to make and hard to fix. š
One thing that makes computer science hard is the stubbornness of errors. I remember spending hours trying to debug a script Iād written. It came down to a single misplaced comma. One single comma! I spent an entire frustrating afternoon staring at my screen, fixing different things, and trying to interpret obscure error messages before I finally caught my typo.
With computer science, you need to come armed with patience and resilience. Things can and will go wrong.
Thereās a steep learning curve. š
Think of computer science as a complex video game. When I started gaming, I played two different games. I tried “Divinity: Original Sin” and “Lego City Undercover”. Both were hard for me at first, because Iād never played video games before. But Lego City Undercover was a lot easier to pick up.
DOS had a much steeper learning curve. It took me much longer to get the lessons to stick, what to do when. It was a more complex game, with more options. I could go much deeper, too. Computer science was like DOS for me. It took a while for me to get comfortable with it. I had to learn a lot of the same lessons over and over again. And when I thought Iād mastered a concept or angle, Iād screw up in a way that taught me I had a lot left to learn.
This complexity and depth mean computer science is hard to learn.
Lack of pop culture š
Donāt laugh! This is a real issue with computer science. Some subjects are easier to pick up because thereās a lot of cultural immersion. For example, when I studied literature, I already knew a lot of the beats of the classics we studied. Dracula appears in pop culture, as do the Grimm stories and a lot of the 19th-century British literature we read. Not only that, but someone had gone to a lot of effort to make complex subjects easy to grasp through resources like SparkNotes.
Computer science doesnāt really have an equivalent because thereās no agreement on what “the classics” are. Thereās very little overlap between your day-to-day life and what you learn in computer science. You start much less familiar with the source material than you do with other subjects, which makes it less accessible. Ergo, computer science is hard due to a lack of familiarity in pop culture.
Computer science is easier depending on the format. š
Computer science is challenging in a different way, too: the entry bar is lower. Nobodyās going to hire you to be a postdoc in chemistry unless you have a PhD in chemistry. But due to the chronic shortage of capable computer scientists, people can and do get hired for computer science positions based on their self-taught lessons.
So now the door is open. You could conceivably learn computer science without going back to school for it. And guess what? Thatās really hard.
I did it the hard way. I checked out the best places to learn Python online. I googled and read blog posts and watched YouTube videos. I took tons of free online courses and a few cheap Udemy courses. Iām glad I did, but boy, I spent so long and so much of my blood, sweat, and tears when thereās an easier way.
- Go back to school. You have the option of going back to university. It takes four years and a ton of money, but the option is there. Get spoon-fed information, projects, knowledge, and get a fancy diploma at the end of it.
- Lean on pre-existing curricula. This is what boot.dev offers ā a complete and ever-growing course of knowledge to help you cover the theoretical and practical side of computer science. Thereās also a kickass community and weekly events to help fill out your resume.
- DIY. This is what I did. Itās not for the faint of heart, and you risk missing massive integral areas of study because you just donāt know theyāre there.
- A mix of the above. You can get a certificate here, a bootcamp there, a YouTube series too, and maybe a college-certified course off Coursera.
Want to learn Python and Go?

The rumors are not true. I've been writing Go and Python for many years and I smell delightful.
Computer science is easier to learn if you have these advantages š
Is computer science hard for someone with no experience? Well, itās a lot easier with the right background. For example, like Reddit user SouthernRhubarb implies, you need to like math to comfortably get through a computer science curriculum.
If you have experience with and enjoyment of these things, then youāll find computer science a lot less hard:
Computers in general š
The more you know about computers in general, the more effective youāll be at picking up a skill thatās intimately involved with them. The less time youāll need to spend learning how to copy & paste, configure desktop settings, connect to the internet, or open the developer console in a browser, the faster youāll be able to move. This makes computer science less hard.
Math š
Assuming your goal is to learn computer science, and not just basic software development, the more math youāve taken the better off youāll be. For example, if youāve never even learned basic algebra itās going to take a minute to catch up.
Thereās a surprising amount of algebra and basic math in even the most simple algorithms. Trigonometry and Calculus help a lot also but arenāt as necessary as a solid algebra foundation.
Tinkering š
This one has less to do with your experience level and more to do with your personality. However, even if you donāt love to tinker and play with problems itās a trait that can be learned.
Once you actually get a job coding and building software systems, youāll be surprised how much of your job is just tinkering with existing projects to see what makes them tick. If you enjoy looking deep into how stuff works, it will help you to avoid burnout when you canāt figure out why the code isnāt behaving as expected.
Self-directed research š
Did I mention how much of my time has been spent googling and reading StackOverflow questions? Itās practically impossible to learn all there is about a field as vast as computer science and programming. You need to get used to the idea that youāll be spending a good amount of your workday as a developer looking stuff up.
No one will ever fault you for not knowing even a slightly-obscure fact about the industry, but you will be expected to be able to find that answer.
Writing code š
Coding, while practically inseparable from computer science, is actually a different discipline. Learning computer science is possible with just paper and pencil, but itās much easier (and more practical) to use code.
If youāre a coder and are just trying to learn computer science (algorithms, data structures, cryptography, etc) youāll have a much easier time learning computer science.
Is computer science hard? š
The short answer, again, is yes. Computer science is tough to learn. Itās easier or harder depending on your background or how you choose to learn it. Do you have zero experience coding and want to learn the DIY way? Then youāll struggle, though itās still doable. Are you an avid programmer whoās handy around a computer and spent a lot of time behind a keyboard writing scripts for your favorite videogames? Then youāll find it easier ā but not easy.
For example, I had an interest in animals and science growing up. Iād read a lot of the textbooks that were assigned later in college. I had seen some David Attenborough documentaries. All these things made it easier than computer science for me personally, though the degree was still hard. If things had been different, maybe biology would have been harder than computer science.
When you ask, “Is computer science hard?” I have to assume youāre really asking: “Is computer science too hard for me?" or “Is computer science too hard to be worth it?”
And I canāt answer that question. Only you can. After reading this post, I hope youāre a little closer to your answer.