Choosing a major is hard. Believe me I know. Informatics is actually my third declared college major! I changed my major my junior year when I came to IU (the main reason next year will be my 5th year!). I decided that I wasn't enjoying the classes I was taking for my current major, but I had not a clue what to change my major to. One of my friends who was in Informatics suggested I try taking the Introductory class, INFO-I 101. I decided why not, I didn't have any ideas what I wanted to do now anyways. I am so glad I decided to take the class! I loved it and I have enjoyed every single Informatics class I have taken since then.
So why should YOU consider Informatics or Computer Science if/when you come to IU? There are several reasons, but here are my top four:
- You don't have to have really strong prior technical skills. Everything you will need to know is taught to you in classes. If you know how to do the basics when using a computer, you should be perfectly fine. I should know, all I basically knew before starting my Informatics courses was things like Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, how to surf the web, and how to check my email. I didn't really do anything past that. Now I know how to make some pretty awesome websites and even some basic programming! I never dreamed I would know how to do such things, and it's a pretty great feeling looking back on all the amazing things I've learned since becoming an Informatics major! :)
- The school offers a really close-knit community feeling. This school is one of the newest on campus, so the class sizes are generally pretty small compared to some of the other big lecture classes, and the overall graduating classes are not nearly as big as other programs at IU. It didn't take me long at all to meet so many new people, because I was taking either one or more classes with them a semester. Because it is so close-knit, you can always find someone to help you out with a class you may be having trouble with. I come from a really small town in Northern Indiana. My graduating class was in the upper 90's. So coming to IU was a really big change for me since there are so many students and people here. I was a bit overwhelmed at first. But SoIC has really helped me to find a smaller niche with a lot of great people I can get to know really well. It made IU a little smaller and more managable for me.
- Informatics and Computer Science are two fields that are growing rapidly. The demand for students with technology majors keeps growing, and there often aren't enough students graduating from these types of programs to fill all the positions. This means really high job placement for our students after graduation! Pretty cool right? :) I certainly think so! Also (and this is not the only reason I chose the major but it was a consideration), starting salaries for jobs in the technology field are pretty nice compared to most entry level jobs. Just thought I would share that with all you readers as well. :)
- Pretty much everyone I have met within the School has been really nice and laid back. This atmosphere is really great, and has been really beneficial for all my academics thus far in the school. I feel completely comfortable asking questions to any professor or fellow classmate and not being judged for it. Also, if the person I ask doesn't have the answer, they usually can refer me to someone who can help, which is great. Another pretty neat thing is that many of the professors like to be friends with the students. They treat students as their equals, which I really like and is one of the main reasons I feel so comfortable coming to them with any issues I'm having. I've known of a few professors going out and getting dinner or something like that with students, which I just find really awesome!
I am really happy I decided to major in Informatics, and I would encourage every student who is at all interested in learning more about technology to at least try it out and take the introductory class. You never know, you might find that it's the best decision you ever made in giving it a chance. I know it was a great decision for me! :) Check it out and if you have any questions you're more than welcome to ask me or any of the faculty and staff at the school!
Best,
-Amanda R.