Ask HN: What to do now | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What to do now

4 pointsarchmase-dev6 comments

I'm 23, I've a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering and I'm "taking" another degree in physics. Between exams and "life" I've some free time to spend and I don't know what to do... I'd like to help the "community" with it. The problem is that it's hard to find that community. I mean, in computer science is born every day a new linux distro, a new programming lanquage, a new "revolutionary project" etc.. It's really hard to find THE project in which devote my free time. So I could have some potential and I'm wasting it watching films and unlearning english. Is there anyone who have already been experiencing this ? And how did you get out of it ?

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> The problem is that it's hard to find that community. I mean, in computer science is born every day a new linux distro, a new programming lanquage, a new "revolutionary project" etc.. It's really hard to find THE project in which devote my free time.

I think you shouldn't let it distract you. I think it's great that so many people are making new things, but the fact is that main distros five years ago are still the main distros now, and same for the programming languages (with the possible exception of Go lang).

Instead, you should find something you care about and work on it, at your own pace. Maybe something related to the Physics class you are taking or a CS course you liked, you're the only one to know.

Find a project on github that is related to your interests and written in a language you're at least moderately good... or create something from the scratch. Find a problem and try to fix it. Even if someone already did that, doesn't mean you can't make it better.

Don't pick large projects for contributions - you'll spend too much time just making sure that your contribution at least will be reviewed.

You say you like movies, I'm sure there must be something related to that entertainment medium that you can contribute to.

Spend your time coding. If you have free time, improve your craft. Find something to write that you find interesting. You'll get better at your core skills, and quite likely you'll find one or other open source project that you use in your code that needs improvement. If you do, that's going to be your worthy cause. It's something you'll find interesting and relevant, and you will definitely feel like you contributed.

So I could have some potential and I'm wasting it>

I was reminded of the U2 song "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."

The search for that community is a worthwhile endeavor in and of itself. Perhaps if you could define certain desirable community criteria: Who, What, Where, etc... It might help connecting quicker.

Why did you decide to go back and get a second degree in physics (a BS?). Was it to delay your entry into the full-time labor market, or because you are passionate about physics? Also, are you still living in the same city you lived in during college? Have you changed schools?

I know that I'll delay my entry into the market :( It wans't a easy choice.... At time I loved each physics and computer science but I came from a school with really few hours of maths. So I had two choices try to take a degree in computer science or in physics. For many people physics looks like "writing evil symbols on a blackboard"; those many people convinced me that computer science was the best choice (because of my rudimentary math). Obviously also computer science study involved lot of math, so after it, because I still love both subjects, I decided to study physics. And yes I live in the same city and I haven't changed schools.

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