Question Should i quit pursuing Computer Science

[RyukKanji]

Hi , my name is Mark , i am 16 years old and currently on second year of highschool ( out of 3 )
You see i wanna study Computer Science and become a software engineer and it is a no brainer that you need to have good math skills and maybe some physics knowledge as well ,
Anyways i was sure about that path for a long time and i even did a career path test , legit none of the internet ones ofc and it got me a 90% match with CS

The thing is that sometimes in some tests or exams i will either do excellent or really really bad

Like today we had exams on Math which were on a topic different than algebra(saying this to point out that i am better in algebra than the kind of math we did but i actually went pretty bad on my algebra exams as well 2 weeks before even though i am one of the top students in algebra) , and i wrote less than 50% which is really bad but in my class or in private lessons i will always do really good . I cant really explain it but to sum it up i am always really good at class , i always do the hw correctly but at exams i tend to do horribly and that goes for Math , Algebra , Physics and Chemistry

i can solve as homework many difficult or challenging problems but on tests or exams even though my friends who are like me find it easy and do well i will do horribly and they will mock me calling me braindead or a <<edited by moderator>>( as a joke ofc )

It has been done so many times that i actually think i must be stupid to not be able to do well like them and all the other kids that want a path completly different than mine with nothing to do with math and still they do better than me and i am starting to think that even though i understand math , algebra , physics and chemistry and i love solving problems and i really like to code , cs maybe is not for me.To this point my whole confidence has been torn apart by my consistent bad grades and my friends mocking me .I really have nowhere else to turn to for advice so please help me

 

[COLGeek]

Not everyone tests well. If this is your passion and you are willing to work hard, then keep pursuing your goals.

 

[hanotaink]

Well, I'm no computer science expert, but I've heard time and time again that math is not super important for CS (though it depends on what exactly you're interested in, data science needs more math). CS is a very broad topic, if you're certain that that is what you want to do then pursue it by all means, but try to narrow it down to what exactly interests you about it. AI, big data, machine learning, algorithms, computer vision, AR/VR... It's true that it's all related in some way, but I doubt that everyone becomes a jack-of-all-trades. Some people just stick to web/software development because that's what they enjoy doing, but those things barely need any math.
So my advice would be to try more things out or read more about specific topics to see what is it that really interests you because right now you're focusing too much on school grades. They won't matter that much once you've graduated and got into college.

 

[Ralston18]

In agreement with @COLGeek.

Some people just do not test well.

However, you can overcome that by taking more tests, doing harder problems, and most of all working with your teachers.

Surely some of them have noticed the problem. You are not asking for favors by honestly discussing the problem with teachers and/or support staff.

Consider: you may not be afraid of failing - fear of success can be just as inhibiting.

FYI:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/terina...me-if-you-want-to-be-successful/#31d4e47d5d48

Remember.

Only in school do you get the lessons first and the test afterwards. In life it is often the opposite.

 

[JeckeL]

You're doing the #1 thing that hinders growth whether it's intellectual or otherwise: worrying/focusing on everything BUT the present... worrying about the future, worrying about what others (i.e. classmates) think about you and your grades and such, worrying about how much math you'll need for a career that is years away.... Just focus on what's in front of you, do what needs to be done, and if you focus on yourself rather than what others are doing/thinking/saying you'll get to where you want to go.

 

[LordVile]

Hi , my name is Mark , i am 16 years old and currently on second year of highschool ( out of 3 )
You see i wanna study Computer Science and become a software engineer and it is a no brainer that you need to have good math skills and maybe some physics knowledge as well ,
Anyways i was sure about that path for a long time and i even did a career path test , legit none of the internet ones ofc and it got me a 90% match with CS

The thing is that sometimes in some tests or exams i will either do excellent or really really bad

Like today we had exams on Math which were on a topic different than algebra(saying this to point out that i am better in algebra than the kind of math we did but i actually went pretty bad on my algebra exams as well 2 weeks before even though i am one of the top students in algebra) , and i wrote less than 50% which is really bad but in my class or in private lessons i will always do really good . I cant really explain it but to sum it up i am always really good at class , i always do the hw correctly but at exams i tend to do horribly and that goes for Math , Algebra , Physics and Chemistry

i can solve as homework many difficult or challenging problems but on tests or exams even though my friends who are like me find it easy and do well i will do horribly and they will mock me calling me braindead or a <<edited by moderator>>( as a joke ofc )

It has been done so many times that i actually think i must be stupid to not be able to do well like them and all the other kids that want a path completly different than mine with nothing to do with math and still they do better than me and i am starting to think that even though i understand math , algebra , physics and chemistry and i love solving problems and i really like to code , cs maybe is not for me.To this point my whole confidence has been torn apart by my consistent bad grades and my friends mocking me .I really have nowhere else to turn to for advice so please help me

As others have said some people just don't test well, you can pass by hammering it in and doing mocks over and over again.

My question is why do you want to do these thing? What do you enjoy doing? You seem to have the opposite issue to me where I was good at something so I just did what other people thought I should do, didn't enjoy it, the career path wasn't something I wasn't interested in so I got all the way to uni got massively depressed, did 2 years and dropped out. Much happier doing what I do now. Overall you should do what you think is best and what you enjoy but also realise what you can and cannot do. If you can code and don't do well on tests learn the tests, they're only for the qual and actually being able to do the thing is better in practice than a piece of paper saying you know what the thing is if that makes sense? You're only 16 you have time on your side.

 

[sizzling]

Not everyone tests well. If this is your passion and you are willing to work hard, then keep pursuing your goals.

This 100%

My experience which is not related to CS but is something I have learnt and I take with me as an employee and a manager is often the person who can do the job the best is not the person that has the best qualifications or academic results. Not always the case but I have seen very qualified people be completely useless in real world application of their knowledge, they were clearly skilled at taking tests.

 

[LordVile]

This 100%

My experience which is not related to CS but is something I have learnt and I take with me as an employee and a manager is often the person who can do the job the best is not the person that has the best qualifications or academic results. Not always the case but I have seen very qualified people be completely useless in real world application of their knowledge, they were clearly skilled at taking tests.

Same, I know people who are great at taking tests but cat fault find to save their life