I'm thinking about going for a minor in computer science, but already have good experience with PHP, HTML, and some Python.<p>If I were to apply for a non-engineer job at a startup, or begin my own startup, what would the minor do for me? I am leaning towards not going for the minor, and instead continue to program on my own, and tout that if I ever apply for a (again, probably non-engineer) startup job. BTW, I'm double majoring in Physics and Economics and not sure if I'm staying all 4 years, if that means anything.<p>Thanks.
Check out the actual curriculum and determine if you would be learning stuff that you wouldn't easily be able to learn on your own. You can get by in software development without ever writing a compiler, converting automata, or hunting for K5 in a jumble of lines but I would argue those things can contribute positively to analytic thinking and in those situations where there is a parallel, you can have an intuitive edge.<p>Cross-disciplinary knowledge can be a great advantage as well, physics and economics mesh quite well with computation.<p>In my experience, a CS minor is generally a plus on a resume if you are a recent grad, less so if you graduated 10 years ago and haven't worked on related projects or in development roles.
Having a minor in CS means I understand conversations about algorithmic complexity, have experience with parsers, can discuss data structure analysis, and all those other things that you don't learn when you learn a language. Computer Science isn't about building websites, it's about understanding theory and reasoning about logic. It won't help you get your RoR site up any faster, but it will definitely help you understand good engineering and create a stellar product. You should stay all four years, or five if you can afford it, and you should pursue the minor.
I'm a mechanical engineer, and I do a lot of stuff involving electronics and programming (PLCs, so a little different than you would probably learn).<p>Anyway, in my job at least it would probably be quite helpful, especially understanding some of the networking side of things. I'm not sure I even considered it if it was even offered as a minor at my school.