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Ask HN: Coolest CS Subfields?

10 points by smattiso ↗ HN
I've worked as a backend or mobile app developer for 10 years. This type of programming is very monotonous and I'm looking to move into a more exciting and challenging subfield. I have a BS in Computer Science and my math skills are so rusty they might as well be nonexistent. What types of programming jobs are actually challenging and interesting? I am OK with having to go back to school. Please only remark on the jobs you have personally worked.

Potential candidates:

* Graphics programming * Scientific computing * Data science * Quantitative finance development * Machine learning * Embedded development

Thoughts? I am also considering abandoning engineering altogether and going into general business as that seems like a more transferable skill and you don't have the skill rot that occurs in eng.

14 comments

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vshan
Distributed Systems!
eanthy
If you care about the amount of jobs in these fields then consider data science or potentially machine learning (which is mostly doing devopsy stuff in reality)
matt_the_bass
Marine science. Not well paid but lots of interesting adventures.
smattiso
I've been fascinated by this forever. It seems like it's mostly for EE and ME people though? Are you working in Marine Science?
matt_the_bass
In my day job I make high tech equipment for ships. My customers are users on all types of ships from arctic to Antarctic and everywhere n between. 1/2 our engineering team is SW. all our engineers go in the field (be it local boat tests for the day or customer visits on the other side of the world). There are 100s of companies that need software engineers in the marine market. My work involves science to make our technology effective but we are not marine scientists. You can find these types of companies all over the place but many within driving distances of universities with marine science/technology programs.

That being said, I’ve designed lots of field tests for our products. I’ve worked on joint projects with scientists from academia. And I’ve been invited to the ice trials on board famous research vessels.

If you want to do more direct science, then you want to work for the users of marine products. These people are in the field a lot more and often performing the “science”. Research institutes associated with universities always need professional sw talent. But they don’t pay anywhere near industry. Check out institutes in FL, MA, RI, CA, MS, WA, NH.

smattiso
I've often considered going back to school for a MS in Robotics, but I wonder if it's possible to join an outfit like yours as a SW guy and "pick up" some of the prereq knowledge on the job? I'd probably stay more on the software side (state estimation, control theory, route planning, sensor fusion etc).

If you are open to talking more over the phone or email or something I'd definitely appreciate it as I have wanted to break in to this field for a very long time and having some guidance on the actual ins and outs of the industry would be a great help.

I know of WHOI and Scripps, who are the other big players in the scientific realm? I know Paul Allen did some exploratory stuff (not sure about r&d) and Ray Dalio with OceanX is doing something.

matt_the_bass
Robotics MS programs generally have a lot of physics and mechanical engineering prerequisites. If you want to be on the software side, you should look at embedded and firmware technologies.

It sounds like you’re looking to make tools for marine scientists more than doing science. You don’t necessarily need an MS for that. A lot of those companies are relatively small. IMHO those types of companies want generalists who can learn fast and get things done.

You might consider attending a trade show or conference like: Oceans, OI, Ocean Business to meet some companies.

There are a growing number of research vessel Yachts. Paul’s was pretty much the first. Ray’s is one of the latest. Ocean Xs new ship is pretty awesome. I was on board at the yard around the time they gutted most of it. Super cool tour! Great team too.

Certainly These types of vessels will contribute to science, but they are still toys for rich people. This has both pros and cons for science.

I’d be happy to discuss more offline if you want.

smattiso
I'm actually more interested in the science, however from what I've seen that's usually reserved for PhD Oceanographers? How do I get in contact with you?
neuroticfish
How would you go about breaking into this field with a BS or MS in compsci?
nextos
* Formal methods or program semantics

* Probabilistic and differentiable programming