Why Am I such a horrible programmer??
 

I hate to be negative but I just need to vent a little bit of my frustration. So basically I am in my 3rd year of university studying computer science. Looking back I chose to study computer because of the money not really knowing much about it. After 3 years I feel like I know just as much as I did in my first computer science course and am wishing I would've studied buisness. I am expected to graduate next year and have to find a job but I feel as though I am going to get fired after my first day on the job! I dont think I have ever finished a program without some degree of help. Its so frustrating because I will sit at my computer for hours on end attempting to accomplish a task but will get absolutely no where. For example I sat in front of my computer just the other day attempting to make an interface for my openGL game and after 3 hours I had accomplished nothing. If I was to be given this task at a job and could not complete it, I would be fired. I just cant help but think I am going to get a job and be given a task to complete at a job and sit there for hours not knowing what to do or how to complete the task without bothering co-workers for help! When I make a program its inefficient and other students often laugh at how horrible my code looks and works. I work so hard but get absolutely no where! Everyone else seems to be making forward progress but theres always me stuck in front of my computer getting nowhere and being required to ask students for help on my programs or I will not be able to finish them on time. At the moment I have been giving an assignment to make an openGL game, a friend had to come help me complete it because I simply just did not know where to even begin!! He did things that I wouldn't even have known existed and stuff I would not have even known how to do even if I sat in front of my computer for a week straight! I know ur supposed to be positive and not be negative but I just can't help but feel this way after seeing my classmates making so much progress and enjoying there work and me being left confused, frustrated, and growing to hate computer science because of my incompetence at it. The reason I continued to study it was because good friends of mine who have been programming for a long time always told me it was hard at first but got easier as you went however; after 3 years I find this not to be true. I just dont know what to do!!!! aww I feel better now :p

Change majors. It may cost you money and time, but in the end it will be worth it. You don't want to get stuck with a job you hate.

What you put is hopefully what you should get out.

It's not all about sitting in front of the computer, you should always if possible have a plan of how you're going to tackle the task, get out the pen and paper and just plan/design the program.

Practise Practise Practise and Practise

Read Kruptof's post and take it to heart. If you were learning to build a carburetor, you wouldn't go get some metal and start hammering on it. You would learn about the kinds of objects you need and how to connect them together. In other words, design your project before you begin. Break the task into smaller parts. Then break those into smaller parts. Then look in your toolbox (libraries, books, and tutorials) for the parts you need. THEN start assembling and testing them, piece by piece.

Never wait until you're through to make your first test. Make sure the nuts and bolts have the same size and threads. Mic the jet before you cram it in there. Just because it's software doesn't mean good sense and proven principles go out the door.

No offence, but I don't think you have the interest to take your through computer science, and even if you graduated and managed to find and keep a job, your progress in the field will likely be greatly held back but what seems to be a lack of passion for the study.

Change programs, you can't put a price on doing something you actually love to do, and you will be better at it.

Everything is hard on the surface. It seems to me that you are overwhelmed by all of the "moving parts". Do not take the assignments at face value. As DaWei suggests, break them down into pieces that are easier to understand and construct. Then when the pieces are formed, bring them together to construct the final product. Consider it a "Divide and Conquer" approach... abstract and free from details.

Comparing yourself to your classmates will not help your level of confidence, besides chances are they struggle as well. The difference is they are motivated and dedicated to hammering out a solution. They do not sit there for hours feeling sorry for themselves or having regrets about enrolling in Computer Science. If anything, your level of self described "incompetence" should make you more eager to excel and refine your skills.

My suggestion to you, practice. Learn from trial and error. Its not just knowing what works, it is also knowing what doesn't work. If you are thinking you can't do something before you even start, you are already defeated. In such an instance, you are your worst enemy.

In my opinion, I wouldn't change your major... I would change your mindset.
If you really wanted to excel in this field, you can.

Some very good points have already been made, but I'm going to add another suggestion. You might consider a tutor. In my first semester at college, there was this girl who was in a few of my classes, including an introductory programming course. She was struggling with the programming, so I spent a lot of time helping her out, and explaining things in a different way than the teacher did, and she told me that it was easier to learn from me.

The point here is that one person's teaching approach might not match another's learning approach. This does not mean the teacher is incompetent, nor does it mean the student is stupid. You can (and should, if you haven't already) raise your concerns with your professor(s), and possibly look into a tutor. I think your school, like most, will probably have a 'learning center' or other facility to help students who are having trouble with the material.

Way to go ;).

Plus, individual attention is almost always better than a teacher per roomful (the almost is for those few insanely awesome teachers out there).

I've been getting the same thing lately. I have found myself bored and uninterested in programming, and I've been doing worse in the class, and I'm only in my third year in high school programming. What I like to do is art, but my safe bet is programming. So I'm kind of trying for a compromise. I want to get an Electrical Engineering degree (my dad says that an engineering degree will get me a programming job but for more money), and minor (or possibly double major) in art. Then maybe I can jump into art, graphic design or something like that. And If I suck at that, then I can at least fall back on my engineering degree.

Hehe, I shoulda known this was coming. At least I didn't say "showed her how things work". :)

Actually, while she was kinda cute, she was also a little too young for me, and I'm already attached. But who knows, maybe csrocker101 can find a cute nerdy study girl partner to 'tutor' him, no?