Computer Science or Art

[FiveGoMadInDorset]

DD has to make the choice between these two, they can’t accommodate both this year as uptake in computer science is lower and only running one group.

Other GCSEs are english, maths, triple science, PRE, History and DT.

She really wants to do both but we can’t decide, hasn’t helped that options evening was after lockdown. There is a very big art community in Dorset so she can do different art courses at weekends and in holidays or is doing a GCSE out of school an option for that?

Any ideas or a different view point would be really helpful, she doesn’t really know what she wants to do. She does have HFA and find art therapeutic.

[Hannah021]

I'm a computer scientist, with phd and msc in computer security. Highly paid senior consultant, absolutely love my job, wouldnt change it for anything.

[maddy68]

Computer science is really hard with a low pass rate. She would need to a) really enjoy coding b) be prepared for lots of dull elements (I teach it!). If she really enjoys coding she will enjoy it. What does she want to do?

[PastMyBestBeforeDate]

My dd's school won't let them do Art and DT because of the work they do after school hours. That might be a consideration.

[BubblesBuddy]

Of you could argue that doing a wider portfolio and less eggs in the same basket is good for DC as technology is in the mix too. It’s lop sided for a balanced education and no MFL either. However I’ll get off my soap box now - but I think breadth rather than specialism is best for 13/16 year olds and bright DC should do an art and a MFL. Not, effectively, 6 STEM subjects.

[lanthanum]

Yes, usefulness of CS GCSE to CS degree may not be at all relevant.

However, given
She is top set for maths and science, enjoys chemistry and physics
it sounds like she might well end up going in a science direction, and may well find herself using computers quite heavily in the future.

[BubblesBuddy]

So GCSE to grad again?! Why assume any of this? It’s a GCSE. One of 9 or 10. DC could be a medic or a vet or an architect where art is useful.

[BubblesBuddy]

Why would she work in CS just by doing the GCSE? If she cannot choose between Art and CS then a career in either might not be what she wants. She might like a pure science, engineering and a while host of STEM based degrees. She really doesn’t need to choose a career just yet!

[Soma]

Hi @fivegomadindorset, equally, there are tons of coding and computing at a very high level available online.
You can not under estimate the value of a great art teacher to bring out the best in your DD's creativity and skill. For every DC who has found art GCSE a chore and too much work, there are probably half a dozen who feel the opposite. Most people think GCSE is just drawing, but it is highly critical and analytical. There is a lot of work, but I can't think of any GCSE with a light load.

To do well in it, your DD would have to keep on top of her annotations and manage her time effectively. My DD1 loves it, and is interested in film making, animation etc, which would involve drawing skills, 2D and 3D computer based design.

[PerditaDreamsofFairHorses]

I think it also depends on what kind of art she likes to do. As someone mentioned, if you want to make it as big contemporary or modernist painter, then art school is probably still the best way. There is a real who-you-know/hierarchy system in the "top" tier of art, as a previous poster mentioned. However, if she wants to go to art school, she may not need to do GCSE if she can top up with summer schools and college courses to build a portfolio for a foundation degree.

I dropped art at GCSE and followed a more pragmatic subject choice, which eventually meant I got into a decent paying profession. Art was an escape during that time. Once I was in a paying job, I could afford materials, art courses etc. to pick the art up again. I now have a side business in commissions (mainly pets, so not part of the "art world" as such) and the "proper" job pays most of the bills. For me, it's really great to be able to pursue the art without the pressure of making it pay a lot. So much of the time you spend on it involves things other than making art - the successful full-time pet artists I know probably spend about 70 per cent of their time on marketing, teaching, advertising, search engine optimization, teaching etc. One of them had a previous career in marketing and business coaching and I think that has been a massive part in her success. I don't love the marketing side, so I am happy with the choices I made, but of course it's different for everyone.

[Thisisitisit]

Write*

[PlanDeRaccordement]

I also think she should do CS.
A very large industry is Computer generated graphics which requires both computer science skills and artistry. Any movie we watch, video game we play has artists who use computers to create the images and special effects.

[Thisisitisit]

Computer Science, any and every day of the week. I absolutely love art, and have many friends who have successful careers in the arts, so I don't see it as a dead end or pointless. But with an aptitude for maths by the sound of it, computer science will probably be more interesting, and more beneficial in the long run. Even if she decides to follow a career that is nothing to do with it, most jobs utilise technology in one way or another, it's positive to have something above just being able to right on your CV 'confident in the use of IT'. Heck, there is also a lot you can do for leisure with even a fairly basic knowledge of computer science, and its applications are only ever going to expand as time goes on. In honesty you don't 'learn' a lot in art, yes if you want to pursue it at uni it's useful to have, but you can learn and improve at home just as much, so in terms of not doing a subject just to get a qualification; she will probably find CS actually teaches a lot. Again, no hate for art teachers, are is really important in my opinion, it's a shame she can't do both.

[MontysOarlock]

Another vote for compsci, she can do her art the way she wants, not being dictated by the GCSE syllabus.

[alexdgr8]

do computer science.
much more useful as a qualification.
art is as old as the hills, or caves.
nobody asks the best or favoured artists what whether they have paper qualifications. she can still enjoy doing it, and if others later admire her style they will buy her works, if that what she wants.
computer science on the other hand is a new subject, and a qualification in it gives reassurance to a future employer. go girl !

[Ginfordinner]

Everyone I know who ended up taking some form of art degree did get a job, but not art related in any way.

[FiveGoMadInDorset]

Thank you for all your replies, unfortunately it is a small rural secondary school which doesn’t have the capacity or take up this year too do both, last year she could have done as there was more interest in CS.

My main concern is that I know enough people who are struggling to make a living from art and most do it as a hobby or are retired and she doesn’t have the hustling skills. There are also enough courses going on near where we live to help her develop.

Thank you all

[Shattered04]

@snowy0wl - I certainly won't disagree with you, it's not ideal. It is getting better, gradually, but it won't get better unless we can get more females involved. I'm fairly lucky in that as I have HFA myself, I often got on better with males growing up as they seemed more straightforward. I find my work relationships (with mostly men and a few more "geeky" women) a lot easier to manage than most of the school mums, by and large.

The main issue comes from the other end as you rightly point out. The arseholes who can't get their heads around the fact you're a professional of equal status, and oh boy, have I seen plenty of those. That you do need to work harder and be better than your peers in order to progress or get paid nearly as much. While, as mentioned, the trend is definitely going the right way, and I'm seeing less twatty behaviour now than I did 20 years ago, so much depends on the company culture and immediate team, and particularly support of your direct manager. My last one was bloody useless in that regard, and he was a bully on top. My current one is the exact opposite and is very keenly aware of the unfairness. Yet culturally both companies are not entirely dissimilar, HR giving out the same positive messages, so it was just down to luck.

I'm finding people are getting more willing to call out or at least acknowledge everyday sexism, the larger tech companies are starting to openly embrace courses on unconscious bias etc. If nothing else, they have the gender pay gap results to try and improve now. I'm quietly optimistic we'll see bigger changes sooner rather than later. Right now it does seem to be mostly talk, but I am seeing signs of progress beyond that with my last two employers, and at least there is now the talk that there wasn't at all when it sounds like we both started out!

Completely agree that even if she doesn't go into computing, programming can be really useful and give the edge in other areas, especially maths and sciences. Scripting in particular is a very handy skill to have - e.g. processing lab results, or indeed bulk processing anything digitally stored in any industry!

[snowy0wl]

Speaking as a woman who left the tech world last year, yes the industry needs more women but, in my opinion, it is not ready for them. There is a lot of fluffy talk about "Women In Tech", promoting women in the workplace etc, but, in my experience and many former colleagues', it's all talk and little action or mentoring.

@Shattered04 - it's really encouraging to hear that you are having a positive experience. Perhaps I just had a run of bad luck (several jobs in different industries), but after nearly 20 years of fighting for an equal place in a man's world I decided enough was enough.

OP - I wish your DD luck in whatever she decides. Even if she doesn't decide to pursue a career in IT, the basics of programming and computing will prove to be a very useful life skill, since so much of our world is online these days. xx

[Ginfordinner]

especially if she's doing Triple Science

I think it depends on how the school does that. When DD was at school triple science took up another option. They didn't try and cram triple science into the same number of lessons as double science. DD took triple science. As a result DD could choose from three other options instead of four.

[VerbenaGirl]

My daughter has always enjoyed Art, but has not enjoyed Art GCSE. She has found it very restrictive. There is a lot of coursework, but that does mean that the grade is under your belt when it gets to exams - so the load is a bit lighter then. I think CS is a much better choice for employability if she’s interested in that.