26, back in community college for CS

[Pineal]

I am 26 and back in community college doing a 2+2 toward computer science.

For years, music was my main thing. I can mix, master, make beats, sing, write songs, rap, and play some piano. I am genuinely good at it. But I started realizing that the sound-engineer path is extremely hard, especially with home studios, location, competition, and the general state of the industry. Maybe some of that is a limiting belief, but I did not want to bet my entire life on it.

So I chose computer science because I want a skill that is needed in waves and could eventually let me make music software or solve real music problems. I want to become genuinely good at something valuable, not just survive.

The hard part is that I feel behind. I bought the Life Purpose Course and completed it more than once. I still review my Me Sheet and parts of the course. I understand the idea of mastery in theory, but finding the actual domain and building a career around it feels much harder in real life.

I also feel socially out of place. I thought I was moving into actual apartments at college. Instead, I am in gender-inclusive quad dorms with mostly 18-year-olds. I leave my room every day because that is a rule I made for myself, but I worry my social skills are getting worse. I do not know how to socialize without feeling weird, older, or like I am forcing it.

I want feedback on a few things:

Is CS plus music software a realistic path toward mastery and strong income?

What would you focus on during a 2+2 CS path if the goal is to make serious money after college?

How do you stay social and build a life at community college when you are older than most people around you?

How do you tell the difference between a realistic concern about the music industry and a limiting belief that is making you quit too early?

Has anyone here rebuilt their direction in their mid-20s and found a path that actually worked?

[PolyPeter]

Hi. i'm 26. I've done CS for 3 years and i my recommendation is: Do not go an do that. hahahahah

there is a shorter path towards what you want to do.

Nowadays you can claude-your-way into the knowledge that you specifically need. of course some fundamentals will help you. but for music? maybe even physics is better.

you can start by asking claude to help you create some VSTS plugins and explain to you how they work. and then even try them out in ableton or whatever daw you use.

on the other hand, this will not give you money soon, that's just the current state of the system. people do not appreciate how difficult it is to create this software, let alone distribute it and sell it.

if you want money, do something else. maybe just some software development with the same claude. there are plenty of niches that you can choose and create custom solutions for business owners who would pay real money for that. but the human connection is key, you should try and connect with people and see what you can build for them. 

anyways, this is just my advice, i love music, a lot, but it is hard to stand out and harder to live of it. 

programming offers a much wider opportunity space for making money. 

as long as it doesnt drain your soul and your passsion for music, it (making software) can be seeen as means to an end (music sharing).

[Pineal]

@PolyPeter

Yeah, I use Claude Code and Codex daily. I understand that coding itself is changing fast, which is part of why I am unsure.

I do not want to become someone who only writes boilerplate. I was thinking CS could give me the deeper foundation to use AI well, build and understand systems, and eventually make music software(it is a framework for thinking). But my older brother did computer engineering and hated it. He says the job market comes in waves and tells me to do something else. I honestly do not know what “something else” is that has better upside and still fits me.

Music is the thing I have real ability in, but the music courses here are weak and the industry path feels unstable. So I am trying to figure out whether CS is still a reasonable foundation, or whether I am forcing myself into another dead end.

[PolyPeter]

Computer Science is very different from computer engineering, VERY very different. 

CS is about the foundations, the math, the logic behind the AI systems that we now use. Computer engineering on the other hand is more related to hardware and closer to electronics, which is why it is nowadays not a skillset you will use. 

the fact that coding itself is changing faast means you get to ride the -changing- wave. dont get bummed about it! 

but there are many things within CS that will not be of use for your music pursuits, you should check the entire syllabus before going deep into it. 

What are the exact topics you think you need to know? curious

Edited August 18 by PolyPeter

[Pineal]

@PolyPeter

@PolyPeter

I’m thinking of transferring from MCC and doing a CS B.A. so I can really study sound/audio alongside it at UB or another school.

My idea is to eventually solve music-related problems for people like me. Learning sound engineering was hell at times, and I think there are tools or better learning systems that could make it easier.

I am still working out the details. I do not know exactly where my paycheck will come from after college yet. Right now I am focused on building real foundations in CS and physics, then learning how to apply their frameworks across more than one domain.

[PolyPeter]

On 18/8/2026 at 5:08 PM, Pineal said:

I am still working out the details. I do not know exactly where my paycheck will come from after college yet. Right now I am focused on building real foundations in CS and physics, then learning how to apply their frameworks across more than one domain.

Epic!! just keep it up. You are on the right track and the reasoning makes sense.

Music-tech is very niche

[PsychedelicEagle]

On 8/18/2026 at 9:25 PM, Pineal said:

Is CS plus music software a realistic path toward mastery and strong income?

Strong income depends on you being So Good They Can't Ignore You.
Software, data and/or AI engineering pays well nowadays, I work in the field.
I also like the idea that you can bridge your passion for music with it.
But you gotta find projects and goals that keep you motivated so you can maintain deliberate practive over years. To really become good at something — even if at a narrow field within the broader field of CS — probably finding muscial projects or ways in which software supports music, and learning the hell out of it — all the bits and pieces that are required for whatever intersection between software and music you find meaningful. When you enter a new field, expect it to take 10y to develop complete mastery over it; only by then you'll have acquired the skills to give you great perks career and compensation wise. There are no shortcuts. If you work hard you can shorten that time a bit, but 10y is a realistic timeframe.

On 8/18/2026 at 9:25 PM, Pineal said:

Has anyone here rebuilt their direction in their mid-20s and found a path that actually worked?

I did. When I was 24 I quit my job and started working as a web programmer and I only started a masters in CS when I was 26. I had a deep passion for AI and cognitive sciences and I pursued it. I'm now 10y down the road and I will never regret making that move, as it opened so many opportunities: moving to Europe, working at different and interesting companies, doing something I enjoy. I'm now at the point where I want to focus more on stage green projects and deepen my spirituality, but the past 10y have been the foundation for what's next.

On 8/18/2026 at 10:08 PM, Pineal said:

Right now I am focused on building real foundations in CS and physics, then learning how to apply their frameworks across more than one domain.

Sounds like a good approach. The skills you acquire will be valuable down the road. Cal Newport was def onto something when he wrote that book.