Hello everyone,

I apologize if this is not an appropriate question for this message board.

I have always enjoyed programming and I am very talented in math. However I got burnt out towards the end of high school and decided to major in film at NYU. It has now been three years since I graduated and I can't get any work (big shock, I know). I am seriously considering going back to school to become a software engineer or designer. I want to program and design video games, but I also want the option of falling back on a boring but steady programming job should video games not work out.

I feel somewhat at a loss as to exactly what I should be doing. I have applied to go to CUNY in Spring 2010 (I live in Brooklyn) with the intention of pursuing a 2nd undergraduate degree in computer science. This will likely take me 1.5 to 2.5 years. This seems like a long time to go back to school, especially considering that I want to go on to a master's program afterwards. However, I see no other option; I took no math or science courses throughout my college career (I placed out of the pre-requisites with AP credits).

I have several questions. First of all, is pursuing a 2nd bachelors in CS at all logical? Is there a simpler, quicker option, and I'm just wasting my time? I want a B.S. because there is no way I'll get into a masters program with my current background. I figured I ultimately need a master's degree in order to be competitive and successful in the field, but is that really necessary? I have tried to learn programming languages on my own and I feel like I would learn more quickly and more comprehensively if I was in some sort of academic program.

To anyone reading this; how did you get to where you are now? Do you have a B.S.? M.S.? Do you even have a degree in computer science, or did you just pick up a few books and impress the right people?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have tried contacting people I know about this, as well as academic institutions, but no one has gotten back to me. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this.

-David