I view my degree as an education, whereas others view it as a credential
I don’t really have time to go deep into my thoughts right now, but it just occurred to that part of why I have so much trouble relating to other CS students is because I view my degree as an education (i.e., an experience) whereas they view it as a credential (a line on your résumé that says you met a requirement).
Obviously, there are many ways to educate yourself, and getting a degree is just one of them. A few years ago, my dad said something along the lines of “your degree doesn’t define how you educate yourself, you do” and it kinda changed my life, or at the very least, parts of my mindset.
But I will say that as someone who does ascribe some level of value to the actual educational experience of being in university, I find that I vibe better with people who also value that. Students in the disciplines I’m minoring in (English and math) are more likely to view their degrees as an education than just a credential, which I suspect is why I like the vibe in those courses and programs much better. There’s just this overwhelming feeling of apathy towards the actual course material in CS.
It’s not like I don’t also want to get the credential, but that’s not really why I’m here.
Anyway there’s a whole can of worms here, but that’s the thought for now.
Tl;dr, I hate capitalism :/