It seems pretty counterintuitive to talk about the junction of business and computer science. No two disciplines seem to be more at odds with each other than these two. As someone whose grown up interested in business and who has an older brother studying computer science, I’ve probably heard most common insults at least once at our dinner table. But despite all that, I still find myself drawn to aspects of both fields. They each speak to a different part of me. In this article, I hope to talk about why I think the junction of business and computer science is so important.

What draws me to each?

Computer science and business all attract me in unique ways. Like many others, I’ve enjoyed tinkering from a very young age. It’s always an interesting puzzle to try to determine how things worked, but also how they can be improved upon. Business is similar but different. Business is all about how things are exchanged. It’s an exercise in measuring the “value” of items. For the things that I enjoyed tinkering with, they all were sold at varying prices. The question as to why certain items sold for $10 while others for $20 was always interesting.

Individually, they seem to cover pretty disparate goals. When I think of engineering, I think about people in safety goggles, maybe working with a soldering iron or typing away on a laptop. When I think about business, I imagine people in fancy suit, explaining to clients how they can optimize growth. Despite such different visions of what each are, I think there’s a lot of overlap. For example, take DECA competitions. As I give presentations, having a solid understanding of the underlying technology helps me ground the content that I’m saying. I’m able to present better and more realistic solutions because of my technical background. When I’m programming, having a business background helps me focus on why I want to learn certain skills. I think if you want to be a good coder, there should be a good motivation for why you code beyond simply “I like money” (it’s crazy to me how many people get into computer science because of the salary). For me, a business understanding helps answer the question of “why do I code”

In the next section, I’m going to talk to my two sides, those in engineering and those in business and try to make the case for the other. Feel free to read both or just the one that pertains to you.

For those interested in business, why you should also try out engineering

In many corporate roles such as project management, working with engineers is a big part of the job requirements. Even if you aren’t the one actually creating the products/features, you will most likely be working with engineers who are. Understanding how the actual technology works helps you create better requirements and work with engineers better.

Another common criticism of business people is that we’re all talk and no action. In some ways, that’s probably true. The soft-skill nature of business lends itself to become a trade more built on inter personal communication than technical expertise. Engineering provides a way to complement those skills with the ability to create. Being able to put forth a vision is an important skill, but being able to follow up and create it yourself is a whole nother story.

And lastly, it’s pretty hard to measure business acumen, especially among undergrads with no work experience. Before you develop a track record, a lot of people have similar skills/abilities, at least on paper. having technical experience helps set you apart from others in the field. Being able to approach problems from a multitude of angles, like a top down business point of view as well as a bottom up engineering point of view helps means that you’ll be better able to provide unique insights wherever you work.

For engineers, why business is also important

For the most part, a lot of the criticism against business is pretty valid, but that doesn’t mean you should turn up your nose at the idea of at least learning a bit about business. For many, having at least a cursory understanding of business will pay dividends in your future career trajectory. There’s a reason many MBA candidates already hold a degree in engineering. As you progress in your career, you tend to start moving towards management. An integral part in many engineering career paths is managing others. Whether it’s small like a fellow team of engineers, or a full management path working towards a position like VP or CEO, knowing how to properly manage human capital will help your career growth.

There’s also an interpersonal side to everything. Office politics is by it’s nature based on the inter-personal relations between co-workers. As much as it will suck, even if you’re an engineer, you’re going to be involved in the game. Knowing how to navigate the inter personal relationships of office politics is going to be a part of your life.

Perhaps not applicable to everyone, but business also helps provide a sense of direction for me. In many parts, business is about creating some “grand vision” and convincing others to work towards it. Business looks at problems from a top down approach, trying to understand it from a high level and then create solutions. Engineers go from the bottom up. They look at problems and then implement various solutions. Being able to look at problems from the top down angle helps give me a better sense of where I’m going with the stuff I’m making.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there’s not really one discipline that’s better than the rest. I’m a firm believer in the idea of learning as much as you can. While I’m not sure what path I’ll end up taking, either as an engineer going down a SWE path, or a business person going into PE or IB, I’m confident that the skills from each will help me with the other.