Hello everyone. I am a 17 year old kid from Tamilnadu,India. I dunno whether I am going to get any answers at all, but I believe that I have a slim chance that someone will take me seriously and give me some good advice. In our country, we have a 10+2 education system for schooling and there are different boards of educations. I studied under my state board , somewhat inferior to the central government's board. I have successfully completed +2 with a score of 1163/1200. In my state there are lots of engineering colleges, both private and government run. Fees-wise, government colleges are the best but few of them have exceptional facility and faculty like the ones you can expect in top-notch private colleges. Here the no. of students aspiring for engineering is insanely high. So the government has devised a system based on cut=off marks. Based on whteher you choose engineering or medicine, the cut off is calculated as follows: Engineering: Step 1: The marks scored in Mathematics (the subject for which maximum mark is 200) should be divided by 2. For example if a candidate scores 195 marks in Maths then his / her cut-off mark of this subject will be 97.5 (ie. 195/2)Step 2: The marks scored in Chemistry and Physics are to be divided by 4. For example if a candidate scores 190 and 195 marks in Physics and Chemistry respectively then his / her cut-off marks in these subjects will be 47.5 and 48.75 respectively (ie. 190/4 and 195/4)Step 3: Now add the above calculated cut-off marks in Mathematics, Physics and chemistry. This would give a final cut-off mark for a student which is also called as Marks scored in prescribed subjects reduced to 200. For example the final cut-off mark from subject wise cut-off marks calculated in step 1 and 2 will be 193.75 (97.5+47.5+48.75) In case of medicine: Replace math in first step with biology and you are good to go. Myself, I selected Only Maths in my +2 so, no biology. I chose computer science as the vocational option. So no Medicine line for me. As far engineering is concerned, the most sought after college is CEG, Anna university, run by the government. Other government and private colleges follow based on students'interest. In order to limit the role of money and to give better chance to those who pass in merit, the government uses the cut off system. The cut off marks are calculated for every engineering application and preference is given in the order of the score. If more than two get the same cut-off, random no. generated by computer is used to decide who gets the seat in the better college. That said, My cut of score is 197.75 and i don't have a chance of entering the CEG college. There are other government colleges and affordable private ones. HOwever, my problem is not getting a seat in a decent college, but choosing the right course. The courses are also awarded on basis of the cut off marks with ECE(Electronics and Communication Engineering) being the most popular option. Mechanical Engineering, Computer science engineering and Electrical and Electronics engineering following. I love computers. Although i have not developed any specific skills in any particular region, I am far from what people call as a noob. I can swap motherboards and CPUs, dual or triple boot Operating systems, select best software for a particular task and can understand most things on MDL forums. I dunno how much information that provided on my skill level, but i am not limited to the above said things. I want to be like the guys here at MDL like Daz, Tito, Yen, Josh, Alphawaves, Cody to name a few. Coding for fun, contributing to the community, helping some poor guy out. however, currently i have very little coding knowledge in c++. I have hope that i'll learn things, but I've got a big decision to make. What course to chose? I want to know whether it is possible to learn coding if i take some other unrelated branch in my engineering or not. I mean, how did you guys learn to code? After the college? Please do advice on which is the best option. I have guys here telling me that i should take core subjects like EEE or Mech. Engineering for job security. But i do not think so. However, i don't want to be sorry in the future for having not thinking something from a different view. I think I have expressed my interests clearly. I would love to set up a custom PC assembling company. But coding is the priority, May be I would work for MS or Google for a few years to get the taste of things. Anyhow, I ask you guys to show me the right way. If you feel I have not provided enough info or have not provided it clearly please ask. I hope I'll get replies from the guys I wish. If it boils down to courses that relate to computerscience, should it be ECE or just CSE? Or can I have my job security and ​fulfill my job security condition. P.S.: Mods, This is the first of its kind post in this forum and i think since it is an important decision in my career, this section is appropriate. Please do make this more visible for everyone. Thank you.