Hi everyone! I'm a second-year college student who happened to come across this site while randomly surfing the web. After a quick glance at this site, I will say that immortality is a nice goal to have and will happen eventually (provided we don't get destroyed by a nuclear war or a giant asteroid), but it's a long way off and won't happen in my generation's lifetime.
I also noticed that there's quite a lot of attention paid to computer science here. This is particularly relevant for me because I'm deciding whether or not to major in computer science (my major is listed as "undeclared engineering" right now). I'm a bit interested in computers, but my main worry is that I won't be able to find a stable job with a decent salary because of all the talk about offshore outsourcing and bringing in foreign workers to America who are willing to work for low wages. I'm a slightly above-average student going to a good but not elite university, and I've heard that foreign competition and outsourcing makes it impossible for anyone besides the best of the best to get a good job here. Does anyone know whether this is true? The only people who have denied this and are claiming of a "skills shortage" in tech are heads of academic departments and CEOs/CIOs. Academic departments want more computer science majors, and CEOs use the shortage claim to lobby for an increase in the number of H1B visas granted, so asking those people is like asking a military recruiter whether or not to enlist.
Other stories I've heard are stories of computer scientists in their early 40s who got laid off because their salaries got too high. They are replaced with newer workers, and older people who are very experienced are considered overqualified and have a very hard time finding jobs.
On another note, the other major I've been considering is civil engineering and then possibly getting an MBA after a few years of work experience. The pay is slightly lower than other engineering disciplines, but it's a lot more immune to outsourcing than computer science is. Also, my interest in civil engineering and computer science is roughly the same.