I am assuming you are going with programming the rest of your life, what do you want to specialise in? There are many types of jobs out there that require programming. I honestly don’t know what I want to do, I would LOVE to work for a big gaming company like Blizzard, Square Enix and ect, but I would also want to work for JPL, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, anything similar. I started programming with gaming in mind, but after I joined robotics, I have found a love for robotics. I also have the desire to start a gaming company, which is easier than making a robot company. Well, what do you guys want to do?
I started out with working for a game company, but my experience this year in FIRST has started pushing me towards control systems/embedded development. There’s something very interesting to me with hacking together different parts to make something work
How was working for the game company?
I want to be a controls engineer and work with the sensors and programming of industrial robots.
Go learn Japanese and move to Japan 
thats where all the action is
And what good would that do for my country?
We can export labor and manufacturing, but it’s very foolish to export innovation. Do you want cutting edge technology, or do you want hand-me-downs from an ally?
lol I meant wanting to work for a game company. I’m still trying to work my way through the HL2 source so I can mod it 
I see wait… They had the source released? LOL I am so unaware, that game made millions, why release teh source?
My primary interests are in social entrepreneurship. Things like the DARPA red balloon challenge are what get me excited.
I am a computer science major, but I am hoping to leverage my technological background in order to start companies and nonprofits.
I love this idea of helping people accomplish complex goals especially if the do not have the means or expertise to accomplish those goals themselves.
International exchange can do a lot of good for both countries. By sharing your skills with others, while you learn from them, both they and you come away knowing more and understanding each other better.
Jason
EDIT: As for the original question… I wanted to be an Electrical Engineer when I was in Grade 12. I was NEVER going to be a teacher.
It’s funny how things work out… now I’m not only having fun teaching, but probably having at least as much fun engineering as a lot of my 'geer buddies. Have a goal, but be prepared to take the opportunities life presents you.
We’re all hoping young people like you will bring “the action” home to the US.
Actually, the auto industry is where all the action is.
If you are dead set on robotics, there is FANUC, which is a great American robotics company with its roots in robots for automotive manufacturing. Other robotics companies that service the auto industry and hire engineers include Kawasaki Robotics, AAB, Apex Controls, Sterling, Nachi Robotics, TranTek, Perceptron, PARI Robotics, Guedel, Advenovation, Comau Robotics, Durr Systems, and I could go on and on.
If you’re not completely tied to the robot idea, control engineers are in very high demand throughout the auto industry (even during the recession I had three job offers within two weeks after the end of my airline gig). Virtually every part of a modern car is controlled with an embedded control system - and if it isn’t, it will be in no time. Most people wouldn’t believe it, but a modern automobile is more complex than a modern aircraft when it comes to control system complexities, and there is no end in sight for new embedded controller applications. It’s a very good time to be working in embedded control systems.
I wouldn’t believe it. Unless you are limiting your comparison to the small one you are standing next to in your avatar photo.
Safely controlling a large gas turbine engine on a modern commercial aircraft is far more complex than anything on a modern automobile.
The complexity of the anti-skid brake control system on a modern commercial jet, like, let’s say, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, far exceeds the anti-lock brake controls on a car.
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I’m actually referring to the airplanes that I have flown as an airline pilot. But you can believe whatever you want.
I believe you, I think cars have more priority since the everyday consumers drive it, they are not trained pilots, so it needs more protection from dumb decisions…
This needs to go offline. Please check your PM.
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Really, I’d just like to be a math professor, or some other profession involving mathematics. but, I don’t want to stop programming. I see battle bots in my future.
I knew I wanted to do something with programming since I was a junior in high school. I was totally intending to go be a game programmer/designer (I was even accepted to and intending on attending DigiPen for a B.S. in Real-Time Interactive Simulation). After joining FIRST in my senior year (sadly I hadn’t discovered our team before then) I decided to pursue a B.S. in Software Engineering at MSOE.
As for personal preference, I like to do back-ends and algorithms and such. GUIs aren’t my thing because whatever I make never looks as good as my original vision 
Plus, I realized that if I became a game designer I don’t think I would enjoy video games as much anymore.
EDIT: My dream job? Being the guy to create frameworks to parse statistical data on characters in an MMO like World of Warcraft and heading up the balance department (Kinda has to do with games…)
Not everyone who programs is moving towards a degree in it; my teams former main programmer is actually in civil engineering (and he was good enough to get into one of the best software engineering programs in Canada).
Realistically, every engineering discipline programs now. As a mechanical engineering student, I have three or four programming and electrical control based courses in my first two years.
If I’m doing active programming I’d like to do back end algorithms. it gives me the most pleasure to work these out plus it incorporates mathematics and physics (application dependent) which is the most interesting part IMO.
However what I’d really like to do is to do project management, while this is not technically programming it is an interesting and challenging job.