9 answers
Duncan
Student
Frankfort, Kentucky
1
Question
Updated
5371 views
Should I try to double major in Computer Science and AI in college if i'm planning on working for the infrastructure or SRE teams at a company?
If so, should I try to get a minor in anything in college as well?
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9 answers
Sandeep Khandelwal
Software Engineer
152
Answers
San Ramon, California
Updated
Sandeep’s Answer
Hello Duncan.
You don’t necessarily need to double major in Computer Science and AI for an infrastructure or SRE career. A strong CS degree combined with courses in cloud computing, operating systems, networking, distributed systems, databases, and security would be very useful. Learning some AI is definitely valuable, but I would consider it as a minor or elective rather than adding a second major unless you’re genuinely interested in AI. For SRE, practical experience through internships, projects, Linux, cloud platforms, Kubernetes, and automation will often matter more than having two majors.
You don’t necessarily need to double major in Computer Science and AI for an infrastructure or SRE career. A strong CS degree combined with courses in cloud computing, operating systems, networking, distributed systems, databases, and security would be very useful. Learning some AI is definitely valuable, but I would consider it as a minor or elective rather than adding a second major unless you’re genuinely interested in AI. For SRE, practical experience through internships, projects, Linux, cloud platforms, Kubernetes, and automation will often matter more than having two majors.
Elbina Joshi
Technical Account Manager
4
Answers
Atlanta, Georgia
Updated
Elbina’s Answer
Learning the basics is really helpful, but you don't need to do a double major in them. Instead, getting an internship or volunteering in an SRE role would be more valuable.
Tanya Taneja
Software Engineer
6
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Tanya’s Answer
No, you don't need a second major in AI for a career in infrastructure or Site Reliability Engineering (SRE). A Computer Science degree is more than enough. I would suggest if you have bandwidth, try freelancing or may be try getting internship in some small startup, that might give you that additional edge that you might be looking for instead of doing a double major. Work experience is a very important tool in getting jobs in IT.
Dima Vizelman
Software Engineer
34
Answers
Tel Aviv-Yafo, Tel Aviv District, Israel
Updated
Dima’s Answer
Hi Duncan,
If you can manage it without missing out on internships, systems courses, or adding too much time to your studies, a double major in CS and AI could be really beneficial. Instead of a minor, you might want to focus on courses in cybersecurity, networking, distributed systems, or math. These will directly boost your skills in infrastructure and SRE.
Hope this helps!
Dima
If you can manage it without missing out on internships, systems courses, or adding too much time to your studies, a double major in CS and AI could be really beneficial. Instead of a minor, you might want to focus on courses in cybersecurity, networking, distributed systems, or math. These will directly boost your skills in infrastructure and SRE.
Hope this helps!
Dima
Feroz Rah
Support Engineer
3
Answers
Srinagar
Updated
Feroz’s Answer
No, you don't need a second major in AI for a career in infrastructure or Site Reliability Engineering (SRE). A Computer Science degree is more than enough.
Here's why:
SREs are like the traffic controllers and mechanics of the internet. Your role is to keep big websites and apps running smoothly.
AI majors focus on high-level math and creating smart tools, but they don't teach you how to build the internet highways those tools use.
Computer Science majors learn about the core systems. You learn how operating systems work, how servers communicate, and how networks handle traffic. This knowledge is crucial for SRE and infrastructure roles.
Instead of a second major, use your free time to gain practical skills:
- Master Linux, as it's the operating system for most major servers.
- Explore cloud and automation tools. Use free AWS tiers and experiment with Docker and Python to automate tasks.
- Create a mini project. Set up a small website or game server and work on keeping it online.
Focus on earning your CS degree, getting hands-on experience, and enjoying the process. This approach will truly help you get hired.
Here's why:
SREs are like the traffic controllers and mechanics of the internet. Your role is to keep big websites and apps running smoothly.
AI majors focus on high-level math and creating smart tools, but they don't teach you how to build the internet highways those tools use.
Computer Science majors learn about the core systems. You learn how operating systems work, how servers communicate, and how networks handle traffic. This knowledge is crucial for SRE and infrastructure roles.
Instead of a second major, use your free time to gain practical skills:
- Master Linux, as it's the operating system for most major servers.
- Explore cloud and automation tools. Use free AWS tiers and experiment with Docker and Python to automate tasks.
- Create a mini project. Set up a small website or game server and work on keeping it online.
Focus on earning your CS degree, getting hands-on experience, and enjoying the process. This approach will truly help you get hired.
Teklemuz Tesfay
Software Engineer and Career Mentor
713
Answers
Ethiopia
Updated
Teklemuz’s Answer
If you're aiming for a career in infrastructure or SRE, focusing on a Computer Science major is a great choice. While AI is valuable, you can still explore it through electives and projects without needing a double major. Courses like operating systems, networking, and distributed systems are particularly relevant for SRE roles.
For a minor, consider Mathematics if you're drawn to AI or systems, or Cybersecurity if you're interested in infrastructure security. It's also important to develop skills with tools like AWS, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, GitHub, and Terraform. Gaining practical experience through internships, personal projects, hackathons, and technical volunteering will strengthen your resume and prepare you for success.
For a minor, consider Mathematics if you're drawn to AI or systems, or Cybersecurity if you're interested in infrastructure security. It's also important to develop skills with tools like AWS, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, GitHub, and Terraform. Gaining practical experience through internships, personal projects, hackathons, and technical volunteering will strengthen your resume and prepare you for success.
Krishnam Rastogi
Software Engineer
8
Answers
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
Updated
Krishnam’s Answer
If your goal is infrastructure or SRE, I wouldn't feel that you need to double major in Computer Science and AI. A strong **Computer Science degree** with the right electives, projects, and internships can prepare you very well.
For SRE/infrastructure, I'd prioritize learning **Linux, networking, operating systems, databases, cloud platforms, scripting, distributed systems, and automation**. Getting internships or hands-on experience with these areas will probably be more useful than adding another major just for the title.
A minor can be worthwhile if you genuinely enjoy the subject, but it isn't something I'd pursue at the expense of projects, internships, or your core CS courses. Something like **cybersecurity, networking, or mathematics** could complement CS, but there's no requirement to have one.
If you have room in your schedule, I'd focus on building things and getting practical experience. For example, deploy an application to the cloud, automate its infrastructure, monitor it, and learn how to troubleshoot failures. That will give you a much better idea of whether SRE is something you enjoy.
For SRE/infrastructure, I'd prioritize learning **Linux, networking, operating systems, databases, cloud platforms, scripting, distributed systems, and automation**. Getting internships or hands-on experience with these areas will probably be more useful than adding another major just for the title.
A minor can be worthwhile if you genuinely enjoy the subject, but it isn't something I'd pursue at the expense of projects, internships, or your core CS courses. Something like **cybersecurity, networking, or mathematics** could complement CS, but there's no requirement to have one.
If you have room in your schedule, I'd focus on building things and getting practical experience. For example, deploy an application to the cloud, automate its infrastructure, monitor it, and learn how to troubleshoot failures. That will give you a much better idea of whether SRE is something you enjoy.
Jezlea Ortega
Tech Architecture
102
Answers
New York, New York
Updated
Jezlea’s Answer
Hi Duncan! For infrastructure and SRE roles, a Computer Science degree alone is honestly a very strong foundation. You don't necessarily need to double major in AI to be competitive or successful in that space. SRE and infrastructure work is heavily rooted in systems thinking, networking, cloud platforms, automation, and reliability engineering, all of which can fall within a traditional CS curriculum. Adding an AI major on top of that is a significant workload, so it's worth asking yourself whether the extra stress and time is truly moving you closer to your specific goal and also checking if your CS curriculum at your school contains all these topics already.
That said, having AI knowledge is becoming increasingly relevant even in infrastructure roles. Companies are starting to use machine learning for things like anomaly detection, predictive scaling, and automated incident response. So understanding AI concepts will not hurt you it just may not require a full second major to get there. A few well chosen electives in machine learning or data systems could give you that exposure without the added pressure of a double major. If you do want to double major and feel confident you can handle the workload, it is absolutely doable and would make you a very versatile candidate. Just be honest with yourself about whether you can sustain that academically while also making time for internships, personal projects, and real world experience, which matter enormously in this field.
For a minor, something like Mathematics, Cybersecurity, or Cloud Computing would complement your goals really well. Cybersecurity in particular pairs naturally with infrastructure and SRE work since security and reliability go hand in hand in most engineering environments. If your school offers a DevOps or Systems Engineering minor that would also be worth exploring.
That said, having AI knowledge is becoming increasingly relevant even in infrastructure roles. Companies are starting to use machine learning for things like anomaly detection, predictive scaling, and automated incident response. So understanding AI concepts will not hurt you it just may not require a full second major to get there. A few well chosen electives in machine learning or data systems could give you that exposure without the added pressure of a double major. If you do want to double major and feel confident you can handle the workload, it is absolutely doable and would make you a very versatile candidate. Just be honest with yourself about whether you can sustain that academically while also making time for internships, personal projects, and real world experience, which matter enormously in this field.
For a minor, something like Mathematics, Cybersecurity, or Cloud Computing would complement your goals really well. Cybersecurity in particular pairs naturally with infrastructure and SRE work since security and reliability go hand in hand in most engineering environments. If your school offers a DevOps or Systems Engineering minor that would also be worth exploring.
Komal Chauhan
It
3
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Komal’s Answer
Stick with Computer Science as your primary major: SRE and infrastructure engineering prioritize core systems fundamentals—operating systems, networking, distributed systems, and concurrency—which are fully covered in standard CS curriculums rather than pure AI theory (Google Site Reliability Engineering Books).
• Take AI/ML as electives instead of a full double major: A full AI double major often requires heavy theoretical statistics and research courses, whereas SRE teams supporting AI workloads primarily need engineers skilled in high-performance computing, GPU orchestration, and model serving (CNCF Cloud Native & AI Landscapes).
• Choose high-impact minors over extra majors: If you pursue a minor, prioritize Cybersecurity/Information Assurance, Computer Engineering (ECE) for hardware-level architecture, or Applied Mathematics/Statistics for capacity planning and anomaly detection (MIT OpenCourseWare Distributed Systems).
• Focus on hands-on infrastructure tooling and Linux internals: Industry recruiters prioritize practical experience with Linux system administration, container orchestration, CI/CD pipelines, and Infrastructure as Code (Terraform) over academic credentials (Linux Foundation Training & Certifications).
• Build cloud and reliability portfolio projects: Set up multi-region deployments, configure automated failovers, monitor systems with Prometheus/Grafana, and participate in open-source infrastructure projects to build a competitive SRE resume (AWS / GCP Cloud Architecture Centers).
• Take AI/ML as electives instead of a full double major: A full AI double major often requires heavy theoretical statistics and research courses, whereas SRE teams supporting AI workloads primarily need engineers skilled in high-performance computing, GPU orchestration, and model serving (CNCF Cloud Native & AI Landscapes).
• Choose high-impact minors over extra majors: If you pursue a minor, prioritize Cybersecurity/Information Assurance, Computer Engineering (ECE) for hardware-level architecture, or Applied Mathematics/Statistics for capacity planning and anomaly detection (MIT OpenCourseWare Distributed Systems).
• Focus on hands-on infrastructure tooling and Linux internals: Industry recruiters prioritize practical experience with Linux system administration, container orchestration, CI/CD pipelines, and Infrastructure as Code (Terraform) over academic credentials (Linux Foundation Training & Certifications).
• Build cloud and reliability portfolio projects: Set up multi-region deployments, configure automated failovers, monitor systems with Prometheus/Grafana, and participate in open-source infrastructure projects to build a competitive SRE resume (AWS / GCP Cloud Architecture Centers).