If you want consistently interesting work you need to be proficient in two different disciplines. Computer Science isn’t enough. Interesting work is the product of being an interesting person.
If you are a computer scientist and say, a marine geologist, there is some work that only you would be able to do, and some innovations that only you can see, that plain CS guys knee deep in the CRUD cannot.
That's an important realization that crushed me a bit when I achieved it. Going into programming, I felt I have the most interesting skill in the world. Turns out, it's only interesting if you can apply it to something interesting - and if you (like me) only know programming well, then you'll be stuck writing trivial stuff and tools for programmers :).
I wish I'd know that 11 years ago. I'd go to study aeronautical engineering or biology instead of CS. Now, I play the catch-up game, trying to learn a completely different field, just to have something interesting to apply all my programming knowledge and experience to.
Indeed, it is far easier to study another field and catch up to computer science than the other way around.
There is so much content and libraries out there for programming that it’s becoming more trivial to write effective code, especially if performance is not an isssue. You barely need a CS degree anymore.
If you are a computer scientist and say, a marine geologist, there is some work that only you would be able to do, and some innovations that only you can see, that plain CS guys knee deep in the CRUD cannot.