Four Weeks Into a CS Degree and Already Feeling Lost—Is Using AI for Practice a Good Idea?

Using AI to generate similar exercises can be a good approach, especially if you ask for small hints, test cases, and explanations instead of finished code. Treat it like a tutor, not an answer machine. A useful progression is to solve a problem yourself, ask for one hint when stuck, implement the next step, and only look at a full solution after making a serious attempt. Rewriting the solution yourself and changing the requirements will show whether you actually understand it.

Do not conclude that difficulty means you are not suited for software engineering. People often find different parts of computer science easier or harder, and beginners have not yet developed the pattern recognition that makes programming feel natural. You can also supplement your coursework with beginner exercises or puzzles, but keep them simple enough that you can explain every line. If a problem takes a long time, that struggle is often part of the learning process; just make sure you take breaks and ask for targeted help when you genuinely reach a dead end.

Four weeks is extremely early, and Rust adds its own complexity. Structs, enums, and options may seem abstract until you use them repeatedly in small programs. Go back to older exercises and solve them again without looking at your previous work. Make tiny programs—such as a menu, a simple calculator, or a record that uses an enum—and experiment with changing the code. The goal right now is building intuition, not solving everything quickly.

What you are experiencing is very normal for a beginner. You are learning both programming concepts and the skill of decomposing problems at the same time, and that takes a lot of practice. Looking things up is not a failure—even experienced programmers constantly check documentation. Try attempting each problem yourself first, writing down what you know, and identifying the exact point where you are stuck. Then use AI or another resource for a hint or explanation rather than immediately requesting a complete solution. Afterward, close the solution and try to recreate it from memory, then revisit the exercise later.