11 replies to this topic

[ameldedic2]

I am considering to go into the field of technology and computers, and major in computer science or computer engineering. Please tell me about yourself, what are your goals? How do you stay updated on technology?

[caston]

I'm a self-employed call out computer technician. I stay up to date by providing services to my customers and anticipating their future needs as well as vigoursly researching technology online.

I'm also now studying molecular biology at uni and my goals are to push the envelope in the development of biological simulations.

[Ghostrider]

Currently, I am an electrical engineer, but what I actually do is closer to programming. I like it that way. If I was doing everything over again, I would probably do computer engineering because it is kind of half way between electrical engineering and computer science. In that major you seem to have more choices regarding selecting courses in the areas that interest you. For example, you may want to go more into electrical engineering and take courses in the area of signals and systems, electromagnetics, or solid state devices. Or you may find that you like the programming side and want to take stuff in the area of operating systems, data networks, or computational biology. I know computer engineers who have gone down both routes. I think computer engineering is a good route to start out on as you can always change to electrical or CS junior year and can still graduate on time.

You don't really have to decide until until sometime around mid to the end of sophomore year exactly what field you want to go into. Generally, you want to know by the end of your freshman year if you want to stay in engineering or do something else. So just take courses which interested you most. Do some research and try to figure out what careers you might be interested in. Engineering is problem solving so you should ask yourself what problems you would most like to solve. That should provide a good indication about what you would find most fulfilling.

Most importantly, if you want to go onto grad school, you will need some undergraduate research. Pursue this heavily your junior and senior year. I wish I had done more. A great way to get research experience is to do summer research for a professor. The schools usually pay you to do research during the summer (although it is nothing great, but covers the cost of living) and you get 1:1 time with your advising professor who can write a kickass recommendation letter for you later when you are applying to grad school. That can really set you apart from the rest of the crowd. Anyway, best of luck, feel free to PM me with questions if I can be of any help.

[emerson]

I made it up to a BS in CS. Oddly, I've gone on to found a small webhosting company rather than the pure coding I was expecting to find myself moving toward. And that goes into the biggest bit of advice I can give....be flexible. First and foremost remember design. Design of anything is going to be more important than the tools used to implement them. And solid design principles translate to 'everything'. You're going to have people trying to push you into a single operating system, language, whatever, on all sides. What's served me best is to learn whatever flavour they're pushing, become proficient with it, and then move on while keeping it a component of the larger whole. It's an odd field that often finds people rooting for the equivalent of an artist who's only ever learned to use three colours.

As for keeping up to date, I'd strongly advise joining up with or starting an open source project. When I got out of school, I quite often found myself wishing I'd bothered to actually share the modifications and ports I'd done. I'd always been told that any serious employer would poo-poo things like that as a sign that the applicant would waste time on hobbies. Quite the opposite though. Every interview I had with a company that I held in regard wound up moving into discussion of those projects, and they made for fantastic ice-breakers. My very fist job out of uni, I'm positive, was due to some old work I'd done on BeOS.

Internships, if you can nab one, are fantastic as well. Networking is really important in any field, and those are among the best opportunities possible when just starting out. Not to mention that it gives great chances to take a look at the various day to day activities in any particular industry or office.

[MichaelAnissimov]

I am very interested in computer science and engineering, no uni education in either though.

How do you stay updated on technology?

http://www.bloglines...ichaelAnissimov has some good RSS feeds.

[Anne]

I'm an electrical engineer, currently working for a Large Company primarily in the area of analog electronics and electromagnetic compatability design. The subject matter is interesting, but a lot of the actual "work" time tends to get eaten up by things like scheduling, figuring out what the heck I'm supposed to be working on, figuring out what to do next, or hunting people down to get information from them. If I was just sitting there doing math all day it would be a lot less exhausting!

I have worked as a software engineer before, though, and would definitely enjoy doing more programming again -- I've become pretty intrigued by AI lately.

[jackinbox]

I got my BS in computer science but I'm trying to move away from this field. There is not very much science in computer science. It's dominated by technical stuff.

[emerson]

I got my BS in computer science but I'm trying to move away from this field. There is not very much science in computer science. It's dominated by technical stuff.

That was one of the biggest shocks for me. I did a double major with psychology, focusing on experimental psychology, in hopes of the two combining well for AI work. Going in I'd assumed that a 'soft science' like psychology would just be tinkering with scientific methodology and that the one dealing with something as directly tied to scientific output as CS would dominate the science meal. In the end it turned out to be the exact opposite for me.

Oh, and one more thing for the main topic of keeping up to date. Seeing Anne in the thread reminded me of something she mentioned in a podcast, podcasts. An mp3 player, podcasts or audio books, and an hour or so per day of tedious legwork makes for an hour per day of excused free time for independent study. There's some great ones out there on almost any topic, and while few are good for going into great depth, they can be absolutely amazing for getting information on where to look for further research, and a general idea of what's going on in most fields. I actually 'like' exercise now that I can keep my brain going during the tedium of it all.

[Anne]

Re. podcasts: I am so glad to have discovered these things...I used to tune around on AM radio while washing dishes and whatnot in vague hope of finding something science-related to listen to, but usually all I found was a bunch of right-wingers yelling about immigration (though that sort of thing can be good practice for honing one's critical thinking skills). Now with podcasts, I can get the same information someone attending UC-Berkeley (for example) is getting on a variety of interesting subjects -- all while walking to the bank or cleaning the bathroom or even working on something like drafting at work (since while I can't write and listen to words at the same time, I can easily draw and listen to words at the same time).

Also, I really need to start working on another podcast...I should have a new one up this Friday provided I can get enough show notes in order.

[Ghostrider]

Yeah, podcasts are great. I was really, really pissed when my iPod Shuffle broke and I had to listen to the crappy FM radio on my way into work. My local radio stations are all crap, they do not play much music, especially in the morning. Only good talk station is NPR in my opinion, but often they go off onto tangents that I don't care about. Anyway, easiest in-car solution if you cannot get a direct MP3 link or burn MP3 CD-RWs would be the Transdock by DLO. Best FM transmitter I have found so far. The quality may not be CD, but it's pretty close and clear. I am not trying to plug a product, but beware that there are many poorly-designed FM transmitters out there. There is probably one better than the DLO, if you know of one, let me know.

Anne, where do I find your podcast?

[Anne]

My podcast can be accessed here: http://feeds.feedbur...sWonderfulAudio

(and believe me, this isn't "shameless self promotion" -- my podcasts are exactly what you'd expect from a total amateur with a lo-fi system, a cheap microphone, free recording software, and a tendency to ramble in a didactic tone...you might find it diverting as long as you keep your standards sufficiently low )

[emerson]

and believe me, this isn't "shameless self promotion" -- my podcasts are exactly what you'd expect from a total amateur with a lo-fi system, a cheap microphone, free recording software, and a tendency to ramble in a didactic tone...you might find it diverting as long as you keep your standards sufficiently low )

I'd been debating whether to risk going too far off tangent for the thread to bring up your podcast. I chanced on it and your blog a couple weeks back after hearing it plugged on changesurfer radio. It was sitting on my pda for a few more days, and a random click later, after some other show was over, I was really shocked by how much fun it was. Usually with transhumanist or futurist media I come in with the fear of hearing basically the same speech I would have written, preached right back at me. And while that's nice at times, it's like eating McDonald's instead of a steak when trying to build muscle. Yours offered a really different viewpoint, and in a really enjoyable format.

So, in summery, plug seconded.