Golden Monkey

I don't know if you have any interest in programming specific to media (this could be web development, graphics, audio, etc.) but if you do, you could get a master's at a new media program that focuses heavily on programming. You don't need a bachelor's in CS to get into these.

One topic I saw discussed in a Mechanical Engineering forum was the use of the words "engineer" and "engineering" these days. I suppose, years ago, like during the Industrial Revolution, the term "engineer" was pretty descriptive: Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, etc. These days, we have programmers called "Software Engineers," "Database Engineers," "Front End/Back End Engineers," music producers who are "Recording Engineers," AV techs who are "AV Engineers," and accountants who are "Value Engineers," and garbage collectors who are "Sanitary Engineers." Not that there's anything wrong with any of those professions, but I think they muddy the waters a bit when it comes to the profession/degree called "engineering." It sometimes makes me wonder if it's time for some new terminology.

I'll be doing a lot of coding and graphics-heavy work, so I'll probably look for deals on techbargains.com and end up buying whatever's the most bang for the buck from HP, Lenovo, or Dell. I want something with a quad-core i7 and a good graphics chip, which I can find for less than $1000 these days. I currently maintain a lab full of Macs (Macbook Pros, towers, iMacs, and a couple of iPads,) and while I love OSX, recent practices and decisions (and some not so recent) by the Apple corporation are driving me up the wall, which is why I decided to replace my aging white Macbook with a PC next time.

Short answer: yes. It's a very well-regarded school, and a degree from there will look good. Any similar program around here will probably have the same arty/douchebag vibe, so I wouldn't let that influence your decision.

These are ABET accredited programs in mechanical, electrical, civil, aeronautical, structural, chemical or biomedical engineering? Most engineering schools will not admit someone to a graduate engineering program without a bachelor's in an ABET accredited program, as far as I know.

One of the effects of starting grad school 12ish years later than everyone else is the fact that I had money put away from all those years of working. So coming out of my master's, my debt is zero. My PhD is funded, but the stipend isn't enough to live on, so I imagine I'll be dipping into savings a bit, which I'm prepared for. I didn't go to grad school for so many years because I looked at the finances every few years and thought, "I can't afford that!" But finally at some point, I realized I could.

I was constantly building stuff, taking things part, putting them back together, etc., so I got an undergrad degree in mechanical engineering. Years later, I worked with a bunch of people who had majored in industrial design and realized that I probably would have done that instead, if only I had known about it. Still, I'm really glad I got my bachelor's in engineering. It is relatively easy to go from engineering to something else, but the reverse is not true.

After looking at auto insurance rates, I think I'm going to try to live without a car. I haven't owned a car in 5 years now and don't miss it a whole lot. I have an old Kona Kaboom that I was going to sell, but I don't think I can stand to part with it, so I'll try to take it with me. I also have a Dahon Mu SL, but transporting that one won't be a problem.

Did you check your status on buzzport? Mine said my master's transcript was missing all the way up until the time they sent me my rejection.

Oh cripes, I've been laid off more times than I can count, and nothing is more stressful (well short of getting a terminal disease or a death in the family,) than navigating the job market, staying employed, and constantly worrying about the next round of layoffs. If you work freelance, you have to worry about getting stiffed by clients. I think one of my low points was being in China, working 70 hours a week, while my employer went bankrupt back in the US. I didn't know if they were even going to be able to pay for my plane ticket back, and as soon as I got back, I was laid off. Back trouble from sitting too much as a grad student? Try getting electrocuted on the job.

Google sites might work out for you. No idea about the LaTeX to html though.

The Galaxy Tab is down to $350 in wireless. I'm pretty tempted: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004U9USEA/ref=s9_bbs_gw_d0_ir02?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1NG6D5K0644VRXQ5FJ03&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

I think I'm going out there in mid-June to find a place to live.

I could have written pretty much the same article, only it would have said "Holding Down a Job," or "Being Unemployed," or "Working Part Time."

I would answer that with, "what is wrong with you that made you have absolutely no industry experience?"

GaTech seems to be really screwed up.

If you're registered on your new portal, log in and see if it tells you anything. I just did, and it says I'm cleared to register for classes, which is a load off my mind.

Not entirely sure, but I just heard this horror story (on gradcafe) about a guy who went all the way to Texas, then found out they had admitted him by mistake. It turned out they had rejected him.

Hrm, well as far as setting up the university email account and all that, I already did that months ago as part of the application process. I sent in my official acceptance at the end of March via email/pdf. I know that it was received (whew!) because my adviser responded with a "glad you decided to come here" email. The deadline to decide was approximately 2 weeks ago. I'm sure I need to calm down and be patient, but the story about the guy who relocated to Texas to find out he hadn't even been admitted put my worry-wart-paperwork-screwup tendencies into overdrive. I'm figuring out how to use up my vacation time at work, when to make it my last day, when to schedule a trip out to find a place to live, how to move, etc.

So after sending your acceptance of an offer, when does your "hello, you are officially one hundred thousand percent confirmed for enrollment with all of your paperwork done!" stuff begin to show up? Over the summer? I'm a bit of a worry-wart and was reading the horror story of the guy that moved to Texas only to find out that he hadn't even been accepted, due to a paperwork screw up. Even though it's an entire 4 months until the beginning of the fall semester, I still have to do things like quit my job, move across the country, find a place to live, possibly, buy a car, etc.

Well, that's just kind of crappy of them. Or maybe they're so disorganized that they never filed your withdrawal. I was waiting for my fourth response after accepting somewhere else. Months ago, they sent a "sorry we're so disorganized email." Then I wondered what was taking so long, so I logged into the portal and found out they had lost my transcript. So I had it resent and sent an email asking about the lost transcript. I never got an answer to my email, but I did get a rejection about two weeks later. Now I keep getting automated reminders that my password to their portal has expired.

I found this for 2008-2009 http://chronicle.com/stats/stipends/

Heh, I waited 15 years after undergrad to start grad school. If I were doing everything over and reapplying to PhD programs, the one thing I'd do is apply to more of them. Of course, funded PhD programs are much harder to get accepted into than unfunded master's but I didn't anticipate just how much harder. So the one thing I'd do differently is apply to more programs. I didn't apply to a few because they were overseas (should have applied anyway just to see what they said,) didn't apply to one because I thought the web site description seemed vague (but maybe their program is a lot better than their site,) didn't apply to another because it seemed like there was no funding (in truth, you'll never find out what the funding situation is until you apply,) and... just plain forgot about the last one (that was just dumb.)

Eh, I don't doubt this. I do wonder if they take career relevance into account, as opposed to someone who suddenly decides they want a 180-degree career change. For example, you can get a bachelor's degree in engineering (like I did,) then go work for many years as an engineer or some other closely related field, even getting a Professional Engineer's license, without ever getting a master's. So after 15 years of working as an engineer, is an adcomm at a graduate engineering program going to frown on your experience? I would hope not, but then again, I don't know, and I think it would be pretty sad if they did.

...and the email rejection said that I could look forward to a snail mail rejection just to make it official. I have not received this a week later, despite the fact that I'm a few hours away from Atlanta. I got an email saying that my buzzport password was about to expire though.