Alphonse23

Anyone go here? How is it? So far from living in Los Angeles I get the feeling like everybody went here to get a masters. How Indian is it? I've noticed it's very very Indian.. Not that that's a bad thing, but will a white (semi white) CS major fit in and be accepted as a friend?

Hey gaboak, Sorry if this is coming late, I didn't notice you replied till now. I finished a bachelors degree in 2009. I went to graduate school for 3 semesters after, but I withdrew because I couldn't decide on a thesis topic, and because I didn't want to spend all that money on another degree without known what I wanted to do more specifically for work. So, I'd say I've been out of school since 2011. I've been spending the last few years pursuing different CS subjects -- embedded systems engineering, QA, etc, though without ever landing a job. Right now I'm working on learning Rails 3/4, Ember.js, Backbone.js, jQuery and other more front-end/client side stuff. I'm still working on putting together a portfolio -- I just want to make sure everything is really polished before I show it to someone. I 'm also apart of a ruby on rails study group. I get called by recruiters from time to time, but I just tell them I'm still doing some self-studying and when I'm really looking I'll let them know. So that's where I'm at right now. I think the reasons why I'm finding it so hard to get hired is because I didn't do enough internships while a student. I only did one, while everybody I know now who has an awesome job did a few before seriously looking for work. Also, I wasn't really sure of what I wanted to do specifically while an undergrad. I always knew I wanted to do something with technology -- that's my passion -- but there's so many thing I find interesting, I find it hard to focus on one thing. In response to your article, you're right, you don't need a degree, but it really help you to save time. If you're in college, you need to do internships, meet people, have a way to show work that you've done before you're finished. It also helps to know what you want to do exactly, even though you might not end up doing specifically what you want. Even then, you can't really know -- if you graduate in economically hard times, when few people are hiring, you'll probably find it hard to get hired -- so I think it's often out of your control. That's all the advice I have, but I'm still in the process of learning how all this works, so you don't have to take my word for it.

I found your article very interesting considering I have a degree in CS, but I can't get a job. I wish I knew your secret.

Well, after searching and looking through the *entire* forum (it's only 3 pages long), I noticed no one has ever brought it up (unless I missed it -- in which case, sorry): is anyone here familiar with Australian geoscience and oceanography programs? How are they perceived within the community? I'd imagine their oceanography programs would be strong there, since Australia does have a lot of ocean, but you never know. It looks like everybody here applies only to American universities, and only a few exceptions for European ones. I've always noticed that, though Australia has many schools, they never rank very highly on International rankings. Apparently their education system isn't that strong. But maybe a specific discipline and community could be. Here's a list of undergrad, msc, and phd programs: http://www.amos.org.au/education/cid/3/parent/0/pid/3/t/education Thanks if anyone can provide some feedback.

Thanks Usmivka! You have no idea how much this means to me. Though I think I'm going to stick to pursuing the masters first. I think it would be better if I have somewhat of a background in the field before applying for PHd programs. That way I know what I'm getting into. The University of Hawaii is actually my state uni (like I said, grew up by the ocean), though I really wouldn't want to go back home (but it would be easier for me to get in if i have to resort to it). I saw some other good programs at UC santa cruz and Texas AM, that also have MS programs -- I'm going to look into those schools as well. Though what I really need right now is some way to pick up some good relevant references. Do you know of anywhere I could apply for some type of oceanography related job, or even a volunteer type position, somewhere? I saw some IT related jobs down in Scripps which I qualify for, so I think I'll submit an application to them. But do you know of anything else? What kind of work would an admission committee look for and consider related to the field? Thanks again Usmivka!

Thanks, that's really good to hear! I shall look into what it takes to get into a good master program for oceanography. I think it would be best if I do a masters first, before attempting a phd.

Does anyone know anything about Oceanography? I have a BS in computer science but I was interested in switching to another field. I originally studied biology so I have done a little research before. But now that I've been doing computer science I feel like I've lost the direction a real science can only provide. Also the thing is I want to switch to a more obscure science that's less competitive than say biology or computer science (which are both really popular subject to study in school). I also love the ocean, I've been near it almost my whole life. I know oceanographers study things like currents and water salinity -- which I'd be really interested in learning more about. Does anybody have any input into this. Also how hard would it be to find a masters degree program in oceanography that would accept a CS major?

grad cafe is so fucking weird. That's all I have to say.

soooooo, no one knows any CS research discussion forums.....

Can anyone recommend me somewhere on the net where I can discuss actual CS. Though I've already completed my BSCS, I've never actually found some where on the net where I can actually discuss CS research topics. I've always used here, stackoverflow, 4chan/g/, and slashdot(but only in the limited sense it allows). These are all good site to discuss general technical technology related topics, but I need somewhere to discuss research/academic oriented topics. Where is a good forum on the net to discuss actually research oriented topics of discussion in CS? Thanks.

yup, I'm doing exactly that. Except I'm taking the online class at UCLA extension -- well maybe. I found the text book for the class online, "English Vocabulary Elements" ed. 2 Denning, as a pdf. I'm reading it now and I'm enjoying it. I just finished the first chapter and I went through the ending chapter questions. They're pretty easy so I think I'll just save myself the $600 and just read the book instead of taking the class. After I finish the book I'll have a better idea if I want to switch into the subject or not. If you know of any other introductory books on the subject, or any other general linguistic books that are interesting, that would be helpful. Thanks for the reply.

Hello social science people, I just recently watched the Bill Moyer Documentary on Joseph Campbell and his saying "Follow your bliss" is especially resonating with me right now. I finished my undergraduate degree in computer science a few years ago, and now I am in a masters degree for CS right now-- sort of. I'm actually taking a break from grad school right now because I've been having trouble deciding on a thesis topic to finish my degree. I really can't decide because my heart just isn't set on anything. So now I'm thinking maybe I really don't like computer science, and maybe I should switch to a social science. As Campbell says: "Follow your bliss." So I was wondering, if any one has experiences with the computer sciences, which subject in social studies would be the best fit for a CS/Software engineering type to switch into? I was thinking linguistics, because their analytical approach to language is very similar to the way computer scientists analyze programming languages. But I don't really know. I've never studied linguistics. It looks like a pretty broad field though from wikipedia. I'm a huge nerd so I read books in every subject. I have no academic experience in any of them, though. I mean, I could just continue reading into the subjects just out of interest, but I'd rather be an active participant, and find something interesting to work on within the community. Something where I'd be given the chance to meet lots of interesting people in the field. That would definitively beat working on some boring software project in CS. Thanks if anyone can give me some advice.

Hello Humanities people, I just recently watched the Bill Moyer Documentary on Joseph Campbell and his saying "Follow your bliss" is especially resonating with me right now. I finished my undergrade degree in computer science a few years ago, and now I am in a masters degree for CS right now-- sort of. I'm actually taking a break from grad school right now because I've been having trouble deciding on a thesis topic to finish my degree. I really can't decide because my heart just isn't set on anything. So now I'm thinking maybe I really don't like computer science, and maybe I should switch to the humanities. As Campbell says: "Follow your bliss." So I was wondering, if any one has experiences with the computer sciences, which subject in the humanities would be the best fit for a CS/Software engineering type to switch into? I was thinking linguistics, because their analytical approach to language is very similar to the way computer scientists analyze programming languages. But I don't really know. I've never studied linguistics. It looks like a pretty broad field though from wikipedia. I'm pretty much interested in everything: art, sociology, psychology, literature, religion, philosophy (and now mythology). I'm a huge nerd so I read books in every subject. I have no academic experience in any of them, though. I mean, I could just continue reading into the subjects just out of interest, but I'd rather be an active participant, and find something interesting to work on within the community. Something where I'd be given the chance to meet lots of interesting people in the field. That would definitively beat working on some boring software project in CS. Thanks if anyone can give me some advice.

I'd be ecstatic if I got this from a professor, and just for an M.Sc. You should review his research, and look up his published work, specifically the work that is related to yours. That's probably why he's interested in talking to you. The interview will probably be very polite, he's not going to put you on the spot or anything. If anything he'll probably try to convince you that UofT is right for you, and if you're applying anywhere else, you should choose UofT. M.Sc aren't usually that big of a deal, like a Phd is.

You sound like a strong applicant to me. Apply to couple of programs in every tier -- top 10, top 20, top 40. That's the safest bet.