The Back to School Thread

Done for the semester, time to play Baldur's Gate II - Enhanced Edition for a month. I got a fucking 89.4 is my programming class, what a kick in the fucking balls.Really stressing GPA since I am applying for the accelerated masters program in March-April, I'm sure it will still be fine, but disappointing that if I had just done one thing differently I would have gotten a pretty good boost.

So I think I have gone about as far as I can as an Individual Contributor... I was wondering what folks opinions were on MBA for making that leap to director/vp level stuff. The problem I have is, I am somewhat lateral to a Director in an IC type role. I don't think I can go any further as an IC but anything less than a Director role would be a pay cut (even a lot of Director roles would be a pay cut).

Anyone been down this path with some insight?

Finally got my last grade.. not my best performance (A-, B+, B, B), but for generally not giving a fuck since I got a job offer I am mostly pleased. I am a goddamn computer engineer now. Next step: Masters.

As long as your GPA is high enough to get into your masters program I would consider the least amount of effort a win.

So who here has done a Ph.D while working full time? Just curious. There's a program starting in the fall that interests me I might apply to, but I'd have to retake the GRE in the next two weeks to get scores in time. I can't really afford it unless I can continue to work though.

Heylel_sl said:

So who here has done a Ph.D while working full time? Just curious.

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I can't imagine a serious PhD program that lets you do it part-time, just because there is no way you're going to finish in any reasonable amount of time. This is a bit field specific, but you're going to be hard pressed to wrap up in 4 years of full-time studies -- and you can't possibly get the kind of support that full-time students get. It's just not worthwhile for a faculty to invest their time in advising you properly if you're not buying in fully yourself. I know the 10-year PhD is becoming more common in the humanities, but if you're on that track, that fact alone should give you pause.

Along with that advice, do not ever sign up for a PhD program that doesn't (a) pay your tuition, and (b) provide you with a stipend. The latter may not compare favorably to what you do while working, but it should at least keep a roof over your head and keep you fed. Then, focus on the PhD and get it done. To expand on that just a little: I wouldn't even recommend a program that funds you, but not everyone who is accepted. A big part of your program is going to be the relationships you form with other students. If half of them keep stressing out about not having funding, that's going to change the dynamics of the department. It's also a bad signal from the department: they shouldn't take on more students than they can fund.

I thought most PhD programs would require you don't work at all (unless in some TA/research role)?

Noodleface_sl said:

I thought most PhD programs would require you don't work at all (unless in some TA/research role)?

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It depends. There's usually a lot more flexibility after you're done with coursework. And some people also ignore the requirement that they're not allowed to work, which isn't too big a deal unless you're paid with money from a grant. Grants tend to require recipients to work full time on the project, which means you can't also have employment elsewhere. It's a bit ridiculous... but the implications of you working for the grant recipient can be severe, whereas if the department pays you, they're not motivated in finding out as long as you make progress toward the degree.

All that said, it's still a really bad idea to take on outside work. It's not that writing a dissertation takes all that much time. Many fields now let you combine 3 papers and add an intro & conclusion. Assuming you know what you're talking about, writing 20 pages of intro/conclusion in a day isn't unfeasible and 3 papers/year is, in some fields, the expectation for a professo. But that doesn't mean you can do your entire dissertation in a year. Generating interesting ideas, managing projects, dealing with not finding results (and adapting the project) all take a lot of time if you've never done it before. Makes a whole lot more sense to focus on that than to try and juggle work on top of it.

Here's another question related to PhD programs.

I'm finishing up my Masters in 2014, and now that I see the light at the end of the tunnel I've been pondering continuing on to a PhD program at some point in the future. Are there any non-obvious things I can start doing now to make myself a more attractive candidate if/when I start applying to programs in the next few years? I'm thinking along the lines of stuff like networking, professional experiences, etc.

What's your field?

Are you involved in any research projects that are expected to lead to a publication? Having even one publication in a non-useless journal (i.e. not one of those paper mills that will publish anything for a fee) is going to send a pretty good signal to PhD programs. The best way to show that you can produce publishable research is to already have published research. Although in some fields, a publication coming out of undergrad is already not that uncommon (though not as a first author), and you'd be expected to have more after doing a Masters in the field. You could/should aim to publish your Masters thesis in something other than a thesis repository (i.e. go for a peer-reviewed journal).

Professional experience is pretty much worthless in terms of admissions considerations. A PhD program is very much unlike what you'd do in an industry job, so there isn't much that transfers. Depending on the experience, it can actually send a negative signal. For example, it might raise doubts about whether you intend to stay in academia after getting the PhD.

Again, this is going to vary a little by field. But by and large, PhD programs want you to want to become an academic afterward. They're spending serious cash on you and it doesn't help the department at all if you end up making a ton of money at a company afterward. But if you become a well regarded academic, that boosts the prestige of the program. That's what they exist for.

Moreover, the completion rate among PhD students is about 50%. Your goal in your application will be to convince the admissions committee that you will be one of those who can finish the program. That means proposing a project that is feasible and interesting. If you can frame anything you've done in your MA/MS as a launching point for that project, even better. Note that you're never required to actually work on that project, and nobody ever does what they claim they will do in their application -- if only because interests change. But being able to formulate a clearly defined project isn't trivial, and so it at least signals you can do that.

What the fuck is with college girls wearing these weird houseshoes to classes? Who started this?

chaos_sl said:

What the fuck is with college girls wearing these weird houseshoes to classes? Who started this?

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Comon, old man - you're the IT guru of tomorrow!

Yeah, these dumb bitches are not starting the next Facebook.

Am I the only one that was hoping that this thread was about the sweet Rodney Dangerfield movie?!?!?

Maybe I'm out of it, but what are houseshoes? Slippers? If so, dumbass college bitches been wearing them my whole time there. You can easily spot the skank wearing slippers and yoga pants.

It's nothing new. Chicks were wearing their pajamas to class back when I was doing my bachelors 10 years ago.

The difference now is yoga pants man

Yeah, it's yoga pants and nasty slippers, my boner is so confused.

I remember this topic being discussed somewhere in this forum, but can't find where so going to bring it up again.

I'm looking to go back to school part time and want to get into programming. Could someone explain the difference between a Computer Science degree and a Computer Engineering degree? The description on University of Washington's site sounds pretty much identical so I'm not really sure how determine which is the right fit.

I'll be starting at a college and doing a transfer program since I can only do part time evening stuff until all the kids are in school. The local college here offers associate in arts & science or associate in science (electrical and computer engineering) transfer programs. I'm waiting on an advisor to get back to me, but figured I'd ask here as well because I am so lost.