College Education

[nslay]

I don't typically like to discuss my University career ... I'm just very private.
I went to FSU for my undergraduate and majored in Pure Math and minored in Computer Science. For a while, I was a double major with my other major being Actuarial Science. I saw it as a backup job lest I was unable to find a job. However, although very lucrative, I didn't find it sufficiently interesting to pursue and I also did poorly in the Financial Accounting course.  Inspired by Yoni and personal interests, I went to University with Pure Math in mind. I want to be a research professor and looked to Pure Math initially. Unfortunately, after several conversations with Pure and Applied Math faculty as well as graduate students, I found Pure Math to be a poor choice for research. It's very difficult to find a research position for Pure Math and very difficult to get funding. Even though I majored in Pure Math, I opted to take mostly applied courses such as PDEs and Numerical Analysis. My only true Pure Math course was Abstract Algebra. Everything else was universally fundamental to mathematics.

One of my main motivations for picking FSU was a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship. It paid 75% of my tuition for four years. The other 25% I helped cover by working at the Math Help Center. Whatever I couldn't afford, my father covered. FSU also advertised opportunities in undergraduate research which is another factor in my choice of this University. I had many opportunities to work as an undergraduate researcher. I saw my first opportunity to work on Chaos Theory related work ... however, despite my impressions of the field, I didn't find it very interesting and also didn't recognize the opportunity I was given. During my junior year, I took DIS Numerical Analysis II and developed part of a fluid code for breaking waves ... Unfortunately, I never finished it and it was way over my head.  I was also given the opportunity to work on fluid-related research in Japan for two weeks (again, way over my head). The professor who administered my DIS referred me to some big shot professor who offered me an RA position. I gave up my job as a Math Help Center assistant and worked for him. This professor works mainly with PhD students and Post Docs and had unrealistic expectations initially. While working for him, I worked on his variant of Monte Carlo quadrature as well as Model Aggregation for Hurricane Prediction using Evidence Theory (his Post Doc's work).

This former adviser of mine was affiliated with the School of Computational Science (which later became Department of Scientific Computing).  Computational Science And Engineering, not to be confused with Computer Science, is a [newer] field that specializes in numerical computation. This involves elements of Applied Math and Computer Science. Computational Scientists have an intimate understanding of computer architectures, data structures and algorithms, data and task parallelism, numerical stability and accuracy, and numerical algorithms as well as the mathematical theory that backs it. Most Computational Scientists tend to specialize in fluid dynamics (at least here).  Anyway, I chose to stay at FSU as a Computational Science PhD student. Unfortunately, I did not work well with my former adviser, nor did I share his interests and so I switched advisers. My current adviser is a Computer Vision/Machine Learning expert and I primarily work on Machine Learning research. With regard to Computer Vision, I have dabbled in Face Detection and Lymph Node detection.

One of the perks of this field is that I get to play with both math and HPC technology. I have written applications that run on everything from multi core machines (40 core), GPUs, all the way to super computing clusters. I love the mix of math and computers in my work! I most especially love making things very fast and numerically stable and accurate.

This has been one of the best times in my life! I love the work and I hope that I can find a research position somewhere in the near future!

P.S. As a graduate student of a science field, my tuition is pretty much waived and I receive a stipend for living expenses.

[deadly7]

I suppose I can now actually respond to this thread with a story that only a handful of x86ers know.

I started full-time college as a junior in high school because my school didn't offer the right courses for me and, most importantly, was overrun with douchebags. Because of my upbringing and interests, I wanted to be an MD. All my previous teachers thought it would be  a good academic fit, and it was what occupied my brain since childhood. I started my college tenure intending to get a BS in neuroscience. After a couple of biology classes in which all I did was memorize things, I got irritated. After exclaiming "Fuck it" and throwing my hands up to the heavens, it had already been two full years.

The nice part was that those two years were tuition-covered by the state of Minnesota's wonderful PSEO program. During this time I started doing my first University research (as a lab bitch -- er, "data analyst") and started networking with people that are still my closest friends. In comes my official undergrad career, in which I started as a BS in biomedical engineering. I looked through the required courses, and despite a strong interest in Chemistry and synthesis/materials science, I didn't want to go through all the other prerequisites that would never have grasped my interest. I knew I had to switch. But to what?

This past summer (2010) I switched into the Computer Science program. After breezing through Scheme and Java while gaining official exposure to data structures and algorithms that I would not have picked up otherwise, I knew CS was going to be the best fit for me.

I originally intended a math double major, but after taking a basic proof class I realized I hated it. I can't write "for every n in N" every line, I have better shit to worry about. Additionally, the math that was being taught was just "memorize these proofs and regurgitate these theorems", nothing about the logical approach one should take in dealing with math issues.

CS instead let me blend my love for math and computers and actually manages to keep my interest. I've gone to almost all my lectures, which I have an absolutely dysmal record of doing. The joy that you get from solving a complex problem or debugging a piece of code is unbeatable. Additionally, because I'm so far "ahead" in my university career, I have lots of fre etime to take courses I want. Instead of a math double major, I will be getting a minor in math and probably a second minor in chemistry.

Will I do grad school? I'm not sure. Research and being a professor/teacher sounds interesting, but not with how the country is set up to "reward" those that choose an educational vocation. Will I work in industry? Doubtful. I work as a systems admin and do day-to-day programming for an on-campus department where I deal with all kinds of server issues (both from a distributed computational cluster standpoint and from your run-of-the-mill LAMP/etc servers). It's interesting, but the IT field is going to be absolutely dysmal to work in. With the advent of cheap labor coming in combined with the cluelessness of managers that think IT is just another high-level secretary, it's a hard road.

Still, I have two years (and a semester) to figure out what I want to do, so I'm in no rush.

[Sidoh]

I originally intended a math double major, but after taking a basic proof class I realized I hated it. I can't write "for every n in N" every line, I have better shit to worry about. Additionally, the math that was being taught was just "memorize these proofs and regurgitate these theorems", nothing about the logical approach one should take in dealing with math issues.

Yeah, that's not what math is supposed to be like.  Good math courses are the ones that give you a few tools to work with and then make you solve problems on your own.

Don't assume that you'd hate math just because you had one bad introductory course...

Will I work in industry? Doubtful. I work as a systems admin and do day-to-day programming for an on-campus department where I deal with all kinds of server issues (both from a distributed computational cluster standpoint and from your run-of-the-mill LAMP/etc servers). It's interesting, but the IT field is going to be absolutely dysmal to work in. With the advent of cheap labor coming in combined with the cluelessness of managers that think IT is just another high-level secretary, it's a hard road.

Still, I have two years (and a semester) to figure out what I want to do, so I'm in no rush.

That's a terrible sample of potential careers for a computer science student/graduate.  IT is immensely different than software engineering, which is greatly different than industrial research.  Just because you don't like being an IT guy doesn't mean you wouldn't like working in industry.

I couldn't work in IT either.  I don't find it nearly as intellectually stimulating as the other sorts of work I've done.  It's interesting, but it's not full of mind-bendingly difficult problems.

Definitely do some internships at companies doing non-IT work before you graduate.  Get an idea of what you like and you don't like before you have to make a decision that's going to affect more than your summer!

[deadly7]

Yeah, that's not what math is supposed to be like.  Good math courses are the ones that give you a few tools to work with and then make you solve problems on your own.

Don't assume that you'd hate math just because you had one bad introductory course...

To be fair, the class was called "Sequences, Series, and Foundations of Mathematics" so I don't know that it was intended to be a logic/proofs course. That's how the semester started, but the logic aspect was gone after we covered induction. Then it was just rote memorization. My grade dropped significantly after that because I stopped giving a shit.

That's a terrible sample of potential careers for a computer science student/graduate.  IT is immensely different than software engineering, which is greatly different than industrial research.  Just because you don't like being an IT guy doesn't mean you wouldn't like working in industry.

I like being an IT guy, just not how undervalued IT is. I enjoy my job as it is right now. I just can't see myself sitting in front of a computer ad infinitum, if that makes any sense. Software engineering isn't something I envision myself doing either. I haven't done any computer science related research, but to graduate with distinction I will need to do so. I think when I experience that I'll be able to figure out if I want to do a CS-related job.

Also, from what I've seen, the pay sucks and management treats you like shit anyway. A field in which raises commensurate with experience/skill or advancement only come if you constantly leave companies doesn't sound like a fun life.

[Joe]

Also, from what I've seen, the pay sucks and management treats you like shit anyway. A field in which raises commensurate with experience/skill or advancement only come if you constantly leave companies doesn't sound like a fun life.

It's becoming pretty viable to work for yourself. I'm too lazy right now to write an essay, but check out these guys:
http://twitter.com/majicdave
http://twitter.com/bradlarson

[Sidoh]

To be fair, the class was called "Sequences, Series, and Foundations of Mathematics" so I don't know that it was intended to be a logic/proofs course. That's how the semester started, but the logic aspect was gone after we covered induction. Then it was just rote memorization. My grade dropped significantly after that because I stopped giving a shit.

Yeah, that's not how a good math class should be.  Pure math is all about abstract thought and solving difficult problems.  Sure, you'll have to know definitions and some theorems, but none of that (beyond the definitions and axioms, I suppose) should be done by memorization.  You can really only excel in math if you truly understand the material.

I like being an IT guy, just not how undervalued IT is. I enjoy my job as it is right now. I just can't see myself sitting in front of a computer ad infinitum, if that makes any sense. Software engineering isn't something I envision myself doing either. I haven't done any computer science related research, but to graduate with distinction I will need to do so. I think when I experience that I'll be able to figure out if I want to do a CS-related job.

Also, from what I've seen, the pay sucks and management treats you like shit anyway. A field in which raises commensurate with experience/skill or advancement only come if you constantly leave companies doesn't sound like a fun life.

I suppose I can understand that.  Research has definitely been my favorite gig so far, but I'm trying something a little different this summer, so we'll see. :)

Seriously, though, you really should get out there and apply for some internships!  Recruiting season isn't over yet!

[Ender]

I suppose I can now actually respond to this thread with a story that only a handful of x86ers know.

I started full-time college as a junior in high school because my school didn't offer the right courses for me and, most importantly, was overrun with douchebags. Because of my upbringing and interests, I wanted to be an MD. All my previous teachers thought it would be  a good academic fit, and it was what occupied my brain since childhood. I started my college tenure intending to get a BS in neuroscience. After a couple of biology classes in which all I did was memorize things, I got irritated. After exclaiming "Fuck it" and throwing my hands up to the heavens, it had already been two full years.

The nice part was that those two years were tuition-covered by the state of Minnesota's wonderful PSEO program. During this time I started doing my first University research (as a lab bitch -- er, "data analyst") and started networking with people that are still my closest friends. In comes my official undergrad career, in which I started as a BS in biomedical engineering. I looked through the required courses, and despite a strong interest in Chemistry and synthesis/materials science, I didn't want to go through all the other prerequisites that would never have grasped my interest. I knew I had to switch. But to what?

This past summer (2010) I switched into the Computer Science program. After breezing through Scheme and Java while gaining official exposure to data structures and algorithms that I would not have picked up otherwise, I knew CS was going to be the best fit for me.

I originally intended a math double major, but after taking a basic proof class I realized I hated it. I can't write "for every n in N" every line, I have better shit to worry about. Additionally, the math that was being taught was just "memorize these proofs and regurgitate these theorems", nothing about the logical approach one should take in dealing with math issues.

CS instead let me blend my love for math and computers and actually manages to keep my interest. I've gone to almost all my lectures, which I have an absolutely dysmal record of doing. The joy that you get from solving a complex problem or debugging a piece of code is unbeatable. Additionally, because I'm so far "ahead" in my university career, I have lots of fre etime to take courses I want. Instead of a math double major, I will be getting a minor in math and probably a second minor in chemistry.

Will I do grad school? I'm not sure. Research and being a professor/teacher sounds interesting, but not with how the country is set up to "reward" those that choose an educational vocation. Will I work in industry? Doubtful. I work as a systems admin and do day-to-day programming for an on-campus department where I deal with all kinds of server issues (both from a distributed computational cluster standpoint and from your run-of-the-mill LAMP/etc servers). It's interesting, but the IT field is going to be absolutely dysmal to work in. With the advent of cheap labor coming in combined with the cluelessness of managers that think IT is just another high-level secretary, it's a hard road.

Still, I have two years (and a semester) to figure out what I want to do, so I'm in no rush.

You should look into bioinformatics. I was told by a medical researcher that it's a big deal these days. It pays a lot, and it's very interesting. I don't know much about it, but I know that it mixes biology, math, and computer science.

It might be something that you study in grad school as opposed to undergrad. In that case, your background in bio and your major in CS will be a huge plus for you if you end up applying for it.