I was involved with a research meta-analysis during my graduate coursework and we found that students are overwhelmingly more receptive to learning programming when they have something visual that they can use to associate the code that they write to something actually happening. We didn't look at what kinds of problems or what visual output works best, but my opinion is that you could start with something like Lego Mindstorms (which has/had a drag-and-drop interface that can be used to arrange blocks of logic) or do some kind of video game programming. I learned via a tool called Jeroo [1] which was basically a simple video game that required input via programming rather than from controllers. You could also take some kind of open-source simple video game, remove some chunks of code, and have the students re-implement the code that was removed. You can use this as a building exercise, so they get to build their own video game that they can play by the time that the course is over.
[1] - http://home.cc.gatech.edu/dorn...
When I think of the things that I wish I knew about my family that have passed, I wish I knew more about their life. The struggles they faced, the decisions they made, and the joyous times they had. An important part of those things, though, is the rationale behind decisions and what was learned from the outcome. It's great that I have heard stories about my grandparents, for example, but I have no way to go back and ask why they did what they did or if they, in retrospect, would've made a different decision and how they think that decision would've changed their lives.
It may be too early in your education to know what you want to do in your career, but I would start looking in to areas where you can specialize. Client/server architecture will always be a skill that looks good. If you want to go this route, look into learning Java Enterprise Edition. UI design is good to know, but with abundance of WYSIWYG editors that are available now, writing UIs is becoming less of a skill. UI design theory is still pertinent even if the coding skills are going the way of the dodo. Some other skills that will come in handy are writing web services, database interaction (with JDBC and JPA, both good to know), and multi-threading. I would also recommend the book Head First Design Patterns to get started on learning how to design software (as opposed to just writing software).
I would agree with what a lot of people have been saying, though. The best thing that you can do is put what you know in to practice. Start out writing a small application for yourself. Write unit tests.Do some code coverage analysis on the code and make sure you are completely covered. You can start with Cobertura. Get to know what APIs are available in JSE. I'm assuming that in an academic environment you are using the latest JSE (6), so I would also look into familiarizing yourself with JSE 1.4. There are some major differences between 1.4 and 5 (and not a whole lot of major differences between 5 and 6), and if you are working on legacy code in the future, it helps to know what differences there are. Write an app in whatever you are used to using, write it again with JSE 1.4. Check out an open source project and debug it. Get code coverage on the project and write tests to cover more lines of code. Most OSS projects would be happy to integrate tests that increase their code coverage. Look through the bugs that have been logged against the project. Pick something small, fix the bug, and submit patches. Get familiar with build systems like Maven 2 or ANT. That should keep you busy until next semester.
Let's think about this practically. Will this really have that much of a negative impact? I see this as an opportunity to improve our post-secondary education system. If there is a chance that someone who is barely able to graduate can sue the school for not finding a job, wouldn't that be a catalyst to increase the difficulty of classes? Wouldn't that drive universities, colleges, trade schools, etc. to require that their students excel before they are turned out into the workplace? Wouldn't these changes strengthen the value of having a degree? I say that the system should take this as a sign that maybe it's too easy to get a degree and it's time to bring back the challenge.
To supplement the parent post's McDonald's reference, Wal-Mart managers (a position which requires a college education, such as the one Ms. Thompson received) make pretty good bank. My first IT job offer that I got after I graduated with my Bachelor's degree actually had a smaller salary and required longer work hours than being a salaried Wal-Mart manager (which I had looked into since I worked at Wal-Mart throughout college). In fact, the store manager raked in a 6-figure income.
Where did you get your medical degree again?
Anyway, the parent post made me realize that I may have found a use for all of the Canadian Pharmacy spam I get...
As someone that recently made the decision, I have to agree with the general message here. A master's degree is a great investment, but it probably will not pay off immediately. There is an advantage and a disadvantage because you look like a more attractive prospect to some companies, but sometimes you look too good and it sets a psychology that they will have to pay you an exorbitant salary to acquire/keep you as an employee. It is going to come into play more when you are up for a promotion in 5 years or so, because someone with a master's degree looks much more appropriate for a management or senior position. I would recommend getting your master's if you really want it, as it is difficult to do a master's degree while working full time in the IT industry. The best thing to do if you decide to get your master's would be to work a part-time/co-op/intern position at a respectable IT company so you get the experience and the degree.
You might also want to look into applicable industry certifications. I can't speak to the C++ world, but in the Java world there is the SCJP certification that would look good and show that you know what you're doing despite not having a degree. Likewise, in the Microsoft world there is the MCSE certification. To break into the general field of computers, you could look into A+ certification (or any of the CompTIA certifications). Likewise, if you can do any kind of training that is recognized by the industry, that would definitely help out.
Two years ago, I saw an audience screening of a movie called "Killshot" [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443559/] that has yet to be released. These aren't so rare, as the theater at which I saw this screening has screenings nearly every week.
The thing you should consider is whether your stock increases are out pacing inflation. If you have neither lost nor made anything in 10 years, your money that you invested has less value now. However, if you put that money in a high-yield savings account with no earning cap, chances are that the money will be worth more now than when you initially invested. For example, if you purchased $10,000 (US) in stock ten years ago, it would have to be worth $13,422.27 today to pace inflation according to http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm. The savings account calculator at http://www.capitalone.com/directbanking/online-savings-account/calculator.php shows that, over 10 years (at today's APR of 3.55%) you would have approximately $14,169 in 10 years. You can imagine how that scales over the next 40 years. I say cash out your stocks now and put your money in a savings account if you want a sure thing.
Why do you spread this web of lies!?!?! The rings on Saturn can't be that old because the universe was created 6000 years ago! Everyone knows that if you believe in Zeus you are condemned to hell, right? I mean, that's what the president said, so it has to be true...
I would like to be the first to suggest a class action lawsuit against both the government and the highest bidder. I wish not to recoup any money but, as previously mentioned, I would like these breakthroughs (made possible by tax-funded research) to be freely available to any citizen of the United States. I think it's time we, the taxpayers, set a precedence for publicly funded research to be publicly available.
I would not recommend listening to the hordes of people that have said that Java is not/will not be worthwile, as there are many companies that are using Java. I would say that it is a worthwhile tool in your belt, but it is important to not let it be the only tool in your belt. I think that one of the best things you could do to learn Java would be to enroll in a class at a local college or university. There will most likely be a class that focuses on Java development and, if the college or university is doing the majority of instruction in Java, they will have an advanced or more in-depth Java course that skips the basics of programmig/OOP and gets right into using the Java framework.
I have to say that if you are wanting to move into network administration, the place to start would be high schools, small colleges/universities, or small businesses. This will oftentimes afford you the ability to do some self-directed discovery/learning that will look good on a resume when you decide to move on. Of course, as mentioned above, you won't be getting paid nearly as much as a programming job would pay, but if you are in an area where the cost of living is lower, you can make a pretty good salary comparatively.
As anecdotal evidence, I had a friend that came out of college with no help desk experience and a degree that was CS-related, but not CS. He ended up at a company working on their network and doing routine hardware installation, and he started off pretty well salary wise. The best part was that the company paid him to go to training seminars, which allowed him to move to another company a little over a year later.
Well, the sad truth is that governments fund development of things that they think will protect their populous or way of life. If you think about it, this is a purely capitalistic endeavor. A government gets its money from taxing its people, so if there are fewer people (because of a terrorist attack) or the people are spending their money elsewhere ($4 for a gallon of gas) then the governments have a reduced income. It is a well-known fact that wars typically stimulate the economy, so it just makes sense for a government to invest in things for wartime purposes. In fact, this applies to companies as well. If the ROI isn't high enough, companies don't develop it. If you, as a citizen, would have proposed the idea of the Internet (as we now know it) to a company in the 1960s, they would have laughed in your face. There simply wasn't a budget to invest in computers for a whimsical endeavor, and of course personal computing was virtually nonexistent. The government funded it because a) the government could afford computers and b) they saw a way of protecting their capital investments by utilizing the technology.
Guy: "Mrs. Griffin, what are your plans for clean up our environment?"
Lois: "9/11"
Lady: "Mrs. Griffin, what about our traffic problem?"
Lois: "9"
Crowd: gasps
Lois: "11"
Crowd: cheers
I can picture the floor of congress now...
Representative 1: "Mr. Attorney General, how will this bill help the average American, such as Billy Bob Joe Steven, one of my constituants?"
Mukasey: "9/11 saw terrorists strike at the heart of the American way!"
Congress: cheers
Representative 2: "But won't this possibly bring undue hardship on little Suzy Ann, the daughter of one of my constituants that had to illegally download MS Office in order to complete a required school assignment because the bureaucratic system in her school doesn't leave an alternative for using free and open software, despite the fact that 75% of the children in her school system are at or below the poverty level?"
Mukasey: "If you think that there is nothing wrong with downloading software, then you must like the idea of American lives being taken. 9/11 was a horrible act performed by terrorists that have also illegally downloaded MS Office!"
Congress: cheers
A big box could work if you fill it with heavy objects, such as bowling balls, bricks, bags of sand, etc. You can usually get those things pretty cheap and could bring them in little at a time. Depending on the size of the box, this would make it difficult for a single person to steal and, if the box was big enough, it could even be difficult for 2-3 people to steal without towing it off in some sort of vehicle (which would be obvious to everyone around them that they are stealing something). This could also double as extra desk space, although you wouldn't be able to swing your legs underneath.
Or, if you're strapped for cash, build a Bengal tiger trap.
If your office is anything like mine, your floors are raised for ventilation. Peel back the carpet and cut yourself a 3-foot wide trench that runs the length of your cube opening. This should give you a nice 1-2 foot deep trench. Then, take about 300 office pens, remove the caps, and glue the pens to the floor underneath with the ball-end pointing up!
You just have to remember to jump the trench each time you enter or exit your cube, or you'll end up facing the business end of 300 ballpoint pens.
The problem that I have seen (being a Master's student) is that there is a push to get students out of the door with a degree. From my experience, this happens a lot with foreign students in the US. It could be that the program that I am in is at a small university where the Master's CS program is in its infancy and the majority (72 of 75) students are from foreign countries, but I am concerned that this may be a trend across the board at small universities. Some of the recent graduates came in to a sofware engineering-type program with no experience writing software and no experience with business processes or practice, were pushed through the classes, and are now in the work force with, at best, mediocre undergraduate skills, but with the title of Master of Science from my university.
I'd rather have a recent grad who's willing to learn than a guy with 10 years experience who thinks he doesn't have to learn anymore.
Having a recent grad that is willing to learn is a good thing, but having a recent grad with the ability to learn is necessary.
Lot of the time you're going to have to settle for some people who are bright, young, and inexperienced.
I think the problem in today's market is the "bright" part of that statement. You can find someone that is young and inexperienced anywhere, but there is a shortage of what some would refer to as talent.
I won't argue that evolution is observed, and I am a proponent of the theory of evolution, but it is not a "fact" as that word is typically defined. If it were a fact, there would be no contest to its authenticity, and this article would have never appeared on/.
I can't recall any scientific alternatives to evolution, although I do remember some being mentioned in high school biology class. For as much as I've kept up with the biological sciences, however, these could all be incorporated under the evolution umbrella now.
Slashdot Mirror
I was involved with a research meta-analysis during my graduate coursework and we found that students are overwhelmingly more receptive to learning programming when they have something visual that they can use to associate the code that they write to something actually happening. We didn't look at what kinds of problems or what visual output works best, but my opinion is that you could start with something like Lego Mindstorms (which has/had a drag-and-drop interface that can be used to arrange blocks of logic) or do some kind of video game programming. I learned via a tool called Jeroo [1] which was basically a simple video game that required input via programming rather than from controllers. You could also take some kind of open-source simple video game, remove some chunks of code, and have the students re-implement the code that was removed. You can use this as a building exercise, so they get to build their own video game that they can play by the time that the course is over. [1] - http://home.cc.gatech.edu/dorn...
When I think of the things that I wish I knew about my family that have passed, I wish I knew more about their life. The struggles they faced, the decisions they made, and the joyous times they had. An important part of those things, though, is the rationale behind decisions and what was learned from the outcome. It's great that I have heard stories about my grandparents, for example, but I have no way to go back and ask why they did what they did or if they, in retrospect, would've made a different decision and how they think that decision would've changed their lives.
I've had this in my house for over a year. Why is this a story?
It may be too early in your education to know what you want to do in your career, but I would start looking in to areas where you can specialize. Client/server architecture will always be a skill that looks good. If you want to go this route, look into learning Java Enterprise Edition. UI design is good to know, but with abundance of WYSIWYG editors that are available now, writing UIs is becoming less of a skill. UI design theory is still pertinent even if the coding skills are going the way of the dodo. Some other skills that will come in handy are writing web services, database interaction (with JDBC and JPA, both good to know), and multi-threading. I would also recommend the book Head First Design Patterns to get started on learning how to design software (as opposed to just writing software).
I would agree with what a lot of people have been saying, though. The best thing that you can do is put what you know in to practice. Start out writing a small application for yourself. Write unit tests.Do some code coverage analysis on the code and make sure you are completely covered. You can start with Cobertura. Get to know what APIs are available in JSE. I'm assuming that in an academic environment you are using the latest JSE (6), so I would also look into familiarizing yourself with JSE 1.4. There are some major differences between 1.4 and 5 (and not a whole lot of major differences between 5 and 6), and if you are working on legacy code in the future, it helps to know what differences there are. Write an app in whatever you are used to using, write it again with JSE 1.4. Check out an open source project and debug it. Get code coverage on the project and write tests to cover more lines of code. Most OSS projects would be happy to integrate tests that increase their code coverage. Look through the bugs that have been logged against the project. Pick something small, fix the bug, and submit patches. Get familiar with build systems like Maven 2 or ANT. That should keep you busy until next semester.
Let's think about this practically. Will this really have that much of a negative impact? I see this as an opportunity to improve our post-secondary education system. If there is a chance that someone who is barely able to graduate can sue the school for not finding a job, wouldn't that be a catalyst to increase the difficulty of classes? Wouldn't that drive universities, colleges, trade schools, etc. to require that their students excel before they are turned out into the workplace? Wouldn't these changes strengthen the value of having a degree? I say that the system should take this as a sign that maybe it's too easy to get a degree and it's time to bring back the challenge.
To supplement the parent post's McDonald's reference, Wal-Mart managers (a position which requires a college education, such as the one Ms. Thompson received) make pretty good bank. My first IT job offer that I got after I graduated with my Bachelor's degree actually had a smaller salary and required longer work hours than being a salaried Wal-Mart manager (which I had looked into since I worked at Wal-Mart throughout college). In fact, the store manager raked in a 6-figure income.
Where did you get your medical degree again? Anyway, the parent post made me realize that I may have found a use for all of the Canadian Pharmacy spam I get...
As someone that recently made the decision, I have to agree with the general message here. A master's degree is a great investment, but it probably will not pay off immediately. There is an advantage and a disadvantage because you look like a more attractive prospect to some companies, but sometimes you look too good and it sets a psychology that they will have to pay you an exorbitant salary to acquire/keep you as an employee. It is going to come into play more when you are up for a promotion in 5 years or so, because someone with a master's degree looks much more appropriate for a management or senior position. I would recommend getting your master's if you really want it, as it is difficult to do a master's degree while working full time in the IT industry. The best thing to do if you decide to get your master's would be to work a part-time/co-op/intern position at a respectable IT company so you get the experience and the degree.
You might also want to look into applicable industry certifications. I can't speak to the C++ world, but in the Java world there is the SCJP certification that would look good and show that you know what you're doing despite not having a degree. Likewise, in the Microsoft world there is the MCSE certification. To break into the general field of computers, you could look into A+ certification (or any of the CompTIA certifications). Likewise, if you can do any kind of training that is recognized by the industry, that would definitely help out.
Two years ago, I saw an audience screening of a movie called "Killshot" [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443559/] that has yet to be released. These aren't so rare, as the theater at which I saw this screening has screenings nearly every week.
The thing you should consider is whether your stock increases are out pacing inflation. If you have neither lost nor made anything in 10 years, your money that you invested has less value now. However, if you put that money in a high-yield savings account with no earning cap, chances are that the money will be worth more now than when you initially invested. For example, if you purchased $10,000 (US) in stock ten years ago, it would have to be worth $13,422.27 today to pace inflation according to http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm. The savings account calculator at http://www.capitalone.com/directbanking/online-savings-account/calculator.php shows that, over 10 years (at today's APR of 3.55%) you would have approximately $14,169 in 10 years. You can imagine how that scales over the next 40 years. I say cash out your stocks now and put your money in a savings account if you want a sure thing.
Why do you spread this web of lies!?!?! The rings on Saturn can't be that old because the universe was created 6000 years ago! Everyone knows that if you believe in Zeus you are condemned to hell, right? I mean, that's what the president said, so it has to be true...
I would like to be the first to suggest a class action lawsuit against both the government and the highest bidder. I wish not to recoup any money but, as previously mentioned, I would like these breakthroughs (made possible by tax-funded research) to be freely available to any citizen of the United States. I think it's time we, the taxpayers, set a precedence for publicly funded research to be publicly available.
You know, you don't have to read every story that gets posted.
I would not recommend listening to the hordes of people that have said that Java is not/will not be worthwile, as there are many companies that are using Java. I would say that it is a worthwhile tool in your belt, but it is important to not let it be the only tool in your belt. I think that one of the best things you could do to learn Java would be to enroll in a class at a local college or university. There will most likely be a class that focuses on Java development and, if the college or university is doing the majority of instruction in Java, they will have an advanced or more in-depth Java course that skips the basics of programmig/OOP and gets right into using the Java framework.
In Communist Russia, vote sells you!
I have to say that if you are wanting to move into network administration, the place to start would be high schools, small colleges/universities, or small businesses. This will oftentimes afford you the ability to do some self-directed discovery/learning that will look good on a resume when you decide to move on. Of course, as mentioned above, you won't be getting paid nearly as much as a programming job would pay, but if you are in an area where the cost of living is lower, you can make a pretty good salary comparatively. As anecdotal evidence, I had a friend that came out of college with no help desk experience and a degree that was CS-related, but not CS. He ended up at a company working on their network and doing routine hardware installation, and he started off pretty well salary wise. The best part was that the company paid him to go to training seminars, which allowed him to move to another company a little over a year later.
Well, the sad truth is that governments fund development of things that they think will protect their populous or way of life. If you think about it, this is a purely capitalistic endeavor. A government gets its money from taxing its people, so if there are fewer people (because of a terrorist attack) or the people are spending their money elsewhere ($4 for a gallon of gas) then the governments have a reduced income. It is a well-known fact that wars typically stimulate the economy, so it just makes sense for a government to invest in things for wartime purposes. In fact, this applies to companies as well. If the ROI isn't high enough, companies don't develop it. If you, as a citizen, would have proposed the idea of the Internet (as we now know it) to a company in the 1960s, they would have laughed in your face. There simply wasn't a budget to invest in computers for a whimsical endeavor, and of course personal computing was virtually nonexistent. The government funded it because a) the government could afford computers and b) they saw a way of protecting their capital investments by utilizing the technology.
Representative 1: "Mr. Attorney General, how will this bill help the average American, such as Billy Bob Joe Steven, one of my constituants?"
Mukasey: "9/11 saw terrorists strike at the heart of the American way!"
Congress: cheers
Representative 2: "But won't this possibly bring undue hardship on little Suzy Ann, the daughter of one of my constituants that had to illegally download MS Office in order to complete a required school assignment because the bureaucratic system in her school doesn't leave an alternative for using free and open software, despite the fact that 75% of the children in her school system are at or below the poverty level?"
Mukasey: "If you think that there is nothing wrong with downloading software, then you must like the idea of American lives being taken. 9/11 was a horrible act performed by terrorists that have also illegally downloaded MS Office!"
Congress: cheers
A big box could work if you fill it with heavy objects, such as bowling balls, bricks, bags of sand, etc. You can usually get those things pretty cheap and could bring them in little at a time. Depending on the size of the box, this would make it difficult for a single person to steal and, if the box was big enough, it could even be difficult for 2-3 people to steal without towing it off in some sort of vehicle (which would be obvious to everyone around them that they are stealing something). This could also double as extra desk space, although you wouldn't be able to swing your legs underneath.
Or, if you're strapped for cash, build a Bengal tiger trap. If your office is anything like mine, your floors are raised for ventilation. Peel back the carpet and cut yourself a 3-foot wide trench that runs the length of your cube opening. This should give you a nice 1-2 foot deep trench. Then, take about 300 office pens, remove the caps, and glue the pens to the floor underneath with the ball-end pointing up! You just have to remember to jump the trench each time you enter or exit your cube, or you'll end up facing the business end of 300 ballpoint pens.
Why can't Microsoft just admit that XP was everything they hoped Vista would be?
I'm guessing that Google gives more of a choice in OS than Vista Home Premium, Vista Business, Vista Ultimate, and Windows Server 2008.
Having a recent grad that is willing to learn is a good thing, but having a recent grad with the ability to learn is necessary.
I think the problem in today's market is the "bright" part of that statement. You can find someone that is young and inexperienced anywhere, but there is a shortage of what some would refer to as talent.
I am curious to know if this may actually be an advantage, helping people that drink said tainted water fend off common illnesses.
I won't argue that evolution is observed, and I am a proponent of the theory of evolution, but it is not a "fact" as that word is typically defined. If it were a fact, there would be no contest to its authenticity, and this article would have never appeared on /.
I can't recall any scientific alternatives to evolution, although I do remember some being mentioned in high school biology class. For as much as I've kept up with the biological sciences, however, these could all be incorporated under the evolution umbrella now.