I was in the same boat except that I was 29 and a systems admin. While my job was pretty good and the pay was enough for me to live comfortably, I decided to go back primarily because I did not want a management position to be jeopardized for not having the degree.
Here's what I did:
1) Pick the school that works best for you, with the major you want. I decided on University of Texas at Dallas because it has historically been a commuter school and offered a lot of even classes. Also, the campus is along my commute from work to home.
2) Find a local community college that offers as many transferable classes as possible. I decided to start at the community college level because the tuition reimbursement at my job isn't all that great. I wanted to use more of the money available in the later stages of my education. Also if I decided that i couldn't handle school and work, I wouldn't be out that much money. Also community colleges usually offer a lot of evening courses. Some community colleges offer the ability to retroactively award an associate degree if you complete the course load at a four year school.
3) Pick your class load. I decided that slow and steady wasn't going to work for me. I went full time, year round. At the end of 2 years, I had an associate degree that no one can take away.
4) Move on to four year school and do as well as you can. I have the advantage of already knowing that I have a really good job and have enough work experience to back it up in case I do need to look for something else. Having a high GPA is nice, but it really doesn't mean much when you already have a job and plenty of work experience. I have done as much as I can to pass classes with out much effort. With one exception (I had to take Calculus II four times before finally passing it.), I passed most of my classes with A's and B's. Now I'm about a semester and some change from graduating.
Unless you are already a super math genius, I would definitely bone up on your algebra and calculus prior to taking them. I had a 15 year gap in my math education that was really hard to overcome. Especially for CS. You might as well take a few extra maths and get a math degree as well.
Assuming you do not have experience working in an enterprise environment, do not be afraid to take a job at the bottom of the totem pole. Learn all you can from each position that you take, but do not get too comfortable if your ultimate goal is upward mobility.
If the money isn't what you'd hoped for, just think of it as an education expense. For every year you spend learning from others on the job, you are gaining a year of education as well as experience.
At 19 I started off working in the IT department at my university. From there I moved to an ISP doing tech support-with some Linux work on the side and then to another support role doing more SQL stuff than I wanted. By the time I felt I was ready for a job as a full time Linux administrator, I had 8 years experience in not only Linux, but also other IT areas (SQL, Windows, Networking, Storage, Management).
I would also suggest that you go on every interview you can. Interviewing is a valuable skill that really only comes with practice.
The biggest problem is that those of us who want to move to Google+ can't convince enough of our less techy friends to move over. People go where people are. It isn't the best tech that wins but the largest market share. Had Google launched Plus before "everyone and their grandmother" were on Facebook, they would have had a shot, but it's sort of too late.
I had pretty much abandoned facebook for Google+, but most of my friends seem very confused by it. My major annoyance with facebook was the lack of 'circles' so that I can post about my happy hour exploits without dealing with my mother, bitch about my girlfriend without my girlfriend seeing, or just post general geek stuff for my geek friends without bothering my friend's mom's daughter that I've never met, but insists that we be friends on facebook. Now that facebook has implemented 'Lists', I have used it more, but I think Google's implementation is better.
Of course the fact that G+ STILL isn't available for those of us with Google Apps accounts is a major turn off. I have essentially added yet another email account just for using with G+.
I do brisket cooks on my Big Green Egg that require me to get up periodically throughout the night. I have a WRT54G I am not using that I will be converting to a BBQ controller posthaste.
I think this article is neglecting to mention that it also has a fan to maintain the temp inside of your smoker.
I also have a BGE, which works incredibly well. But when I smoke a brisket, I still have to go out every couple of hours to make sure the temp is still good and that I do not need to add more fuel. I have a wireless probe thermometer that I can watch from anywhere in the house, but that doesn't help me to know that the fuel is spent.
They have commercially built things like this available (https://www.rocksbarbque.com), but that doesn't have the cool factor that one of these would have among my friends.
The simple fact is that if you only take CS and engineering classes, you're going to miss out on all of the cute girls. College and life afterward would be painfully lonely if I had not been in general education courses that allowed me to develop my ability to talk to women.
You're probably going to miss out on developing those crucial social skills as well. You need to interact and make friends with people from different disciplines so that you learn to communicate efficiently with people outside of your normal social/work circles.
I just went back to school this semester. I have 2 online courses that say they do not support my OS, but work just fine. The on-campus wifi uses a web login on the first http request, which works on my linux notebook as well as my Palm pre. Email is hosted through Gmail, so that makes it easy. I've been using Google Docs for most of my notes. It has made it easier to share notes and files with other users.
The only issue I've run into has been uploading my essays for a professor using the submission tool. The formatting was a bit odd, but I later found out that it is normal even if submitted with Windows/MS Office.
I'm in a fairly unique situation. I live one mile from the train station. My employer also has a train stop on site, with a second opening next year for a new rail line. My employer gets a discounted rate of $38 for a year long rail pass, which covers all trains and buses for both Dallas and Fort Worth.
I can ride a bicycle to the train station, which costs about 20 bucks a year in maintenance(tires, bearings, etc). So it would cost less than $60 per year for me to take public transportation.
A couple months ago, a friend of mine was hired on at my job and we have been car pooling since. We alternate weeks. So at 20mpg in my truck and 40 miles round trip, I burn about 10 gallons at $2/gallon. Also there are $1.40 in tolls each day. $27 every other week, so $702/year not including oil, tires and stuff that I feel is just part of owning a automobile. Even if you're not putting the miles on, those things still need to be checked/replaced. I'm not even going to mention the money saved by not owning a vehicle, because that's just not going to fly in Dallas.
The deciding factor for me is time.
In order to make it to my office by train at 7:30am, I must get up at 5am to leave by 5:45am to catch the train by 6am. Then I must transfer trains once and take a shuttle on campus from the train stop to my office. On the return trip, I have to wait for the first shuttle at 4:45pm to catch the first train by 5pm to catch the second at 5:30pm and make it to the train station at 6:15pm and ride home by 6:30pm.
In order to make it to work by 7:30 via car pooling, I must get up at 6am to meet my friend at 6:50 at my side walk, then take the HOV lane most of the way. The return trip is generally the same, but we usually burn a couple minutes saying our good-byes and wrapping up. So leave by 4:40pm and home by 5:10pm.
So, unless I were able to generate revenue by writing a novel or charge those hours to my job as part of my work day, It's hard for me to justify an extra 10 hours a week to save $13.50 in gas and tolls.
I work as a Unix admin for a medical school, with out a degree or any certifications. Most of my co-workers do not have degrees either. The ones that do have degrees in theology, ministry, psychology, physics, chemistry and journalism. I put in a LOT of hours on my own time to get the experience I needed to pass my technical interviews. A lack of both experience and a degree will make for a long hard road of tech support.
A degree is rarely a bad idea, though. I'm going back to finish mine. It's very possible to find a good job with out it, but it's a lot easier to move up the ladder with it. In IT, the degree is often used more to show that you can stick with something rather than prove you know something.
If your interviewer does not know what questions to ask, they will probably look more for a degree than expertise.
I recommend hooking up with a head hunter or a recruiting agency. They often have tests that they will use to gauge your abilities and attach them to job postings on your behalf. They will also help you get your resume in order.
If you can manage, don't be afraid to take a contract or contract-to-hire position that will gain you valuable experience and give you the ability to add that 'System Administrator' title to your resume.
I believe 24Hz is referring to the sound output. 24fps for film and 29.99fps for video(I believe PAL is something like 25fps, but I may be mistaken) all refers to video frame rates.
I preordered my Wii at my local Funcoland(yes, it's gamestop, but they still call themselves funcoland). They were allowed 8 preorders for customers and 4 preorders for employees(Nintendo alloted) All week I would stop in and confirm that they were going to do a midnight release for the Wii. They confirmed each time.
I got off work at 8pm Saturday night. I stopped by one final time. They said to show up at 11:30. I got there at 11:40 and was the 3rd person in the store. At 12:01 we were given our systems. Because I live close to Funcoland, I was at home with my Wii in my hand at 12:15am.
I purchased a Wii, Zelda, Red Steel, 1 extra Wiimote and 1 extra nunchuck. I also preordered a classic controller, but I was told those will not ship until next week. I declined to buy Wii points in the store, figuring I would buy them online (My mistake).
First, I drooled... I had a euphoric orgasm and unpacked it.
I set up my video camera to video my first experience with my Wii. I'm a big dork.
After the system booted, my brother's kitten noticed a big pointer on the screen and immediately started chasing it around the screen. I entertained her until I had the initial set up (Date, Time, Language, etc...) completed and Zelda started.
Zelda is awesome. It started a little slow though... This isn't a game review.
The major complaint I've seen is people complaining about the WiFi connectivity.
I have an issue with my wireless router (I can't get my PSP to work with encryption). So, I didn't expect the Wii to work.
First off, I tried the normal set up. I entered my WSA key and hoped for the best. It failed. To be thorough, I set the connection up manually and specified the IP for my Wii. It worked IMMEDIATELY. The system updated and rebooted with out a hitch.
I did, however, notice that my wireless mouse (Logitech G7) was being very laggy and jumpy while the system was doing an update. The wireless connection for my Wii was incredibly slow. I have an 8Mbit connection at home, I've never seen anything slow on it. After reading some of the posts on the Nintendo Nsider forums (www.nintendo.com/wii), several people suggested changing the router off of channel 6 and on to channel 11. After I did this, everything is now lightning fast. I can perform updates and connect to the Wii Shop channel instantly.
As I said earlier, I did not buy Wii points at the store... Every attempt at purchasing points online has resulted in a message that states my address entered is incorrect. I've verified it time and time again, but have had no luck. I've emailed the company that administers my debit card, but have not heard back from them yet. So, I do not have any information about the Virtual Console. There is an area to download the Opera browser, but it says it is not ready yet and to keep checking back. I will go purchase Wii points tonight and try the VC out.
The Mii channel is very freaky. It's almost disturbing to think that other 'people' will be visiting my Wii. I turned on the Mingle feature, but have not seen any visitors yet.
Total, I've played my Wii for about 24 of the ~36 hours I've owned it. I've had no issues that make me regret purchasing it. I am pretty sure after a few months of boxing and sword fighting, I will lose some weight. It allows you to be very active if you want to be.
Now, I will play my games and wait for new content and hopefully some friends to pick it up so we can play together.
When I preordered my Wii, my local Gamestop said they were only allowed 8 preorders for customers and 4 preorders for employees. With that said, this same gamestop presold 300 copies of Zelda. So.. I'm thinking Nintendo is shipping enough systems to cover preorders and launch days. I've heard they don't expect to sell out until Wednesday. I'm pretty certain that estimate is not due to a lack of interest, but having enough supply.
What is odd, I checked out the site on march 2nd. the driver version was 3.7.1. 3.7.0 has been out for months... wonder what went so horribly wrong that they went back a release.
Slashdot Mirror
I was in the same boat except that I was 29 and a systems admin. While my job was pretty good and the pay was enough for me to live comfortably, I decided to go back primarily because I did not want a management position to be jeopardized for not having the degree.
Here's what I did:
1) Pick the school that works best for you, with the major you want. I decided on University of Texas at Dallas because it has historically been a commuter school and offered a lot of even classes. Also, the campus is along my commute from work to home.
2) Find a local community college that offers as many transferable classes as possible. I decided to start at the community college level because the tuition reimbursement at my job isn't all that great. I wanted to use more of the money available in the later stages of my education. Also if I decided that i couldn't handle school and work, I wouldn't be out that much money. Also community colleges usually offer a lot of evening courses. Some community colleges offer the ability to retroactively award an associate degree if you complete the course load at a four year school.
3) Pick your class load. I decided that slow and steady wasn't going to work for me. I went full time, year round. At the end of 2 years, I had an associate degree that no one can take away.
4) Move on to four year school and do as well as you can. I have the advantage of already knowing that I have a really good job and have enough work experience to back it up in case I do need to look for something else. Having a high GPA is nice, but it really doesn't mean much when you already have a job and plenty of work experience. I have done as much as I can to pass classes with out much effort. With one exception (I had to take Calculus II four times before finally passing it.), I passed most of my classes with A's and B's. Now I'm about a semester and some change from graduating.
Unless you are already a super math genius, I would definitely bone up on your algebra and calculus prior to taking them. I had a 15 year gap in my math education that was really hard to overcome. Especially for CS. You might as well take a few extra maths and get a math degree as well.
Assuming you do not have experience working in an enterprise environment, do not be afraid to take a job at the bottom of the totem pole. Learn all you can from each position that you take, but do not get too comfortable if your ultimate goal is upward mobility.
If the money isn't what you'd hoped for, just think of it as an education expense. For every year you spend learning from others on the job, you are gaining a year of education as well as experience.
At 19 I started off working in the IT department at my university. From there I moved to an ISP doing tech support-with some Linux work on the side and then to another support role doing more SQL stuff than I wanted. By the time I felt I was ready for a job as a full time Linux administrator, I had 8 years experience in not only Linux, but also other IT areas (SQL, Windows, Networking, Storage, Management).
I would also suggest that you go on every interview you can. Interviewing is a valuable skill that really only comes with practice.
The biggest problem is that those of us who want to move to Google+ can't convince enough of our less techy friends to move over. People go where people are. It isn't the best tech that wins but the largest market share. Had Google launched Plus before "everyone and their grandmother" were on Facebook, they would have had a shot, but it's sort of too late.
I had pretty much abandoned facebook for Google+, but most of my friends seem very confused by it. My major annoyance with facebook was the lack of 'circles' so that I can post about my happy hour exploits without dealing with my mother, bitch about my girlfriend without my girlfriend seeing, or just post general geek stuff for my geek friends without bothering my friend's mom's daughter that I've never met, but insists that we be friends on facebook. Now that facebook has implemented 'Lists', I have used it more, but I think Google's implementation is better.
Of course the fact that G+ STILL isn't available for those of us with Google Apps accounts is a major turn off. I have essentially added yet another email account just for using with G+.
No one should ever go to NY for BBQ. Especially if you're already in the South.
I do brisket cooks on my Big Green Egg that require me to get up periodically throughout the night. I have a WRT54G I am not using that I will be converting to a BBQ controller posthaste.
I think this article is neglecting to mention that it also has a fan to maintain the temp inside of your smoker.
I also have a BGE, which works incredibly well. But when I smoke a brisket, I still have to go out every couple of hours to make sure the temp is still good and that I do not need to add more fuel. I have a wireless probe thermometer that I can watch from anywhere in the house, but that doesn't help me to know that the fuel is spent.
They have commercially built things like this available (https://www.rocksbarbque.com), but that doesn't have the cool factor that one of these would have among my friends.
The simple fact is that if you only take CS and engineering classes, you're going to miss out on all of the cute girls. College and life afterward would be painfully lonely if I had not been in general education courses that allowed me to develop my ability to talk to women.
You're probably going to miss out on developing those crucial social skills as well. You need to interact and make friends with people from different disciplines so that you learn to communicate efficiently with people outside of your normal social/work circles.
I just went back to school this semester. I have 2 online courses that say they do not support my OS, but work just fine. The on-campus wifi uses a web login on the first http request, which works on my linux notebook as well as my Palm pre. Email is hosted through Gmail, so that makes it easy. I've been using Google Docs for most of my notes. It has made it easier to share notes and files with other users.
The only issue I've run into has been uploading my essays for a professor using the submission tool. The formatting was a bit odd, but I later found out that it is normal even if submitted with Windows/MS Office.
I'm in a fairly unique situation. I live one mile from the train station. My employer also has a train stop on site, with a second opening next year for a new rail line. My employer gets a discounted rate of $38 for a year long rail pass, which covers all trains and buses for both Dallas and Fort Worth.
I can ride a bicycle to the train station, which costs about 20 bucks a year in maintenance(tires, bearings, etc). So it would cost less than $60 per year for me to take public transportation.
A couple months ago, a friend of mine was hired on at my job and we have been car pooling since. We alternate weeks. So at 20mpg in my truck and 40 miles round trip, I burn about 10 gallons at $2/gallon. Also there are $1.40 in tolls each day. $27 every other week, so $702/year not including oil, tires and stuff that I feel is just part of owning a automobile. Even if you're not putting the miles on, those things still need to be checked/replaced. I'm not even going to mention the money saved by not owning a vehicle, because that's just not going to fly in Dallas.
The deciding factor for me is time.
In order to make it to my office by train at 7:30am, I must get up at 5am to leave by 5:45am to catch the train by 6am. Then I must transfer trains once and take a shuttle on campus from the train stop to my office. On the return trip, I have to wait for the first shuttle at 4:45pm to catch the first train by 5pm to catch the second at 5:30pm and make it to the train station at 6:15pm and ride home by 6:30pm.
In order to make it to work by 7:30 via car pooling, I must get up at 6am to meet my friend at 6:50 at my side walk, then take the HOV lane most of the way. The return trip is generally the same, but we usually burn a couple minutes saying our good-byes and wrapping up. So leave by 4:40pm and home by 5:10pm.
So, unless I were able to generate revenue by writing a novel or charge those hours to my job as part of my work day, It's hard for me to justify an extra 10 hours a week to save $13.50 in gas and tolls.
I work as a Unix admin for a medical school, with out a degree or any certifications. Most of my co-workers do not have degrees either. The ones that do have degrees in theology, ministry, psychology, physics, chemistry and journalism. I put in a LOT of hours on my own time to get the experience I needed to pass my technical interviews. A lack of both experience and a degree will make for a long hard road of tech support.
A degree is rarely a bad idea, though. I'm going back to finish mine. It's very possible to find a good job with out it, but it's a lot easier to move up the ladder with it. In IT, the degree is often used more to show that you can stick with something rather than prove you know something.
If your interviewer does not know what questions to ask, they will probably look more for a degree than expertise.
I recommend hooking up with a head hunter or a recruiting agency. They often have tests that they will use to gauge your abilities and attach them to job postings on your behalf. They will also help you get your resume in order.
If you can manage, don't be afraid to take a contract or contract-to-hire position that will gain you valuable experience and give you the ability to add that 'System Administrator' title to your resume.
...is usethesource. I didn't get any errors when registering.
I have to agree with you on this.
I have every next-gen system. Between Metroid Prime 3, Mass Effect, Halo 3, LAIR and Mario Galaxy.. It's going to be a very busy Fall/Winter.
Here in Dallas, we just had a massive gas explosion yesterday at an propane/acetylene company.
I believe 24Hz is referring to the sound output. 24fps for film and 29.99fps for video(I believe PAL is something like 25fps, but I may be mistaken) all refers to video frame rates.
Then your EVDO phone reverts back to 1xRTT which is available in most places CDMA service is available.
I was at work, reading about my Wii and telling everyone at work about how awesome it is. I was the only one lucky enough to get one though.
I preordered my Wii at my local Funcoland(yes, it's gamestop, but they still call themselves funcoland). They were allowed 8 preorders for customers and 4 preorders for employees(Nintendo alloted) All week I would stop in and confirm that they were going to do a midnight release for the Wii. They confirmed each time.
I got off work at 8pm Saturday night. I stopped by one final time. They said to show up at 11:30. I got there at 11:40 and was the 3rd person in the store. At 12:01 we were given our systems. Because I live close to Funcoland, I was at home with my Wii in my hand at 12:15am.
I purchased a Wii, Zelda, Red Steel, 1 extra Wiimote and 1 extra nunchuck. I also preordered a classic controller, but I was told those will not ship until next week. I declined to buy Wii points in the store, figuring I would buy them online (My mistake).
First, I drooled... I had a euphoric orgasm and unpacked it.
I set up my video camera to video my first experience with my Wii. I'm a big dork.
After the system booted, my brother's kitten noticed a big pointer on the screen and immediately started chasing it around the screen. I entertained her until I had the initial set up (Date, Time, Language, etc...) completed and Zelda started.
Zelda is awesome. It started a little slow though... This isn't a game review.
The major complaint I've seen is people complaining about the WiFi connectivity.
I have an issue with my wireless router (I can't get my PSP to work with encryption). So, I didn't expect the Wii to work.
First off, I tried the normal set up. I entered my WSA key and hoped for the best. It failed. To be thorough, I set the connection up manually and specified the IP for my Wii. It worked IMMEDIATELY. The system updated and rebooted with out a hitch.
I did, however, notice that my wireless mouse (Logitech G7) was being very laggy and jumpy while the system was doing an update. The wireless connection for my Wii was incredibly slow. I have an 8Mbit connection at home, I've never seen anything slow on it. After reading some of the posts on the Nintendo Nsider forums (www.nintendo.com/wii), several people suggested changing the router off of channel 6 and on to channel 11. After I did this, everything is now lightning fast. I can perform updates and connect to the Wii Shop channel instantly.
As I said earlier, I did not buy Wii points at the store... Every attempt at purchasing points online has resulted in a message that states my address entered is incorrect. I've verified it time and time again, but have had no luck. I've emailed the company that administers my debit card, but have not heard back from them yet. So, I do not have any information about the Virtual Console. There is an area to download the Opera browser, but it says it is not ready yet and to keep checking back. I will go purchase Wii points tonight and try the VC out.
The Mii channel is very freaky. It's almost disturbing to think that other 'people' will be visiting my Wii. I turned on the Mingle feature, but have not seen any visitors yet.
Total, I've played my Wii for about 24 of the ~36 hours I've owned it. I've had no issues that make me regret purchasing it. I am pretty sure after a few months of boxing and sword fighting, I will lose some weight. It allows you to be very active if you want to be.
Now, I will play my games and wait for new content and hopefully some friends to pick it up so we can play together.
Nexgenwars.com has some figures.
When I preordered my Wii, my local Gamestop said they were only allowed 8 preorders for customers and 4 preorders for employees. With that said, this same gamestop presold 300 copies of Zelda. So.. I'm thinking Nintendo is shipping enough systems to cover preorders and launch days. I've heard they don't expect to sell out until Wednesday. I'm pretty certain that estimate is not due to a lack of interest, but having enough supply.
What is odd, I checked out the site on march 2nd. the driver version was 3.7.1. 3.7.0 has been out for months... wonder what went so horribly wrong that they went back a release.
If he wanted to give me the cash. Since I live about 3 minutes from his office, I can give him super fast delivery.. hahaha
I believe it is only a suggestion. definatly not required.. but then again why wouldn't you want the world to know you use slackware?