I am one currently one class away from completing my M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering. It is possible, but I agree with those who have said: you basically have to be willing to give up your social life and "normal" fun activities during that time. It involves a lot of late nights, and telling your friends "no I really need to stay in tonight".
But this is something I definitely wanted to achieve, and I feel I've gained a great deal more knowledge about the field than I would have if I opted not to go. So I say, if you're motivated and can stay focused, then by all means go for it, even if you're working full time. In the end it's only a couple of years where you had to make some sacrafices in order to get it done; in fact, it almost motiviates you to work harder because you know that once that day comes you will be able to gain everything you've given up back.
As far as from a career perspective I don't expect much to change when I get my degree. Working for a large defense company they typically make little distinction between someone with an M.S. in EE or ECE, and someone with a B.S. in EE or ECE. This is a shame but I imagine the trend is the same in many corporations. I think where having the degree really pays off, is when you're looking for a new job. This will help give you a little extra edge over the competition and, they will likely offer you a slightly higher starting salary than they would if you only had a B.S. But after you get hired in, don't expect an M.S. to carry much weight, the degree you hold typically doesn't matter at that point. I'm curious if this is this the trend other people have noticed as well?
There are certain sectors where Computer Science majors are currently in very high demand, and there is little or no outsourcing of these jobs. Defense, and government work typically offers great benefits, and due to the nature of the work, there is little chance of it being outsourced. Defense spending is at an all-time high and companies in this sector (Lockheed, Northrop, General Dynamics, Raytheon, GE, Boeing, etc.) are currently reaping the benefits of this. So while there is some outsourcing in other sectors I would not let this deter you from choosing CS as a major. The demand for bright graduates who can engineer solutions to complex problems has been and will continue to be there...
Steve is trying to show you just how much sweat he put into creating Vista! By the looks of those armpit stains I'd say it was at least a couple gallons worth....
http://www.ntk.net/media/dancemonkeyboy.mpg
I think the people you have working on this particular project will have the most influence on whether you have a stable design in the end; especially when working with C++. Put together a team of top-notch engineers, read the Mythical Man Month, then start to think about the design. If you gave three different teams the same task, most likely in the end these three teams would produce three different, yet functional designs; with one of these designs being the most stable. The success of many large projects hinge on the skill set of the engineers, communication, project management, and process (CMM, etc.).
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I am one currently one class away from completing my M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering. It is possible, but I agree with those who have said: you basically have to be willing to give up your social life and "normal" fun activities during that time. It involves a lot of late nights, and telling your friends "no I really need to stay in tonight".
But this is something I definitely wanted to achieve, and I feel I've gained a great deal more knowledge about the field than I would have if I opted not to go. So I say, if you're motivated and can stay focused, then by all means go for it, even if you're working full time. In the end it's only a couple of years where you had to make some sacrafices in order to get it done; in fact, it almost motiviates you to work harder because you know that once that day comes you will be able to gain everything you've given up back.
As far as from a career perspective I don't expect much to change when I get my degree. Working for a large defense company they typically make little distinction between someone with an M.S. in EE or ECE, and someone with a B.S. in EE or ECE. This is a shame but I imagine the trend is the same in many corporations. I think where having the degree really pays off, is when you're looking for a new job. This will help give you a little extra edge over the competition and, they will likely offer you a slightly higher starting salary than they would if you only had a B.S. But after you get hired in, don't expect an M.S. to carry much weight, the degree you hold typically doesn't matter at that point. I'm curious if this is this the trend other people have noticed as well?
There are certain sectors where Computer Science majors are currently in very high demand, and there is little or no outsourcing of these jobs. Defense, and government work typically offers great benefits, and due to the nature of the work, there is little chance of it being outsourced. Defense spending is at an all-time high and companies in this sector (Lockheed, Northrop, General Dynamics, Raytheon, GE, Boeing, etc.) are currently reaping the benefits of this. So while there is some outsourcing in other sectors I would not let this deter you from choosing CS as a major. The demand for bright graduates who can engineer solutions to complex problems has been and will continue to be there...
How about a Logitech mouse, with a laser and a scroll wheel? I like to shop around for the best price.
Steve is trying to show you just how much sweat he put into creating Vista! By the looks of those armpit stains I'd say it was at least a couple gallons worth.... http://www.ntk.net/media/dancemonkeyboy.mpg
Maybe Bill can finally have his taxes processed on a 'normal' computer now that GnuCash 1.9.0 is out?
3 3
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/02/01/14182
When we were kids we used to throw snowballs at passing cars. The kids of tomorrow will be throwing sticky GPS tracking devices at cars.
I think the people you have working on this particular project will have the most influence on whether you have a stable design in the end; especially when working with C++. Put together a team of top-notch engineers, read the Mythical Man Month, then start to think about the design. If you gave three different teams the same task, most likely in the end these three teams would produce three different, yet functional designs; with one of these designs being the most stable. The success of many large projects hinge on the skill set of the engineers, communication, project management, and process (CMM, etc.).