any Computer Science people among y'all?

[heavyiron8]

Sweet, then you are on a decent path if you can see if through. Keep in mind that it closes off "common" CS/IT jobs, because you would be too specialized. Or, someone would give you an entry level gig, just like they would to a person with a BS.

If you're going PhD route, I would postpone until you have made the rounds at least in 2 major companies and get to know people. Unless you want to teach.

Yea, I thought about working for a couple of years before I hit up school again. Get some real life experience, save up some money then pay for grad school.

What does your company do?

 

[Gibson486]

Are you getting an internship or a few years of experience in between? Because if I saw a resume with nothing on it but a bunch of education, vs someone with no degrees but 3-5 years of exp, I would hire the experienced person.

MS is often a waste of time in our industry. Just saying it like it is. If I want an academic, I'll hire a PhD. You'd do better financially getting an MBA after working for 3 years. After your first job, it's more about networking than anything, unless you want to go the management track, then often an MBA helps... although lately that hasn't been that true.

Although, to be fair, if you graduate on top and have good connections, master's may help in some cases.

yeah, that is the common theme I see with software/coding type jobs. They either want a BS or a PhD. It's all or nothing. I rarely see a job in that field that says MS. That said, the whole software thing is hot now. every other job posting I see is for some "hot start up" that needs CS majors or Engineering majors with good coding skills. Coming out of school, you need to be well rounded because if you put all your efforts trying to get into one certain field once you graduate, you are only setting yourself up for disappointment.

 

[Deeko]

Sweet, then you are on a decent path if you can see if through. Keep in mind that it closes off "common" CS/IT jobs, because you would be too specialized. Or, someone would give you an entry level gig, just like they would to a person with a BS.

If you're going PhD route, I would postpone until you have made the rounds at least in 2 major companies and get to know people. Unless you want to teach.

I graduated from undergrad with a guy who went directly into PhD. He graduated three years later, and was offered senior and/or principal software positions at multiple very large companies.

Granted, those are three years he could have been working, and granted, this guy is a genius...but, companies do hire PhDs, and they do hire them at more senior levels than they would a B.S.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Ph.D research in compression might be interesting, though as mentioned in your Programming forum thread this area is heavily encumbered with patents between general lossless file compression and both lossless and lossy compression of audio and video.

FYI, there are open-source encoders for both lossless (FLAC) and lossy (LAME MP3, Ogg Vorbis) audio compression, and probably for some of the video formats. For general file compression there are zlib and 7zip.

 

[apac]

Why are people recommending IT for someone asking about data compression algorithms? That's obviously not what he wants, and the money and opportunities are better in CS anyway.

 

[linuxboy]

Granted, those are three years he could have been working, and granted, this guy is a genius...but, companies do hire PhDs, and they do hire them at more senior levels than they would a B.S.

Absolutely... but you better be top of your game to get there. It's possible, just harder. Is it worth the risk? Personal call. I have seen networking do far more for people over the years than degrees. And I have seen good people fail because they didn't have the right degrees. End point here I'm trying to make is that nobody will give you a job because you look good on paper and never talked to anyone or have internships/relevant experience. You have to work at it because many good jobs are not advertised.

 

[swanysto]

No offense, but.. I don't think you know what CS is about.

I actually have a CS degree. It now hangs above the toilet in my bathroom so I can pee towards it before I go to my IT job. Good luck though.

 

[heavyiron8]

I actually have a CS degree. It now hangs above the toilet in my bathroom so I can pee towards it before I go to my IT job. Good luck though.

Which school did you get your BS from? And how well did you do while you were there?

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

I've been told that by misinformed people that doesn't really know what CS really is for a long long time.




The problem is, most people automatically think IT or something to do with computer when they hear Computer Science... the name is kinda misleading.

english is not your native language, is it?

 

[heavyiron8]

english is not your native language, is it?

Blah Blah, you too.

 

[Kirby]

Which school did you get your BS from? And how well did you do while you were there?

I go to a second rate public school and make mediocre grades, and I wouldn't even do IT.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Blah Blah, you too.

well what is it then?
or where are you from?

 

[Leros]

I majored in EE, but got a job as a software engineer.

 

[heavyiron8]

well what is it then?
or where are you from?

My first language is Chinese...

 

[Red Squirrel]

Why are people recommending IT for someone asking about data compression algorithms? That's obviously not what he wants, and the money and opportunities are better in CS anyway.

People don't realize but the odds of getting into a high end job straight out of school is slim. IT is the easiest to get into and once you have experience then you can try to apply at a specialized job.

As for working for a major software company... LOL. Yeah good luck getting into MS or Google straight out of college. They get thousands of applications per day.

Not everybody can be an astronaut when they grow up.

It's still worth trying, just don't count on it. IT is easy to get into, so start there.

 

[her209]

People don't realize but the odds of getting into a high end job straight out of school is slim. IT is the easiest to get into and once you have experience then you can try to apply at a specialized job.

As for working for a major software company... LOL. Yeah good luck getting into MS or Google straight out of college. They get thousands of applications per day.

Not everybody can be an astronaut when they grow up.

It's still worth trying, just don't count on it. IT is easy to get into, so start there.

I know people who got hired at well-known software companies straight out of school, but got let go a year later for the new class of graduating students.

 

[Texashiker]

I know people who got hired at well-known software companies straight out of school, but got let go a year later for the new class of graduating students.

A buddy of mine has been doing C++ programming since the early-mid 1990s. He told me development companies like a high turn over rate - it ensures new ideas get brought into the company.

My buddy has worked for a contractor for IBM, he had interviewed for Microsoft twice, and had done programming work on flight simulators for the Air Force. Some of the stuff he worked with in the late 1990s, the civilian market did not see until years later. When my buddy finished college, his first job was doing contract work for the Air Force. From there he went to some development company in Washington state that did work for IBM.

When my friend got laid off in 2005. he could not beg a job out of anyone. All he has is an associates degree, and companies these days want a bachelors degree. Having 15 years experience meant very little on the resume, as compared to a BS degree.

After going through his savings, and being about 2 weeks from living on the streets, his mom and dad sent him a plane ticket to fly to their house.

If I ever lose my current job, I will probably go back to school for something totally unrelated to computers. I might even go back into the welding field.

 

[Leros]

People don't realize but the odds of getting into a high end job straight out of school is slim. IT is the easiest to get into and once you have experience then you can try to apply at a specialized job.

As for working for a major software company... LOL. Yeah good luck getting into MS or Google straight out of college. They get thousands of applications per day.

Not everybody can be an astronaut when they grow up.

It's still worth trying, just don't count on it. IT is easy to get into, so start there.

Its actually fairly easy to get into MS or Google straight out of college if you go to a good school and make good grades.

 

[TuxDave]

The problem is, most people automatically think IT or something to do with computer when they hear Computer Science... the name is kinda misleading.

Oh... so you want to build computers right?

 

[zanejohnson]

you code wizards are crazy... tell ya what, i'll make sure you got a solid network to work on, try not to rape the SAN link with porn (it's not possible, that's why i run the network) and we'll drink some beers after work

 

[purbeast0]

i majored in computer science in 2004.

 

[heavyiron8]

People don't realize but the odds of getting into a high end job straight out of school is slim. IT is the easiest to get into and once you have experience then you can try to apply at a specialized job.

As for working for a major software company... LOL. Yeah good luck getting into MS or Google straight out of college. They get thousands of applications per day.

Not everybody can be an astronaut when they grow up.

It's still worth trying, just don't count on it. IT is easy to get into, so start there.

I said intern, not necessarily getting a job there. I'm confident that I could given my grades. And I am interning at Cisco over the winter, so that adds exp at fairly big company.

 

[yllus]

I will agree with the consensus that a Masters in CS is not very useful. Either do your four years and get into the workforce ASAP, or stay in for a PhD.

I also like your chosen area of speciality. Hit up http://www.twitch.tv/ and http://socialcam.com/ , both offshoots of Justin.tv. They're both very young companies looking for experts in lots of areas.

People don't realize but the odds of getting into a high end job straight out of school is slim. IT is the easiest to get into and once you have experience then you can try to apply at a specialized job.

As for working for a major software company... LOL. Yeah good luck getting into MS or Google straight out of college. They get thousands of applications per day.

Not everybody can be an astronaut when they grow up.

It's still worth trying, just don't count on it. IT is easy to get into, so start there.

Both Microsoft and Google do a lot of recruiting on student campuses and it's not really that difficult to get a job there immediately after graduation.

Starting in an area only vaguely related to the area you wish to be in is, in my opinion, bad advice. The vast majority of people have their careers shaped permanently by the direction their first "real" job takes them - it's hard to throw away years of knowledge in one area to start all over in another. If you want to do hard CS, start by doing hard CS.

A buddy of mine has been doing C++ programming since the early-mid 1990s. He told me development companies like a high turn over rate - it ensures new ideas get brought into the company.

No company likes high turnover - it's just too costly. But there is some utility to new ideas and viewpoints constantly being introduced to a company.

 

[zinfamous]

Blah Blah, you too.

excellent, the noob is dealing with an established resident troll in proper fashion.

:thumbsup:, sir.

 

[MrChad]

People don't realize but the odds of getting into a high end job straight out of school is slim. IT is the easiest to get into and once you have experience then you can try to apply at a specialized job.

As for working for a major software company... LOL. Yeah good luck getting into MS or Google straight out of college. They get thousands of applications per day.

Not everybody can be an astronaut when they grow up.

It's still worth trying, just don't count on it. IT is easy to get into, so start there.

Nonsense.

There is plenty of demand out there even in this market for talented programmers, especially in the right markets (DC Metro area, for instance). OP, my biggest recommendation is that you get some internships under your belt if you can and that you polish your communication skills. The ability to speak and write effectively combined with programming ability will do wonders for your value in the job market.