Should I stay or should I go?
Apr. 8th, 2003 11:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
leftyjewHmmm.... So I have no concrete job offers. It's April and most places will give me their decisions by the end of this month. I want to leave the Bos-Wash Megalopolis and escape the East Coast where I've llived most of my life. All that said, I got a strange idea this afternoon.
I've always been a CS minor. I've also always been pretty good at programming and CS theory stuff. My grades in comp sci are higher than my cumulative GPA and higher than my classmates' on average. This is all with the exeption of Computer Animation which I hated and sucked at. For these reasons, my Computer Science profs have always asked me "So why are you only a minor?" This semester, when my CS classes are my only interesting courses, I have begun to agree with them. Why am I only a minor? The answers to that question are:
I like computers but I love the interdisciplinary nature and real world applications of IA
I want to work in nonprofits and learn about the political side
I wanted to study abroad
Okay, so those are my reasons. But I'm good with CS and I like it and it's actually marketable. And NGOs need good IT people. So I was in the CS department today and decided to talk to my one prof who seems to want me as a CS major. How do I afford it or do it? We spoke a while and eventually he told me to talk to someone else about the specifics. So I spoke to my minor advisor and we worked out a way to finish off the BA in a semester. If I talked to the associate dean, I could maybe work out a way for the engineering school to pay for my 5th year. Great!
So I went to the dean's office and we spoke about it. No way the school could pay for my year. He's pretty strict about that rule. However, maybe I'm taking the wrong approach, he said. What if I instead worked for a Masters degree in Comp Sci? A Masters of Science in Computer Science??? That has to be more expensive than an undergraduate education and it must be a longer time! To my surprise, I could finish an MS in a year and the school could actually PAY ME money to do it....if I work as a TA or research assistant. That would be incredibly cool. I would have to work like hell taking 4 courses a semster and TA, and stay in DC another year at GW....but I'd have an MS and some real credentials and education in Computer Science.
Pros:
Nonprofits need good IT people
Nonprofits love Masters degree holders
At worst, I can go into industry as a backup
I have nothing else going for me right now
I like the professors in the CS department
Cons:
I would have to stay another year here
I need to get away
It would be a LOT of hard work
GW isnt anywhere near the best computer science school in the world, and I don't want a useless degree, even if they are paying for it
I want to stop school
I don't want to be pigeon-holed into tech jobs at NGOs
This seems like it comes out of nowhere and is impulsive (not completely a con)
So, dear readers, what do you think I should do? Is it worth it for me to stay and earn another degree? Right now, I'm leaning toward yes, and there hasn't been a really strong counter-argument. I want to hear them! Tell me I'm nuts!
I've always been a CS minor. I've also always been pretty good at programming and CS theory stuff. My grades in comp sci are higher than my cumulative GPA and higher than my classmates' on average. This is all with the exeption of Computer Animation which I hated and sucked at. For these reasons, my Computer Science profs have always asked me "So why are you only a minor?" This semester, when my CS classes are my only interesting courses, I have begun to agree with them. Why am I only a minor? The answers to that question are:
Okay, so those are my reasons. But I'm good with CS and I like it and it's actually marketable. And NGOs need good IT people. So I was in the CS department today and decided to talk to my one prof who seems to want me as a CS major. How do I afford it or do it? We spoke a while and eventually he told me to talk to someone else about the specifics. So I spoke to my minor advisor and we worked out a way to finish off the BA in a semester. If I talked to the associate dean, I could maybe work out a way for the engineering school to pay for my 5th year. Great!
So I went to the dean's office and we spoke about it. No way the school could pay for my year. He's pretty strict about that rule. However, maybe I'm taking the wrong approach, he said. What if I instead worked for a Masters degree in Comp Sci? A Masters of Science in Computer Science??? That has to be more expensive than an undergraduate education and it must be a longer time! To my surprise, I could finish an MS in a year and the school could actually PAY ME money to do it....if I work as a TA or research assistant. That would be incredibly cool. I would have to work like hell taking 4 courses a semster and TA, and stay in DC another year at GW....but I'd have an MS and some real credentials and education in Computer Science.
Pros:
Cons:
So, dear readers, what do you think I should do? Is it worth it for me to stay and earn another degree? Right now, I'm leaning toward yes, and there hasn't been a really strong counter-argument. I want to hear them! Tell me I'm nuts!
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no subject
Date: 2003-04-09 01:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-04-09 07:00 pm (UTC)Should You Stay or Should You Go?
Well, firstly no one can reeeally tell you what you should do. And Chach, I agree with whoever said that you should come out to the W. coast, that'd be great. Unfortunately, I hear tell that the CS industry is tough right now, hard for people to get jobs in that area.
Secondly, would you really honestly and truly want to do ALL that extra programming....for two extra letters to stick after your name, and maybe some applicable knowledge? I seem to recall hearing a lot of frustration at programs in general, and also ni fu le duo chang shijian zuo dianao huodong. Wow that pinyin came out of nowhere!
I'm not by any means discouraging you from doing another year. But maybe realize that you are kinda burned out with schoolwork, and could quite easily take a year off. Talk to your CS profs and the academic dean about deferring graduation, and taking a year off to work before coming back to finish that second major. Thus, you could
1. get away
2. zhuan some qian
3. travel/see people
4. intern or work for an NGO to make damn sure that's what you want to do, and
5. the computer industry might perk back up in a year or so, and you will be in demand
6. By the time you get back to GWU, you'll be refreshed, ready to work hard (*cough* in theory. just go with me here!), can still hang out w/ friends, and you'll have a new perspective on things.
Email me, or leave me a note in my blog about if this makes sense. And freaking A, come visit me in Hawaii!
Love,
Lace
康明！
请不要这样想吧。我真的要你support我毕业以后的机会。为美国陆军工作不是直接帮他们杀人。。。就是(我以为)找资料，什么的所以我们的国家能够avert别的大战。我反对伊拉克大战但是，那，怎么办？小布什已经开始了！我希望我们很快会出伊拉克去。
在Hawaii陆军大中心intern不是跟中东事情有关系！我的focus只是中国和东亚洲研究。就是为我的将来有关系。我以为作挺重要的秘密工作不但有意思，而且给我经验。我有一个朋友两年以前已经作这一幕一样的internship.
因为你obviously反对我选的工作让我觉得不公平。无论你想什么，我大概pursue这个经验。我以为你是真奇怪会国语用“爱，”可是英文根本不用啊。
如果我们可以谈别的东西给我打电话。 要是这个事情真的bugs你，算了吧！
Re: 康明！
Date: 2003-04-13 12:59 am (UTC)我们美国的陆军也没有“我们的国家能够avert别的大战”的政策。在亚洲、中东、南美、等所有的地方美国个敌对行为外交政策。
怎么不公平呢？我是你的朋友但是我还是我自己。
可是如果你已经知道我所说的话，用你的心、脑子、等等决定你要做什么。我还是你的朋友，我还是要你的生命对你又有趣又快乐。
I’m behind you, Lace, but I just want you to understand that what you do matters and you shouldn't sell yourself out. Also, don't think that just because there's no wars that you oppose in Asia today that it won't happen in a few months (North Korea is a tempting target).
Re: 康明！
Date: 2003-04-13 01:01 am (UTC)I'll support whatever decision that you choose to make. :)
hi!
Date: 2003-04-13 07:55 am (UTC)so this is what i think... you should definitely go for your masters, because that'll be REALLY good for making reasonably sure you can get a good paying job. it isn't just extra letters after your name. a masters is extremely important today (as opposed to years and years ago), because nowadays it's pretty damn commonplace to have an undergraduate degree. a masters will make you stand out, even if it's just by a little bit. that little bit can get you a job over someone else. (and of course, there'll be the added benefit of a post-graduate education. but never mind that!)
the thing i'm not so sure about is you staying at GW for it. if theyll pay for you to get your masters, then who's to say you can't get a similar deal at a university more renowned for their CS department? my advice: graduate on time, take a year off, hunt around for good financial aid programs at better CS schools, work around, etc, then make your decision.
i do remember you saying you definitely don't program for fun anymore since you became a CS minor, which DOES say something, would SEEM to suggest that you shouldn't get into this field. but thing is... any job's gonna be... a... JOB. no matter what. so it might as well be a good-paying one, and one that you're good at, and one which you can actually use to help non-profit orgs, like you've wanted. and if, at some point, you decide you truly hate it, then you can of course always switch careers. people do it all the time.
a masters in CS will definitely help you to have something to fall back on, though. and that's pretty important, in my opinion.
what a freakin' ramble.
but ya.
no subject
Date: 2003-04-17 11:15 pm (UTC)luvluv,
lace