OT - For the Computer Obsessive . . . Continuing Education ???

[jehugaleahsa]

Hello:

At some point I would like to continue my education in Computer
Science and pursue a degree in Software Engineering, Systems
Programming or Software Architecture.

However, at the moment I am stuck in Billing, MT. The nearest school
doesn't have a masters level degree in CS. I don't feel like driving
400+ miles a day to go to Bozeman. So, while I am working where I am
at, I can't really continue my CS education. I also don't feel like
quiting my job since I am getting some *company* in a few days and
keeping her fed is kind of one of my top priortities. Student loans
suck too.

Anyway, what I did notice is that they have a bachelor-level
mathematics degree. I also realize that some of the most in-depth
topics in CS require a great deal of mathematics. Thanks to my major
and minor (Math), I feel like I have a good handle on Mathematics.
However, I always feel I could improve my understanding of calculus,
statistics, number thoery and probability. Would it makes sense for
someone like myself to take on a program and get a second bachelors?
or should I just wait and get my masters?

At some point in my life I would like to understand mathematics
better, as well as electrical/computer engineering. You might say I
want to have a well-rounded understanding of computers and the
theoretical and techincal background that goes with them.

Perhaps I should just save up for going back to school now. Perhaps I
should stay on a straight and narrow path. Perhaps I should get a math
degree now and get an engineering degree later. Maybe I should just
self-educate myself (am I capable). What do you think?

Thanks,
Travis

 

[Peter Duniho]

[...]
Perhaps I should just save up for going back to school now. Perhaps I
should stay on a straight and narrow path. Perhaps I should get a math
degree now and get an engineering degree later. Maybe I should just
self-educate myself (am I capable). What do you think?

No offense intended, but what I think is that the C# language newsgroup
is probably not the best place for advice regarding your career, whether
how to deal with a boss you don't respect or how best to advance your
education.

You need a guidance counselor, not a bunch of programmers. Even if you
get responses to these sorts of questions (and there's no shortage of
opinions, so you'll always get replies), you've got no reason to think
that the advice you get here is at all relevant or useful to your
specific needs.

It doesn't help that you're significantly lowering the signal-to-noise
ratio in the newsgroup, but mainly it's just that you aren't really
going to get information you can trust anyway. There's nothing wrong
with your introspection; it's just not all that appropriate here.

Pete

 

[jehugaleahsa]

[...]
Perhaps I should just save up for going back to school now. Perhaps I
should stay on a straight and narrow path. Perhaps I should get a math
degree now and get an engineering degree later. Maybe I should just
self-educate myself (am I capable). What do you think?

No offense intended, but what I think is that the C# language newsgroup
is probably not the best place for advice regarding your career, whether
how to deal with a boss you don't respect or how best to advance your
education.

You need a guidance counselor, not a bunch of programmers. Even if you
get responses to these sorts of questions (and there's no shortage of
opinions, so you'll always get replies), you've got no reason to think
that the advice you get here is at all relevant or useful to your
specific needs.

It doesn't help that you're significantly lowering the signal-to-noise
ratio in the newsgroup, but mainly it's just that you aren't really
going to get information you can trust anyway. There's nothing wrong
with your introspection; it's just not all that appropriate here.

Pete

Perhaps you're right. I really don't know where to ask someone this
kind of question. I was hoping to get the insights of other
programmers.

I hope you are not giving me a hard time. I do post my fair share of
C# related questions. These past few weeks have been stressful. And it
not all too uncommon to see a post about Brittany Spears naked or
whether someone is hireable or some other rubish on this group.
Perhaps I should look for a group for programmers in general, not
specific to one language or the other.

I don't know about you, but many of my opinions come from others in my
environment. I doubt HR would be able to comprehend the stress of my
programming environment.

My next post will be about C#.

 

[UL-Tomten]

You need a guidance counselor, not a bunch of programmers.

Now, that's a sentence reeking with condescension!

 

[clintonG]

I always dreamed of going to school at MIT but alas I too am "stuck" in a
little teeny place controlled by little teeny thinkers. Its a place called
Milwaukee in Wisconsin. Well, I hear MIT has something like over 1,000
courses online or something like that. I have to go check it out myself.
You should too Travis...

<%= Clinton Gallagher
NET csgallagher AT metromilwaukee.com
URL http://clintongallagher.metromilwaukee.com/

 

[Peter Duniho]

[...]
I hope you are not giving me a hard time. I do post my fair share of
C# related questions.

Contrary to popular belief, I do not post for the purpose of giving
anyone "a hard time". Some people take it that way, usually because
they are mistaken about something but cannot bring themselves to see it.
But rest assured, I would not reply to your post simply for the
purpose of giving you a hard time, nor would I take any pleasure if that
was even a side-effect of my reply (though, nor would I lose much sleep
if it were a side-effect either...I'm fairly agnostic about the whole
"giving someone a hard time" thing).

These past few weeks have been stressful. And it
not all too uncommon to see a post about Brittany Spears naked or
whether someone is hireable or some other rubish on this group.

And those threads are just as much noise too, if not more so. But just
because someone else is noisy, that's no reason to add to the noise.

The truth is, there are many smart people who read and post to this
newsgroup. Of those people, some may even have useful insight into any
random problem you might care to post about. Even problems that are not
even related to programming, or the profession of programming.

Regardless, this newsgroup has a topic, and it is worthwhile to make an
attempt to stay on-topic. Drift happens, but I see no need to start
whole new threads that are off-topic. It's one thing for a thread to
drift off-topic from an honest, on-topic question. It's quite another
to start a new thread knowing it's off-topic from the outset.

And in any case, I stand by my suggestion that in this environment,
there is not really a very good way for you to evaluate the usefulness
of replies. You might get one or two good replies, but figuring out
which of the dozen you might receive are actually worth paying attention
to is roughly the same amount of work as simply solving the problem
yourself. Programming questions are one thing. Either the answer works
or it doesn't. But subjective, personal development, career advice,
etc. I just am not convinced this is the group you ought to be asking.
That's as much for your own benefit as anyone else's.

Pete

 

[Peter Duniho]

Now, that's a sentence reeking with condescension!

How so? Please explain how giving someone some practical advice as to
who may or may not be qualified to give him advice "reeks with
condescension"? If anything, the sentence is self-deprecating, as it
suggests that I (along with the other programmers) am NOT qualified to
answer the question.

How in the world do you get condescension out of that?

Some people, it seems, are just a little too eager to be offended.

 

[UL-Tomten]

If anything, the sentence is self-deprecating,

Exactly. As one in a bunch of programmers, I feel belittled.

(I've read somewhere that in completely OT threads, you don't need to
pepper everything with smilies.)

 

[Peter Duniho]

Exactly. As one in a bunch of programmers, I feel belittled.

Well, maybe you can explain how something can be self-deprecating and
condescending at the same time. I don't see how it's possible.

You may feel free to disagree with my point; I think that given the
one-sided presentation of the issues, it's impossible for anyone here to
offer relevant advice, and that's even for the few people who are
qualified to do so more generally. But a disagreement on those facts is
perfectly acceptable.

But it is pretty silly to take offense when I have included myself in
the group of people I am supposedly condescending.

By definition, condescension is mutually exclusive with
self-deprecation. One places oneself above another, while the other
places oneself below.

Pete

 

[Kevin Spencer]

The answer depends largely on what your ultimate objectives are.
Institutional learning and education are immensely valuable, but tend to
constrain one's thinking. A self-ediuation is more likely to lead to greater
discovery, but the lack of credentials can be an impediment to professional
advancement. On the other hand, limitations of any sort can be overcome with
sufficient effort and creativity. Only you know yourself, your personality,
and your motives well enought to make the determination.

Physical/geographic location is irrelevant when the Internet is taken into
account.

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP

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