<br>Nathan,<br>IMHO, you should get a CS degree at the U with the best program you can <br>possibly afford. Ivy league if possible. One additional factor is go to a <br>school with an excellent recruiting program. What good is a degree if you.
<br>can't get an interview. <br>I live near Boston, MA and i was a programmer/software Engr for 13 years.<br>Yes, I started with DOS and CP/M. I was even pretty good at it and worked<br>really hard. It one point I was making a six figure salary. Now, I can't find
<br>programming work at any salary. I'm working as a yacht mechanic for half<br>the above salary. Recruiter that I've used in the past (if they're even working)<br>are telling me that everyone wants recent CS grads. No room for the old
<br>timers. Beside, a lot of work in now being done outside the states. That's<br>trend I see continuing.<br>A programming career can be very challenging. Get used to "things at work <br>are spinning out of control and I'm coming home exhausted." "Because of
<br>how difficult work has been, the managers' desire to keep cost down at the <br>expense of being understaffed" pretty much sums up my experience as a<br>programmer. I highly recommend you get an internship as soon a possible.
<br>Can you use your high school to get an internship prior to college?<br>While at the internship learn everything you can. Not just technical thing <br>because technology changes fast. but how the place operates. Ask yourself
<br>can you live like that "for the remainder of my adult life."<br>Now the disclaimer. I hope others chime in with a more positive reply. My<br>career burnt me out and wrecked my marriage. Still, 5 years after my last
<br>programming job, we haven't be able to reconcile. I believe Jesus wants us <br>back together so I'm trying to trust him to sooth her heart. Anyhow, the<br>point is I may be very biased.<br>Oh another thing. Don't put so much emphasis in the books to learn
<br>languages and toolkits. Learn good practises of solid and defensive <br>programming and algorithms. Languages change and/or coming in and <br>out of favor, toolkits come and go with the marketing hype. But good <br>
programming skills are always applicable in any language with any tools.<br>Lastly, I'd be happy to answer any other questions you might have so feel<br>free to contact me.<br>Mark<br><br><br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">
On 12/10/06, <b class="gmail_sendername">Nathan T.</b> <<a href="mailto:celerate@gmail.com">celerate@gmail.com</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
Hi CS-List<br><br>Remember how I said I would revisit this topic when the time was<br>right, well I've graduated from high school now and I'm working a<br>full time job for a yet to be determined period of time, so I think
<br>now is as good a time as any. <br><br>I'll recap a little, my obsession is programming. Over the years I've<br>acquired several hundred dollars worth of programming books and I'm<br>currently trying hard to motivate myself to finish my current Qt 4
<br>book before the second one (about design patterns and Qt 4) arrives.<br>I've done well for myself over the last few years of high school, I<br>was a straight A student in Saskatchewan, pulling in final report<br>card marks that were usually in the high 80s or 90s. Since then we've
<br>moved to Yellowknife, and my last half a year here was rough. The<br>provincial exams and the move hit me hard and I ended up pulling off<br>higher grades in that ridiculous English class (where we did no work,<br>just listened to the teacher's personal stories and rants and then
<br>discussed them) than in Calculus and Physics 30. I don't have a<br>diploma yet, supposedly I have to get ahold of the school board to<br>have one sent to me, but I haven't gotten the time to do that yet<br>because going into the Christmas season things at work are spinning
<br>out of control and I'm coming home exhausted.<br><br>I'm thinking of University, and particularly of taking CS as my<br>major. Around here the closest are U of A, the Augustana Campus is of<br>particular interest because it's not in a major city. I have been
<br>considering U of S because even though up here in YK people seem to<br>be unaware of it's existence I have several friends from Prince<br>Albert going there. There was U of Victoria in BC, but I hear that<br>cost of living there is extremely high. My tutor recommended that I
<br>go to U of Waterloo, but I have some reservations about being that<br>far from home and particularly living somewhere that expensive and<br>going to such an intimidating school.<br><br>Michael Robertson of Linspire recently fired off a newletter to his
<br>subscribers in which he said that post-secondary may not be worth it,<br>of course he lives in the USA and what he says may not be as<br>applicable in Canada; however, I also have many coworkers who got<br>certifications instead of post secondary (although they're
<br>technicians, and I don't want to be swapping out motherboards and<br>cleaning off viruses for the remainder of my adult life.<br><br>I'm looking forward to some input. Because of how difficult work has<br>been, and the managers' desire to keep cost down at the expense of
<br>being understaffed, I have been considering going off to University<br>or at least to some reputable technical institute as a method of<br>moving forward. One more thing I should mention that may or may not<br>be important: I have no car, and only a learners drivers license. I
<br>also don't want to stay in Yellowknife for much longer, I would much<br>prefer somewhere with milder winters, plus the low lighting here<br>during 6 months of the year makes me feel perpetually tired.<br><br><br> - NT
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</a><br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><a href="mailto:clayton256@gmail.com">clayton256@gmail.com</a>