The New Hobbit Hole

[JenB]

Hmmm... six years worth of warm welcome?

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Good evening all

Had a fine lazy day, and topping it off by watching football. Just finished eating a nice Italian dinner and thinking about going for a piece of cheesecake for dessert, mmmm...

Say, Jen, do you mind if I ask, why do you want to go to grad school anyway?

[HairOfTheDog]

Stay as long as you please!

We need more conservative voters to ditch Patty Murray

[JenB]

Why? Well, I've been asking myself that. I absolutely love learning, and discovering things for myself. More than that I enjoy - I am passionate about - computer science. Remember what Rush Limbaugh says, to find what you love and be the best you can at it? It's not because my dad is a computer science whiz and I love him and want to prove he doesn't have to wait for a grandson to be the next Knuth; it's not because I want to show everyone who thought I'd be like Mom; three kids by 23; and it's not even because I don't want to work. I want to learn something new every day, I want to be the best in my field, I want to be able to put "Ph.D" after my name and have any job I want open to me. And I want to prove that a homeschool girl who started out in community college can do as well as anyone else.

There. I think I'll save that and use it as my statement of purpose next year when I apply.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Any brilliant suggestions?

Don't know much about ratings of graduate schools in IT. My impression is that an MBA is more important for industry success than a PhD is. As far as general remarks on your choices: Purdue is known for engineering, reasonable midwest style campus; don't know much about UC, I guess if you like Alpine skiing it is a good place; Stanford is of course one of the top schools in the country, and has a gorgeous campus, the notorious PC should be less important in IT Grad school, Columbia is a good Ivy League school, it's campus is pleasant, but borders Harlem. So what is the matter with MIT or CalTech?

[Sam Cree]

I don't have a graduate degree or even know anything about computer science. I think, though, that if you wait too long in life, it becomes more difficult to find time to do such things as getting graduate degrees. I know that now your whole life seems to be ahead of you, and it's true that it is. But you'll be amazed at how quickly it may seem to have passed once it has, things that have been put off may turn out to be opportunities lost.

So I think you should go for it. Though I believe I like your reasons better than mine.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

That's a good answer. :)

I graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering from a small but respected engineering university. At the time (oh, my, was it really that long ago?) I looked into pursuing an advanced degree, and actually did work on obtaining a second Bachelor's degree (in Computer Science) but eventually dropped that in favor of going to work and making money. The funny thing is, in doing my current job I don't use anything I learned in college. Everything I know and use in my current job I learned on-the-job.

In my opinion, if your goal is learning and research, then the Ph.D. would be the way to go. If your goal is a good job as a programmer, then it may be better to complete your undergrad degree (BS or BA) and go and get a job with that. I think programming is like any other kind of writing, you only improve at it by doing it; and, your work experience will count more on your resume than an advanced degree. At least, it used to be that way...

[Sam Cree]

Hi Hair, how are you doing?

[Sam Cree]

JenB, I'm not sure somehow that I was coherent in my post to you.

I think things like graduate degrees are priceless. I think if you have the opportunity to get one now, you very definitely should. And I wish you luck.

[HairOfTheDog]

Hullo Sam!

I am tired... Been staying up too late lately, and I think I will be going to bed early tonight!

Just fed the ponies and put them to bed... Put on their blankets for the first time. I couldn't believe it when it was 38 degrees this morning. Unseasonable cold at night at it caught me by surprise! I still didn't turn on the furnace yet. I am abstaining from fall for a bit longer, but since the ponies got blankets, I may grab an extra one too when I go to bed. Or grab a dog. I have enough for a three dog night!

[SuziQ]

There. I think I'll save that and use it as my statement of purpose next year when I apply.

You GO girl!

[HairOfTheDog]

I think you are right about her not needing an advanced degree, I almost asked the same thing, but she is so young. She'll be competing against people the same age with a Bachelor's.

Jen, Once you get out of school you will never get a chance to go back. and you will be working the rest of your life (Unless you stop to do the baby thing eventually I suppose), so there is no rush IMHO. College was the best time of my life so far. Go for what you want!

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

I have enough for a three dog night!

I liked some of their songs!

Good evening! It's still summer here in Texas... in fact, we have us a real live tropical storm in the Gulf! Waiting to see if it will turn into a hurricane and which way it will go! We've had a couple of tropical storms, but I don't think a hurricane has hit Texas since I moved here 13 years ago....

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

I couldn't believe it when it was 38 degrees this morning.

I couldn't believe it when it got down below 78 degrees at 3 AM! Actually it was a little warm because what was left of Edoard went right through here. It normally gets down to 71.

[SuziQ]

Have you considered Univ. of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana? Isn't that where the HAL-9000 was born!? Actually I think I remember it being a good school for Comp. Sci. Our #2 son looked at it briefly, but his heart was set on Carnegie Mellon, and they accepted him. He just began his Junior year and LOVES it! He'll be thinking about grad schools in the coming year. I'll let you know the ones he's thinking of, because he won't be fooling around. He'll want the best as well!

If you want to go to Grad School, now's the time! You'll be done before you know it, and you can look back and say "Thank God THAT'S over with!" LOL!

[HairOfTheDog]

We have real seasons here LCS! Not just summers and storms!

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

We have real seasons here LCS!

We sort of have seasons here too, I have seen snow flakes in the air, and, once, on the ground. Not like south Florida where Sam Cree is. A few years ago the temperature had never dropped below 70 as of Christmas Day!

[Sam Cree]

We have seasons too. In March, the oaks drop most of their leaves. Then, in about two weeks, it's spring, and the new leaves appear. Then, the wind direction moves to the SE and stays there. Then...

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

When I lived in Houghton, Michigan it was not unusual to see snow falling from a clear sky on a sunny winter's day... the air was so humid that when it got cold enough snow would just crystalize and fall from thin air, no storm system needed...

[Sam Cree]

Good night, All