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Repent And
I am graduating in one year with a BS in Computational Mathematical Sciences. I have been looking for an entry level programming job for months, to no avail. Now I am determined to improve my skills and resume within one year so I can get a decent job. Here's my relevant course work:
CSE110 Progamming w/ Java I
CSE205 Programning w/ Java II
CSE240 Intro to Programming Languages (C/C++, LISP)
CSE310 Data Structures and Algorithms
CPI310 Web Info Management (PHP, SQL, XML)
MAT420 Scientific Computing (Problem solving with C)
There are a bunch of programming classes I could take through community college before i graduate, but I don't know if they will help. I can't take anymore Computer Science courses at my university because they are all reserve for CS majors. Should I take some of the community college classes? There are classes on Visual Basic, C#, Game Development, Web Development, ASP.NET, JavaScript, etc. this is al stuff I have been seeing on job descriptions.
I have a few projects underway. For one, I am developing a mobile version of my church's website. That's a pretty major project. Plus I have some other personal projects that I plan to have done within a year to prove my skills. Will a good portfolio of programming projects, plus my math degree be enough to land me a job?
I have been VERY frustrated with my job search, and I don't want the cycle to continue. So I know the solution is to improve myself.
Also I think I will have a [paid] internship next summer.
I don't expect to get a job as a a senior developer right off the bat obviously.
Basically what I mean is how can I compete with CS majors?
Answer
Most CS majors will lack a great deal of the mathematics you have. You can use this to your great advantage. I think the other poster (wonderfully said and I upp'd him for it) said it pretty well. I can add a few things, from experience, though.
Math gives you a segue into electronics. Electronics design depends heavily on Euler's and e, Fourier and Laplace, complex analysis, partial fractions, linear matrix methods, and much more. If you are fluent with 2nd order diff-eq, you are mostly good. Designers desperately need programmers who can speak their language, understand terms in s-space and z-space (discrete), kalman (discrete) and kalman-bucy (continuous) optimal filtering and error covariances, and who can take a design concept and program it correctly. Designers are NOT usually good programmers. So being able to speak their language, understand their design rules, and being able to help bridge the gap between the electronics side and what can be done on the software side is important. It's also very helpful because there are some things better done in software, because the product will be much more competitive that way (fewer parts, less electronic drift, lower failure rate, smaller, lower power, etc.) This is worth money.
Transducers abound in electronics and they sometimes have very complex math involved. Anyone doing something unique or special (out of the ordinary) will need your skill sets. Did you know that the physics of gas discharges (compact fluorescent light bulbs, for example) requires at least two spatial and one time dimension of PDEs coupled to at least six-dim ODEs to apprehend well; that is if you don't include radiation transport and atomic interactions. A simplified version may use global rate equations, assuming spatially averaged densities for the charged particles, with neutral atoms and molecules. But it still needs to deal with excited and metastable states. (I spent a little time studying the math because of a small interest years ago.)
My specialty is in math and physics. I am at my core a programmer. But I design instrumentation AND I program it, as well. Been self-employed most of my life doing that kind of work. My math skills are used ALMOST every single day and in important ways. A few years ago I solved a problem in analyzing human color perception of RGB LED panel systems (so that OSRAM could calibrate them before selling them) that had previously required $100,000 piece of equipment producing one reading a minute and requiring almost an hour's time of skilled work beforehand, reducing this to about 5 seconds of unskilled labor afterwards, using an insight I had while watching the process. The math involved was modest. But few had the skills to bring to the problem before and so it went undiscovered for this application for more than a decade until I showed up. You'd have no problem understanding it, too. Trivial.
The point is, programming is like typing. It has no goal, no purpose, by itself. And like typing, you want to get to the point where "thinking about programming" is unconscious so that you can focus on the applications, not which letters you type (or the specific syntax of some semantic idea you want.) Mathematics adds to your skill set and opens up many application spaces that most programmers (who shy away from serious applied or theoretical math) can't even begin to access. And I cannot tell you how many projects I've seen crash and burn because the programmer(s) didn't understand what they were being asked to do because they could not understand what the physicists had written (who don't understand the limitations of programming a computer) or what the electronics engineers had designed. In the end, the programmer had to bring ALL of it together and make the entire system function right. And that requires more skills than just programming. It requires being able to read the technical writings of those involved in the research and design phases.
Anyway, find industries that need math. Feedback and control systems, anything instrument-like, aeronautics, space science (one of my pieces was on the space shuttle), and so on. Use your math fluency as a skill and brush aside those who lack it.
Continue to improve your programming skills, of course. That's like improving your corrected typing rate. It helps. But it's not why people will buy you. And make some things. I'd recommend digging into embedded microcontrollers. They also are a segue into areas that will use your math skills and skills in embedded programming will complement your math skills well.
Most CS majors will lack a great deal of the mathematics you have. You can use this to your great advantage. I think the other poster (wonderfully said and I upp'd him for it) said it pretty well. I can add a few things, from experience, though.
Math gives you a segue into electronics. Electronics design depends heavily on Euler's and e, Fourier and Laplace, complex analysis, partial fractions, linear matrix methods, and much more. If you are fluent with 2nd order diff-eq, you are mostly good. Designers desperately need programmers who can speak their language, understand terms in s-space and z-space (discrete), kalman (discrete) and kalman-bucy (continuous) optimal filtering and error covariances, and who can take a design concept and program it correctly. Designers are NOT usually good programmers. So being able to speak their language, understand their design rules, and being able to help bridge the gap between the electronics side and what can be done on the software side is important. It's also very helpful because there are some things better done in software, because the product will be much more competitive that way (fewer parts, less electronic drift, lower failure rate, smaller, lower power, etc.) This is worth money.
Transducers abound in electronics and they sometimes have very complex math involved. Anyone doing something unique or special (out of the ordinary) will need your skill sets. Did you know that the physics of gas discharges (compact fluorescent light bulbs, for example) requires at least two spatial and one time dimension of PDEs coupled to at least six-dim ODEs to apprehend well; that is if you don't include radiation transport and atomic interactions. A simplified version may use global rate equations, assuming spatially averaged densities for the charged particles, with neutral atoms and molecules. But it still needs to deal with excited and metastable states. (I spent a little time studying the math because of a small interest years ago.)
My specialty is in math and physics. I am at my core a programmer. But I design instrumentation AND I program it, as well. Been self-employed most of my life doing that kind of work. My math skills are used ALMOST every single day and in important ways. A few years ago I solved a problem in analyzing human color perception of RGB LED panel systems (so that OSRAM could calibrate them before selling them) that had previously required $100,000 piece of equipment producing one reading a minute and requiring almost an hour's time of skilled work beforehand, reducing this to about 5 seconds of unskilled labor afterwards, using an insight I had while watching the process. The math involved was modest. But few had the skills to bring to the problem before and so it went undiscovered for this application for more than a decade until I showed up. You'd have no problem understanding it, too. Trivial.
The point is, programming is like typing. It has no goal, no purpose, by itself. And like typing, you want to get to the point where "thinking about programming" is unconscious so that you can focus on the applications, not which letters you type (or the specific syntax of some semantic idea you want.) Mathematics adds to your skill set and opens up many application spaces that most programmers (who shy away from serious applied or theoretical math) can't even begin to access. And I cannot tell you how many projects I've seen crash and burn because the programmer(s) didn't understand what they were being asked to do because they could not understand what the physicists had written (who don't understand the limitations of programming a computer) or what the electronics engineers had designed. In the end, the programmer had to bring ALL of it together and make the entire system function right. And that requires more skills than just programming. It requires being able to read the technical writings of those involved in the research and design phases.
Anyway, find industries that need math. Feedback and control systems, anything instrument-like, aeronautics, space science (one of my pieces was on the space shuttle), and so on. Use your math fluency as a skill and brush aside those who lack it.
Continue to improve your programming skills, of course. That's like improving your corrected typing rate. It helps. But it's not why people will buy you. And make some things. I'd recommend digging into embedded microcontrollers. They also are a segue into areas that will use your math skills and skills in embedded programming will complement your math skills well.
Can I "Shrink Volume" on my C drive to create a new partition on which to install the Windows 7 beta?
Tom F
Can I use the Computer Management tool in Vista to shrink the volume of my C drive, then use the new space to install Windows 7 beta, so that I can dual-boot Vista and 7?
Would this result in any data or functionality loss?
Answer
Yes, perfectly safe as it does not cause any data corruption. Just as a precaution, it is a good practice to not run any other programs while shrinking the partition. Also, even though you are installing Win7 separately from Vista, backup all your info. Enjoy Win7, because I certainly am.
(@ Not as S: you obviously never reinstalled or dual booted Windows before. Installing Windows is not like installing a game on your computer.)
Yes, perfectly safe as it does not cause any data corruption. Just as a precaution, it is a good practice to not run any other programs while shrinking the partition. Also, even though you are installing Win7 separately from Vista, backup all your info. Enjoy Win7, because I certainly am.
(@ Not as S: you obviously never reinstalled or dual booted Windows before. Installing Windows is not like installing a game on your computer.)
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