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You guys are suckers. I got a C (barely) in Linear Algebra by copying my study partners' homework.
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Aug 13, 2013 02:50
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You guys are making me really look forward to this upcoming semester. Linear Algebra, Discrete Structures, and Numerical Analysis are my math classes.
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Aug 13, 2013 03:11
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KidDynamite posted:You guys are making me really look forward to this upcoming semester. Linear Algebra, Discrete Structures, and Numerical Analysis are my math classes. what kind of weirdo college teaches numerical analysis without requiring linear algebra as a pre-req?
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Aug 13, 2013 03:14
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I feel like I'm in a twilight zone episode, am I the only person with a terrible GPA and bad at school who otherwise enjoyed Linear Algebra and didn't have that hard a time taking it?
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Aug 13, 2013 04:19
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piratepilates posted:I feel like I'm in a twilight zone episode, am I the only person with a terrible GPA and bad at school who otherwise enjoyed Linear Algebra and didn't have that hard a time taking it? Nope. Linear was a lot easier than Calc 2+3 at my school.
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Aug 13, 2013 04:24
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linear algebra doesn't have a ton of applications outside graphics and scientific programming. now toplogy on the other hand is everywhere. If you dont know how to prove an open cover of a set exists I dont really know how you'll ever get out of QA.
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Aug 13, 2013 05:06
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rotor posted:now toplogy on the other hand is everywhere. If you dont know how to prove an open cover of a set exists I dont really know how you'll ever get out of QA. I don't. I guess that means I should quit my job and go work at Denny's. For the record, I'm not proud of my ignorance, I'm just pointing out that it's not required to be a competent developer.
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Aug 13, 2013 05:16
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Malcolm XML posted:what kind of weirdo college teaches numerical analysis without requiring linear algebra as a pre-req? Yeah I agree with this. How would even basic numerical analysis make sense without LA? I guess you could talk about the Taylor series with just calc tools, but still.
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Aug 13, 2013 05:22
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Sitting Bull posted:I'm just trying to follow along with the free MIT linear algebra videos on recommendation from somebody who has been 'mentoring' me, and I'm feeling incredibly mentally inadequate. I have zero desire to get a job doing 3D graphics, so maybe I won't get too bent out of shape about it. I don't even really know what kind of job I want, I just want ANY job that will pay me a decent amount, since it will be my first out of school. I was miserable and confused when I first took LA the first time. Got an F. The next time I took the course the instructor was much better at explaining concepts and I actually had study mates with whom I bounced ideas off of. I realized I actually liked the math when I understood what the hell I was supposed to be learning, and I received an A. Even though I'm not interested in graphics and will probably never do any significant LA again, I am glad I took (and retook) that course because it taught me that the source you learn from can completely change the way you see a subject. UnfurledSails fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Aug 13, 2013 |
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Aug 13, 2013 05:36
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Ochowie posted:Yeah I agree with this. How would even basic numerical analysis make sense without LA? I guess you could talk about the Taylor series with just calc tools, but still. You can do approximation of functions I guess but it all ends up turning into giant linear algebra programs for speed reasons??? Linear algebra is cool + useful and necessary to understand modern machine learning, which are usually constrained optimization problems so learning up your KKT/Newton's method is good to know. It's not just scientific/graphics stuff but joe web-dev probably doesn't need to know I guess.
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Aug 13, 2013 05:38
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Linear algebra is insanely awesome, but you don't really learn how awesome until you get into the grad level. If you don't believe me, browse the Stanford EE 263 problem set, it's pretty nuts: http://www.stanford.edu/class/ee263/hw/263homework.pdf
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Aug 13, 2013 07:42
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What are web dev interviews like? Is it a good move to skip the Big O's and start memorizing the JQuery API?
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Aug 13, 2013 08:11
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Bolton Hairy-Bore posted:What are web dev interviews like? Is it a good move to skip the Big O's and start memorizing the JQuery API? How 2012, if you don't already have a blog where you write all about how much you love AngularJS then you're not a real web developer. Yeah I may be bitter from troubleshooting AngularJS by finding blog articles from Google, why do you ask. You should probably just do both, but less so on memorizing an API -- any API. Just make a site or two using some web development fancy stuff and that should do you well enough to answer any questions from the web side in an interview. Or at least I hope so, since that's what I'm doing.
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Aug 13, 2013 08:38
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Bolton Hairy-Bore posted:What are web dev interviews like? Is it a good move to skip the Big O's and start memorizing the JQuery API? I have a lot of experience with software development/programming, and mostly web development. I have a pretty good foundation as far as general knowledge of CS principles, but in the interview for the position I'm about to start, we really focused on my personal work. I have a major project that I've recently "completed" (no development is ever complete, it's in Alpha stage I'd say), which is what a majority of the interview focused on. I believe having something like that, where you pull in all of your skills, old and new, is the most effective way to convey exactly what you know. I was able to walk them through my codebase, and provide a live demonstration they could poke through at their leisure. They loved it, and it landed me a great position at an awesome company. In my opinion, having something tangible to "show & tell" is worth a thousand overly specific programming questions. It's kind of like the difference between being book smart and street smart, if that makes sense. Depending on where you go, being able to apply your knowledge effectively is worth just as much, if not more than just knowing it. Having proof that you can do such a thing is a very solid foundation. I'd have to agree with creating some projects, start to finish, being one of the best things you can do to prove your abilities.
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Aug 13, 2013 09:28
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rotor posted:linear algebra doesn't have a ton of applications outside graphics and scientific programming. Forget obsessing over math. All I ever use from university is boolean algebra, which in reality just translates into proper use of the && and || operators in if-statements.
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Aug 13, 2013 09:55
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Guys please stop refuting the joke about how important topology is to software development. edit: the set of programmers who need to use topology on a regular basis has measure approximately zero. greatZebu fucked around with this message at 10:02 on Aug 13, 2013 |
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Aug 13, 2013 09:57
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Silvah posted:In my opinion, having something tangible to "show & tell" is worth a thousand overly specific programming questions. It's kind of like the difference between being book smart and street smart, if that makes sense. Depending on where you go, being able to apply your knowledge effectively is worth just as much, if not more than just knowing it. Having proof that you can do such a thing is a very solid foundation. I'd have to agree with creating some projects, start to finish, being one of the best things you can do to prove your abilities. Oooooh good, that's what I was hoping for and banking on when I spent the last year making stuff. There's so many things in web dev that I don't know, which is scary, but if I only have to talk about things I made, well then I'll only have to prepare a compelling Show & Tell! Thanks for the story and tips. Silvah posted:I have a major project that I've recently "completed" ... and it landed me a great position at an awesome company. Glad to hear about your awesome job. May I ask for a description of your project or how substantial it is? My GitHub consists of a basic wiki clone that nobody would ever actually use, and a sweet JavaScript Scrabble game, as well as coursework from several online classes. I'm not sure if it's enough or if I should complete another project before really beginning the job hunt. I don't really want to continue not getting paid. piratepilates posted:How 2012, if you don't already have a blog where you write all about how much you love AngularJS then you're not a real web developer. Psssh, way ahead of you, I already put down AngularJS under my 'Skills' even though I've only read blog posts about how much bloggers love it. It looks hard. I do actually know algebra and topology though! Undergrad level, that is, which is like nothing.
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Aug 13, 2013 10:58
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Just got an response from a hiring rep at a company I applied to on 7/17.....last year 
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Aug 13, 2013 15:48
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I don't even remember what linear algebra is. Just got my first proper developer role (Android) after doing tech support and professional services for five years and the most maths-like thing I was asked about was Big O notation. It also pays £5k more than I was expecting which is nice. I don't really post in this thread much but I read it a bunch so thanks for everyone who has posted tips and stuff over the last six months.
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Aug 13, 2013 15:59
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Bolton Hairy-Bore posted:What are web dev interviews like? Is it a good move to skip the Big O's and start memorizing the JQuery API? As with any sort of interview, it can be a total crapshoot. To me a reasonable interview will focus on assessing your level of knowledge of the technologies in use at the company (or similar technologies you might be familiar with) and running through some or all of the highlights of your career and the work they involved. I'm not sure if I've ever been asked questions that would require an API to be memorized, and even if I did it would be a bit of a red flag for me. That said, with any development job there's no accounting for bullshit questions like "Why are manhole covers round", silly white-boarding sessions, FizzBuzz-esque questions, etc., especially for entry-level jobs. Bolton Hairy-Bore posted:Glad to hear about your awesome job. May I ask for a description of your project or how substantial it is? My GitHub consists of a basic wiki clone that nobody would ever actually use, and a sweet JavaScript Scrabble game, as well as coursework from several online classes. I'm not sure if it's enough or if I should complete another project before really beginning the job hunt. I don't really want to continue not getting paid. If you're looking for an entry level job, I would just start looking right away. Have those projects (except for the coursework, I don't think anyone ever cares about that) hosted somewhere and accessible in case someone wants to see them. I don't think having any more "toy" projects under your belt is going to help much (but keep working on them anyway).
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Aug 13, 2013 18:45
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Tunga posted:Just got my first proper developer role (Android)...It also pays £5k more than I was expecting which is nice. So I guess you didn't end up taking a pay cut after all  Congrats. (Or given that you'll be doing Android: condolences)
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Aug 13, 2013 19:59
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Any general tips or advice for a finance industry related software dev role? All C# / Winforms poo poo. Should probably do some hefty review on algorithms I'd imagine. Literally double my current salary Fingers crossed.
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Aug 13, 2013 21:21
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Thanks for the interview advice. And especially thanks for telling me what I wanted to hear 
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Aug 13, 2013 22:10
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Bognar posted:Some people think that having internships at different places is a bonus since you have more diverse experience, but multiple years interning at IBM is still a great resume booster. NovemberMike posted:If I was looking at your resume, this would tell me that IBM took you for a test drive and liked you. That's a good thing. ninepints posted:In my opinion the goal of internships is to gain as much valuable real-world experience as possible, so it comes down to whether you think you'll learn more working at IBM or working somewhere else. I think either choice would look fine on a resume. I really appreciate the perspective! In the town I grew up in, most of my friends (and I) had at least one parent who worked for IBM. I'm not sure what I want to do with my career but it's scary thinking that even if my plan of "get an engineering degree and work for IBM since that's what everyone does" works, it might not be something I want to do long-term. I want to be prepared, since it'll probably already be stressful enough if it doesn't work out for me. So, basically, thanks a lot for the nice words!
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Aug 13, 2013 23:51
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Sab669 posted:finance industry related software dev role Don't do it. The reason the financial sector pays so well is because the jobs are soul-crushing and stressful. I have a friend in the financial sector. He makes over $200,000 a year before bonuses, considers a "light" week to be 60 hours, and has a mantra: "if I can do this for a few more years without dying, I can retire" New Yorp New Yorp fucked around with this message at 23:58 on Aug 13, 2013 |
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Aug 13, 2013 23:56
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Ithaqua posted:Don't do it. The reason the financial sector pays so well is because the jobs are soul-crushing and stressful. I have a friend in the financial sector. He makes over $200,000 a year before bonuses, considers a "light" week to be 60 hours, and has a mantra: "if I can do this for a few more years without dying, I can retire" What specific domain is he in and what does he do there, if you don't mind me asking? My current project is at a financial services company and nobody seems to work nearly that long. I was working at an insurance company that did a lot of underwriting for financial clients and the hours were also fairly standard Ithaqua posted:Don't do it. The reason the financial sector pays so well is because the jobs are soul-crushing and stressful. And there's lots of corporate fuckery, and your coworkers are rigid as hell. Good Will Hrunting fucked around with this message at 00:07 on Aug 14, 2013 |
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Aug 13, 2013 23:58
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Admittedly, I'm not thrilled with the job itself but I'm more concerned about trying to murder my student debt as fast as possible, at this moment. I can worry about a job I like when I'm not paying $700/mo 
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Aug 14, 2013 00:23
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Ithaqua posted:The reason the financial sector pays so well is because the jobs are soul-crushing and stressful. If I recall from earlier in the thread, Sab669 is currently getting paid gently caress all, so doubling his salary brings things into the reasonable entry level salary range, rather than soulcrushing (of course, not all soul-crushing jobs pay salaries to match...).
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Aug 14, 2013 01:36
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I really doubt ALL financial companies are soul-crushing, so even if this particular one is, staying there a year or two when you're young for the experience and then moving to somewhere with saner work-life balance would not be a bad decision, I think.
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Aug 14, 2013 02:00
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Zhentar posted:If I recall from earlier in the thread, Sab669 is currently getting paid gently caress all, so doubling his salary brings things into the reasonable entry level salary range, rather than soulcrushing (of course, not all soul-crushing jobs pay salaries to match...). I was hired on at $36K, yea, but because I don't need health insurance they bumped me up to $41k  This one would be 80k
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Aug 14, 2013 02:09
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The solution is simple - tell your boss you are literally never going to work more than 40 hours a week if that is the truth. He will pay you accordingly. You'll still make a poo poo-ton of money working in finance.
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Aug 14, 2013 02:37
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Sab669 posted:Any general tips or advice for a finance industry related software dev role? All C# / Winforms poo poo. Should probably do some hefty review on algorithms I'd imagine. Literally double my current salary If you post the job description and company it is a dead give away what's up. I worked 70 hours a week in Boston for 15 months, doing WPF. Almost cleared my financial debt (car/student loans) while also allowing me to save 30k towards retirement. Pro Tip: Fidelity and State St are notorious sweat shops. Get a job at a place other than there. Plus, I get the sense from reading your affable replies that you want to work in a place where somebody would mentor you. If you want to learn a ton about finance, maintaining pre-existing WinForms apps wont do it. If all you want to do is pay off college bills, I guess you can go for it. Also, just so how you understand how contract work works with a recruiting firm.... they say you are there for 6 months, but your contract actually re-ups ever 3 months. Also, word on the street in the financial district is BNY Melon right now is looking to re-do their asset management program.
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Aug 14, 2013 03:36
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the best general-purpose advice on where to work is, I feel, to never take a job where you are a cost. IT is a cost. Internal tools are a cost. Compliance is a cost. You want to be in a position where you are creating revenue. You want to be writing the software that the company sells. Or the software that they use to make a thing they sell. Or the thing they use to provide the service they sell. Be on the side of the company that makes money. You want the sales people coming to you asking you to make a thing happen so they can sell it and make a ton of money.
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Aug 14, 2013 03:50
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Sab669 posted:I was hired on at $36K, yea, but because I don't need health insurance they bumped me up to $41k Wow. I know a company in Missouri that's hiring at ~$70k for fresh out of school programmers and they trend towards a 30ish hour work week and nice benefits. What's letting that job get away with $36k?
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Aug 14, 2013 04:21
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rotor posted:the best general-purpose advice on where to work is, I feel, to never take a job where you are a cost. IT is a cost. Internal tools are a cost. Compliance is a cost.
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Aug 14, 2013 07:19
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Pilsner posted:You're right, and I bet most devs would prefer working at such a place, but I think for many people (not living in SF and such) there just aren't enough real software companies out there. Thus, a lot of people get to do regular "enterprise development", including myself. My country is tiny and the software industry is equally tiny. Well, it's not so much that your work is the product (a.k.a. a "software company"), but that your work has a direct relation to what makes the company money and makes them more of it. For instance if you work for an insurance company, and your job as a developer is to make a phone app that lets agents sell someone a policy on the spot (Phil? Phil Connors?!), you're still on the good side of the equation. Your work created a new revenue opportunity that was not there before.
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Aug 14, 2013 07:59
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rotor posted:the best general-purpose advice on where to work is, I feel, to never take a job where you are a cost. IT is a cost. Internal tools are a cost. Compliance is a cost. Why is that? Difference in working conditions/pay/etc.?
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Aug 14, 2013 08:18
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HondaCivet posted:Why is that? Difference in working conditions/pay/etc.? Less likely to get the boot if costs need to be cut, more likely to get raises.
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Aug 14, 2013 11:03
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HondaCivet posted:Why is that? Difference in working conditions/pay/etc.? One of the worst parts is when you have some cool idea that will make things better/easier and have it met with apathy (cause it will create more work in the short term) and/or "we don't have the budget for that" aka gently caress off. The only way you can contribute economically to the business is by reducing cost. It's just not as fun over the long term as being able to work on new stuff that will bring in the dollars.
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Aug 14, 2013 13:38
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NovemberMike posted:Wow. I know a company in Missouri that's hiring at ~$70k for fresh out of school programmers and they trend towards a 30ish hour work week and nice benefits. What's letting that job get away with $36k? Well, I'm the only junior developer there. Everyone else is probably double my age at least. No clue what they're making. But it's a small crappy shop with a niche market and it's probably about as laid back and comfortable as I can imagine a job being. Z-Bo posted:If you post the job description and company it is a dead give away what's up. Anyways, job description: http://pastebin.com/WVfVpiBm It's with Citigroup. I really don't give a gently caress about the finance industry, no, doesn't interest me at all and you're right, I would ideally like a position where I'd be working on a small / medium sized team with actually intelligent people. The other day I had a math problem I was unsure of how to figure out, asked my current "mentor" and his response was to iterate over the value adding 0.01 until it worked  This is also the same guy who just clicked View Source in his web browser, copy-pasted all the code into Notepad since he was re-designing someone's website and wanted to use that as a template. Was mad and surprised when none of the formatting or images pulled over 
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Aug 14, 2013 13:38
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