On 08/06/2013 10:03 AM, David Hilton wrote: > It depends on what you mean by systems. I'm thinking of OS-level systems > programming vs. application level system programming (including distributed > systems), and there are courses that go into both subjects. There isn't > anything for systems administration or anything like that, though.
You could do what a few of us old CS alums did, which was to get proficient in Linux on our own and then go work for the CS department as sysadmins. Funnest time of my life up to that point. Worked with some awesome folks, some of which still lurk on this list, apparently! This is going to date me, but I first got on board when there was no Linux in the CS department whatsoever. HPUX and Solaris. Frank Sorenson was my boss, and he and I over the course of about 2 or 3 years moved the entire department from HPUX and Solaris to Linux. Our first linux file server had 40 GB of disk on it, if I recall correctly. Believe it or not the department was a bit hesitant about Linux back then, but we managed to sneak in one test lab on the second floor and it got popular rather quickly! By the end of my time there, all the Solaris and HPUX machines were gone (sad in a way), but the students were pretty ecstatic about Linux. Along the way I learned an awful lot about real-world system administration and system programming. I thought of one more thing that freshmen should consider, though maybe not in their first year. No matter what your major, I highly recommend being a teaching assistant for a course or two, if you feel up to it. It's a great learning experience and it will help you get to know the professors a lot better, and will give you an in when you decide to do undergraduate research, or even go on for another degree. -------------------- BYU Unix Users Group http://uug.byu.edu/ The opinions expressed in this message are the responsibility of their author. They are not endorsed by BYU, the BYU CS Department or BYU-UUG. ___________________________________________________________________ List Info (unsubscribe here): http://uug.byu.edu/mailman/listinfo/uug-list
