On Aug 8, 2013, at 8:25 PM, Michael Torrie wrote: > 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!
As one of the current (and soon leaving) sys admins, I second this, even though I finished up as a geography major after starting down the EE path. If you're interested in cyber security there may be no better place to learn than on a real-world network. If you are a self-starter and ambitious there are plenty of opportunities to delve deep into both security and operating systems. The current bosses (Klark Walker and Greg Corlett) are a good pair of guys to work for. It also gives you a wonderful chance to work on your people skills ;) > 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. Again, amen. Only one semester after I switched to Geography from EE I was asked to be the TA for the two programming classes taught in that department because of my CS/EE background and the lack of programmers in the department. They taught C# (due to it's use in ESRI products), which I had never used. I TA'd the classes for four semesters, the first two of which I was taking them at the same time. I learned a ton, more than the other students, because I was having to teach what i had learned. Nothing exposes the gaps in your knowledge like trying to teach it to someone else. Now, you probably won't get a TA position in CS your first year but it's a good thing to look at after your first few semesters. Another thing that has already been mentioned here is researching. BYU has a heavy focus on undergraduate research, so take advantage of programs like ORCA (orca.byu.edu) and give research a shot. It's a great way to help you decide whether you want to go the academic route or the professional route. For me, it helped me realize that academia was not the world for me after graduation. One final bit of advice before I get off my soapbox, be wary of being caught in the "Provo is a bubble and I hate everything about the culture." It is very true that there are some weird aspects of it, but if you spend your time focusing on the idiosyncrasies you'll miss out on some really cool experiences. Get to know people in your ward, go on dates, have fun. I just got back from a week-long trip to Yosemite with my friends that was an absolute blast. Take advantage of this opportunity to meet people. </soapbox> Jake Adams -------------------- 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
