What are you learning right now?
Pages
| Author | Topic: What are you learning right now? |
|---|---|
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 07:10
Profile
Yes, factor analysis is where statistics makes its bid to rule the world. Disraeli had no idea. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
|
Lifecrafter
Member # 6193
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 07:18
Profile
Homepage
MAC3472- Honors calculus (Which has a ****ty professor, but at least there aren't many of us listening to him.... I guess that's something..... Damn it.) CHM2045/2045L Chem1 and the accompanying lab. THE2000- Theater Appreciation. I switched into this when I realized how much writing was involved in my english class. (First sign that it was a joke-- walk into the auditorium and see half the football team there. Second sign-- 5 question quiz on Antigone with questions like "What's Tiresias's disability?" and "Who didn't commit suicide?") PSY2012- General Psychology. Online 'hybrid' class, so I only go to lecture once a week. EGN1002- Intro to Engineering. 1 credit course where we visit one department a week. This week it was Environmental (Meh) but some of the others should be interesting. Took it because I'm not sure what branch of engineering I'm interested in. -------------------- "Heart of Earth located in Europe, Ass of Earth located in USA." Frostbite: Get It While It's...... Hot? Posts: 900 | Registered: Monday, August 8 2005 07:00 |
|
? Man, ? Amazing
Member # 5755
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 08:28
Profile
All this talk of learning inspires me to do some learning. Until I realized that I already know it all. But seriously, you folks that are tackling tough subjects rock! -------------------- Synergy - "I don't get it." Dikiyoba - "Dang. I'm one firecracker short from getting a gourd potion today." Posts: 4114 | Registered: Monday, April 25 2005 07:00 |
|
Cartographer
Member # 1851
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 09:51
Profile
Homepage
This topic is an example of why I've felt like I'm somewhat out of place here. Among so many college and university subjects, all that theoretical studying has in the past year just.. disappeared from my life. I mean, heck, I considered applying for university to study English, but that didn't really fall through. And now I'm the misfit, since I'm studying something that's a lot more hands-on. That is, I'm going to a vocational school to get a degree in clothing business, as a dressmaker. Okay, so nothing wrong with that. :P I'm sure as hell loving it there, much more than I ever liked studies at high school. (Except for maybe English. :\ ) -------------------- Pannaan kaikki hippulat vinkumaan! ^_^ Ooh! Homepage - Blog - Geneforge, +2, +3 - My Elfwood Gallery and DevArt page So many strange ones around. Don't you think? Posts: 1308 | Registered: Sunday, September 8 2002 07:00 |
|
Warrior
Member # 8131
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 10:11
Profile
Homepage
If I may make a suggestion to all the budding university students out there. Study what you want, don't succumb to the my parents say I should do this or well I need to do that to get a career BS. In my many years of schooling (5 and a half) I switched majors half a dozen times, and took tons of classes I didn't really need from Media classes to business classes. But I always liked my History classes, so I ended up settling on History and graduated last December with a Degree in Social Sciences/History. What do I do? I'm a tech guru at a small private college. Confuses the heck out of these conformists that think you gotta do this linear path of school>career>retirement. Enjoy your college career, if you don't like your classes I say take something else. You only get to live through it once. To the individual interested in English, I implore you at some point to take the plunge and do it. Even if you gotta do the dressmaking to pay the bills, keep your mind nimble with whatever you enjoy. -------------------- http://www.goozex.com/trading/asp/join.asp?idr=412684821 Posts: 145 | Registered: Sunday, February 18 2007 08:00 |
|
Agent
Member # 4574
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 12:10
Profile
Drakie: How am I supposed to respond that except shrug? If you don't believe me, that's your problem. I don't have any evidence that I can show you, so meh. Stewie: Yes Earth Sciences is an actual subject. Covering geology, oceanography, astronomy, astrology, and meteorology. They might just have it a different name over there then in Idaho. -------------------- I don't need no stinking signature. Posts: 1186 | Registered: Friday, June 18 2004 07:00 |
|
By Committee
Member # 4233
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 12:46
Profile
macdude22: I would disagree. While the ostensible goal of attending a liberal arts college is to learn how to think analytically, with the major just being your means of acquiring that skill, what you major in can have serious implications for your potential career afterwards. While there are always success stories like the English major making a career for herself in the tech sector (my wife is living proof), the mean/median incomes for majors don't just come out of thin air. I would posit that it is far better to major in something potentially more remunerative - and get that credential - and then plan on spending time after you graduate studying all those other fun liberal arts areas. You will always have time to revisit subject areas in your spare time after you graduate (especially if you have enough money!); you will never have that engineering/programming/biology/chemistry/economics/etc. credential that really does give you a leg up in the job search. Of course, if you're not particularly type A, don't particularly care about money, have someone else covering your college debt, or live somewhere that rent on a crappy two bedroom apartment is appreciably less than $1600/month, then this may not be as much of a concern. [ Thursday, September 06, 2007 12:48: Message edited by: Drew ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
|
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 13:40
Profile
Homepage
quote:Symbolically sigged. (Where symbolically means I don't actually have space for it in my signature...) -------------------- The Noble and Most Ancient Order of Polaris - We're Not Yet Dead. Encyclopedia • Archives • Stats • RSS (This Topic / Forum) • Blog • NaNoWriMo Did-chat thentagoespyet jumund fori is jus, hat onlime gly nertan ne gethen Firyoubbit 'obio.' Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 13:59
Profile
Homepage
Ahh! Tense confusion! Goldenking, it's not that I don't believe you, it's that you sounded ridiculous. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
|
Infiltrator
Member # 4256
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 18:13
Profile
Mathematical Analysis, Advanced Laboratory Electronics, Electromagneto Dynamics, Intermediate Russian, and then 'interning' for a research prof, working with magnanates at extremely low temperatures. (Resistivity as it varies with field and temperature) Lazarus, you don't happen to go to a Florida uni, do you? Your course numbers are very familiar for a first semester undergrad at a certain university. -------------------- "Let's just say that if complete and utter chaos was lightning, he'd be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting 'All gods are false'." Posts: 564 | Registered: Wednesday, April 14 2004 07:00 |
|
Infiltrator
Member # 4826
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 18:19
Profile
Eighth grade. Iffy, I took Algebra I-II LAST year. I like nerds, though. As has been said before, life's too short to be cool. Geometry I at the local high school Spanish II Language Arts Social Studies Literature Choir (I'm gonna transfer into Drama) Earth Science (with an AMAZING teacher) -------------------- "Of course, not all technology is good. Some is exactly the opposite (bad)." — Dave Barry Posts: 458 | Registered: Friday, August 6 2004 07:00 |
|
? Man, ? Amazing
Member # 5755
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 18:25
Profile
quote:Heh. My brother is like that. Career path starting with economics degree, John Hancock for 10 years, then VP at another insurance outfit, now studying law to get further ahead in his career. He doesn't have, and has never had time for more learning. He has hypertension, high blood pressure, and is constantly worrying about earning more money. Gosh, that sounds like so much fun. The sad thing is that he isn't a Type A, and isn't having much fun. It is just that once you buy into the hype and jump on the bandwagon, you have to stay there. If you leave, you can be labeled a failure, and have a hell of a time getting back. Me, I just dabble here and there, always have people asking for my availability to work. But I'm having a blast fishing and hunting is coming up soon, and man, life is just a blast! Your rent is $1600 a month? Dang. Move to a better place then. I pay less than that on my mortgage, and I would bet that overall keep-at-home pay for lawyers is comparable in Portland to DC. :) -------------------- Synergy - "I don't get it." Dikiyoba - "Dang. I'm one firecracker short from getting a gourd potion today." Posts: 4114 | Registered: Monday, April 25 2005 07:00 |
|
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 18:38
Profile
Homepage
quote:The problem with your advice is that for most jobs in the engineering, medical, and many other fields, a university degree is a requirement if you don't want your resume to go straight into garbage can. You can major in underwater basket-weaving and still get a job as a "tech guru" or a building contractor. However, you wouldn't be able to get a job as a circuit designer or a civil engineer without the right degree. -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00 |
|
Councilor
Member # 6600
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 18:45
Profile
Homepage
I'm in the second week of four in my Intro to Flowering Plants class. That's all I'm taking at the moment, but it's all day every (week)day. After that, regular classes start, but I'm too lazy to look up exactly what I have at the moment. Dikiyoba. -------------------- Episode 4: Spiderweb Reloaded Posts: 4346 | Registered: Friday, December 23 2005 08:00 |
|
...b10010b...
Member # 869
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 19:11
Profile
Homepage
quote:If you only care about money, major in philosophy: believe it or not, philosophy majors earn the highest median income of all. -------------------- The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure! Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
|
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 19:29
Profile
Homepage
Since my previous post sounded a bit harsh, let me clarify that I don't consider jobs like tech support and construction to be inferior to engineering jobs. All I am saying is that a university degree has different value in different fields. Different kinds of jobs require different kinds of education: for manual jobs, your experience is the main thing that matters, with certification required in some areas. For jobs like a network administrator, you often need a lot of certificates. For the engineering jobs, the amount of "basic" knowledge required can't be covered by a short class, so a university degree serves the same purpose as certification for a plumber or an IT technician. The degree alone can't get you a job, but it sure helps, and is often required. It all depends on what kind of work you want to get after college. (Note that nowhere do I mention my opinion about value of "liberal arts" degrees. :) ) -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00 |
|
? Man, ? Amazing
Member # 5755
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 20:11
Profile
I don't think anyone disputes that people seeking high tech careers in intensive areas like circuit design would require the training usually found in a full degree curriculum. What is being disputed is that that isn't the sole path to personal and financial enrichment. I propose that people seek careers that they find enjoyable, and work with people that they enjoy. Life is too short to work for some ass, doing a job which offers no fulfillment beyond the ever growing need for income. Find what you love doing, and do it. Of course you need to make money, but never at the expense of happiness. (This applies to careers, not summer jobs. Summer jobs can suck. They usually do, and just be grateful that they only last a few months.) -------------------- Synergy - "I don't get it." Dikiyoba - "Dang. I'm one firecracker short from getting a gourd potion today." Posts: 4114 | Registered: Monday, April 25 2005 07:00 |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 21:17
Profile
I think there's a lot to be said for taking summer jobs that are as different as possible from what you plan to do as a career. They may be your only chance to connect with ideas, experiences and people from outside your future rut — which not only make you a more rounded person, but can be surprisingly useful later on. Also, of course, broadening your horizons reduces the chance of finding yourself wondering wistfully, in your retirement, whether maybe you should have chosen a completely different life. Or at least it may make for a healthier kind of wistfulness. In the short run it can certainly hurt you, to throw away a third of your youth on things that don't help kickstart your career. But it's the unsquandered youth that is truly wasted. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
|
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 21:34
Profile
Homepage
Eh, right after college I'm going to go into work unrelated to anything I studied in college. The degree is important, not so much what it's in, for what I'm going to be doing. I find it funny that people think my science degree (Astrophysics) is more practical than my humanities degree (Classical Languages). A B.A. in Astro is useless for a getting a job, except in that it's a B.A., which a B.A. in Classical Languages is, too. To get a job in astronomy, you really should have at least an M.A. or a Ph. D., and an M.A. or Ph. D. in Classics is just as good as one in Astro as far as job value. -------------------- Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens. Smoo: Get ready to face the walls! Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr. Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00 |
|
Shaper
Member # 247
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 22:22
Profile
Homepage
I'm learning that the Eastside is where the real homies are. -------------------- The Knight Between Posts. Posts: 2395 | Registered: Friday, November 2 2001 08:00 |
|
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 22:33
Profile
Homepage
Oh, right, classes. Physics 110A: Advanced E&M Physics 105: Advanced Mechanics Astro 160: Stellar Astrophysics (Stars) Latin 115: Plautus -------------------- Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens. Smoo: Get ready to face the walls! Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr. Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00 |
|
Shaper
Member # 247
|
written Thursday, September 6 2007 23:12
Profile
Homepage
1. Population Biology 302 2. Molecular Genetics 332 3. Economics 309 4. Vertebrate Physiology 354 5. Immunology 320 6. Biochemistry 313 -------------------- The Knight Between Posts. Posts: 2395 | Registered: Friday, November 2 2001 08:00 |
|
Guardian
Member # 6670
|
written Friday, September 7 2007 07:47
Profile
Homepage
By Kel: quote:I'll bet. Astrophysics seems to be a field when the only source of employment is in a government agency or further on in academia. Anywho, class recap now that I've been in all of them: CMPUT 301 Introduction to Software Engineering: Make a HelloWorld program and commit it to CVS! Joy! (Okay, so it's just a test to see if our repos are working. Still, shouldn't be too hard). CMPUT 304 Algorithms II: 'Bout what I expected; picking up where Algorithms I left off. CMPUT 366 Intelligent Systems: There is free pizza at the seminars. I am pleased. Seriously, looks to be a great course. PHIL 365 Philosophy of Computing: Apparently, Philosophy of Computing means the reading for this course is a from a guy who uses quantum mechanics to explain his proposal of the multiverse. There was a little bit of "Are we just Turing machines?" thrown in. Oh, and a good half hour was spent on "it's a good thing to discuss theories, even after they're proven false/inadequate". On the other hand, the prof is William Shatner, so it all balances out. PSYCO 258 Cognitive Psychology: Yargle. There is no way that book costs one hundred fifty dollars! I've bought texts three times the page count that've cost half as much! And apparently, twenty dollars are spent on an activation code, so we can go online and do interactive test, allowing us to write reports worth one percent each with pressing questions like, "identify the independent variable". But the prof seems decent. -------------------- I may be a dumb arse, though this hindsight isn't surprising. - Aran Posts: 1509 | Registered: Tuesday, January 10 2006 08:00 |
|
? Man, ? Amazing
Member # 5755
|
written Friday, September 7 2007 08:42
Profile
The William ... .... Shatner? -------------------- Synergy - "I don't get it." Dikiyoba - "Dang. I'm one firecracker short from getting a gourd potion today." Posts: 4114 | Registered: Monday, April 25 2005 07:00 |
|
Warrior
Member # 8131
|
written Friday, September 7 2007 08:56
Profile
Homepage
quote:My thoughts almost exactly, the degree and what it stands for are far more important than what you actually studied. Having a B.A/B.S. should prove to employers that you can think critically and have a firm grasp of information retrieval. Let's be honest, on the job you're going to have to look things up, but there are a lot of things you can do to ease that process and you should learn a lot of those processes in BA/BS setting. You're going to get a firm grasp on polishing your writing, thats going to give you a leg up on the person who doesn't have those skills. You should have skills on organizing ideas, researching them, and executing a project. The skills you learn in "liberal arts" are universally needed by almost all employers. These types of skills are difficult to learn once in a job, where as most jobs will give you job specific training. I can appreciate the view that you need those "job specific skills" from school, but I feel that the skills learned in the liberal arts are far more important and will broaden your job opportunities rather than limit them. Granted you'll need to know how to market those "liberal arts" skills to human resources, it's much harder to quantify those type of skills (writing, research, planning) than say, I know how to mill X part with a CNC unit. And I'll whole heartedly agree that there are certain career paths that defiantly require specific majors and training, especially those in the engineering fields. Having said that it's been my experience with several engineers I know that while they know their craft well they may have benefited from a bit more "liberal" training. Often times they seem have trouble articulating themselves, especially on paper. Mind you I'm sure there are a plenty good bunch of them that are very adept at writing. That's just a personal observation. I think I may have given the wrong impression of how I feel. I don't think that you shouldn't take career specific degrees, or that they shouldn't be there. Rather you shouldn't get pressured by family or society to get a "useful degree". There seems to be a perception from much of society that certain degrees like "liberal arts" are useless and that's simply not true and almost any degree can provide a multitude of career paths. A thing to remember in college is to partake in a multitude of activities including part time jobs. These can provide necessary "real world" experience, as well as great opportunities for networking. Employers love to see extra activities, and besides you never know if that guy in the Climbing club or whatever will be the next big millionare! Heck, networking can be just as important, or more so, than having all the skills in the world. -------------------- http://www.goozex.com/trading/asp/join.asp?idr=412684821 Posts: 145 | Registered: Sunday, February 18 2007 08:00 |