From all the IT majors I know. 90% of them were CS majors freshman year who failed intro to programming. I'm not gonna say none of them know anything... but I just think that's kinda funny.
I manage 3 properties and I can tell you it can be smooth sailing or it can be really rough. Rough when all tenants move out within 1 month, having to rehab one of the units, people not paying rent and you have to chase them down or they trash the place. On the other hand, if you have good tenants who want to stay long term and pay on time, all you have to do is fix a leaky toilet once every couple of weeks and the cash keeps rolling in... until the mortgage payment is due... lol
A lot of it conversion work, as tbing said in his post. The worst part is, once you get everything converted, you're STILL out of date and you need to upgrade. It's a constant game of chase the current release.
FALSE STATEMENT, professor. You think this digital world would still go around without IT professionals? Why make it about being better or smarter than someone else? If thats what your into... become an american gladiator.
Being a CS major or a programmer requires a certain type of personality to be successful. I think a lot of kids start out in CS because of the lure of easy money, but then they realize they are going to be heads down at a computer for 6 hours a day staring at Textpad and they get turned off to it. You have to be a patient problem solver to be good at it and be able to think outside the box. There are many other options in IT that pay really good money that aren't programming and the programmers need each and every one of those other disciplines to do their job properly for them to do their job. A good engineer can make life very easy for a programmer, while a bad one can make life extremely frustrating. Don't discount the job that the Analyst do either. If you, as a programmer, are given a set of specs and you write code to those specs and it works perfectly, thats great. But if the specs are wrong, then you have to do double or triple the work to get through the QA process to get you code to do what the business actually wanted it to do. I could go on and on, but I think you get my drift.
Bravo! And well said...this argument seems to now revolve around things like "typical salaries". My philosophy is that we are NOT a typical bunch here in terms of our surfing lifestyle, and we shouldn't settle for that on the professional side either. Example: One of my best friends moved out to Hawaii in '04 from LA. He lived on our couch for a bit, then his van, and just struggled. Fast forward 1 year...he bought and completely renovated a house on the north shore and was renting half of it to tenants, full garden of banana trees, veggies, etc. No college. Not even a high school degree, I'm pretty sure. My point is that he completely defied the standard expectations and lives life the way he wants. It all comes from his amazing skill (he's effing RIDICULOUS) and his passion for woodworking and surfing. You can pull in 60-70k as an entry-level programmer and be pretty happy with yourself. However, you could also be miserable, in debt from student loans, overweight and stuck in downtown Atlanta. It's all perspective, and I send my word of caution to those who would do that only for the money. Personally, I studied engineering as an undergrad and now work in the military. It's been rough at (many) times, but I've also traveled more than most people I know, surfed places all over the globe (Norcal, HI, Marianas Islands, Vanuatu, OZ, Portugal) without buying costly airplane tickets, and now I'm poised to get out with some pretty solid job offers from which to choose. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but it's worth considering, especially if you are having issues with paying for college or don't know what you want to do yet. To any of the younger guys here, I'd be happy to tell you the real deal, both the good and the bad. Just send me a pm with questions.
Ahhhhhh, the classic surfing/college/career dillema. Reading these posts makes me nostalgic about one of the best jobs I got a hold of right out of school. I graduated with an engineering degree and worked as a construction manager for a Navy base which had a secure access to a good low-tide beach break. Only Navy people were allowed to go to this portion of the beach. Me and my co-workers surfed a lot during our lunch breaks. If there was a good swell, we would surf before work, lunchtime, and after work. It's too bad that at that point in time, I was a career minded guy, and I had an opportunity to work for a private firm and I made a decision to leave the Navy job. Looking back, it was a good choice for my career, but bad for my surfing. I couldn't replicate the water time I had at my old position. My goal is to reapply there someday and work until I retire.
All I can say is that in today's job market if you are looking for a good job out of school you want to be top of your class. Work hard during school and it will pay off later. You will find it much easier to find a job you like in a surf-friendly location if you have the credentials coming out of school...However, it's not just about getting a degree, but luck as well. And hard work opens up more opportunities, more chances to get lucky and find a job you enjoy in a good location.
+1 Almost a year out of undergrad and my biggest regret is not sustaining a 3.5... I am lucky to have a job now but the job i ended up with is not top choice
Dunno anything about Pharmacy Majors but some great east coast beach colleges are Salve Regina, Monmouth University, Salisbury, Flagler, University of Charleston, and Fairfield. Ill update the list when my Guidance councilor gets back to me with his own list.
it helps if you go looking with no experience. GET AN INTERNSHIP. especially if you aren't a super scholar. I have a job while some of my 4.0 overachieving friends are still looking and slinging dinners.
Like Lee said, your GPA isn't as big of a factor as you would think. Granted it depends on your degree. But if you're in a technical major, an internship at a company doing real work will balance out your < 3.0 GPA
Additionally, GPA maybe important but you have to take in account of the quality of the institution from which you graduated. For example, a 2.5 GPA from Dartmouth is better than a 3.0 at University of Delaware
i studied math and econ and did 3 internships in the industry. its rough out there... gpa helps AND if u want a good internship they definitely consider gpa
I disagree, and so do many employers. I know an employer that won't higher ivy league because he only gets snobs when he does. But back to your question, i know many employers that will most definitely take someone..lets say from Temple with a 3.3 than someone from Fordham with a 2.8, and in the end the guy that went to fordham is stupid in the end because he paid thousands of dollars more....but your example, Dartmouth is an exception because, well, its Dartmouth and has the highest out of college starting salary in the country; like 100k or something crazy like that. I'm not saying gpa isn't important, also
As someone who goes to an Ivy league school, I really don't think it has too much advantage over any other school when you're applying for jobs. The only advantage I've seen as a political science major at Penn is that some of the top firms (Goldman, Morgan Stanley, JP, Bain, BCG, etc.) recruit HEAVILY here, and so if you have a stellar (>3.7) GPA, you will have an easier time getting your foot in the door. If you're average to above average, though, the Ivy League bit doesn't really help at all. I do have a buddy up at Penn State who's graduating with no debt and a 90K offer plus a 20K bonus... niché engineering majors are SOUGHT AFTER. Just sayin'.
