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Advice for a CMPT major / new transfer student
Hey guys,
So, I've spent some time searching through the SFU website, the Facebook page and even this forum. I think I've figured out most things that I need to know, but it could probably be beneficial for me, or even others, to have some advice from the more experienced students at SFU, especially the CMPT majors.
As for my situation... I've transferred to SFU with 54 credits, most of which were CMPT based, some of the typical math and English courses too. My first semester at post secondary I had no idea what I wanted to do, so I took some general courses I thought would be useful. Among these was computer science, which I did fairly well in, and enjoyed quite a lot. Personally, I think it's a decent field of study too... It would probably be hard to argue against the usefulness of computers / technology. That leads me to think there's some future in it for me in terms of employment... I'm not totally sure what the outlook is for graduates with a computer science degree though, compared to other fields of study.
I wonder, is there any way to study both computer science, and computer engineering? I've taken analog and digital electronics courses, and a computer architecture class. I find it strange that the two are different fields of study.. or that you can't get a double major or something of that nature in it. Right now I'm taking CMPT 250, which is apparently a required course for a CMPT major... but also appeals to my interest in computer engineering...
You pick some sort of a focus in 3rd year or so right? Not really sure how to decide on that, they all sound good in their own ways. I know I'll suck at the theoretical computing courses though, and those seem more geared towards R&D? ... Computing systems and information systems sound fun and useful. Multimedia sounds like an employable skill, but I'm not sure if it's the right kind of thing for me... AI sounds fun, but not sure how useful it is... Programming language and software, probably useful from an engineering aspect?
So, I guess I'll make a list of things from the top of my mind, that I can recall figuring out or wondering about. Maybe people can comment on these things, their experiences with them, or let me know what I may be missing.
-Got my CSIL access card
-Applied for co-op
-Opted out of unnecessary health/dental plan
-Figured out various tricks to save money on books, earlier editions, used books, no book at all, etc.
-Struggled with finding my classes, but eventually found my way. Also had fun figuring out what the seemingly arbitrary floor numbering scheme was about...
-Considering getting the "honours" designation on my degree, assuming I can do well enough
-On that note, perhaps graduate school, though again it really depends on how well I do...
-The two above points will probably require me to adopt some study habits and organization... I would prefer to avoid "GPA boosters" - I truly dislike the attitude involved there, using cheap tricks to boost your GPA, rather than trying to actually learn something useful...
-What are good places to eat? (Other than the obvious, bringing your own food)
-Clubs... I'm pretty antisocial, are they worth considering?
-Didn't go to the SFU orientation, and I probably missed the CS Frosh week thing too.
-More to come later?
Anyway, thanks for any comments, sorry for the long block of text
So, I've spent some time searching through the SFU website, the Facebook page and even this forum. I think I've figured out most things that I need to know, but it could probably be beneficial for me, or even others, to have some advice from the more experienced students at SFU, especially the CMPT majors.
As for my situation... I've transferred to SFU with 54 credits, most of which were CMPT based, some of the typical math and English courses too. My first semester at post secondary I had no idea what I wanted to do, so I took some general courses I thought would be useful. Among these was computer science, which I did fairly well in, and enjoyed quite a lot. Personally, I think it's a decent field of study too... It would probably be hard to argue against the usefulness of computers / technology. That leads me to think there's some future in it for me in terms of employment... I'm not totally sure what the outlook is for graduates with a computer science degree though, compared to other fields of study.
I wonder, is there any way to study both computer science, and computer engineering? I've taken analog and digital electronics courses, and a computer architecture class. I find it strange that the two are different fields of study.. or that you can't get a double major or something of that nature in it. Right now I'm taking CMPT 250, which is apparently a required course for a CMPT major... but also appeals to my interest in computer engineering...
You pick some sort of a focus in 3rd year or so right? Not really sure how to decide on that, they all sound good in their own ways. I know I'll suck at the theoretical computing courses though, and those seem more geared towards R&D? ... Computing systems and information systems sound fun and useful. Multimedia sounds like an employable skill, but I'm not sure if it's the right kind of thing for me... AI sounds fun, but not sure how useful it is... Programming language and software, probably useful from an engineering aspect?
So, I guess I'll make a list of things from the top of my mind, that I can recall figuring out or wondering about. Maybe people can comment on these things, their experiences with them, or let me know what I may be missing.
-Got my CSIL access card
-Applied for co-op
-Opted out of unnecessary health/dental plan
-Figured out various tricks to save money on books, earlier editions, used books, no book at all, etc.
-Struggled with finding my classes, but eventually found my way. Also had fun figuring out what the seemingly arbitrary floor numbering scheme was about...
-Considering getting the "honours" designation on my degree, assuming I can do well enough
-On that note, perhaps graduate school, though again it really depends on how well I do...
-The two above points will probably require me to adopt some study habits and organization... I would prefer to avoid "GPA boosters" - I truly dislike the attitude involved there, using cheap tricks to boost your GPA, rather than trying to actually learn something useful...
-What are good places to eat? (Other than the obvious, bringing your own food)
-Clubs... I'm pretty antisocial, are they worth considering?
-Didn't go to the SFU orientation, and I probably missed the CS Frosh week thing too.
-More to come later?
Anyway, thanks for any comments, sorry for the long block of text
Comments
you can have multiple concentrations OR none at all for a comp sci degree. IMO their pretty pointless...
Pointless from what standpoint? That it doesn't improve your employability and skill set? What should my focus be then in my course selection, other than meeting the specific course requirements of my degree?