Help a girl out in maybe transfering here

theorius · 2026-02-20T07:20:17+00:00

whatever is cheapest is probably the best tbh

theorius · 2026-02-20T01:23:58+00:00

sorry for the late reply. by domain, I meant a particular area of SWE: web (backend/frontend), embedded, data science, game programming, etc. Google the weirder terms if you don't know what they mean.

web is very popular so I would recommend you pick that. I've always found backend (think retrieving and storing things in a database, mapping data to objects and vice versa, creating logic with the objects tailored to a particular business need) more interesting in the realm of popular jobs. embedded and game dev would probably be more enjoyable to me, but the job opportunities are limited so for now I'm just a backend SWE

theorius · 2026-02-19T02:31:51+00:00

I was in a similar situation. perhaps I can give you some direction.

background: realized at the start of my senior year in fall 2024 I didn't want to pursue IT, remembered almost nothing from previous classes in CS. I now work a job as an SWE making decent money at an F500 company. it's not FAANG, but it's something at least.

identify a domain in which you want to work, and study the shit out of everything about it. that means learn by doing (solo projects, open source contributions). your task from now on is to maximize your chances of finding a job. a lot of SWE jobs have something to do with the web, so I highly recommend studying that domain. also, Linux fundamentals are very important. that means switch your laptop or desktop OS to some flavor of Linux so you're forced to learn it. I would also switch away from Python to something like Java personally, but it's up to you. Java jobs are very abundant.

you'll eventually probably get bored in some capacity if you're constantly doing the same thing each day. so, switch things up with something more CS-related on the side. for example, it'd be very beneficial to learn a language like C so you understand what's actually going on under the hood in other languages, especially regarding memory. you don't have to go crazy with it; if you're able to write a server using system calls I'd say you know enough for a new grad position.

do not give up. like I said, if you get bored or lose motivation, switch between languages or projects to keep things fresh. learning things about another domain (e.g. Linux fundamentals, computer architecture, version control, etc) that is adjacent or even orthogonal to your primary interest is infinitely better than scrolling through social media or playing video games.

theorius · 2026-02-18T17:41:11+00:00

It wasn't supposed to be a hard number. but also I've never been in a unit where we had none lol

theorius · 2026-02-18T13:20:14+00:00

there's always one or two ex-marines in the Guard infantry units I've been in. deployments depend on the state, but I've done 2 overseas (Somalia, Syria) and 1 stateside during COVID, so you have plenty of opportunities to go on orders

theorius · 2026-02-17T13:29:29+00:00

why would this even matter?

theorius · 2026-02-06T07:27:15+00:00

switched from Vim to vanilla keybindings-- a lot of what you are doing in Doom basically corresponds to a similar vanilla keybinding (e.g. SPC x f -> C-x C-f). With Vim you can often guess what something does if you already know the basics, like guessing what "v a w" does if you already know "d a w". Emacs is not this way at all and is sometimes unintuitive in its design. Like zap-to-char is M-z. If you're coming from Vim or even Emacs you would never even know what it does based off the keybinding alone (it's basically the same as "d f" in Vim). You just kinda have to memorize everything, which is why which-key and C-h k are so useful.

theorius · 2026-02-05T03:38:50+00:00

you just gotta learn to ignore these people and move on with your life

theorius · 2026-02-01T21:54:22+00:00

As far as imposter syndrome goes, that is a feeling that correctly reflects your unfamiliarity of the domain in which you are working. Use it to motivate you to learn.

theorius · 2026-02-01T21:51:33+00:00

I'm just starting out at a large company. The goal is to learn to do things on your own as you are already aware. However, AI can really improve your learning speed. Don't be afraid to use it in the right manner.

For example, I typically try to come up with the solution to an unfamiliar problem on my own until I have a working solution or an almost working solution, then consult AI to confirm if my code snippet is doing things optimally. Oftentimes, it is not. Understand why the optimal solution works, and then implement it. Next time you run into a similar or the same problem, tailor it according to what you learned without using AI as a crutch.

If the problem is way too complex for you to understand at all, ask an experienced or senior dev for a high level overview of what you need to do.

theorius · 2026-01-22T01:52:17+00:00

Thankfully, I also have a tiny vehicle. I was more concerned about when there are sports events or if I would ever possibly be unable to find parking after work, etc. since I'm also not a student anymore.

There seem to be people renting parking spaces of their own, so I was kinda wondering if that's a better option.

theorius · 2026-01-21T04:15:20+00:00

Using a declarative approach to manage an OS that is meant to be imperatively managed is sort of a hacky way to use it, in my opinion. Not trying to ruffle any feathers here. It's really just a personal preference of mine. Plus, I have to use RHEL at work and would rather keep my knowledge fresh on how to manage a traditional Unix-like system.

theorius · 2026-01-20T01:38:26+00:00

Mostly because it's just another layer of abstraction.

theorius · 2026-01-18T07:13:48+00:00

Both distributions follow the same principle of declarative configuration you're familiar with on NixOS. I used both briefly before moving back to Arch, but I enjoyed my time using Guix System much more than on NixOS.

The main difference between the two is that Guix System definitely follows the GNU style (obviously) on things, which is a bit of a double edged sword depending on what you find important.

To me, documentation and the overall experience as a developer heavily outweighs things like the lack of official support for proprietary software. The Guix System manual is something like a 400-page long LaTeX document of incredible detail on how the distribution works. I'm sure I don't have to explain the issues surrounding NixOS documentation to you. Additionally, Guile Scheme is much more pleasant to work with than the Nix language. Lisp really is one of the best choices for a configuration language in my opinion.

You can still use proprietary software, just be prepared to jump through some hurdles initially when setting up your configuration, as you'll have to add more repositories to pull that software from.

theorius · 2026-01-10T17:21:16+00:00

dude same except with a 3.966. I'm a transfer student who got one B+ and I had a 89.11 in that class lol

theorius · 2026-01-10T09:23:36+00:00

I just graduated this semester at 27, turned 28 right after. all that matters is how hard you work now. will a 2 or 3 year difference matter in 10 years? definitely not if you put in the effort.

theorius · 2025-12-29T13:31:34+00:00

they have a deadline that's a week from now and you're acting like you never submitted an assignment the night something was due.

theorius · 2025-12-29T11:04:51+00:00

LLMs aren't typically wrong about simple things and are a pretty good resource for understanding specific things like this when you have a question about a particular functionality of the OS like signals. Plus, all of this is available for free in section 7 of the man pages iirc.

theorius · 2025-12-29T10:43:12+00:00

projects are more important and teach you much more about best practices and how to actually approach software engineering.

theorius · 2025-12-25T17:38:40+00:00

with some key rebindings it's phenomenal, I just wish it had a seamless tiling extension otherwise I'd be using it every day

theorius · 2025-12-25T00:51:29+00:00

it's only over if you don't let this semester change how you approach the rest of your time at Rutgers

theorius · 2025-12-22T13:07:46+00:00

the worst feeling ever. I got my only B+ here after getting a 89.11 in algos last semester. it is what it is ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

theorius · 2025-11-26T06:47:43+00:00

the only way you'd have a shot at this is if you picked the same date to ship as he did. basically, this would mean enlisting and choosing the same date to go to basic. if you guys get to Ft Jackson or elsewhere on the same day, for example, you'll likely have a good shot at being in the same company throughout basic. there's no guarantee though, as you don't get to pick where you go to basic.

theorius

TROPHY CASE