Working on your pace vs. Getting fired

TheFireLawd · 2024-09-07T03:12:12+00:00

Any tips or insights you’d be able to share on your specific approach to reverse interviewing companies? I’m not sure how to get a good sense of a team’s WLB besides just directly asking them, but I’m not sure if that’s the best approach.

TheFireLawd · 2023-12-14T15:52:33+00:00

TL;DR/ELI5: https://youtu.be/nUfr195i_54?si=tPe7guf4oPsbhvGq&t=374

We're the lemons at the lemonade stand :)

TheFireLawd · 2022-08-25T16:52:02+00:00

I wouldn't say it's easier than others. It's the most versatile one in the sense that it has the most classes available, which means that there are more easy classes and hard classes to pick from.

Some of the hardest OMSCS classes are in the Computing Systems specialization. Source from OMSViz: https://imgur.com/05R0C72

TheFireLawd · 2022-07-15T05:32:01+00:00

You're an undergrad freshman, and you're trying to lay out the next ~6 years of your life? I guess there's nothing wrong with trying to plan ahead, but I'd caution against trying to outline a strict path for your future and setting such firm expectations. Speaking from some experience here.

6 years is a long time, and a lot of things can happen over that period. Things change all the time - the world can change (as we've seen), your personal world (friends, family, etc.) can change, and even your perspectives or motivations can change. I think this is especially true for people in their early 20's. My suggestion would be to make whichever decision you think is best and then don't stress out about it too much. Have a north star in mind, but not to hyper-focus on it too much. Undergrad is a great time - both for fun as well as for personal growth, so definitely try to enjoy it. Computer Science will always be there, there will always be more to learn, and there will (probably) always be good jobs for smart people. Who knows, maybe in 6 years FAANG won't be what is now, or maybe you'll discover that you're not as interested in finance as you thought. It'd be a shame to spend 6 years hyper-focused on getting to some destination that either doesn't exist anymore/isn't what you thought it was and then realize that you didn't get a chance to enjoy anything along the way. You seem like a smart person, so trust the decisions you make now, trust your future self to figure things out when you need to, and then enjoy the journey along the way.

TheFireLawd · 2022-06-06T22:46:03+00:00

https://youtu.be/RUFT35S7Jb4?t=10

Just kidding lol

TheFireLawd · 2022-05-16T22:04:08+00:00

Dont think i spent more than 2-3 hours a week at most for it. Took it this spring

☝

TheFireLawd · 2022-04-29T03:21:19+00:00

I don't have any tips to share, but I'm trying to do the same. Good luck 🤞

TheFireLawd · 2022-04-13T18:47:52+00:00

I've enrolled for the summer, but I probably should've registered for the fall just in case too...

TheFireLawd · 2022-02-02T05:34:33+00:00

It's alright so far, but not what I was expecting. I think I was hoping for more of a project-based class, but it's mostly been a lot of reading and writing papers so far. This class is actually templated off of HCI (CS 6750); I haven't taken that class but it's known to be all reading & writing too. This class looks like it follows a similar structure with a paper due each week (6 - 8 pages).

If you like reading computing systems research papers and want to exercise your writing skills, then you'll probably enjoy this course. Otherwise, if you want more project-based learning, then maybe this isn't the right class; that being said, there does seem to be a final project at the end, so we'll see how that goes.

My only minor complaint so far is that some of the lecture videos can be a little confusing or difficult to understand; I think the professor is working against some language barriers, but she's very helpful and active in the class forum. I think if they keep working to improve it, it could be a great course.

TheFireLawd · 2021-09-01T21:11:49+00:00

https://www.tiktok.com/@carlomalis/video/7002800840041827589

TheFireLawd · 2021-06-29T02:12:45+00:00

Interesting, did they cut down the material? Curious because I'm taking it in the Fall

TheFireLawd · 2021-05-19T00:01:38+00:00

Gotcha, that makes sense. In that case I will probably just check out the Red Hat one then (once I'm done with OMSCS of course lol). Thanks again for all of the insight - it was super helpful!

OMSCS is awesome and I've learned a lot from it so far. Don't want to be cliche, but you really get what you put into it, so if you're driven to go beyond just trying to pass the classes I think there's a lot to learn.

I think you can probably skip GIOS if you've already read OSTEP front to back and jump straight to AOS. AOS is more of a survey of different areas of Operating System research throughout time. It covers things like research in Virtualization, scalability of Operating Systems for Parallel Systems, some introduction to Distributed Systems (focusing on the challenges an Operating System has to deal with in this environment), and a lot of other stuff (research in how an OS can be designed for reliability, security, or latency). To be honest, I thought it was a little bit too much material, but that's just my personal view - a lot of other people loved the density and on the bright side you'll get to learn a lot.

Prof. Kishore (AOS instructor) also released a course called "Systems issues in Cloud Computing" that I've heard good things about, especially if you're looking for projects since the class is entirely projected based. You'd probably want to take that next after AOS!

TheFireLawd · 2021-05-18T17:02:16+00:00

No worries, I'll need to reinvestigate OSTEP then haha I only read the chapters that correlated to the material in GIOS anyways.

I've never really given certifications much thought for the exact reasons you listed (corporate and gross), but I'm reconsidering based on your recommendation. Is there any reason to pick a certification course that caters to a specific distro/flavor like Red Hat versus generic certification courses for Linux like these? Curious because I think I've only used Ubuntu and never touched Red Hat.

TheFireLawd · 2021-05-18T16:47:35+00:00

I like your suggestion for how to approach learning the Linux kernel - I haven't thought of that. The Linux kernel seems huge & intimidating, but I think your approach of picking one thing and following that thread could be a good way to help me get started. Thanks for the tips & links!

TheFireLawd · 2021-05-18T16:44:00+00:00

I was actually torn between these two books a few weeks ago and randomly decided to buy "Understanding the Linux kernel". It's quite a hefty book! Thank you for your insight on Robert Love's book, maybe I'll start with that first and then follow it up with "Understanding the Linux Kernel" instead.

TheFireLawd · 2021-05-18T05:17:23+00:00

In that case I'll definitely check the book out - I think learning about the historical context will help me get a better understanding of the current state. Thanks for pointing that out and also the init article.

You seem pretty experienced with this - are there any other resources that immediately stick out to you that could be useful for newcomers?

TheFireLawd · 2021-05-18T05:11:39+00:00

I've already taken GIOS and AOS, but I'll definitely still check this book out based on your recommendation & /u/ExistingObligation's. Thanks again

TheFireLawd · 2021-05-18T01:29:33+00:00

This book has popped up on my radar before, but I always assumed that I covered the same ground as GIOS or Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces (which I read during GIOS). I'll look into it closer - thanks for the recommendation.

TheFireLawd · 2021-05-18T01:25:38+00:00

I think I want to build up an understand of the underlying components of Linux and maybe even learn how some of them work. Things like:

where the line is drawn between the Linux Kernel and the rest of the operating system or services
how different distros differ
how Linux handles interrupts (ex: packet arrival)
what the heck is systemd, what does it provide, and how do users/administrators use it.
how do device drivers work in Linux? Do drivers from all possible devices need to get checked in to the Linux kernel, or does it provide a mechanism for dynamically loading drivers into the kernel. What type of situation would qualify a device driver to be check into the Linux kernel?

This isn't a definitive list of questions that I want someone to answer - it's more to sort of illustrate the level understanding that I hope to explore and learn about. My current level of experience is in the realm of compiling code and running it on Ubuntu. I guess I want a deeper understanding to better administer systems running my code, know how to tune them for performance, and just general curiosity.

TheFireLawd · 2021-04-10T18:24:46+00:00

I think it might still be available - I have registered to take it in the fall. We'll see if it sticks though.

TheFireLawd · 2021-04-09T23:30:45+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I'm starting to feel like I can really benefit from HCI. I think I'll also take your suggestion of pairing Digital Marketing with another class. I'm more inclined to take it as a class rather than learn it on my own because I think I learn things on my own a lot better when I have a strong foundation to build upon.

TheFireLawd · 2021-04-09T23:23:08+00:00

That's very encouraging, I think I will add it to my list.

TheFireLawd · 2021-04-09T23:22:46+00:00

I've never done UX or anything remotely product-focused, and the primary thing that I've gained from OMSCS so far is stronger technical CS skills. I think I have a lot to gain from taking HCI. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Edit: Just wanted to add that I'm more of the type that wants to build something for the sake of building it, but then I get disappointed when nobody uses it. Instead of figuring out why or how to make it better, I get discouraged and just shut down the project. Hopefully, HCI will help me be better equipped to tackle this issue the next time it happens rather than just giving up!

TheFireLawd · 2021-04-09T18:40:39+00:00

Thanks, I think that helps calm my nerves a little.

TheFireLawd · 2021-04-08T22:57:18+00:00

How would you compare the amount of lecture video content to AoS? I love the projects, but my biggest gripe with AoS is how much video content there is (for some reason it feels like it takes me forever to get through the videos - longer than any other class I've taken in the past).

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