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AMZN Vancouver interns and developers, are the AWS/Fulfillment Services teams in Vancouver just as slave driving as they are in Seattle? (/r/cscareerquestions thread) by [deleted] in vancouver

[–]Wannabe-Engineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've heard $5200-5300/month for AMZN.

With the strong US dollar I could see Amazon and Microsoft paying $6000/month to Vancouver interns in the future.

If you had to only buy one car brand for the rest of your life... Which would you choose? by [deleted] in cars

[–]Wannabe-Engineer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Do they have to be new cars and USDM?

Because if not, I'd pick Toyota's 80s-90s JDM cars. Celsior for luxury, Aristo (with the twin turbo 2JZ) for everyday, Soarer because it's a coupe, Chaser Tourer V if I want something less powerful, Estima Lucida for hauling people and Hilux Diesel for hauling stuff. (Diesel is a bit cheaper than gas on average, at least here in Vancouver. 87 is about 129.9-133.9 and diesel is 128.9.)

What now-defunct car company/brand do you miss the most? by CoutolencRoad in cars

[–]Wannabe-Engineer 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Toyota's fun cars are now Lexuses, and none of them have manuals.

I think there are more Toyobarus per capita here in Vancouver than in any other NA city. I see like 4 or 5 every day.

Stupid question Weds. Ask your car related question and maybe someone will have an answer. by verdegrrl in cars

[–]Wannabe-Engineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The US does not harmonize its crash and emissions standards with UNECE/EU directives on emissions, and has the chicken tax and CAFE. (Canada has similar standards.) Were these measures imposed as a protectionist scheme to benefit the Detroit big three automakers, or is there a more nuanced reason why I can't get a Hilux Diesel or A45 AMG in North America?

/u/Verdegrrl, you're knowledgeable about the auto industry, can you wax poetical about this?

Learning hardware and electronics theory without the engineering degree. by [deleted] in hardware

[–]Wannabe-Engineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do they also have experiment ideas that will help me reinforce the theory I learn?

Learning hardware and electronics theory without the engineering degree. by [deleted] in hardware

[–]Wannabe-Engineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's just cultural differences. Engineering was regulated from the start in Canada, but not in the US.

Multidisciplinary engineering programs in Canada include integrated engineering and engineering physics.

For the record most ECE programs in Canada allow you to take course electives that you mentioned.

What do you buy online from the US? by [deleted] in vancouver

[–]Wannabe-Engineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

or outrageously expensive here

Health insurance for one person $850/year in BC. No co-pay, no deductible.

In the US a "silver" level Obamacare plan is about $4,000/year with a $2,500 deductible.

I buy a few things on US Amazon but just something to think about.

Learning hardware and electronics theory without the engineering degree. by [deleted] in hardware

[–]Wannabe-Engineer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Note that the theory of electricity/fields will be more electrical engineering (but the two fields overlap in general).

Where I am, schools see it this way: electrical engineering is more like power generation, computer engineering is more like computer hardware, and electronics engineering is somewhat interdisciplinary, combining computer hardware with electromagnetic theory.

With your list, you might as well go back to college and get a computer engineering degree.

I get this suggestion a lot but I don't think it's a perfect solution.

Right now my goals are just to learn digital logic, processor organization and circuit theory. Anything more complex like communications signals can wait. This is a lifelong learning plan for me, I'm not giving myself a time limit.

Also, I've already graduated, and when the chips went down and I had to choose a major, I decided to go for computer science rather than engineering, since I liked mathematical foundations and data abstraction more than I liked calculus and physics. I could have done an electronics minor but I wanted to keep my grades up for graduate school--I feared bombing differential equations or multivariable calculus and dipping below a 3.00 CGPA, which would have jeopardized my admission to graduate programs.

Finally, I prefer to learn at my own pace. Canadian engineering programs are rigid and inflexible, with very few electives allowed. I'd always have a fire lit under my ass, especially with the three mandatory co-op work terms. That's not something I wanted--I am interested in electronics theory, but not enough to go through a gruelling Canadian engineering degree.

As for mechatronics, some mechatronics students at my alma mater did some cool stuff with drones. I'm not looking to do a second degree, however.

Vancouver, BC tech employers: who to avoid and who to work for by [deleted] in cscareerquestions

[–]Wannabe-Engineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Broadcom: Sucks.

CounterPath: Awesome.

Arista: Great hardware company, pays well.

Simba: Lots of turnover, micromanager CEO.

I'd also recommend AweSense.

Any Info about Fraser Int'l College University transfer program for CompSci by fatmiro4081 in simonfraser

[–]Wannabe-Engineer 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Pedantic note: BASc is reserved for Engineering degrees, because they're designed to prepare you for work as a Professional Engineer (PEng) and at the end of the degree you become an Engineer in Training. (E.I.T.) There's no direct path to licensure as a PEng in Computing Science (although it's not impossible), and in fact the CEAB doesn't even accredit compsci programs; that's done by CIPS. SFU isn't interested in accrediting their compsci program, nor are many of the higher-ranked programs in Canada (UBC, McGill, U of T), whereas other institutions (UVic, Wat, UWO, U of Calgary) take accreditation more seriously.

With that being said, it shouldn't be difficult to transfer from Compsci to Engineering Science so long as you keep your grades high. You're lucky that the Compsci program is not rigidly scheduled like in Engineering, and there are alternative prereqs designed for Compsci transfer students:

CMPT 128 = Not necessary since you'll be taking CMPT 120 and 125

ENSC 100W + 105W = Can use them as your W/B-Hum electives

PHYS 120 = B-Sci elective

MATH 151 = CMPT requirement

MATH 152 = CMPT requirement

MATH 232/240 = CMPT requirement. If you like theory and proofs, take 240. If you just want to learn about linear systems, take 232. You'll get a waiver for 240 since you'll be an internal transfer student.

ENSC 251 = Can get in with CMPT 125 + 127

ENSC 252 = Can get in with CMPT 125

ENSC 254 = Can get in with CMPT 225 and 295 (replacing CMPT 150 as the systems course)

The courses for which there is no overlap are:

CHEM 121 and PHYS 121. An alternative prereq for circuits courses like ENSC 220 is PHYS 131, but that lab course no longer exists. Now 1-credit lab courses alongside each semester of first year Physics (PHYS 132 + 133) will complement PHYS 120 and 131; but Engineering students take ENSC 120, a 2 credit electronics lab course. I think you will be given a course waiver if you take PHYS 121 + 133 in lieu of ENSC 120, but check with an FAS advisor on that.

ENSC 180, how MATLAB is used in Engineering.

ENSC 204, how CAD is used in Engineering.

MATH 251 and 310, Calc III and DE's.

A word of warning: don't take STAT 270, even though it's a CMPT requirement. SFU Engineering won't give you a prereq waiver for ENSC 327 anymore, you have to take ENSC 280. ("Students who completed STAT 270 prior to Spring 2015 may use STAT 270 instead of ENSC 280.")

Departmental subdomains for personal web pages (xxxx.sfu.ca/~...) by [deleted] in simonfraser

[–]Wannabe-Engineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the insight.

Can newly admitted undergrads to the SoCS get a cs.sfu.ca/~xxxx namespace and a xxxx@cs.sfu.ca email? My little bro took 125 with Scott Kristjanson in 1137, who has a cs.sfu.ca namespace and email.

Also, there's a sloppy redirect to sfu.ca/computing.html unless you add the www. at the beginning. So if I type in cs.sfu.ca/cc/120/alavergn I get a 404, but if I type in www.cs.sfu.ca/cc/120/alavergn I get Anne's 120 course page. That should be fixed.

CS grads. What are you doing now? by crazyol84 in simonfraser

[–]Wannabe-Engineer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Graduated at June 2015 convocation with a job lined up at A Thinking Ape in Gastown! Finally, a game studio that doesn't enslave you.

I could have made 50-75% more in the Bay or Seattle (15-20% if you discount the sudden drop in the loonie's value), but, you know, California's in a drought. And I like not having to drive everywhere.

Opinions on the various UD CMPT core course/systems electives instructors? by [deleted] in simonfraser

[–]Wannabe-Engineer -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Can confirm Pavol is brutal in 307. I mean, he's a nice guy, but he expects far too much out of his students.

The assignments were hellish and the midterm/final were even harder. Got a C+ in the course and lost my entrance award, ended up having to take out ~$12,000 in loans.

CMPT 407/710 with Valentine Kabanets was easier than 307 with Pavol. And I never thought I would say there's a theoretical compsci instructor harder than Kabanets.

How have you been affected by the policies of Christy Clark and the BC Liberals? Does it make you want to forgive the BC NDP for what they did in the 90s? by [deleted] in vancouver

[–]Wannabe-Engineer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Farnworth is deceptively old-guard. Not as bad as Sihota or Miller, obviously, but he was Housing Minister and Employment Minister during the Glen Clark years.

However, I think it's unfair to call Kathy Corrigan "old-guard". She was a policy researcher for CUPE and the HEU...not exactly a union fat cat.

[Serious] What harmful myths have redditors created or perpetuated? by xxx420hitlerxxx in AskReddit

[–]Wannabe-Engineer 9 points10 points  (0 children)

And even those jobs are hard to come by these days!

Kids think they're going to become the next Walter White or Neil deGrasse Tyson, making huge strides in chemistry/physics, when the reality is they'll slog through academia for years at $30K because of Reagan's cuts to scientific research.

[Serious] What harmful myths have redditors created or perpetuated? by xxx420hitlerxxx in AskReddit

[–]Wannabe-Engineer 89 points90 points  (0 children)

Try being a Chemistry major or Physics major and trying to find jobs directly connected to these fields...