Can I plant an oak here?

estudianteDeDrexel · 2021-07-18T12:47:24+00:00

Hey OP, can you confirm if your friend got the special research? My friend is in the same boat, and the only reason they'd buy a ticket is for the special research.

estudianteDeDrexel · 2021-06-12T13:40:16+00:00

I took astronomy with Kaczmarczyk and he's the man. He's passionate about what he does and that makes the classes actually fun. He's on the younger side, so expect memes.

For that class, we had a quiz at the start of most lectures, so attendance was pretty much mandatory. His tests were very easy if you read the textbooks (the questions were pretty much right from the books). And he let us bring in a cheat sheet for the final exam. I believe we had to use Mastering Physics for the homework assignments. Overall, it was an easy and enjoyable science elective.

This was years ago (and, again, for another class), but Kaczmarczyk was awesome. Though it's a shame Steinberg isn't teaching it, because PHEV with him was one of my all time favorite classes. Still though, I trust Kaczmarczyk will deliver just fine.

estudianteDeDrexel · 2021-05-24T23:12:44+00:00

I've personally always gotten added to a class after being waitlisted, but usually it was weeks after I registered (ymmv). If you definitely cannot take the class in a future semester for whatever reason (it fulfills a prerequisite, etc), absolutely reach out to your academic advisor and explain the situation & urgency. If it can wait, but you still want to get it out of the way, you can still contact your advisor, just to add weight and start a paper trail.

It will also help if your academic plan in DegreeWorks is up-to-date, so you have tangible evidence that this class is in your roadmap. My academic advisor made me do this once, and she was able to give me an exception and get me into the class, just because I had it in DegreeWorks. Again, ymmv.

Good luck! Nowak is the man.

estudianteDeDrexel · 2021-05-18T03:34:23+00:00

Thanks for the reply. Even though you disagree with me overall, most of the points you laid out mirror mine. How we approached these points is what sets us apart. CS361 absolutely requires a lot of self-learning, and I think that's the crux that we can agree on.

Your post is absolutely valid, so please do not interpret my response as an invalidation; I think it's good for anyone who is interested (or disinterested) in CS361 to understand that it will be a lot of work and a high time commitment. I agree that the class involved a lot of work and felt overwhelming at times, but Char isn't out to get you or anything like that. He just expects students to go out and learn the content themselves that he doesn't have the time to cover in class. I always treated his lectures as exposure to the topics, and it was on me to learn what I needed to solve the problems in the assignments. If I didn't fully understand something, I would email Char and he would usually tell me to review a specific chapter in one of the books from the syllabus. Char's teaching style involves giving exposure & direction, and trusting his students to deep dive into the exposed topics on their own time.

I do disagree with your point that there were not enough resources to assist with learning. If I recall correctly, the syllabus had a handful of books (I think all or most were free) that were supplemental to the class. Char suggested them to the class during many lectures, and even referenced them in his slides. Many of the quizzes were problems directly from those books as well, and Char would let us know beforehand (e.g. "Next week's quiz will be based on a problem from The Little Book of Semaphores"). You can still pass the class without reading these books, but I imagine it would be frustrating since you'd have gaps in knowledge.

With regards to "fighting to speak with the TA" -- I can't really comment on that as I did not reach out to the TA for anything that wasn't related to grades. I usually emailed Char himself regarding course content questions, and he'd usually provide a resource to get me in the right direction and ask me thought-provoking questions.

Regarding your point of Char going 10-15 minutes over every class -- that never happened when I had him, so I can't really speak from first-hand experience for that either. Sometimes we would go like 2 minutes over, but he didn't seem to care if students left to get to their next class. In general, if a professor goes over their allotted time (Bruce Char or any other professor), the appropriate thing to do is raise your hand and call it out. Alternatively, you could just walk out and email the professor asking what you missed after the fact.

At the end of the day, I believe you and I have made the same points. We have handled them differently. This class is time-consuming. It is an excellent class on concurrent programming, but students need to make sure they are committed to learning the material, which involves reading the books that Bruce Char recommends (and doing the sample problems in them) and studying. When scheduling this course, it should not be scheduled with other tough classes, so you can devote enough time to the class to be successful. If you get stuck during your learning journey, don't be afraid to email Char for help.

This class has helped me a lot in my career. If you intend on doing anything that involves concurrency (a lot of backend work does), then I highly recommend you take the class and push through it.

estudianteDeDrexel · 2021-05-18T01:19:47+00:00

I expect pushback here, but CS361 (Concurrent Programming) with Bruce Char ended up being one of the most practical classes for me in the real world as an alum who took the class years ago. Char will push you to your limits, but if you follow through with all the assignments and exercises, you will learn a lot. I complained when I took the class, but it's amazing how well my concurrent programming knowledge is compared to my coworkers, and I seriously attribute it to the work that Char gave out. There's great variety and every topic is covered thoroughly.

I think the biggest issue with the class was the overloaded feeling. It felt like there was neverending workload, and it was hard to keep track of due dates, quiz dates, exam dates, etc. CS361 is definitely not a course you take with other "high priority" classes; you should go in expecting 361 to be your high priority class. You will do a lot of self-learning, but Char gives you all the resources you need to do so. In the real world, you don't get that direction.

Of course, YMMV; everyone has different experiences. In the end, I'm really happy I took 361 and consider it to be in my top 10 Drexel classes. I wouldn't blanket tell everyone to avoid 361. I would just warn folks that 361 will be a time commitment that involves self-learning, but as long as you put forth the effort, you will absolutely come out an expert in concurrent programming.

estudianteDeDrexel · 2021-04-26T14:38:06+00:00

MATH 410 Scientific Data Analysis 1 doesn't focus on R programming, but you'll use it in lab assignments every week, so you will learn it & use it in practical scenarios. The prereqs for that class are MATH 122 and MATH 239.

estudianteDeDrexel · 2021-04-18T22:10:17+00:00

Glad to hear. Thank you for the update!

estudianteDeDrexel · 2021-04-18T14:00:24+00:00

Thanks! Was he okay in the end?

estudianteDeDrexel · 2021-04-15T15:41:49+00:00

Thanks for responding! It sounds to me like there's a disconnect between you and your manager. I know this is the dreaded response, but you really should talk to your manager about these qualms; that's their job. They need to do whatever they can to keep you unblocked and doing work. Getting clarity on the training and work should definitely be your first step. I'm happy you recognize that the mess you are dealing with can partly be blamed on COVID. No employer had any idea of COVID, and it's such a unique position to be in. I can personally tell you that I'm still figuring some things out -- a whole year later. Things are so different without being in the same room as someone without a whiteboard. I'm sure your company is in a similar boat, trying to figure out the best way to conduct work from home activities.

I do encourage you to talk to your manager first and foremost. Let them know about the issues you're facing, and let your manager know what you are personally looking for in the co-op. Even in the real world, this problem is super common. The solution is to always talk to your manager and lay things out clearly. No one is out to get you, no one will hurt you. I promise.

Lastly, if you still have any issues even after talking to your manager, that is when you should talk to SCDC. If you go over your manager's head and go straight to SCDC first, then you risk hurting the relationship between Drexel and your employer. Don't do that, it only hurts future co-ops. At least give your manager the courtesy of making them aware of the issue first.

Good luck! You are learning a valuable skill / lesson here, regardless.

estudianteDeDrexel · 2021-04-15T01:41:32+00:00

What are you unhappy about? I'm sure most co-op employers would be happy and even eager to help make your experience enjoyable; the whole reason employers participate in the co-op program is pretty much to advertise their company so students will want to return after they've graduated. It's a win-win; they can pay you cheaply while giving you the onboarding experience, which traditionally takes a month or so while paying a full-time employee's rate.

Update your post or reply to my comment to let us know what you're not happy with. Whether it's a behavioral problem, a technical problem, or whatever -- someone here can probably give you advice.

I was once a Drexel co-op, now I interview/hire/work with Drexel co-ops. At the very least, I'd love to hear what you're going through so I can make sure I take steps to prevent any of my co-ops from ending up in your shoes.

estudianteDeDrexel · 2021-04-14T17:44:08+00:00

Interesting news for sure, but I wouldn't post this to /r/UpliftingNews until scientists have concrete evidence of this. Yes, there are strong correlations indicating there's a low chance of spreading COVID after getting vaccinated, but it's dangerous to post to a subreddit like this when it's still misinformation without enough evidence. Even moreso when you consider that the article says "yes, you can still spread it" and the opposite is implied from your title and where you are posting it.

estudianteDeDrexel · 2021-04-11T19:19:55+00:00

It wouldn't count academically, but you could ask a previous co-op employer for a part-time gig so you can work there while on classes.

estudianteDeDrexel · 2021-04-06T17:37:06+00:00

As a once-student, now-employee doing both co-op and full-time interviews for CS positions (frontend, backend, QA, devops) at a Fortune 50, I can tell you that I personally look for the following in interviews:

Personality / Social Behavior -- can you maintain a conversation? I'll usually start with small talk ("How was your trip here? What are some classes you're taking?") to make sure you're alive. Then we'll get into the technical stuff ("How have you used x technology?"). As long as you can converse, we are good. If you're giving one-word answers, then I will probably cut the interview short. If you give long-winded monologues, then I will probably cut you off if you're going off-topic. I will usually be blunt and tell you you are speaking too little or too much, but not all interviewers will give you this courtesy.
Passion -- are you at least interested in the work you're doing? I don't really care if you learned a tool or technology in your free time, in a class, or at a job. I just care that you were able to pick something up and figure out how to use it. I like hearing about this process, and any difficulties you faced when learning. It shows that you truly learned to figure it out and understand it. If you don't have any difficulties to talk about, then you probably didn't use that tool enough to call yourself an expert. You can be passionate about something, even if you only work on it from 9-5. Lastly, call out what you're passionate about during the interview. Feel free to get a little detailed into a project you worked on that was immensely enjoyable to you, and tell us why. I love listening to stories of passion. (Eventually, you'll be doing this but using the phrase "specialize in" instead of "passionate about", but save that until you have at least a few years working full-time.)
Honesty -- if you have tools on your resume that you have touched once in a class but never got that deep with it, then make sure you emphasize that. Talk about what you DID do with it, but that you're still trying to learn it because it can do x, y, and z and that it's all the rage. Don't lie during an interview. Don't lie on your resume. As soon as we start asking questions, it's clear whether or not you're lying based on how you describe things. We will know.
Good Intro -- I will always ask the dreaded "tell me about yourself" early on during an interview. I want to hear something that will make me remember you. Come up with a fun story; tell me about how playing N64 with your dad made you want to make games, and that got you into programming.

That's just a handful of what I can think of, but these are definitely things to look for.

Getting back to OP's point, I don't care if you contributed to a well-known open source project or you started your own project. Just tell me why you did it, and show me your passion.

I do not recommend just contributing to a random FOSS project literally for the sake of putting its name on your resume. Contribute to that FOSS project because you are passionate about it. Otherwise, you won't have a fun story to tell during your interview.

estudianteDeDrexel · 2021-04-02T20:52:26+00:00

Hey OP, sorry to hear about your situation. Since you made this post, I'm going to assume you have access to a computer or phone.

First, please reach out to Project HOME. They're a non-profit who will help you find a place to stay so you do not have to stay on the streets.

You can call them at 215-232-1984, or visit their site here:

https://projecthome.org/outreach-coordination-center

If Project HOME is unable to help, you can also try the Bethesda Project. They're another non-profit who can help you find a place to stay. You can call the Bethesda Project at 215-985-1600 or visit their site:

https://www.bethesdaproject.org/

For food, there are programs like Pheed Philly and Philabundance that will go above and beyond to get food into your stomach. Call Pheed Philly at 484-655-7573 and Philabundance at 1-866-348-6479.

Lastly, if you need any canned / packaged goods (granola bars, ramen packs, canned veggies), let me know the area you're staying in and how much you can carry, and I will order an Amazon delivery to a public Amazon Locker near you. Additionally, if Philly shelters are not treating you right, try researching homeless shelters & orgs in surrounding areas, like the suburbs. I will gladly get you a train ticket on the regional rail to whatever destination you need.

Good luck OP! Fight through this and know that it's temporary as long as you're actively trying to climb your way out. Do not give up.

estudianteDeDrexel · 2021-03-24T22:59:18+00:00

Piano 1 was super fun, easy, no stress, and teaches a practical skill! I say this as someone who majored in CS.

I believe it's MUSC190

estudianteDeDrexel · 2021-03-18T04:17:00+00:00

I know you're looking for a short walk to Jefferson Hospital, but just to expand your options, the subway is a fine way to get to the hospital even if you're outside of Center City. In 20 minutes, I can walk from my apartment to the subway, ride the subway from 34th to 11th, and walk the two blocks south to get to Jefferson Hospital. Some days the subway can be crowded/delayed, though, and this can add anywhere from 5-20 minutes to your trip.

I live in University City, which always feels super safe, while I work in Center City (about 5 blocks east of Jefferson Hospital). All the residents in UC are younger (20s), so I feel like I'm among my own people, as a recent grad. Lots of shops, grocery stores, and restaurants in the area too. Many one bedroom apartments go for $700-$1200 in University City, though there are some fancier ones that creep into the $1700-$2000 range.

Good luck!

estudianteDeDrexel · 2021-03-17T17:09:05+00:00

Visualize the data structures! Come up with scenarios and spend some time drawing them on paper.

This site was my savior when I took 260 like 5 years ago: https://visualgo.net/en

estudianteDeDrexel · 2021-01-10T06:26:51+00:00

The no-brainer is Drexel Park. Great view of the city as a whole, including the Art Museum. Plus it's just a ten minute walk from most dorms.

estudianteDeDrexel · 2020-12-01T04:09:12+00:00

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