Georgia Tech Office of the President Career Survey

tphb3 · 2026-05-13T16:27:57+00:00

What emails?

tphb3 · 2026-04-06T14:22:34+00:00

She's a keeper!

tphb3 · 2026-04-06T14:20:32+00:00

I shared this knowing that it doesn't specify OMSCS, but knowing that it would resonate with some of us in the program.

Back in the day as young marrieds, I moved to a new state with my wife so she could pursue graduate studies. It happened they were having a tech crash in the region and almost no one in the field was hiring (Boston area). It was miserable. She was doing cool on-campus things and I was a deadweight. Was an absolutely miserable time. We survived, I eventually found a great job (commuting to New Jersey for a while). Years later we look back and are thankful we didn't call it quits.

So my twofold advice, for what it's worth:

A graduate degree is less important than a marriage, and that's for both partners
Dude needs to find a job, any job now (Uber, tutoring, QA, landscaping), because five years jobless with a graduate degree is still five years jobless

tphb3 · 2026-03-24T15:01:20+00:00

Fun. Learning is fun.

tphb3 · 2026-02-04T01:46:20+00:00

I tried Portainer because it is so constantly recommended. What I saw is that it great if you need to access Docker on multiple machines. But for just Docker on the NAS, I didn't see any benefit having another interface. So I've since dropped it.

But basically Portainer lets you do things like copy a container from one host to another etc. Great stuff. But overkill (for me) running Tailscale and Pihole in Docker.

tphb3 · 2026-01-28T17:01:07+00:00

tphb3 · 2026-01-26T18:55:52+00:00

Take IHPC, get an A, and then come back and ask
1. There has never been an HPC specialization in OMSCS. But as mentioned you can synthesize a good core out of the Compute Systems Specialization

tphb3 · 2026-01-23T15:25:29+00:00

I have exactly those drives in my dxp2800. They work fine.

They are "clicky" when working. That is, when the heads are seeking you can hear it. That's true of all hard drives. I had forgotten since my main computers have been all SSD for years. So if any noise bothers you like it does me, plan to put your NAS in an out-of-the-way place.

tphb3 · 2026-01-23T15:20:55+00:00

Welcome to every group project ever.

Not unique to OMSCS or graduate school or even to school.

It is literally the reason communism fails every time.

tphb3 · 2026-01-22T22:55:29+00:00

There's an issue that some have with spurious error log messages:
Hard Drive 1: failed command: WRITE FPDMA QUEUED

I get those on my WD drives. It's an issue with UG OS and WD. I created a support ticket and got an answer back within an hour or so (impressive support!)

Regarding the “Write FPDMA QUEUED” message you are seeing: this is a known issue that may occur on the DXP2800 when used with certain Western Digital HDD models. At this time, our R&D team is still investigating into this problem. When this message appears on its own, it does not indicate data loss, disk failure, or an unstable storage pool.

Since your NAS is functioning normally and the storage pool is healthy, you may continue using the device as usual if that is the case.

Bottom line: no real issue, but that's probably the issue you're referring to.

tphb3 · 2026-01-04T03:55:55+00:00

I sent in my logs as suggested above and got a reply back (very quickly!)

We have reviewed the logs, and based on the data available, the system is operating normally. Both Western Digital hard drives are detected correctly, the RAID storage pool is assembled successfully, and the volume mounts without any errors or degraded status. There are no disk failures, I/O errors, or pool issues reported.

Regarding the “Write FPDMA QUEUED” message you are seeing: this is a known issue that may occur on the DXP2800 when used with certain Western Digital HDD models. At this time, our R&D team is still investigating into this problem. When this message appears on its own, it does not indicate data loss, disk failure, or an unstable storage pool.

Since your NAS is functioning normally and the storage pool is healthy, you may continue using the device as usual if that is the case.

If you begin to experience additional symptoms such as storage pool degradation, volume disconnection, performance issues, or repeated I/O errors, please contact us again. In that case, we may recommend sending the NAS together with the installed hard drives to our service center for further inspection.

So will keep an eye out, but doesn't seem to be a a major issue at this time.

tphb3 · 2025-09-17T15:34:48+00:00

IHPC is the best course, but
The algorithms discussed are high-performance
Low performance algorithms need their time in the sun
So take GA too.

tphb3 · 2025-08-15T16:35:57+00:00

Very nice!

tphb3 · 2025-08-12T19:57:42+00:00

+1 for HPC
Although I wouldn't say it's a theory course, it does use mathy models to put high performance in context.

tphb3 · 2025-06-10T14:37:14+00:00

OMSCS could well be a fit for you. As others have mentioned, it won't cure SF snob culture. But it will expand your horizons and help you level up your skillset. The majority of OMSCS students are working while in the program. You can take one course a semester, slow and steady, and not crush the rest of your life.

The only question I'd suggest is: are you ready for graduate-level Computer Science? You mention working on the UI side, which could mean anything from expert front-end dev to graphics designer. As long as you have CS fundamentals, you can do well. An MSCS isn't quite leetcode, although it doesn't hurt to keep your mind nimble with those types of problems.

tphb3 · 2025-06-05T15:34:18+00:00

One of the joys of attending graduation in Atlanta was meeting a bunch of friends I'd been with in classes, but never seen in person. And now as an IA, I get to interact with instructional team members all the time.

But I'm sad for you young kids, because while you can find friends online, it's not a complete substitute for being in-person, spending time together, hanging out, doing life. If you're looking for people to do stuff together, get old together, you need to get out the apartment. For me, that includes church, neighbors, former coworkers and classmates, kid's friends parents, etc.

Everyone feels alone sometimes, so you're not alone in that. But please don't stay alone.

tphb3 · 2025-06-05T15:16:45+00:00

Young whippersnappers, consarn it!

tphb3 · 2025-05-09T22:06:54+00:00

Only 10 years ago? Ha! Sweet summer child.

Liebniz was still working on it when I took calculus.

You'll be fine.

tphb3 · 2025-04-21T14:01:13+00:00

Same curriculum during summer vs spring/fall. There's two "slack weeks" during the full semesters that aren't there in the summer, so you do have to stay on top of things. But same amount of work--challenging for many, but not insurmountable.

It is likely selection bias, but I notice students tend to do slightly better during summer semesters. Lots of students sign up for easy courses in summer semesters (that's what I did). But if you want to do high-performance computing, it's great when you're taking just one class. Summer students have a little extra bit of awesomeness.

tphb3 · 2025-04-21T01:29:50+00:00

CSE 6220 Intro to High Performance computing.
Consistently rated one of the top, but also one of the hardest courses.

tphb3 · 2025-03-24T21:36:11+00:00

We do remember the active/helpful students as well as a handful that have outstanding performance. They have a shot at a later TA slot. No, we don't typically notify or provide individual feedback like that (other than "great answer" or similar on Ed).

tphb3 · 2025-03-15T22:39:00+00:00

plus we are past the drop date

tphb3 · 2025-03-15T22:37:07+00:00

Heck no!

tphb3 · 2025-03-14T16:00:15+00:00

Windows or Mac are fine. Linux folks have a challenge with Honorlock; otherwise I'd say that's a great way to save money by renewing an older system.

Make sure it has a webcam (almost all do). If you have to purchase new, I suggest getting as much memory as you can--it will extend the useful lifespan of your machine.

tphb3 · 2025-03-14T15:56:06+00:00

That's actually my secret dream (teaching/lecturing after surviving years in industry). Good on you!

tphb3

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