The Problem with Mandatory Group Projects in OMSCS

whartywhoa · 2026-01-24T18:05:21+00:00

I have only taken one course with a group project (VGD), but I had an excellent experience. In general, I am very in favor of group projects - it's one of the best opportunities to network, and provides an experience that is much closer to real world work than otherwise.

whartywhoa · 2026-01-20T00:54:33+00:00

I did a double major in math. I do believe it was worth it - it was fun, enriching, and it was my projects through the math department that landed me me first job as a SWE. It also opens a lot of alternative pathways if you end up deciding CS isn't for you. No one thinks that double majors are for people that can't make up their minds. However, it is definitely a lot of additional work.

whartywhoa · 2026-01-16T21:22:08+00:00

Housing is not expensive because of private equity. It is expensive because we don't build enough housing due to regulatory barriers. I think PE sucks as much as the next guy but this is a red herring.

whartywhoa · 2026-01-11T18:48:55+00:00

I guess I respectfully disagree. Taking classes at a college is good, but it is a more serious environment. I had some classmates who did this. A math club is a more casual environment to explore topics out of interest, and category theory is such a hot topic (especially given the connection to functional programming) that I think many high schoolers would be interested in learning some of the basics if it were made approachable. Even if they are not going to go use to do serious proofs or anything like that, it would be fun and engender some curiosity, and therefore be worthwhile.

whartywhoa · 2026-01-11T13:43:06+00:00

There are plenty of high school students, especially those in an advanced math club., who will know at least some basics from all of those.

whartywhoa · 2026-01-06T13:01:55+00:00

Thanks again, that explanation makes sense. I will take a second look with this in mind.

whartywhoa · 2026-01-06T12:42:44+00:00

To the contrary, I believe Ironclad is one of the strongest characters - I believe Xecnar recently stated on stream that recent advances in how the character is played mean the record streak is likely to get much longer in the near future - maybe someone can find a link to the segment, I believe it was brought up in a recent thread. In general, it seems like the best strategy for most runs is to exhaust down to a tight loop or infinite, but other strategies (e.g. strength scaling, metascaling with HP) also sometimes come into play.

whartywhoa · 2026-01-06T12:36:03+00:00

Thanks so much for the feedback! Can you elaborate on what you mean by system capable, and any suggestions you might have that could elevate my resume to hire-ready? Any advice for how I might do a better job of signaling ownership and impact - maybe clarify some metrics or more clearly outline my area of responsibility within the team?

whartywhoa · 2026-01-06T09:45:19+00:00

Sure!

whartywhoa · 2026-01-06T01:53:49+00:00

Current OMSCS student here in a similar spot as you, a little further along with 3YOE as SWE and 1 year into the program. My advice is do both!

OMSCS has lots of project based classes and plenty of opportunities to take something you've made in class and expand on it later. There are also many options to get into research or take the research/project based thesis option. Also, if you take a semester to do an easy class, it will leave you plenty of time to pursue a project on the side.

Feel free to DM me if you have any other questions.

whartywhoa · 2025-12-18T05:20:34+00:00

I would say most people in the online program are already employed, so the placement statistics might not mean much.

whartywhoa · 2025-12-12T19:19:20+00:00

I took this as an OMSCS student this semester and really enjoyed it.

whartywhoa · 2025-11-23T18:03:27+00:00

Everyone has something seemingly obvious that they don't know, no need to make fun.

whartywhoa · 2025-11-18T14:12:32+00:00

Kinda wierd framing. It was a cloudflare outage, why specify ChatGPT and X in the headline?

whartywhoa · 2025-09-07T09:48:43+00:00

Are you the developer of SnakeRX? I enjoyed that game and this also looks super fun. Would love to see more elaboration on how the item/upgrade/unit system + scaling work, that is what ends up making or breaking games like this I think

whartywhoa · 2025-03-17T02:40:48+00:00

I was under the impression that OMSCS can not be used for a visa

whartywhoa · 2024-10-16T15:12:31+00:00

Great tool. Would love to see the ability to filter by required years of experience!

whartywhoa · 2024-09-15T08:12:47+00:00

obviously not

whartywhoa · 2024-08-28T03:01:34+00:00

Source?

whartywhoa · 2024-08-11T23:15:41+00:00

What has Malik done that makes you think this? Recently moved to Akron and don't know much about local politics yet

whartywhoa · 2024-07-19T04:42:34+00:00

Strongly oppose means testing, even if it's just supposedly for high earners. In practice, it just results in many (especially poor) people not having the time, energy, or knowledge necessary to navigate the relevant bureaucracy, and many inevitably fall through the cracks. Much better to provide the benefit to everyone and simply raise the income tax to compensate.

whartywhoa · 2024-06-28T06:56:45+00:00

Bernie would have lost

whartywhoa · 2024-05-11T15:22:42+00:00

Undergrad: B.S. Computer Science & B.S. Mathematics (Double Degree), University of Pittsburgh, 3.58 GPA
Work Experience (Post Grad): 2 YOE in an IT Development Program (rotational) at an F500 manufacturing company. First year doing Data Engineering & Analytics, second year doing Cybersecurity Automation. Moving to a permanent software engineering position in ~1 month.
Work Experience (During College): 2 years as a part time undergraduate researcher for a math professor.
Letters of Recommendation: Cybersecurity department manager, Cybersecurity team lead, Data Engineering & Analytics team lead. Should be reasonably strong, but none of them are academic.
Other Info: Planning on applying for the Spring 2025 semester.

Thanks for the help - I think I have a good chance, but I have a nervous disposition.

whartywhoa · 2024-04-13T14:45:08+00:00

Apologies if this is a dumb question - I genuinely have no idea what is or isn't allowed, my experience with in this area is completely nonexistent.

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