See the link: CBS News All Play And No Work March 2, 2006.
No comment.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
The Patriot Missile Failure
And people wonder why I don't want to develop software for mission critical applications:
The Patriot Missile Failure
Also see for other examples of floating point mishaps:
http://www.cs.princeton.edu/introcs/91float/
The Patriot Missile Failure
Also see for other examples of floating point mishaps:
http://www.cs.princeton.edu/introcs/91float/
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
The Misinformation Age - CBS News, January 3, 2006
See the article titled Misinformation Age. Draw your own conclusions.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
How to Get a Job in Information Security - Computerworld
Many, including myself, have been given the impression that information security is a hot field right now in CS. This article suggests the same, but that you have to know how to look for the jobs in the field. (Contrary to popular opinion among security experts, not all positions in information security are at the National Security Agency! But, if you're interested, see http://www.nsa.gov/careers/.)
She also talks about certifications vs. degrees. I completely agree with her assertion that if you are in the middle of your degree, but are considering certifications, finish your 4-year degree first. But, as I've mentioned to many students in my class, the time has been coming (for a while now) where a 4-year degree alone is not enough you set yourself above the rest in the job market. It is certainly a must, but to get the best jobs, it's not enough. You want to supplement your 4-year degree with experience through internship opportunities if at all possible. If you can't do that, then at least consider finding an independent study project to do with a professor that is doing research in a field you are interested. You do not want to graduate without having worked on some significant project! Finally, consider a certification! If you join the ACM or IEEE Computer Society (both of which I highly recommend for advanced CS students), they have courses for professional development that can prepare you for several certifications in the field that are free with your membership.
If you can afford it, and you have a little more stamina to study for a couple more years, I strongly consider an Master's degree, particularly for those students that want to land a career in fields beyond just basic IT fields.
Your best bet is to start scanning all of the career web sites a couple years before you graduate, and continue to do so on a regular basis. Include the career information at ACM and IEEE Computer Society. Figure out what employers are looking for in your field of interest.
She also talks about certifications vs. degrees. I completely agree with her assertion that if you are in the middle of your degree, but are considering certifications, finish your 4-year degree first. But, as I've mentioned to many students in my class, the time has been coming (for a while now) where a 4-year degree alone is not enough you set yourself above the rest in the job market. It is certainly a must, but to get the best jobs, it's not enough. You want to supplement your 4-year degree with experience through internship opportunities if at all possible. If you can't do that, then at least consider finding an independent study project to do with a professor that is doing research in a field you are interested. You do not want to graduate without having worked on some significant project! Finally, consider a certification! If you join the ACM or IEEE Computer Society (both of which I highly recommend for advanced CS students), they have courses for professional development that can prepare you for several certifications in the field that are free with your membership.
If you can afford it, and you have a little more stamina to study for a couple more years, I strongly consider an Master's degree, particularly for those students that want to land a career in fields beyond just basic IT fields.
Your best bet is to start scanning all of the career web sites a couple years before you graduate, and continue to do so on a regular basis. Include the career information at ACM and IEEE Computer Society. Figure out what employers are looking for in your field of interest.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Most desired IT skills
If you are an up and coming graduate in an IT field (particularly CS), you should read this document. A few professors got together and analyzed the most sought after IT skills by analyzing job listings on Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com over the past few years. It appears that Web programming has "jumped into a commanding lead" in the total number of jobs requiring programming skills, being mentioned in 42.6% of all job ads. In addition, Unix, C++, Java, SQL Programming and Oracle database are the other top five skills in the current job market, with each of these mentioned in close to 20% of advertised IT jobs. Java is now demanded in more than 20% of all job openings, making it a "mainstream programming language." The percentage of jobs requiring .NET has grown more than 250% over the three-year period represented by the study. Regardless, you should keep in mind that skills in demand change over time. Keep abreast of the latest skills being sought after. (The professors point this out as well.)
Read this article, and take it into consideration when maximizing your potential for landing a job come graduation time.
Read this article, and take it into consideration when maximizing your potential for landing a job come graduation time.
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