[CALUG] Computer Science

[Dave Dodge]

On Tue, Nov 08, 2005 at 05:58:36PM -0500, Rajiv Vyas wrote:
> I would agree. A friend of mine did CS at Carnegie Mellon (long distance)
> and he was an engineer by training. He said the course was impossible, or
> nearly impossible.

When I attended a UMCP presentation on their graduate program, they
basically said that you shouldn't expect to be able to hold down a job
while taking it.  From the undergraduate projects I had to do, I can
almost believe it.

> What he eventually wants to combine (or learn) software programming to add
> to his finance and quantitative skills. My interpretation is that he is
> looking for some programming skills -- Python, C++ or whatever -- to
> manipulate and extract finance data.

Well, does it have to be a masters degree right away, then?  The
community colleges around here offer introductory programming courses,
some of which even transfer credit to local universities.  It'd be a
cheap and easy way to get started and at least find out if it's really
something he likes (because if he doesn't like it a _lot_, the work
required for an MS could be a major ordeal).

                                                  -Dave Dodge