Success in Computer Science

1. Success in Computer Science

2. Success in Computer Science • As an undergraduate CS student, you want a roadmap to success • Issue: There are many components to success in CS: • Curricular Activities (Courses) • Co-Curricular Activities • Preparation for Post-Undergraduate Life • Overall Planning

3. Curricular Activities • Curricular components • Course and Program Selection • Studying / Course Work • Grades

4. Course Selection • Many major courses decided for you • Choices • CS Electives – how to choose? • Explore current interests, possible areas of specialization • Take courses useful for likely jobs • Take courses to help prepare for graduate school (e.g. CS 450) • CS Comprehensive - ENGL 305 or ENGL 308 or CJ 202? • ENGL 305 – Communicating Scientific Subjects to General Audiences (communication –writing) • Also counts toward GE 3xx-level requirement (Three 3xx-level courses) • ENGL 308 – Scientific Communication for Expert Audiences (communication – writing) • Also counts toward GE 3xx-level requirement (Three 3xx-level courses) • CJ 202 – Fundamentals of Speech (communication – speaking) • GE Courses – Strategies and Tactics • Take courses that you’re interested in • Take courses that fit best with your major (and minor) program(s) • Take courses that meet multiple requirements to free up other slots

5. Program Selection • Which major? • Computer Science – Comprehensive (63 cr.) • Broadest array of computer science courses • More mathematics, required Physics for science lab sequence • Requires some other courses (communication, ethics) under GE • Computer Science – Software Engineering (39 cr.) • Similar amount of computer science to CS-Comp. • Only differences: not CS 462 (Networks), one less CS elective • Less mathematics, required Physics for science lab sequence • Requires minor (24 cr.) • Computer Science – Computer Engineering (68 cr.) • A computer science degree with an emphasis on computer hardware and engineering issues • Useful for working in computer hardware industry, positions including hardware verification and testing • Computer Science – GIS (68 cr.) • Combination of computer science + study of geographic information systems

6. Program Selection (2) • Which minor, if needed? • Information systems • Complementary to CS, added understanding of business • Mathematics • Additional problem solving tools for toolset, some practical applications (e.g. probability and statistics, digital signal processing) • Any area that you can combine with computer science • E.g. Biology, Physics, Criminal Justice (Forensics), maybe Materials Science in future? • Any area that you’re interested in • E.g. Music, Foreign Language, others…

7. Studying and Course Work • Read assigned materials • Several computer science instructors work primarily with PPT slides; don’t forget how to read technical material! • Review periodically • Helps anchor and integrate material • Important with comprehensive nature of CS • Study with others (at least some of the time) • Especially if you’re not well-disciplined at studying on your own • Try to study with others at or above your level – this helps you to rise to their level • Study actively • Try to ask “what if” questions, e.g. • Does this algorithm really work (correctly / efficiently)? • What other approaches are there here? • Is there a better approach possible?

8. Studying and Course Work • Participate in class actively • Ask questions • Comment where appropriate based on your own experience • Understand what the instructor is looking for • Read carefully, solve the problem asked, not the problem you would like to see asked • Be complete, thorough and organized • Use a variety of problem solving techniques (more later)

9. Grades • GPA review • How is GPA calculated? • How is GPA used? • Honors for semester, degree • Internship and full-time job applications • Perhaps the most important factor! • Team Exercise • Effect of bad first year • Effect of one bad course on semester GPA • C if averaging B’s • F if averaging B’s • Effect of one bad semester after three good semesters

10. Grades (2) • How to get good grades in CS courses? • Complete all assignments • Do your share of the work (or more) on team assignments • Team projects will often ask for each member of the group to anonymously evaluate all members’ participation • Make sure you learn the material; don’t leave unanswered questions • Computer Science is very comprehensive!

11. Co-Curricular Activities • Co-Curricular Activities • Club participation / leadership • Part-time work • Study abroad • Internships • Job Search

12. Club Participation and Leadership • Computer Science clubs • Student ACM • ACM = Association for Computing Machinery, primary professional organization for computer scientists • Student club – social, service, educational, networking with other students, possible employers • Professional organization – separate student membership, access to magazine and CS literature • WITS (Women In Technology and Science) • Similar – social, service, educational, networking • All interested students welcome • Benefits of membership • Meet other CS students • Activities • Opportunity to run for and be a club leader, help guide club in future year(s)

13. Part-Time Work • Benefits • Generate funds for school • But remember your primary goal – education • Work should never be an excuse for not doing well in school • Obtain additional CS-relevant experience (if a job that utilizes CS skills: system administrator, web developer, help desk staff, etc.) • Issues • Can interfere with course work, especially group meetings • Overall • Make sure part-time work is compatible with your course work

14. Study Abroad • Benefits • Learning about another culture • Experiencing the diversity of the world • Issues • In past, often just GE credits • Now, are some institutions that offer CS courses that may transfer • Recommendations • Talk to your adviser early (freshman year) if you are interested in study abroad • Second-semester sophomore year is the best semester for study abroad • Required course: one elective (CS 268 or CS 278) that can be taken another semester, doesn’t interfere with prerequisite chain

15. Internships • Temporary work (often full-time during a summer, possibly including another semester) with an employer • Can be for pay, credits, both • Often summer after junior year, but can be after sophomore or even freshman year if you have experience that matches employer needs • Benefits • One of the important accomplishments in the eyes of companies hiring for full-time positions • A good experience (from the employer’s perspective) on an internship is often the gateway to a full-time job offer • Opportunities to explore internships • CS Career Breakfast and UWEC Career Fair (late September) • Internship Mania (February) • Through Career Services online listings • Prerequisites • Have a resume prepared, reviewed by CS faculty and Career Services • Often WITS workshops on this in fall before UWEC Career Fair • In some cases, minimum GPA requirements (e.g. 3.0) • If want credit, must work with Dr. Jack Tan (CS Internship Coordinator) – do this in advance

16. Job Search • Necessary to be pro-active • Can’t wait for employers to come to you • Same opportunities as for internships: • CS Career Breakfast and UWEC Career Fair (late September) • Internship Mania (February) • Through Career Services online listings • Also other contacts: • Employers speaking at CS 396 (Junior Seminar) • Employers met through talks, club events, etc. • Personal contacts • Prerequisite • Again, having a good resume is key • Also want strong recommendations from faculty • May be minimum GPA requirements (e.g. 3.0) here too

17. After UWEC • Options: • Job in CS • Graduate School in CS or other area • Job in another area

18. Job in CS • Many different possibilities • Consider areas previously discussed • Application vs. systems • Major CS employers • Marshfield Clinic (Marshfield, WI) • Great Lakes Higher Education (Madison/Eau Claire, WI) • Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (Wausau) • Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company (Milwaukee) • 3M Corporation (St. Paul, MN) • IDEXX Systems (Eau Claire) • Other employers of CS students • IBM (Rochester, MN) • Menards / Midwest Manufacturing (Eau Claire) • McKesson Surgical/Medical (Minneapolis) • C.H. Robinson (Minneapolis) • Silicon Logic Engineering (Eau Claire) • Many others…

19. Graduate School • Approximately 5-10% of CS students go directly on to graduate school in CS • Worth considering if interested in teaching, research, or advanced/focused work • See: http://www.cs.uwec.edu/~wagnerpj/talks/GradSchool.ppt for more information (Student ACM talk given by Dr. Dan Ernst and Dr. Paul Wagner of UWEC CS) • Will need recommendations from faculty

20. Job in Other Area? • Always possible to use CS as a supplement to a job in another field • Students have gone on to jobs such as: • Teaching English in foreign countries • Document translation • Web design • Issue • Easy to get stale technically, may limit future options • However, CS knowledge is always helpful

21. Planning • Planning includes: • Considering options • Making choices • Being an active participant in your undergraduate education • Organizing your time • Thinking ahead

22. Considering Options • Choices are made out of all available options • Make sure you don’t limit your options • Examples: • Student not attending class and not doing well • Student not attending class but doing well in class – later issues • Student not attending class but not officially dropping • Goal: leave yourself more options where possible

23. Making Choices • Carefully consider each option for: • Advantages • Disadvantages • Other implications • Consciously choose and act on the option you prefer • Ownership translated to success

24. Being Active • How you can you be active in your CS education? • Many ways: • Active participation in class • Active consideration on choices for major, minor, CS electives, GE courses • Active consideration of co-curricular options • While making sure that all choices reasonably fit within your schedule • Talk to instructors, understand the course requirements • What accomplishments expected? • What participation expected?

25. Organizing Your Time • Treat studying and review like a class • Set aside standard periods of time each week to work on your courses • For team projects, communicate with team members to identify common times to meet regularly • Requires flexibility and cooperation • Budget time for everything, including co-curricular interests

26. Thinking Ahead • Your undergraduate career is a “knapsack problem” • Knapsack problem – famous CS optimization problem • Many objects of different weights and values (not proportionate); all have some value... • How to determine the optimal set of objects to put in your knapsack/backpack that will give you the most value while staying within a given weight limit? • We really need a “forward advising” system to supplement degree audits • Backward advising – how does what you’ve done fit into a degree plan? • Forward advising – what should you do and when should you do it to successfully complete a degree program?

27. Thinking Ahead (2) • Putting it all together • Consider your options regularly • Develop a plan early, but be ready to change it if necessary (and reconsider it regularly) • Develop the discipline for completing course work, participating in class, and active learning that will allow you to succeed in CS • Make sure you keep your options open • Don’t back yourself into a corner with no/few options

28. Thinking Ahead (3) • Key Timeline Items – Sample Schedule • Freshman year • Do well in your courses! • Consider exact major, minor, clubs, work, study abroad, act on some… • Join SACM and/or WITS • Sophomore year • Continue to do well • Develop your resume • Study abroad 2nd semester if desired • Run for office in club • Junior year • Continue to do well • Update resume, investigate internship possibilities • Apply for internships • Do internship – summer • Senior year • <you get it…> • Update resume, investigate full-time job possibilities • Apply for full-time job • Graduate, start that job…