I defined it as "mostly coding database apps, doing tech support, and some sysadmin type duties."
That means coding the hell out of SQL... and then taking that SQL and dressing it up in ways that users can benefit from it without bothering me. Which means coming up with little cutsey applications that dish up a variety of "stupid spreadsheet tricks". I code these sorts of apps start to finish by myself, deploy them, and design them to require a minimal amount of maintenance. The language/system used is whatever is currently in use in the business environment-- except maybe something newer/better if the situation justifies it.
As a system administrator, I write perl scripts and put them up on the server to run on a schedule. I write little perl scripts for users to create new system commands for anything they ask me to do more than once. I know where to look to see if people can do their jobs or not... and I know the 5 most common things that need to be done when things don't work. Mostly this is starting and stopping services and/or killing bad processes.
I solve math problems. I'm the only person in the factory that will admit to knowing Trigonometry-- and as we're in manufacturing that actually comes up occasionally.
I talk with users to find out that they need. I actually care about them sometimes. I work with CPA's to find the missing eleven cents. I am sort of tangential to a lot of activity. If I don't fix something, I know who the go-to-person is. I often have to be the go-to-person anyway if the other guy is out sick.
90% of my job is actually social. I talk to people and use basic deductive reasoning to pin down what should be done. Then, when I don't know everything to do it, I coordinate with the people that do to make sure everything works out. I say 90% because I don't actually have to think much about the SQL, Perl, Blub, etc code anymore. The hard part is figuring out what people need as opposed to what they think they need.
I don't consider this to be "real" computer work. I'm just the "IT Guy". I don't believe I have to credentials to do "real" computer work. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't feel that there's much interesting stuff to learn in these particular trenches. I'm not sure that people in more interesting trenches would actually give a #$%*(#@ about what I know and do.
Hence the interest in maybe a certificate that amounts to half a Master's Degree.
Just to insert my 2 cents - you are doing "real" computer work. I have a friend (neighbor actually) who has degrees in geology, but is clearly a top notch developer. He runs a very successful small software shop (doing custom development for small to medium businesses, usually on the Microsoft stack) - when you mentioned the 90% social, "pin down what should be done" angle, I immediately thought of what this guy does. His customers could care less that he doesn't have a CS degree.
What he does that really sets him apart (in my view) is that he sits down with the people who are doing the work in these small to medium size businesses and then designs the tools that he feels would make him most productive if he had to do the job of that person.
BTW, I have a MS in CS and spend my days hacking SQL. I really enjoyed getting both my BS and MS in comp sci. Having them was pretty key in kick-starting my career. I started at a huge IT company and the degrees mattered there. They have mattered much less since leaving that company. Don't worry so much about having the magic credentials to actually do "real" computer work, I think of the credentials as being door openers mostly.
I wouldn't necessarily be happy getting a high-powered hard-core ultra-geek development job. I don't want to have to move to the Big City (tm) and ignore my family.
Going "deep" would be fun... but strategically, going "wide" would be just as good.
As a developer, I'm irritated with my dependence on cranky and unsympathetic sysadmin types. The Unix Admin Cert here:
... would let me pin down a side of the business I'm less comfortable with... give me a cheap platform to run my own apps on... give me the skills to try a Unix solution when I want to try that as a Guerilla solution... and... maybe open the door to a different sort of job in a location that would be a better fit for me. Maybe.
So... not a better hat... just more hats.... "IT Guys" are always generalists anyway. Why try to be something I'm not when I have a perfectly good career (even if it's a little dull.)
I don't know if my work experience will make up for having no compsci bachelors courses on my transcript.
The prices are crazy steep, though! Wah! It's online, though.... A friend of mine says that this program has a really good name, though... not that the entrepreneurs here would care about that. ;)
Most are going to be pricey. Also, you should probably get a better idea of what you want and what programs are good before investing the time and money, because it will likely be a large investment of both.
UIUC has one of the top ranked CS departments. You should already be aware of the rankings and each program's specialization before making this kind of investment, otherwise you might end up spending a lot money and time on something that you'll regret.
The last time I checked, there were a number of highly ranked CS departments that offered online courses, the UIUC program being among them. Sometimes they only offered a special degree, others only offer online classes for a certain specialization. The acceptance rates also vary dramatically, but they'll always act like they are highly selective. There have been multiple times that I've learned of supposedly selective programs (in CS and other fields) that actually have extremely high acceptance rates. Other times a program might have extremely low acceptance rates, though, so it's hard to tell.
FWIW, I was in an MS program that was mostly paid for by my employer, but decided to do startup work instead, partially because I wasn't happy with the program. I'm glad I took the classes I did, but I wouldn't have been happy had I paid the full tuition.
Some things to consider are the dominant platforms and languages in a particular program. Some schools will teach coursework in something like python, but it's much more common to find schools dominated by Java, C++ and Windows (with profs/instructors refusing to deal with anything else), so if you don't like those environments, you'll need to be more selective.
Just a fyi, I've considered this program in past. They offer a MCS degree, not MS in CS. Hence, you cannot pursue a PhD after this MCS from UIUC. Not sure if you plan to do a PhD but just thought I should share this with you.
No way - don't go that route. Insanely expensive - their prices are on par with the UoP ripoff and you aren't even getting a degree at that rate. Just stepping stones to the degree.
I find it hard to believe that HTML sanitization is central to the Stack Overflow site. (At least, not central in the "worth-reinventing-the-wheel" sense. Note that Atwood is depending on Markdown rather than inventing his own markup syntax and implementing a library for translating it into HTML.) Does the quality or efficiency of HTML sanitization make such a difference in the overall performance of the site?
Let me know if I got this straight, Markdown doesn't have it's own HTML sanitation mechanism, so Stack Overflow is rolling their own general HTML sanitation solution?
Why use Markdown in the first place? Is this a time when Markdown doesn't solve the problem Stack Overflow has? Look for another markup language?
Markdown doesn't even try to solve the HTML sanitation issue because it was designed for use when you have complete control over the content, so it passes all HTML through in the clear so that you can use Markdown to make the usual/trivial stuff easier, and leave the complex stuff to how HTML designed it.
Because it ignores HTML altogether, you need to have a separate sanitation process if you only want a subset of HTML to be usable.
The story is the same with most other simple markup languages, like Textile.
They do stuff... cool stuff... even lispy stuff... but they remain practical and relatively humble. The TMTOWTDI philosophy seems to have hardwired a certain degree of open mindedness in them-- they just don't appear to be as arrogant or argumentitive in the usual internet wars. Just an impression, YMMV, etc....
There's a certain type of female that is completely addicted to the sort of raw intimacy and lavish attention that this type of person will deliver during the early stages of the relationship. They will overlook all kinds of problem signals if they are getting what they need in their inner core.
As another person said, this type of woman will have serious issues. That won't change the fact that you're getting laid.
The post explores a perspective for the express purpose of generating and connecting ideas and experiences. Other established interpretations are possible, but we will temporily set them aside so that we can hash out what is (potentially) a new idea.
Why is that so hard for some people to get? It's like you're unable to grasp how mathematics and science is done. You take a premise or form a hypothesis... then you see what you can build on it. 9 times out of 10 it doesn't go anywhere... but the time for rigor is later, not at the beginning.
It's as if the phrase "for the sake of discussion" is completely beyond your mental capacity or something....
That means coding the hell out of SQL... and then taking that SQL and dressing it up in ways that users can benefit from it without bothering me. Which means coming up with little cutsey applications that dish up a variety of "stupid spreadsheet tricks". I code these sorts of apps start to finish by myself, deploy them, and design them to require a minimal amount of maintenance. The language/system used is whatever is currently in use in the business environment-- except maybe something newer/better if the situation justifies it.
As a system administrator, I write perl scripts and put them up on the server to run on a schedule. I write little perl scripts for users to create new system commands for anything they ask me to do more than once. I know where to look to see if people can do their jobs or not... and I know the 5 most common things that need to be done when things don't work. Mostly this is starting and stopping services and/or killing bad processes.
I solve math problems. I'm the only person in the factory that will admit to knowing Trigonometry-- and as we're in manufacturing that actually comes up occasionally.
I talk with users to find out that they need. I actually care about them sometimes. I work with CPA's to find the missing eleven cents. I am sort of tangential to a lot of activity. If I don't fix something, I know who the go-to-person is. I often have to be the go-to-person anyway if the other guy is out sick.
90% of my job is actually social. I talk to people and use basic deductive reasoning to pin down what should be done. Then, when I don't know everything to do it, I coordinate with the people that do to make sure everything works out. I say 90% because I don't actually have to think much about the SQL, Perl, Blub, etc code anymore. The hard part is figuring out what people need as opposed to what they think they need.
I don't consider this to be "real" computer work. I'm just the "IT Guy". I don't believe I have to credentials to do "real" computer work. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't feel that there's much interesting stuff to learn in these particular trenches. I'm not sure that people in more interesting trenches would actually give a #$%*(#@ about what I know and do.
Hence the interest in maybe a certificate that amounts to half a Master's Degree.