Based on the numerous CSE professor profiles that I have looked at, it is easy to see that lecturing is not primary role for many professor.  Although lecturing is important, with Phd’s and Masters degrees, these professors have a lot more to offer than just lecturing.  These professors take part in a large amount of research outside of lecturing and contribute tremendously to the school.  The research that these professors take part in varies tremendously, but includes operating system design, algorithm performance, cryptography and security.  Besides research though, many of these professor hold chairs on many different academic committees.  Professor Cheng for instance has held a seat on the academic senate committy on diversity and equity as seen on his home page http://cseweb.ucsd.edu/users/kuan/.  Overall, the professors at UCSD are highly esteemed and constantly use their talents outside of lecturing.

One professor, Rick Ord, has been playing an influential role at UCSD since 1991–a large portion of this being teaching.  On his website, http://cseweb.ucsd.edu/users/ricko/, you can see he was the director of the Computing Facility from 1988 till 2001.  Currently he is also the UCSD campus liaison for the USENIX association.  The most interesting thing I found about Rick Ord, however, was that his interest in Computers and Computer Science derived from his work at the UCSD medical center.  He was working at the medical center as a physicians assistant, when his interest in computers was sparked.  Professor Cheng on the other hand, has a background in both electrical engineering and computer science.  He has won IBM faculty awards, IEEE Circuits and systems awards, and more.  He was also the president of the San Diego Chinese American Science and Engineering Association–showing that professors have important roles outside their research and teaching.  

If I had the chance, I would greatly appreciate the opinions of different professors and a few questions that I face as I head into a career in Computer Science.  Because these professors have such a large background in computer science, I would be very interested in knowing what their opinions are of heading into the software marketplace versus doing research at an esteemed university.  I would also be very interested to find out what they did during their years in college, including their side projects and internships.  Ultimately the professors at UCSD have build profound names in Computer science, and continue to contribute to the Computer science field.

After diving into a computer science major at UCSD, I have encountered a large amount surprises of both good and bad nature.  Being someone who loves math, I expected and hoped that computer science would require a lot of math skills and a heavy use of calculus.  I have since discovered that calculus does not have overwhelming use in computer science, however, that being said, all the problem solving skills need for math are used in programming.  Like math, computer science requires the ability to work through challenging problems; the only difference is that computer science relies more heavily on advanced logic versus mathematical theorems.  Another surprise thats hit me while entering into this field was the product diversity that can be created with a computer science background.  Due to a lack of knowledge, my previous conceptions of computer science were that you could mostly just create video games, however I have most certainly been proved wrong.  I have seen a prodigious amount of visual results, such as mobile applications and GUI use, can be created, non related to game design.  

One huge question I had while entering this field was how to get connected with organizations and possibly do team projects; I previously thought this would be very difficult because i thought computer science was a very anit-social field.  On cs.ucsd.edu website you can find large amount of clubs and organizations, such as WIC, CSES, and NCSA, that you can branch out to.  Another question I had was how long it would take me to understand enough computer science material to work on my own side project, for instance a mobile application.  On developer.android.com i saw that how easy it is to start building your own android app,  and from what i read it does not take numerous years of experience to start making an application.  Also, I now understand that computer science is just as heavily based off teaching yourself as it is for others to teach you.  Something very surprising to me was how much research was available with computer science, the cs.ucsd.edu websites lists over ten branches of reseach you can follow including artificial intelligence and embedded systems.  

The main questions I now hold are job related, and what kind of opportunity differences are there between a computer scientist with a BS, MS, or PhD.  I ultimately would like to go to graduate school, but I would first like to know how my options change with a graduate school degree versus just getting a Bachelors.  

A career in computing generally allows for a large range of opportunities, however UCSD alone provides computer scientists a large amount of opportunities to succeed and find a job.  As a university, UCSD cares about its engineers and provides numerous chances to find work though visiting companies or through campus jobs.  One of the most expansive events that UCSD holds is called DeCaF  and it allows for computer scientists to connect with numerous companies, creating a chance for internships and jobs.   DeCaF is set up yearly by UCSD organizations and it is open to both students and alumni, therefore giving all UCSD engineers a chance to connect with a company.  There are over twenty companies that come looking to hire students and alumni.  The Jacobs School of Engineering also has other ways to get internships with companies, one of them is there internships page.  On the Jacobs School of Engineering website there is a link to a list of companies looking for interns with specific skills.  Companies such as HP, Qualcom, Appfolio, and Teradata are listed with available positions in software design.  The jobs range from mobile application development all the ware to IOS development.   Another great opportunity lies with he Global TIES organization and the work they are doing;  they have a hardware team, a GUI team, and a image analysis team.  The goal of the program is to design a digital vision screen system that will be able to detect potential eye problems in young children.   The GUI team has the job of implementing a friendly interface for the users, and the hardware team has the job of making the camera more accessible for the user.   Even the PHD program here at UCSD provides a number of options because there is a large field of research to choose from.  A summer research program that you can get connected with is UCSD’s Calit2 team and the new technology they are trying to build.  This research opportunity is more directed for undergraduate students, however it is still an incredible chance to do research in computing.  Calit2’s research program is ten weeks long and the undergraduates will be under guidance of a faculty advisor.  They even give the student the option of choosing in helping the research team with their project or starting a new project altogether.  UCSD alone provides its students with numerous career opportunities in computing, however outside of UCSD there is also a whole world of opportunities.

When I look or think of Computer Science it is hard for me to see a diverse career field on understanding a computer, however I have begun to peek in side computing careers to see the overwhelmingly large amount of options present.  There is computer hardware, computer devices, software creation, and a surprisingly endless array of options to follow in computing.  My basic view of programming has been that it is used for developing apps, but the website computingcareer.acm.org has revealed to me the software goes much farther than creating apps.  The website explains how software development can lead to new operating systems, interfaces for various applications, and especially computer securities.  I am especially interested in the research side of Computing because there is the chance for great advancement to this field, through creating new algorithms and such.   The website http://bytesizebio.net/2012/10/04/synopsis-of-career-paths-in-bioinformatics/ also sparked my interest in computing because it show how computing can be integrated with traditional biology.   Just in bioinformatics alone there are at least three career paths, researcher, analyst, or engineer.   So with entrance to this field you can develop software for biological data analysis or work with the data analysis itself–either way requiring advanced knowledge in computing and biological sciences.  The field I may most likely follow though is the engineering side of computing, where the engineer has hands on development in devices and their software.    Computer hardware such as computer chips, circuit board, and computer systems all are developed and tested by computer engineers, and this interests me because I want to work with hardware and the software that the laid upon it.   Careercornerstone.org has deep description on computer engineering and how these engineers design devices and program there operating system before passing off further software and interface development to other computer specialists.  The most amazing aspect of a computing career is that there is such a large amount of success that can be achieved with just a Bachelors degree, however Masters and PhD’s are by no means obsolete for this field.   Overall a computing career leaves a large amount of options for those who follow it, and will most certainly pay well.  A six figure salary is not at all uncommon with a computing degrees, so not only can one choose from many fields but they will have a great income.  Computer science and engineering may appear dry and shallow on the outside, but there is a prodigious world of options to follow inside this path that will surprise everyone who enters.

Throughout my educational career, I have learned and developed study habits that are both good and bad; I have generally found my success to come through isolation and working more or less by my self.  This does not mean that working in a group is bad, however for me I groups led to distractions and a lack of productivity.   From cse91’s lecture, studying in a group is a good trick for productivity, and I think i college groups may definitely be more productive than a high school group because students have more drive.   For me, though, I think working in groups of two would be best because distraction would be harder to come by.   Another lecture tip I have failed to take advantage of is seeking out the professor or TA’s for specific material questions; generally I have relied on the myself, the internet, or peers for help.  The TA’s and the professor, however, are far more versed in the subjects, so I must broaden my study habits and try this because the professor has a far better grasp of the material than any of my peers could have.   Besides these two study habits, though I have developed some good patters of scheduling and organization that help me manage my work load and understand the material.  Ultimately I will stick with the technique that gives me the best understanding of the material as well as the best grade I can get.