Another semester is around the corner…
2 January, 2011 § 1 Comment
January 10th will mark the beginning of my last semester at Michigan State. Come May 2011, I’ll be graduating with my Master’s in Computer Science.
I’ve been attending Michigan State University since September 2004, when I started on my Bachelor’s in Computer Science. I graduated with my Bachelor’s in May 2008 and began working full-time at TechSmith Corporation. I had been working at TechSmith since May 2007 as an intern in software engineering, so the transition from intern to full-time was very easy, especially since I was working 40 hour weeks during the summers. I enrolled in the graduate program in January 2009, while continuing to work full-time at TechSmith. Two and a half years later I will be completing the graduate program.
I’ve learned a lot since 2008, from my desire to continue learning and experimenting all the way to learning how to handle failures. These haven’t been an easy two and a half years, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything. It’s been great taking the advanced courses and discovering new tools to use for learning. I have really gotten in to different teaching styles such as inverted classrooms, hybrid classes and incorporating other lecture styles.
One tip that I often give to new graduate students is to look online for course materials from other schools. I have stumbled upon great treasures in recorded lectures on computer architecture and natural language processing. Watching these lectures online before attending class gives multiple perspectives and pass-throughs of the discussions.
For this last semester I will be taking two courses: Advanced Operating Systems (CSE 812) and Translation of Programming Languages (CSE 450).
Translation of Programming Languages is often referred to as “the compilers course.” It is the first undergrad-level course that I will have taken as a graduate student (of which you are allowed three), but I never got a chance to take it as an undergrad and felt I really missed out.
I’m looking forward to this semester and all that it brings. I will try to post some of my research from these courses as the semester continues.
JAWS 
I too didn’t take “the compilers course” when I was an undergrad and I do feel I missed out. I bet it will really make you appreciate high-level languages and how it is actually quite difficult for a computer to “understand” what a statement means based on all the syntax and other rules it needs to follow!