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| title | Hackers Guide to Purdue Computer Engineering | |
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#Contents ##Introduction ##The Hacker Approach ##Courses ##Clubs/Organizations ##Tips and Tricks
#Introduction A common opinion that I hear throughout the software community is that 'I was never taught these things at school!' or 'I wish my degree would have covered more practical and modern material!'.
It is easy to see how this could happen. Most universities* aim to teach students the fundamentals of computer science and that often involves starting from scratch. Students enter with a wide variety of skills and prior knowledge -- some haven't programmed at all, some have taken AP Computer Science in high school and some have been hacking for years already. Given this broad spectrum, it is understandable that students hungry for learning are often left unsatisified with the depth and breadth of their degree programs.
That being said, you are ultimately responsible for what you get out of your four (or maybe more) years as an undergrad. Yes, it's going to be more work and you will have to go outside of your comfort-zone. But in the end, taking control of your education will allow you to enter the real world with a running start.
Okay, sounds good and all...but who are you? Why should I listen to you?
Well, I'm Matt. I graduated from Purdue in 2010 with a BS in Computer Engineering. I work as a software engineer and love what I do. Between my sophmore and junior year I realized that I wanted to write software for a living; I had just gotten past all the introductory engineering courses and didn't really want to change majors to Computer Science. Plus, my roommate was a CS major so I knew that it wasn't really much different.
This was the point that I realized I needed to be more pro-active if I wanted to make the most out of my remaining semesters and land a job that I would enjoy.
I remember reading Jeff Turkstra's course summaries and really enjoyed them. I liked reading about Jeff's path of study and it was cool to read about the actual courses I would be taking. Now, a year out of school, I want to give back and share my own advice and experiences.
#Footnotes
- Obviously there are some outliers, but I think this is a fair assumption for non-'power house' CS programs