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Lol, okay. "Strange that a technically capable engineering student would be at UGA when GeorgiaTech is of similar cost (and both free to Georgia residents who

Lol, okay. "Strange that a technically capable engineering student would be at UGA when GeorgiaTech is of similar cost (and both free to Georgia residents who maintain a 3.0 though the HOPE scholarship)." UGA has a combined bachelors & masters program that I wanted to do, and I knew the security professor and adviser going in who have both been very supportive to me, while Tech's staff were absolutely horrendous. "Even more so when his examples of work turn up 404's, 403's, placeholders" I put the cart before the horse, so to speak. I made the links and banners & such as I was working on the projects, and then my circumstances changed and I had to find a job. I mentioned this in the post. Would you like me to send you some of my completed work? "ads for premium versions of the wordpress theme he used" Where were those? I'd love to go kill those links.

majormajor 14y ago
"Tech's staff were absolutely horrendous" Good ol' Tech... IMO it's a terribly outdated approach, but there's a ton of "I got through it, so everyone else should have to deal with it too" momentum there. I went there as an out-of-state student and wouldn't recommend it for other out-of-staters. There are quite a few other good public engineering schools.
- bcrescimanno 14y ago
  Another GT alumni here; I totally get the "I got through it..." mentality of the above. However, Georgia Tech is generally seen as one of the absolute best values (especially for in-state students) available in Engineering schools. Even without the HOPE scholarship (which I lost after 3 semesters due to too much partying and never having learned to actually study after breezing through high school) it was insanely cheap when considering the quality of the programs and stature of the school. I'm not sure what the costs are for out-of-state; so, the value proposition may not be there in that case.
  - ynniv 14y ago
    A decade ago they were ~ $20k/year, which was below average at the time. http://colleges.findthebest.com/ http://colleges.findthebest.com/ says that it is $27k now, on par with other public schools and $13k less than "elite" schools. As I've been unimpressed with Comp Sci grads from more expensive schools, I recommend Tech to anyone who is primarily interested in a career developing software.
ynniv 14y ago
You chose UGA (a quiet state school) over GT (a world class research university) because GT was too abrasive and you know a friendly prof at UGA? To me, this undermines your position more than anything else. You have set yourself up to get by without learning or trying too hard. If true, you are only arguing against the Ivy League bias because you are on the losing side of it, not because it is misguided. Where were those? I'd love to go kill those links. Seriously? man grep and "to hell with (the University of) Georgia!"
- bcrescimanno 14y ago
  This; I hope the OP reads this comment and understands it because there's a load of truth in those first two sentences. If you legitimately could have gone to a better school than UGA and chose not to; you've given up your right to bitch about it. The opportunity to get that so-called leg up that you're so upset about others having and you passed on that opportunity. FWIW, one of the great hallmarks of the real "rockstar" people is that they know how to capitalize on opportunities presented to them. And to ynniv: you forgot "University[sic] of Georgia."
- LockeWatts 14y ago
  >You chose UGA (a quiet state school) over GT (a world class research university) because GT was too abrasive and you know a friendly prof at UGA? That, they have a fast track Bachelor's\Master's combined degree, and I was originally a Poli Sci double major when I got here. But I appreciate your condescension, thanks.
  - ynniv 14y ago
    That, they have a fast track Bachelor's\Master's combined degree, and I was originally a Poli Sci double major when I got here. Computer science and Poly Sci double major? Are you serious?! Perhaps my original comment that UGA < GT came off condescending, but honestly it could have been a lot more. I generally give people the benefit of the doubt. But, you came to HN to talk about there are capable people who didn't go to Ivy League schools. And I agree with that. Given my experience thus far, I would go even farther and say that an Ivy League education makes you a worse engineer, but that's getting off topic. So let's get down to how people really become rockstars: they are obsessively dedicated to being musicians because they don't know what else to do in life. Folks who went to GT to learn Computer Science were already at a disadvantage, because of those of us who had been doing this for a decade already. I graduated years ago, but I don't feel that I've ever stopped learning how to be better at what I do. I'm not saying that I'm a "rockstar", but when I look at people to work with (ie, hire), that's the kind of drive that I'm looking for. I appreciate your condescension, thanks. Any time, and there's plenty more where that came from. But don't take it personally. I don't dislike you - I dislike what you're doing. If you want to do this for a living, then show us by working harder at it. Get rid of anything that isn't complete on your website. Don't be so lofty in your opinions, just do good work and keep doing it. You'll find more opportunities than you need.
pumblechook 14y ago
It may be hard to see it now, but the school you went to will be much less important in a few years. An Ivy League education surely gives you a leg up right out of college, but after that, it is all about the quality of work you do. I went to UGA and had a friend who was a Comp Sci graduate, and he was a rockstar before he ever graduated because he had a large body of open source work, beating out Ivy Leaguers for desirable jobs at big companies. If anything, going to UGA was an advantage for him because the course load wasn't as demanding as a tougher school, leaving him time to focus on actually building things. Seriously, it doesn't matter as much as you think.

majormajor 14y ago

"Tech's staff were absolutely horrendous" Good ol' Tech... IMO it's a terribly outdated approach, but there's a ton of "I got through it, so everyone else should have to deal with it too" momentum there. I went there as an out-of-state student and wouldn't recommend it for other out-of-staters. There are quite a few other good public engineering schools.

bcrescimanno 14y ago
Another GT alumni here; I totally get the "I got through it..." mentality of the above. However, Georgia Tech is generally seen as one of the absolute best values (especially for in-state students) available in Engineering schools. Even without the HOPE scholarship (which I lost after 3 semesters due to too much partying and never having learned to actually study after breezing through high school) it was insanely cheap when considering the quality of the programs and stature of the school. I'm not sure what the costs are for out-of-state; so, the value proposition may not be there in that case.
- ynniv 14y ago
  A decade ago they were ~ $20k/year, which was below average at the time. http://colleges.findthebest.com/ http://colleges.findthebest.com/ says that it is $27k now, on par with other public schools and $13k less than "elite" schools. As I've been unimpressed with Comp Sci grads from more expensive schools, I recommend Tech to anyone who is primarily interested in a career developing software.

ynniv 14y ago

You chose UGA (a quiet state school) over GT (a world class research university) because GT was too abrasive and you know a friendly prof at UGA? To me, this undermines your position more than anything else. You have set yourself up to get by without learning or trying too hard. If true, you are only arguing against the Ivy League bias because you are on the losing side of it, not because it is misguided. Where were those? I'd love to go kill those links. Seriously? man grep and "to hell with (the University of) Georgia!"

bcrescimanno 14y ago
This; I hope the OP reads this comment and understands it because there's a load of truth in those first two sentences. If you legitimately could have gone to a better school than UGA and chose not to; you've given up your right to bitch about it. The opportunity to get that so-called leg up that you're so upset about others having and you passed on that opportunity. FWIW, one of the great hallmarks of the real "rockstar" people is that they know how to capitalize on opportunities presented to them. And to ynniv: you forgot "University[sic] of Georgia."
LockeWatts 14y ago
>You chose UGA (a quiet state school) over GT (a world class research university) because GT was too abrasive and you know a friendly prof at UGA? That, they have a fast track Bachelor's\Master's combined degree, and I was originally a Poli Sci double major when I got here. But I appreciate your condescension, thanks.
- ynniv 14y ago
  That, they have a fast track Bachelor's\Master's combined degree, and I was originally a Poli Sci double major when I got here. Computer science and Poly Sci double major? Are you serious?! Perhaps my original comment that UGA < GT came off condescending, but honestly it could have been a lot more. I generally give people the benefit of the doubt. But, you came to HN to talk about there are capable people who didn't go to Ivy League schools. And I agree with that. Given my experience thus far, I would go even farther and say that an Ivy League education makes you a worse engineer, but that's getting off topic. So let's get down to how people really become rockstars: they are obsessively dedicated to being musicians because they don't know what else to do in life. Folks who went to GT to learn Computer Science were already at a disadvantage, because of those of us who had been doing this for a decade already. I graduated years ago, but I don't feel that I've ever stopped learning how to be better at what I do. I'm not saying that I'm a "rockstar", but when I look at people to work with (ie, hire), that's the kind of drive that I'm looking for. I appreciate your condescension, thanks. Any time, and there's plenty more where that came from. But don't take it personally. I don't dislike you - I dislike what you're doing. If you want to do this for a living, then show us by working harder at it. Get rid of anything that isn't complete on your website. Don't be so lofty in your opinions, just do good work and keep doing it. You'll find more opportunities than you need.

pumblechook 14y ago

It may be hard to see it now, but the school you went to will be much less important in a few years. An Ivy League education surely gives you a leg up right out of college, but after that, it is all about the quality of work you do. I went to UGA and had a friend who was a Comp Sci graduate, and he was a rockstar before he ever graduated because he had a large body of open source work, beating out Ivy Leaguers for desirable jobs at big companies. If anything, going to UGA was an advantage for him because the course load wasn't as demanding as a tougher school, leaving him time to focus on actually building things. Seriously, it doesn't matter as much as you think.