[111027]

I have definitely been considering that. There is a course in Digital (?) Electronics at my faculty, but i believe it's 6 credits wasted i can use on something a bit more fun. So one of these days i might raid the Faculty of Electrical Engineering's bookstore.

[tarmizi_adam2005]

111027, on 06 January 2012 - 01:17 PM, said:

I have definitely been considering that. There is a course in Digital (?) Electronics at my faculty, but i believe it's 6 credits wasted i can use on something a bit more fun. So one of these days i might raid the Faculty of Electrical Engineering's bookstore.

That's nice, but be aware... those electronics textbook will be highly theoretical which means pages after pages of hardcore formulas and so on...College text don't really emphasize on hands on work i believe, (based on my undergraduate years) But its really fun to be able to understand it.

and yeah, there is Digital and Analog electronics...usually if you take classes they'll teach you the analog part first then proceed with digital electronics.

[nooblet]

I love my university. It's totally badass and amazing in my personal opinion. However, I took a leave of absence pretty early on (a nicer way of saying, I dropped out but always have the option of returning, but probably won't). So if its so badass, why dropout? Because there were bigger and better things to do.

[darek9576]

nooblet, on 07 January 2012 - 03:12 AM, said:

I love my university. It's totally badass and amazing in my personal opinion. However, I took a leave of absence pretty early on (a nicer way of saying, I dropped out but always have the option of returning, but probably won't). So if its so badass, why dropout? Because there were bigger and better things to do.

Dont you go to Stanford? I wouldnt drop out from there.

[111027]

tarmizi_adam2005, on 06 January 2012 - 06:59 PM, said:

111027, on 06 January 2012 - 01:17 PM, said:

I have definitely been considering that. There is a course in Digital (?) Electronics at my faculty, but i believe it's 6 credits wasted i can use on something a bit more fun. So one of these days i might raid the Faculty of Electrical Engineering's bookstore.

That's nice, but be aware... those electronics textbook will be highly theoretical which means pages after pages of hardcore formulas and so on...College text don't really emphasize on hands on work i believe, (based on my undergraduate years) But its really fun to be able to understand it.

and yeah, there is Digital and Analog electronics...usually if you take classes they'll teach you the analog part first then proceed with digital electronics.

I plan on being all hands-on, don't worry; The whole point of learning stuff about electronics is to apply it, isn't it? xD Nooblet, i wonder what those things are.

[nooblet]

darek9576, on 07 January 2012 - 07:39 AM, said:

Dont you go to Stanford? I wouldnt drop out from there.

I did and dropped out.

111027, on 07 January 2012 - 11:19 AM, said:

Nooblet, i wonder what those things are.

I accidentally stumbled into entrepreneurship during high school (at a time when I didn't even know the word entrepreneur existed) and so that stint sorta changed my perspective on making money and a whole lot of other things. I've written about this in a past post that was deleted, so I won't rehash it here. For those who have read that post, they are familiar with my background story on that. Anyway, long story short, I went to Stanford because of its engineering program and honestly, because going to college was more of making my parents happy than it was because I felt the need to go at that point. I am not a fan of semester schools or the East so MIT was off my list. I bring this up because from what I've seen, many here are more partial to MIT.

As ironic as it sounds, I didn't even know where Stanford was when I applied, or what "silicon valley" was. I wasn't very familiar with the geography of where cities were in California back then since I didn't grow up around here. I had only heard of the term vaguely and had no clue about any of the startup culture that was going on here. But its certainly difficult to not recognize it when you're actually here. Of course back then, things were falling apart publicly and it became unappealing to a lot of people due to the dot com crash but like today, SV is very much in its own bubble when it comes to shit happening on a grand scale. You can't really be around here and not get pulled into it. And given my experience, it was inevitable to want to drop out and pursue entrepreneurship head on.

That said, I don't regret it one bit. I've gone on to build, scale, and sold a company as well as built other assets, and have had numerous experiences I wouldn't have trade off if I had to make that decision again. And like I said, there is always the option of going back.

As a side note, while my formal education in engineering (EE and CS) were very limited, I've never felt it held me back from learning throughout the years. Sure, there are certainly a different set of experiences I would have had, had I stayed at Stanford, but certainly nothing that would have prevented from learning what I wanted to learn either way.

This post has been edited by nooblet: 07 January 2012 - 05:01 PM

[111027]

We probably have a huge difference in philosophy, but i don't find earning money fun; But to each his own.

[nooblet]

It's not about earning money. At this point, earning any more doesn't really do me any good. Even back then, money was already a moot point given my stint in HS. There is a tipping point where the money doesn't really do much unless you have vast goals to accomplish with it. What it does give me is freedom of time and peace of mind to not worry about financial stuff. For me, choosing to leave Stanford was more about the pursuit of entrepreneurship itself and the experience than it was about money. To be clear, I don't define entrepreneurship as merely about making money if that's how you view it.

Today, I focus primarily on spending my time on learning what interests me with my free time and working on projects that I have personal interest in. Being able to do that full time is a blessing. At this point, it's as Elon Musk have said, and I paraphrase, entrepreneurship isn't the main reason I do what I do, its just a great vehicle to accomplish what I want to achieve. That said, a lot of the stuff I work on these days don't have any monetary gains to be had. Simply just things I want to occupy my time with. Not having to work a full time job elsewhere to sustain my life or split my time is simply a bonus.

EDIT: I should note my greatest passion in life is learning. A lot of people say that, but I practice it adamantly. I strive to always learn new things hands on and continue to do so. And I'm extremely happy that I have an abundance of time to do that (in case you were curious about what drives me most).

This post has been edited by nooblet: 08 January 2012 - 04:43 AM

[111027]

Cool, man.

[BenAthar]

tlhIn`toq, on 05 January 2012 - 08:10 AM, said:

I went to the university of US Army.

Best decision I've every made. Unlike most universities their goal is to make you a responsible, functioning adult - and not just a champion at beer pong. While at the same time making you part of a team.

Because they need you functional fast their aim is not to drag out your education for 4 years, and fill your day with meaningless courses. If you train to become a satellite communications specialist for example, you aren't forced to take courses in Italian art appreciation or 14th century French history.

And at the same time, they are paying you instead of you paying them.
They'll help you drop those 60 pounds of McDonald's weight.
And you'll get to see some of the world without buying a single airfare.

At DIC we get the question all the time:

What do employers think of recent graduates? Do they hire them?

Well you decide:
Candidate A: I went to the university of widget. It took me 4 years to get a BS in CIS101, but I haven't actually worked on any projects in the real world.
Candidate B: I was in the Army for 4 years. Trained in cyptography and computer science. Performed my duties with a government security clearance in 3 different countries.

Who would you hire?

And yet a lot of ex-military are not getting hired. Which is actually too bad, since they are more focused and will get the job done quicker, in my opinion.

[111027]

Well, between a pure Computer/Information Scientist, and ex - military, i'd admittedly hire the CS guy.

[cilaes]

I'm a self-taught programmer that also joined the military (US Navy) as a Avionics technician, 1.5 out of my 4 years were extremely fast-paced technical schools.

[Zachari]

I am incredibly pleased by the institution I attend and will graduate from. There is a very strict emphasis on being well-rounded and doing things the correct way, not just any way possible. The professors are all absolutely incredibly talented and knowledgeable. I programmed for years before college, so when I entered college in '07, I was hesitant to go into that and ruin my love for it. I was also upset because my parents, though I resented them at the time, made the good judgement to let me apply to colleges that I wanted to go to but forced me to stay around and go to a local school for a semester to see how I handled it. Turned out they made a good choice because I wasn't mature enough, but again, I was just turning 18 two days before classes began so who truly is at 18. So after trying and hating both Pre-Law and Marketing (While still taking VB, Hardware, and Networking classes), I transferred to the university I'm currently at, a little disappointed that at 19, I wasn't graduating and was going to a university that I didn't find to be as prestigious as I'd once hoped when applying out of high school. Best decision they could have made. Once I saw the emphasis they put on Computer Science and how well they taught it and structured it, I changed my major to Computer Science to concentrate in Scientific Computing/Software Engineering. I actually enjoy the department so much that I'll probably have taken 80% of all of the concentration's electives when I graduate, and I'll have also earned a double major in Computer Science/Mathematics, mind you that I failed my first Math class in college after just deciding to quit going while I had a borderline A in the class. My current university took a love I had for most of my life in technology, programming, and deep down, Math, and created this desire to learn everything I possibly could about the subject before I was done. Sadly, I don't have much time left here, depending on how many hours I'll be taking in the summer, so I'll have to part ways with it. Although I can't say I won't decide to go elsewhere to enter a doctorate program if accepted (Come on, Princeton and UT-Austin! Let me in!) instead of the graduate program here, I am going to truly miss the great people and this tight knit department I've had the pleasure to be a part of down here. I wish I could truly tell them how much they've done for me in terms of giving me the confidence and motivation to push myself to utilize myself to my maximum potential. Providing I do succeed in getting my PhD eventually, I would definitely love to return one day, given the opportunity.

//End of lame, cliché heartfelt rambling

[111027]

That's awesome, man. Really, really awesome.

[cfoley]

Bioinformatics, you say? That's what I do. What got you interested in that?

Oh, and my school was awesome. They let me change my course twice just so I could do the classes I wanted. In fact, they were so awesome I went back to do a research degree which is where I am just now.