Are CS Jobs Out There?

The answer, overwhelmingly, is YES! I thought that this article was perfect for today given that I went to an honors CS brunch this morning and then the Career Expo in the afternoon. The brunch was kind of worthless, but the Expo was great. In fact, for the first time since I've been going to this thing (this is my 5th time now), companies literally grabbed me as I walked. It was like running a gauntlet trying to get out of there to make it to class on time because I was literally hit in the chest by a person from Citibank with one of their pamphlets. The demand for tech and engineering jobs is phenomenal, and it makes me sad to see students not jumping into those fields. I can't imagine that kids have gotten dumber and don't want to do it, but that article asserts, and I'd venture to agree, that they're afraid. I disagree with that article blaming all universities but the venerable Tennessee Tech for the failings of their programs. I'll admit that they need to recruit students better to come and study CS, but I don't think it makes any sense to teach just what's hot today or to suggest that people can be good programmers with a couple of certifications and some community college course. It takes a lot more than that to be a computer scientist: it takes a complete evolution of your mind that we go through for at least 4 years, including interning and co-oping, which melds us to be productive members of societies. That's what I love about this field: you grow so much intellectually from it. Not to say that we're smarter than other people, but I think our geek culture is what helps keep the world turning in a lot of ways, and I just hope that more people get involved in it. Spread the word to friends though: there are plenty of jobs out there. In fact, now I'm faced with the decision of where I should seriously look into.

One of the companies I saw today was Google, and I thought it was cool that their cafeteria (remember, free food) is manned by a 4-star chef who apparently used to cook for the Grateful Dead. Anyway, this article points out that they're probably not just a one-hit wonder with successful services like Maps and AdSense that have served them well. I know I've seen a lot of people writing them off as a fad, but I think they're definitely here to stay, especially with leaders who are tech smart. I was disappointed to not see Apple there though, which I thought made them look really bad. Still, I have to plug this collage of instances where Steve Jobs has said "boom" because it's so funny how often he says that. Lastly, one tech blog has put up what the consider to be the top 10 losers in Web 2.0, and I'd say that it's fairly accurate. They can't all be winners, but these guys really just swung and missed (I still use Technorati, but I agree that it hasn't grown much at all as a service).



That is one of a few new shots from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (way too long, by the way, once again), and it's just so trippy to compare how they look now to how they looked in the first movie. We also have more design art from Transformers, but this one is an Autobot. It looks interesting now, but how will it look in the movie itself? AICN has another great review for Children of Men, so I hope that I'm pumping some of you up for what looks to be a must-see film. IGN found some more words from Christopher Nolan about The Dark Knight, and they do little more than reiterate his vision, but I'm too hooked on Batman to not report every little news item. Yahoo Movies has the trailer for Deja Vu and it looks great. I've only seen one Tony Scott movie, but I think he's a really unique director and I'd love to see what he does in this movie with Denzel Washington and Val Kilmer, two truly amazing actors. Lastly, we have a poster for Shrek 3 that shows us no new characters, but I assume that we'll see better posters early next year.

Now for some Monday Madness:

1. From jstar: Holiday in Europe or Asia?
Europe, but only because I haven't been there yet and I've heard it's a lot of fun.
2. From sherle: How do you try to change a behavior pattern you don't like about yourself... whether it's chewing fingernails, overeating, smoking, or picking your nose?
That's tough because I still can't shake cluttering. I think it takes some sort of external stimulus to motivate you into it.
3. From tricia: Have you ever successfully completed a Sudoku puzzle?
Yes, but I just wrote a program to solve them for class so it wasn't me sitting down and solving it, though I did use my knowledge to write the program that solved it =P
4. From caylynn: What website do you visit the most often?
Definitely Gmail and Digg.
5. From michael morgan: What was your favorite thing about high school or college?
High school: knowing practically everyone. College: so far, the kind of freedom you will never have at any other point in your life (in so many ways).