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Hello TL, I’ve been lurking these forums for quite some time, but this is the first time I have made an attempt at a serious topic.
Right now I am about to enter my second year at a community college, and I plan on transferring in either the spring or next fall, depending on what the financial situation turns out to be. Most likely next fall though. I entered college with a plan to major in psychology when I transfer, and so far my class choices have been towards that plan. I have finished two psych courses so far, as well as my English requirements, and my math requirements have been finished as well for my general classes. This fall I am also enrolled in another psych class as well as a Biology and a Sociology.
This is where my problem comes in, I have been wanting to switch to pursuing a Computer Science major, I feel it would be better for me because I have a passion for computers and technology in general, and have always been tech savvy. Although I enjoy psychology as the science it is, I don’t think I would feel comfortable or even enjoy working in the field, especially if it came down to doing clinical work. To go for a major in Computer Science, the Bio class I’m currently enrolled in would not help at all, neither would the sociology and the psych classes I have taken. This means that the only classes I have taken that would really help me would be my English courses that I have finished, as well as some of my general ed courses that fulfill the arts requirement for general education. I opted to not take a calculus because my calculus that I took in high school already would transfer, but after looking at the requirements for Comp Sci, they want a 4 in AP calc to transfer, other than that I would have to take calc. They also want Physics as well, making my Bio useless.
Am I already too far behind to think about switching my course of study to Comp Sci, or should I just continue pursuing a degree in psych? I’ve heard that in general a psych degree looks good on many resumes, is this true?
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Quite honestly a community college psych degree is next to useless. It basically shows that you are responsible enough to complete coursework on a college level, and nothing more. If you truly love psychology you will need to get an advanced degree in the field.
Also I am confused, why are you taking AP classes in your second year of college? Are you doing a mixed college-high school program of some kind?
With computer science you can find a comfortable job with a bachelors, and a decent one with just an associates. You should start by taking an intro CS class though as an elective to make sure you are actually good at/enjoy programming.
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On August 05 2011 12:21 InvalidID wrote:
Quite honestly a community college psych degree is next to useless. It basically shows that you are responsible enough to complete coursework on a college level, and nothing more. If you truly love psychology you will need to get an advanced degree in the field.
Also I am confused, why are you taking AP classes in your second year of college? Are you doing a mixed college-high school program of some kind?
With computer science you can find a comfortable job with a bachelors, and a decent one with just an associates. You should start by taking an intro CS class though as an elective to make sure you are actually good at/enjoy programming.
Sorry I guess I should have specified a little more. I'm not planning on getting a community college psych degree, I'm taking general education classes there just to save money and was planning on transferring to get a bachelors in psychology, it just so happens that psychology and classes towards a psych degree are in the option of general ed classes to take, but a Computer Science major does not recommend taking courses like Biology for example, they prefer physics (at least at the university I researched).
As far as the AP courses go, I was referring back to my senior year of high school when I took AP Calc, and it transferred because psych does not require rigorous math courses. But I was looking at requirements for computer science, and the university that I researched says you needed a 4 for it to transfer, which would put me heavily behind on Calculus credits.
I guess the intro class is a good idea for my second semester if this can all work out then..
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Pretty much what invalid said. Psychology is one of those new catch all degrees like international affairs and interdisciplinary studies that everyone is getting. The job market for those degrees is not as large as all the people getting a degree in psychology.
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From what I have read, about 80 percent of kids go into college without a declared major, or one they are going to stay with the whole time. This results in around 50% changing their majors, sometimes even multiple times. You are about to enter your second year, and certainly would fit into this 50 percent of people. Only one year of college spent in a major you don't want isn't nearly as harsh as three years. I am in my first year, but am still not entirely sure what I want to major in. If you really want to do that, then it's probably better. You don't want to be stuck doing something you hate for the rest of your life, do you?
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I'll put this simply:
My friend who got a psych degree 4 years ago: Still at starbucks.
I graduated last year with a CS degree: Working at Microsoft.
Whoever told you that in general psych looks good on resumes is a liar.
For getting a good job right out of college, a BS in Psych is next to useless. You will have to pursue further education and have networking to get a decent job related to psych.
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you definitely should take an intro course into comp sci or programming. make sure it is for you. college classes tend to go a lot faster and expect you to nail the basics down quick, which are extremely, extremely important in programming (otherwise bugs will praaagguuuu you)
if you try out the intro course and you are finding difficulty grasping comp sci, then it may not be for you, cause it only gets harder.
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On August 05 2011 12:40 Seide wrote:
My friend who got a psych degree 4 years ago? Still at starbucks.
I graduated last year with a CS degree? Working at Microsoft.
Whoever told you that in general psych looks good on resumes is a liar.
I read it from some guy on Reddit, but I also heard the same about people having trouble finding jobs as a psych major which is another reason why I've been wanting to switch paths (in addition to thinking that i wouldn't enjoy it).
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On August 05 2011 12:42 BradwMD wrote:Show nested quote +On August 05 2011 12:40 Seide wrote:
My friend who got a psych degree 4 years ago? Still at starbucks.
I graduated last year with a CS degree? Working at Microsoft.
Whoever told you that in general psych looks good on resumes is a liar. I read it from some guy on Reddit, but I also heard the same about people having trouble finding jobs as a psych major which is another reason why I've been wanting to switch paths (in addition to thinking that i wouldn't enjoy it).
Don't look at college as somewhere you go to learn something you are interested in. You can do that on your own as a hobby.
College is an investment, you want that investment to pay off. What is the point of dropping the cash on a degree if it will do very little for you? That's the way I look at it.
I had interests in psych, and I took courses in it as electives. I was 2 classes off from a psych minor when I graduated, but had no desire or need to finish it, as the extra semester that I would have to spend would not be worth it.
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On August 05 2011 12:45 Seide wrote:Show nested quote +On August 05 2011 12:42 BradwMD wrote:On August 05 2011 12:40 Seide wrote:
My friend who got a psych degree 4 years ago? Still at starbucks.
I graduated last year with a CS degree? Working at Microsoft.
Whoever told you that in general psych looks good on resumes is a liar. I read it from some guy on Reddit, but I also heard the same about people having trouble finding jobs as a psych major which is another reason why I've been wanting to switch paths (in addition to thinking that i wouldn't enjoy it). Don't look at college as somewhere you go to learn something you are interested in. You can do that on your own as a hobby. College is an investment, you want that investment to pay off. What is the point of dropping the cash on a degree if it will do very little for you? That's the way I look at it. I had interests in psych, and I took courses in it as electives. I was about 2 classes off from a psych minor when I graduated, but had no desire or need to finish it, as the extra semester that I would have to spend would not be worth it.
Yeah I agree, I definitely don't want to work minimum wage for years after I graduate. So basically I'm fine as of now if lets say i take an intro CS class and see that it's something I enjoy, as it's only been one year? I'd be in a similar boat as you and be possibly close to a psych minor while going for a CS major correct, i would have just done the "interests" my first year, but in the end it would be no different than if I had taken the psych courses later as electives and the CS related courses first?
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On August 05 2011 12:50 BradwMD wrote:Show nested quote +On August 05 2011 12:45 Seide wrote:On August 05 2011 12:42 BradwMD wrote:On August 05 2011 12:40 Seide wrote:
My friend who got a psych degree 4 years ago? Still at starbucks.
I graduated last year with a CS degree? Working at Microsoft.
Whoever told you that in general psych looks good on resumes is a liar. I read it from some guy on Reddit, but I also heard the same about people having trouble finding jobs as a psych major which is another reason why I've been wanting to switch paths (in addition to thinking that i wouldn't enjoy it). Don't look at college as somewhere you go to learn something you are interested in. You can do that on your own as a hobby. College is an investment, you want that investment to pay off. What is the point of dropping the cash on a degree if it will do very little for you? That's the way I look at it. I had interests in psych, and I took courses in it as electives. I was about 2 classes off from a psych minor when I graduated, but had no desire or need to finish it, as the extra semester that I would have to spend would not be worth it. Yeah I agree, I definitely don't want to work minimum wage for years after I graduate. So basically I'm fine as of now if lets say i take an intro CS class and see that it's something I enjoy, as it's only been one year? I'd be in a similar boat as you and be possibly close to a psych minor while going for a CS major correct, i would have just done the "interests" my first year, but in the end it would be no different than if I had taken the psych courses later as electives and the CS related courses first?
Yeah pretty much, you probably wont have much room for electives and might be slightly behind.
Take a course, if it is something you enjoy or find an interest in then go for it.
CS like any technical degree isn't always easy though. Prepare to work your ass off in later classes. Especially the math ones.
There were points where I myself considered changing majors from CS to something easier, I am very glad I stuck with it.
I would recommend talking to an advisor at whatever college you go to, as they can clearly outline what you will have to do, and how this major change will effect you.
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On August 05 2011 12:54 Seide wrote:Show nested quote +On August 05 2011 12:50 BradwMD wrote:On August 05 2011 12:45 Seide wrote:On August 05 2011 12:42 BradwMD wrote:On August 05 2011 12:40 Seide wrote:
My friend who got a psych degree 4 years ago? Still at starbucks.
I graduated last year with a CS degree? Working at Microsoft.
Whoever told you that in general psych looks good on resumes is a liar. I read it from some guy on Reddit, but I also heard the same about people having trouble finding jobs as a psych major which is another reason why I've been wanting to switch paths (in addition to thinking that i wouldn't enjoy it). Don't look at college as somewhere you go to learn something you are interested in. You can do that on your own as a hobby. College is an investment, you want that investment to pay off. What is the point of dropping the cash on a degree if it will do very little for you? That's the way I look at it. I had interests in psych, and I took courses in it as electives. I was about 2 classes off from a psych minor when I graduated, but had no desire or need to finish it, as the extra semester that I would have to spend would not be worth it. Yeah I agree, I definitely don't want to work minimum wage for years after I graduate. So basically I'm fine as of now if lets say i take an intro CS class and see that it's something I enjoy, as it's only been one year? I'd be in a similar boat as you and be possibly close to a psych minor while going for a CS major correct, i would have just done the "interests" my first year, but in the end it would be no different than if I had taken the psych courses later as electives and the CS related courses first? Yeah pretty much, you probably wont have much room for electives and might be slightly behind. Take a course, if it is something you enjoy or find an interest in then go for it. CS like any technical degree isn't always easy though. Prepare to work your ass off in later classes. Especially the math ones. There were points where I myself considered changing majors from CS to something easier, I am very glad I stuck with it. I would recommend talking to an advisor at whatever college you go to, as they can clearly outline what you will have to do, and how this major change will effect you.
Yeah I feel fine with working my ass off for something that is worth doing. I already planned on visiting my advisor when the semester starts, I just wanted some feedback from people who had maybe been through what I will soon be going through.
Thanks for the quick replies and giving me confidence, one last question though, when you got your job at microsoft after graduating, were you already networking before you graduated therefore making your job easier to land, and did you already have internship experience, etc. which made your job easier to come by?
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On August 05 2011 12:16 BradwMD wrote:
I feel it would be better for me because I have a passion for computers and technology in general, and have always been tech savvy.
have you ever done any coding/programming?
do you like problem solving with math?
that's what computer science is.
it's not being able to fix your neighbor's computer or use every feature on outlook (though there are jobs in that field, it is different degree).
if you just *think* you like it, pick up a book on C or Java or Python and try it out first before committing to it.
other than that feel free to get whatever degree you want
just make sure you look for a job 2 years before you graduate university.
too many people think they can get a degree with whatever, graduate, and then look for a job. but that's dumb because you lose the ability to network with everyone at college when you're at college, you lose contacts with professors, etc. etc.
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Psychology is a great minor to have, because it's generally applicable (as it's helpful to understand society and people).
But your major should be in whatever you plan on having a job in. Your future employers won't care about psychology on your resume as much as you having an actual relevant degree. Psychology is more of a personal benefit.
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Psychology is one of the majors that everyone who can't succeed in a more useful major changes to. BS in Pscyhology won't get you a job unless you have some sweet connections. You need a PSYD or PHD to find a job in psychology.
CS is fairly multipurpose and allows you to get a job in a lot of areas. It is more difficult, but if your devoted you should be able to get through it. I would recommend taking one of the general CS classes, and if you like it and enjoy programming you should do fine. I personally love programming, its really easy to enjoy if you like solving problems. Taking physics right off the bat will probably deter you from CS, so if you go for a CS BS, you shouldn't really expect it to be like a physics class.
Think through it, college is expensive and a hell of a time investment.
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On August 05 2011 13:01 kainzero wrote:Show nested quote +On August 05 2011 12:16 BradwMD wrote:
I feel it would be better for me because I have a passion for computers and technology in general, and have always been tech savvy. have you ever done any coding/programming? do you like problem solving with math? that's what computer science is. it's not being able to fix your neighbor's computer or use every feature on outlook (though there are jobs in that field, it is different degree). if you just *think* you like it, pick up a book on C or Java or Python and try it out first before committing to it. other than that feel free to get whatever degree you want just make sure you look for a job 2 years before you graduate university. too many people think they can get a degree with whatever, graduate, and then look for a job. but that's dumb because you lose the ability to network with everyone at college when you're at college, you lose contacts with professors, etc. etc.
Yeah i know it's coding/programming and using math, I've never done C, Java, Python or anything, but i'm familiar with what they are. I've done a bit of html and I've wrote a bit of LUA script back when I made custom UI's while playing wow, I'm not sure how well that relates. I definitely will try it though, I don't think it would be very hard to get into though, I tend to learn new things pretty fast when I want to.
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On August 05 2011 13:00 BradwMD wrote:Show nested quote +On August 05 2011 12:54 Seide wrote:On August 05 2011 12:50 BradwMD wrote:On August 05 2011 12:45 Seide wrote:On August 05 2011 12:42 BradwMD wrote:On August 05 2011 12:40 Seide wrote:
My friend who got a psych degree 4 years ago? Still at starbucks.
I graduated last year with a CS degree? Working at Microsoft.
Whoever told you that in general psych looks good on resumes is a liar. I read it from some guy on Reddit, but I also heard the same about people having trouble finding jobs as a psych major which is another reason why I've been wanting to switch paths (in addition to thinking that i wouldn't enjoy it). Don't look at college as somewhere you go to learn something you are interested in. You can do that on your own as a hobby. College is an investment, you want that investment to pay off. What is the point of dropping the cash on a degree if it will do very little for you? That's the way I look at it. I had interests in psych, and I took courses in it as electives. I was about 2 classes off from a psych minor when I graduated, but had no desire or need to finish it, as the extra semester that I would have to spend would not be worth it. Yeah I agree, I definitely don't want to work minimum wage for years after I graduate. So basically I'm fine as of now if lets say i take an intro CS class and see that it's something I enjoy, as it's only been one year? I'd be in a similar boat as you and be possibly close to a psych minor while going for a CS major correct, i would have just done the "interests" my first year, but in the end it would be no different than if I had taken the psych courses later as electives and the CS related courses first? Yeah pretty much, you probably wont have much room for electives and might be slightly behind. Take a course, if it is something you enjoy or find an interest in then go for it. CS like any technical degree isn't always easy though. Prepare to work your ass off in later classes. Especially the math ones. There were points where I myself considered changing majors from CS to something easier, I am very glad I stuck with it. I would recommend talking to an advisor at whatever college you go to, as they can clearly outline what you will have to do, and how this major change will effect you. Yeah I feel fine with working my ass off for something that is worth doing. I already planned on visiting my advisor when the semester starts, I just wanted some feedback from people who had maybe been through what I will soon be going through. Thanks for the quick replies and giving me confidence, one last question though, when you got your job at microsoft after graduating, were you already networking before you graduated therefore making your job easier to land, and did you already have internship experience, etc. which made your job easier to come by?
Well I live in Redmond, right next to Microsoft's main campus. I went to school in Atlanta though, at Georgia Tech. I did a summer internship doing Java development for 2 summers for a company called Conversay, so I had some minor experience.
Tech jobs here in general are easy to come by, we have MS, Amazon, Google etc. I did very little networking in college.
If you live in a place with a lot of tech jobs, it is very easy to get entry level positions through a contracting firm. This will mean you will essentially work at Microsoft, do similar work as FTEs, but in smaller scope, but your pay will be paid by the contracting firms.
These contracts range from 6 months to indefinite.
This essentially is Microsoft's version of cheap labour(even though the hourly rates are not bad, starting at anywhere from 20-30/hr). You can use this opportunity and gain experience and network with the Microsoft FTEs.
Many people I know at MS were hired out of a contract position. If you put in good work and take effort to learn, it is not very hard to get hired out of a contract position, as you will already have Microsoft experience. You simply have to be proactive about it.
Also, when I started CS, i also knew nothing about coding, I was simply a gamer and liked putting computers together. Similar to your situation. With your WoW ui work, you might have more coding than I did when I went into CS.
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On August 05 2011 13:10 Seide wrote:Show nested quote +On August 05 2011 13:00 BradwMD wrote:On August 05 2011 12:54 Seide wrote:On August 05 2011 12:50 BradwMD wrote:On August 05 2011 12:45 Seide wrote:On August 05 2011 12:42 BradwMD wrote:On August 05 2011 12:40 Seide wrote:
My friend who got a psych degree 4 years ago? Still at starbucks.
I graduated last year with a CS degree? Working at Microsoft.
Whoever told you that in general psych looks good on resumes is a liar. I read it from some guy on Reddit, but I also heard the same about people having trouble finding jobs as a psych major which is another reason why I've been wanting to switch paths (in addition to thinking that i wouldn't enjoy it). Don't look at college as somewhere you go to learn something you are interested in. You can do that on your own as a hobby. College is an investment, you want that investment to pay off. What is the point of dropping the cash on a degree if it will do very little for you? That's the way I look at it. I had interests in psych, and I took courses in it as electives. I was about 2 classes off from a psych minor when I graduated, but had no desire or need to finish it, as the extra semester that I would have to spend would not be worth it. Yeah I agree, I definitely don't want to work minimum wage for years after I graduate. So basically I'm fine as of now if lets say i take an intro CS class and see that it's something I enjoy, as it's only been one year? I'd be in a similar boat as you and be possibly close to a psych minor while going for a CS major correct, i would have just done the "interests" my first year, but in the end it would be no different than if I had taken the psych courses later as electives and the CS related courses first? Yeah pretty much, you probably wont have much room for electives and might be slightly behind. Take a course, if it is something you enjoy or find an interest in then go for it. CS like any technical degree isn't always easy though. Prepare to work your ass off in later classes. Especially the math ones. There were points where I myself considered changing majors from CS to something easier, I am very glad I stuck with it. I would recommend talking to an advisor at whatever college you go to, as they can clearly outline what you will have to do, and how this major change will effect you. Yeah I feel fine with working my ass off for something that is worth doing. I already planned on visiting my advisor when the semester starts, I just wanted some feedback from people who had maybe been through what I will soon be going through. Thanks for the quick replies and giving me confidence, one last question though, when you got your job at microsoft after graduating, were you already networking before you graduated therefore making your job easier to land, and did you already have internship experience, etc. which made your job easier to come by? Well I live in Redmond, right next to Microsoft's main campus. I went to school in Atlanta though, at Georgia Tech. I did a summer internship doing Java development for 2 summers for a company called Conversay, so I had some minor experience. Tech jobs here in general are easy to come by, we have MS, Amazon, Google etc. I did very little networking in college. If you live in a place with a lot of tech jobs, it is very easy to get entry level positions through a contracting firm. This will mean you will essentially work at Microsoft, do similar work as FTEs, but in smaller scope, but your pay will be paid by the contracting firms. These contracts range from 6 months to indefinite. This essentially is Microsoft's version of cheap labour(even though the hourly rates are not bad, starting at anywhere from 20-30/hr). You can use this opportunity and gain experience and network with the Microsoft FTEs. Many people I know at MS were hired out of a contract position. If you put in good work and take effort to learn, it is not very hard to get hired out of a contract position, as you will already have Microsoft experience.
I live in North Carolina right now and I'm probably transferring to NC State if you're familiar with them, I'm pretty sure they have a lot of opportunities for interns or contracting as you said, they are a big engineering school and apparently they have a really good CS program according to people I know that go there, plus they are located in the middle of the "Research Triangle", so hopefully there are some good opportunities here. Plus it's nice to hear that you were able to relocate to the Seattle area from across the country after college, I've been looking into the Seattle area myself (obviously since it is a big area for MS, Amazon, Google, etc.).
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I curious what you'd consider being "behind." The degree requirements and paths at schools are different, so I can't say for certain, but entering in my school in the third year without any prior CS courses would be considerably behind in terms of course path, especially if you planned on graduating in the 4 years since you've left high school (which I'm guessing will be 2013).
I'd check with an adviser at your new school's CS department to see if there are any pre-entrance exams that give you credit for the required intro courses depending on how well you do. None of this matters, though, if you plan on graduating later.
Ditto to what kainzero said on picking up some intro books on Java or C++ and actually going through them.
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On August 05 2011 13:20 BradwMD wrote:Show nested quote +On August 05 2011 13:10 Seide wrote:On August 05 2011 13:00 BradwMD wrote:On August 05 2011 12:54 Seide wrote:On August 05 2011 12:50 BradwMD wrote:On August 05 2011 12:45 Seide wrote:On August 05 2011 12:42 BradwMD wrote:On August 05 2011 12:40 Seide wrote:
My friend who got a psych degree 4 years ago? Still at starbucks.
I graduated last year with a CS degree? Working at Microsoft.
Whoever told you that in general psych looks good on resumes is a liar. I read it from some guy on Reddit, but I also heard the same about people having trouble finding jobs as a psych major which is another reason why I've been wanting to switch paths (in addition to thinking that i wouldn't enjoy it). Don't look at college as somewhere you go to learn something you are interested in. You can do that on your own as a hobby. College is an investment, you want that investment to pay off. What is the point of dropping the cash on a degree if it will do very little for you? That's the way I look at it. I had interests in psych, and I took courses in it as electives. I was about 2 classes off from a psych minor when I graduated, but had no desire or need to finish it, as the extra semester that I would have to spend would not be worth it. Yeah I agree, I definitely don't want to work minimum wage for years after I graduate. So basically I'm fine as of now if lets say i take an intro CS class and see that it's something I enjoy, as it's only been one year? I'd be in a similar boat as you and be possibly close to a psych minor while going for a CS major correct, i would have just done the "interests" my first year, but in the end it would be no different than if I had taken the psych courses later as electives and the CS related courses first? Yeah pretty much, you probably wont have much room for electives and might be slightly behind. Take a course, if it is something you enjoy or find an interest in then go for it. CS like any technical degree isn't always easy though. Prepare to work your ass off in later classes. Especially the math ones. There were points where I myself considered changing majors from CS to something easier, I am very glad I stuck with it. I would recommend talking to an advisor at whatever college you go to, as they can clearly outline what you will have to do, and how this major change will effect you. Yeah I feel fine with working my ass off for something that is worth doing. I already planned on visiting my advisor when the semester starts, I just wanted some feedback from people who had maybe been through what I will soon be going through. Thanks for the quick replies and giving me confidence, one last question though, when you got your job at microsoft after graduating, were you already networking before you graduated therefore making your job easier to land, and did you already have internship experience, etc. which made your job easier to come by? Well I live in Redmond, right next to Microsoft's main campus. I went to school in Atlanta though, at Georgia Tech. I did a summer internship doing Java development for 2 summers for a company called Conversay, so I had some minor experience. Tech jobs here in general are easy to come by, we have MS, Amazon, Google etc. I did very little networking in college. If you live in a place with a lot of tech jobs, it is very easy to get entry level positions through a contracting firm. This will mean you will essentially work at Microsoft, do similar work as FTEs, but in smaller scope, but your pay will be paid by the contracting firms. These contracts range from 6 months to indefinite. This essentially is Microsoft's version of cheap labour(even though the hourly rates are not bad, starting at anywhere from 20-30/hr). You can use this opportunity and gain experience and network with the Microsoft FTEs. Many people I know at MS were hired out of a contract position. If you put in good work and take effort to learn, it is not very hard to get hired out of a contract position, as you will already have Microsoft experience. I live in North Carolina right now and I'm probably transferring to NC State if you're familiar with them, I'm pretty sure they have a lot of opportunities for interns or contracting as you said, they are a big engineering school and apparently they have a really good CS program according to people I know that go there, plus they are located in the middle of the "Research Triangle", so hopefully there are some good opportunities here. Plus it's nice to hear that you were able to relocate to the Seattle area from across the country after college, I've been looking into the Seattle area myself (obviously since it is a big area for MS, Amazon, Google, etc.).
I lived in Redmond originally before going to college, so relocating back here was easy.
Ah yes I know the research triangle, I had a few interviews around Cary.
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