On June 01 2012 02:27 n.DieJokes wrote: Other jobless, internship-less people. What are you doing with your summer?
I guess I'm just trying to relax and enjoy myself, and I should learn some C and maybe Fortran for my future classes. I don't even know if I need fortran though lol, but one person said I might.
I think you should start with some procedural language such as Pascal or Fortran ( both easy to learn ) and then "transition" to an objective oriented language whichever you like.
Fortran is seriously the worst thing ever. A programming course I took required it and I couldn't even find a compiler for it that worked with Windows Vista so I had to install Linux on my computer. The compilers the computers at our school used followed the FORTRAN77 standards strictly. In Fortran77 you actually have to put 6 spaces in front of every line of code, and variable names can't exceed 6 or 7 characters. Everything in Fortran77 must be written in caps lock, and all variables must be declared at the TOP of the program. Also you cannot exceed 72 or 80 characters on a single line of code.
I realize there have been updated versions of Fortran and better compilers exist, but I just can't recommend that anyone ever learn Fortran based on my experiences with it.
Yeah, I should have mentioned that one should use the newer versions of fortran ( starting from fortran90 ). I just thought it would be a good thing to know as a mathematician as it is ( or at least was ) widely used for computing.
I too have been looking relentlessly for a job this summer. Pretty much impossible in New York City. You need experience to get experience here or something. Maybe TL headquarters can make me pick up coffee or something hmhmhm?
Gonna start laddering again. (Haven't since something like season three or something), start exercising more, and continue to find a job. I would like to have some extra money in my pocket before I go back to classes.
I'll write the site down later because I have to find it. However you can dowload a fewcollege textbooks and go through them on your computer for free. Save some money and you can study over the summer.
On June 01 2012 09:01 MysteryMeat1 wrote: I'll write the site down later because I have to find it. However you can dowload of lot of college textbooks and go through them on your computer for free. Save some money and you can study over the summer.
That would be excellent, feel free to pm it to me if you don't want to post it or whatever reason
On June 01 2012 02:27 n.DieJokes wrote: Other jobless, internship-less people. What are you doing with your summer?
I guess I'm just trying to relax and enjoy myself, and I should learn some C and maybe Fortran for my future classes. I don't even know if I need fortran though lol, but one person said I might.
I think you should start with some procedural language such as Pascal or Fortran ( both easy to learn ) and then "transition" to an objective oriented language whichever you like.
Fortran is seriously the worst thing ever. A programming course I took required it and I couldn't even find a compiler for it that worked with Windows Vista so I had to install Linux on my computer. The compilers the computers at our school used followed the FORTRAN77 standards strictly. In Fortran77 you actually have to put 6 spaces in front of every line of code, and variable names can't exceed 6 or 7 characters. Everything in Fortran77 must be written in caps lock, and all variables must be declared at the TOP of the program. Also you cannot exceed 72 or 80 characters on a single line of code.
I realize there have been updated versions of Fortran and better compilers exist, but I just can't recommend that anyone ever learn Fortran based on my experiences with it.
Yeah, I should have mentioned that one should use the newer versions of fortran ( starting from fortran90 ). I just thought it would be a good thing to know as a mathematician as it is ( or at least was ) widely used for computing.
On June 01 2012 02:36 CTStalker wrote: After I read that you were finishing a BA in Maths, I was going to suggest that you pickup programming. Since you're already interested in it, my suggestion to you is to spend your summer learning how to program.
Ruby, Python and Javascript are the most popular languages for the web right now. I would recommend learning one of those three, due to their simplicity for beginners, as well as their practicality. I would avoid Java for now.
Regarding courses: take a look at coursera, khan academy, MIT open course ware, code academy. Stop wasting money on local university courses, unless that's the only way you learn. The web sites that I listed are fantastic for learning computer science and programming.
Seconded. Very good advice there. Some colleges post record their entire semester of classes and post them online. As long as you treat them as a real class [take notes, take their exams that they post, do their homework], you will learn a great deal. Good luck, and I hope you have a productive summer.
On June 01 2012 03:56 N.geNuity wrote:part of it is I don't really see why working at Walmart or something should help you get a job in my major (nuclear engineering)
It doesn't, it gives you income. For someone in your position, all income is disposable income, and disposable income is great.
yeah, just at career fairs and stuff they like to see "job experience" even though it's shitty. My friends in my major talk to same recruiters and they're more friendly to people with job experience, even though they just worked at walmart/summer camps. Not that it makes much of a difference, but it's just a bit awkward to me. We all have basically equivalent grade (all pretty high) but they've gotten better initial responses.
If you're interested, you're actually in luck, since the first actual "learn Hittite" book was just recently published this year. See: Theo van den Hout's "The Elements of Hittite."
Anyways, next summer try applying to a couple math REUs. Funded and they're pretty sick and give you good research experience.
On June 01 2012 03:56 N.geNuity wrote:part of it is I don't really see why working at Walmart or something should help you get a job in my major (nuclear engineering)
It doesn't, it gives you income. For someone in your position, all income is disposable income, and disposable income is great.
yeah, just at career fairs and stuff they like to see "job experience" even though it's shitty. My friends in my major talk to same recruiters and they're more friendly to people with job experience, even though they just worked at walmart/summer camps. Not that it makes much of a difference, but it's just a bit awkward to me. We all have basically equivalent grade (all pretty high) but they've gotten better initial responses.
A lot of that is because they've shown they have the aptitude to do menial labor. Employers like to see that. It signals a certain threshold of maturity and responsibility. Heck, even doing volunteer work can look good depending on the field. Shows you're willing to put in the hours for relatively little gain.
The website is called textbooknova.com It has a few books but for those of you who are gonna use it for specific books I doubt you'll find it. However if you just want to study a subject over the summer for whatever reason then its a great tool.
EDIT: Ya theres about 10 books for different subjects which is a lot fewer than I remembered. Maybe some of their content got taken down. However for those of you who plan to study something over the summer it's not a bad website.
You could read books. I like fantasy and sci-fi books so I go on goodreads.com to find books I've read and rate them. Then I get recommendations and lots of other books to read! :D
EPT
