Life after Stonehill CSTom Walltwall@vertica.com

Background

•Graduated from Stonehill in 2009•MS from Brown in 2010•Straight to work in 2011

PART I:GRAD

SCHOOL

Why not

•Sick of homework•Ready to stop being a poor student•Ready to put your skills to use•Ready for a change•Too difficult•Too expensive

Why

•Avoid real life•A chance to learn more•More jobs•Better jobs•Just to get it over with

What’s it like?

•Depends on the school/program•Get to know (and advance!) the cutting

edge•Focus your efforts on a common topic

▫Coursework▫Research▫Internships

•Great chance to network

Masters vs PhDMasters PhD

• Short (<= 2 years)• Little financial help• Preparation for a career in

the industry• Year one: coursework,

requirements• Year two: focus on an

area, do a project

• Long (4+ years)• You get paid to go there• Preparation for a career in

research, academia or industry

• First few years: coursework, requirements

• Qualifications• Final years: dissertation

My Experience at Brown

•8 courses. That’s it!▫(or 6 courses and a thesis)

•4 Undergrad courses▫Not much harder than the courses here

•4 Graduate courses▫Reading and presenting research papers▫Research project

My Experience at Brown

•Larger department, larger budget▫More resources▫More courses▫More knowledgeable faculty (no offense!)

•Industry recruiting▫Lots of awesome tech talks & free food

Applying

•Paperwork•Transcripts•GREs•Recommendations•Essay

Applying - Advice

•Worth it to apply to many places, even at $50 per application

•Study for the GREs•No need to bother with the CS subject

GRE•Don’t slack on the essay•Research the school, contact faculty•The first application is the hardest

Questions?

PART II:JOBS

Process

•Qualifications•Resume•Applications•Interviews

Qualifications

•Grades are just one factor•Coursework•Extracurricular activities•Personal projects•Internships

▫(we’re hiring!)

Skills to sharpen

•Linux•Scripting•Version control•Unit testing

Resume

•Make it nice (LaTeX is your friend)•Keep it short•Show off your qualifications•Don’t lie

Applying

•Do it during school, not after▫Use school’s resources▫Minimize gaps

•Apply to many places•Do some research for your cover letter

Interviews

•Do more research than you did when applying

•Be ready to explain your resume•Data Structures, Algorithms, Design•They are interested in how you solve

problems▫Final answer not as important▫Reason out loud▫Ask questions

Do you have any questions?

•Of course you do!!•Shows you’re interested and did your

homework•Good types of questions:

▫On their build/test/development environment

▫On their technology▫On the employee life

Interviews - Resources

•http://www.glassdoor.com•http://

www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/GuerrillaInterviewing3.html

•http://sites.google.com/site/steveyegge2/five-essential-phone-screen-questions

Thanks!