Associate in Computer Network Administration - Stark State College - (Winner)
Editors Note: This student story essay was selected as second place winner from entries to BrainTrack's Computer Science Schools Scholarship for Spring 2010. At the time of his submittal, Phillip Williams was studying for an associate's degree in Computer Network Administration and Security at Stark State College of Technology in North Canton, Ohio.
Wishes Had Known | Program Likes/Dislikes | Choosing Computer Science
What do you wish you had known about selecting and entering your computer science school that would be helpful to others going into computer science?
My advice to students entering any school for computer science is to be sure you are prepared. More often than not, people think that going to school for computer science is easy and you don't need to study. I myself had that impression at first, but I was wrong. Some entry-level courses are beyond easy, but then you go to the next class and you realize abruptly that you're not in Kansas anymore, so to speak. Going from an entry-level skim on the water to things you've never done before can be a shock.
And yet, it's amazing and mind-boggling to see what's really going on in your PC when you are simply checking Facebook pages or sending an instant message, or what really is going on inside a computer case. Highlighters, flash cards, and a pot or two of coffee are a must when studying computer science. Be sure too (in this or any other major) to ask other students about professors to find out which ones they would take classes from again and which ones they would rather chew their own arm off than sit through another lecture from.
If you have a passion for computers and figuring out the answer to the question "Why?" then computer science is a good idea for you.
What have you enjoyed most and least during your computer science degree program so far?
What I have enjoyed the most in computer science are the labs. I find it fun to troubleshoot problems and figure out what has gone wrong. It is very intriguing to find out the root cause of the problem, whether the problem originates with the user or the hardware. One of my favorite labs was in my CCNA class. I had set up three routers to three different networks and was having a problem getting them to rout. I struggled and struggled and finally I asked for help, only to find out that routing was disabled. From that lab I discovered where to start in any trouble-shooting inquest and that helped me in my other classes.
The thing I've liked the least has to be the amount of math that is required to get the degree. The most complex math you actually use involves exponents and yet I have to take pre-calculus and I am a very poor math student. I can do "cookie cutter math" (as my algebra instructor called most high school math), but the sudden shift here to college algebra has made me feel as if my professor is trying to teach me while speaking Japanese.
What led you to choose computer science as a career path?
What led me to choose computer science as a career path was the challenge of it, along with my innate proficiency. When I was a teenager I realized how many people didn't know how to do basic things on a computer. I learned how to set up wireless networks and do some basic programming before I was 15 years old. I always loved doing school work on computers and finished long before everyone else because I'd learned how to type by playing text muds and avoiding the sun. By the time I was 17, I had family members calling me for computer advice and technical support and, as my friends saw how easily I dispensed these, they soon started asking me to fix theirs as well.
I always loved the look on people's faces when they would leave me alone with their computers for an hour or so and then come back to discover that their "slow" computers were running like new (or even better) with a few new programs and a much more responsive general feel. I have always loved helping people and I have always loved to prove a point that it's not the computer's fault, it's the user's. I have helped people realize that what they do all the time isn't always the best for their PC's and reading pop-up boxes is important.