Feb 26, 2008 14:42
I declared course 6 about 6 months ago, and strongly suspected I would a little less than a year ago. I haven't been disappointed. My interest in the subject has steadily increased (unlike course 7/bio), I don't feel like my lack of experience significantly affects my academic performance (course 5/chem), and I actually like both the content and the method of learning the material (course 9/brain&cog). Plus, I get to graduate from a school of engineering (see: my family is full of engineers), and (crosses fingers) stick around for an additional year to get my masters, on a stipend, if I keep my grades up and can find someone to TA or RA for. Fuck yes!
I've drifted from 6-2 (EE/CS) to 6-3 (CS), and find myself very interested in AI, although my algorithms class is both challenging, interesting, and seems to consist of the non-douchebaggy profs and grad students from course 18 (math)
I was initially worried that there would be no way for me to catch up to my peers (see: paragods of coding/EE, many from my year I am at least friendly acquainted with) , and that I would be stuck at the bottom third of my class for eternity. Turns out learning about EE/CS is one of the things the internet is best for, and being a rockstar at code or electronics doesn't mean the psets are trivial. If anything, I will probably have a less awesome internship than my peers this summer, but I think I'm okay with that. I saved somebody's life doing what I did last summer, after all :D Plus, there are a few healthcare-related software companies in the area that might appreciate my unique experience.
In short, I somehow won the major game. Who woulda thought?