Past hopes Dashed
So, turns out none of the universities I applied to for a PhD wanted me. Admittedly, I didn't apply to very many, but it's a hole I've dug myself into. I got myself interested in a narrow piece of CS turf, and I only see three universities that would be able to support it well. Perhaps I will be lowering my standards in the near future.
More pressingly, I will be an Unemployed Graduate Graduate in mere weeks. It's not an entirely bad turn, as I wanted to spend some time in industry one way or another. The time has simply been forced upon me.
The greater issue is that I have never been interested in being Just A Programmer, aka Codemonkey. To me, it's like having a mathematician run a cash register.* Neither satisfying nor an optimal allocation of talent. But the market for True Computer Scientists seems surprisingly small. I'd also like to stay in town if possible, which puts a second huge damper on things. Fortunately, there are several companies in town that use what I've been working with, so there's some chance of finding work with one of them. I think I'll also hunt around for anything of the scientific computing bent, hearkening back to my old interest in math-oriented computation.
I'm considering hiding my out-of-shape coding skills under the rug and trying the startup thing. I don't have anything to lose but time, which is the right time to take career risks. I'd have to find more of an ITA than a Facebook (which will only be intelligible to those who know the ecosystem of software startups). The downside of this would be that it may be even harder to prove myself worthy when I try to swing the grad school apps again.
If I could just get myself to abandon Texas altogether, these things would probably be easier. There seem to be a glut of jobs for someone of my skillset on the east coast, mostly DC area and Boston. I'm up for getting out of Texas at some point, but now isn't an appealing time to do so. Low cost of living and the optimal university for my career make it rough to get up the gumption to skeedatle.
At least it's fired me up to finally write out all the idiocies of the CS PhD system that have screwed me over. Probably a Thoughts essay, so keep your eyes open there.
* Minimal offense intended to those who actually like to Just Code. I admit your usefulness and bow to your superior short-term market value. It's just not my cup of tea.
More pressingly, I will be an Unemployed Graduate Graduate in mere weeks. It's not an entirely bad turn, as I wanted to spend some time in industry one way or another. The time has simply been forced upon me.
The greater issue is that I have never been interested in being Just A Programmer, aka Codemonkey. To me, it's like having a mathematician run a cash register.* Neither satisfying nor an optimal allocation of talent. But the market for True Computer Scientists seems surprisingly small. I'd also like to stay in town if possible, which puts a second huge damper on things. Fortunately, there are several companies in town that use what I've been working with, so there's some chance of finding work with one of them. I think I'll also hunt around for anything of the scientific computing bent, hearkening back to my old interest in math-oriented computation.
I'm considering hiding my out-of-shape coding skills under the rug and trying the startup thing. I don't have anything to lose but time, which is the right time to take career risks. I'd have to find more of an ITA than a Facebook (which will only be intelligible to those who know the ecosystem of software startups). The downside of this would be that it may be even harder to prove myself worthy when I try to swing the grad school apps again.
If I could just get myself to abandon Texas altogether, these things would probably be easier. There seem to be a glut of jobs for someone of my skillset on the east coast, mostly DC area and Boston. I'm up for getting out of Texas at some point, but now isn't an appealing time to do so. Low cost of living and the optimal university for my career make it rough to get up the gumption to skeedatle.
At least it's fired me up to finally write out all the idiocies of the CS PhD system that have screwed me over. Probably a Thoughts essay, so keep your eyes open there.
* Minimal offense intended to those who actually like to Just Code. I admit your usefulness and bow to your superior short-term market value. It's just not my cup of tea.