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  • Do a grad project, or intern?

    As school continues, I see that time management will be an issue for me (that's why I got a planner).

    On one hand, if I decide to do a grad project next quarter, then I'll have time to do my class work and whatnot, plus I get to build another computer. On the other hand, if I do an intern, then I get the experience I need to put my foot in the door and possibly get a job right after graduation. But, if I go the grad project route, then my Mom will be taking a toll on my expenses, and since I'll be working in a team, then I'll need to schedule off campus meeting times to get things done; and if I do the intern, then my Mom will need to cut back on the client's appointments, my homework will be in danger of not being completed, and of course, transportation from school to home, then to the intern site, plus I'll need to do homework when I get home (if any).

    Of course, this is only the 1st full week of classes, so not everything is set in stone and I got about one more week to make a decision.

    To make it worse, I need to start studying for my CNA test that will be on the 11th and of course, I need to secure my computers in my security class.

    I NEED HELP!
    8
    Grad project
    12.50%
    1
    Internship
    75.00%
    6
    wait
    12.50%
    1
    How'd I get so white and nerdy?

  • #2
    Re: Do a grad project, or intern?

    Originally posted by doc1456
    ... if I go the grad project route, then my Mom will be taking a toll on my expenses...
    Why is your mom going to cost you more if you do a graduate project?

    ??? Is that computereze for something else? Seriously, I'm baffled here.

    Anyway ... I'd recommend doing an internship. Seems like computer-related (IT, whatever) jobs are going to have plenty of candidates to choose from, so if you have real-world experience, I'd think that would help.

    Incidentally, one thing you find out after you get out of school is that NO ONE ever asks you what you did as a project, or paper, or concentration. EVER. Nobody in the real world cares what your GPA was, what projects you worked on, or any of that. Kinda funny, really, because that seems like the entire world when you're in the middle of it.

    Whatever you choose to do, have fun!

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Do a grad project, or intern?

      I voted for internship because that looks good on your resume, gives you hands on experience along with getting your foot in the door and it gives you a chance to figure out 'do I love doing this or not.' Taking an intership may teach you better time management since you have a lot to juggle with work and school. With doing a graduate project you have to be disciplined at working that project and its easier to slack off if no ones on your case about it.

      Do you have a choice of where you intern? Is there a company that is close to home that you can intern at? You gotta follow your heart too. Its your hard work that you gotta do, so which one does your heart tell you to do?

      Pray on it. But most of all enjoy your choice.
      ~Lika

      \\000// Malama Pono \\000//

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Do a grad project, or intern?

        Originally posted by MadAzza
        Why is your mom going to cost you more if you do a graduate project?
        If I do a grad project, then I'll be building a Small Form Factor, water-cooled computer. I'll need the money to get the components.

        Originally posted by GypsyLika
        I voted for internship because that looks good on your resume, gives you hands on experience along with getting your foot in the door and it gives you a chance to figure out 'do I love doing this or not.' Taking an intership may teach you better time management since you have a lot to juggle with work and school. With doing a graduate project you have to be disciplined at working that project and its easier to slack off if no ones on your case about it.

        Do you have a choice of where you intern? Is there a company that is close to home that you can intern at? You gotta follow your heart too. Its your hard work that you gotta do, so which one does your heart tell you to do?

        Pray on it. But most of all enjoy your choice.
        Actually, the grad project teacher and our advisor will be on our case once we start it. We need to email him weekly updates on what we're doing.

        And one of the intern places is compusa, but the teacher mentioned that the technicians are wanted in the day, which will probably be when I'm taking classes (if I take the required courses next quarter).

        My heart tells me that it wants to do the grad project because it'll let me tackle something challenging (craming a water cooler into a box the size of a shoebox won't be easy) but also its telling me that I can do that anytime (if I had the money and time) and that the internship will give me the experience in working with people's computers and interacting with customers (kinda like what I did with that side job), but then if I go to the Honolulu store, then I need to catch the bus ASAP to get down there (and so far, the bus schedule is rough), but if I go to the Waikele store, then I need to rush to Waipahu, then take another bus (with a wait time of 30 minutes) to compusa.

        There's a workshop on Nov 3, and its mandatory that we go if we'll be doing an intern, so I'll go there just incase they have a place that is more convenient for me.

        Basically, it all down to time and money, which are the root of good, or evil.
        Last edited by adrian; October 26, 2005, 07:09 PM.
        How'd I get so white and nerdy?

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Do a grad project, or intern?

          You need to start thinking about the money, Adrian, unless you intend to sponge off da parents for a little while longer. Aren't there any internships that pay a stipend at the very least?

          Miulang
          "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Do a grad project, or intern?

            Originally posted by doc1456
            If I do a grad project, then I'll be building a Small Form
            OK, but you said that your mom would be taking a greater toll on your budget, which means she would be spending more of your money. I don't understand the connection between your grad project and your mom's drain on your budget. Are you supporting her? I can see how you'd be spending more of *her* money, if you didn't have a job during that period, but I can't see it the other way around.

            Oh, well, whatever

            I still vote for internship.
            Last edited by MadAzza; October 26, 2005, 11:50 PM. Reason: cuz it just don't make sense!

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Do a grad project, or intern?

              It seems like you have an active part in your family's business. Are they paying you? Or is that part of the arrangement for you to have a roof over your head and meals? Also, you seem worried that whatever decision you make, it'll affect your parent's business. Maybe you should consider moving out and getting on with YOUR life.

              Building a water-cooled computer for a grad project?... nothing new or startling... besides the fact that you finally have an excuse to build one . I would go with the internship.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Do a grad project, or intern?

                Ahh,"To Dream The Impossible Dream"....

                ..."who let the dog out?" woof, woof!

                Auntie Lynn
                Last edited by 1stwahine; October 27, 2005, 08:21 AM.
                Be AKAMAI ~ KOKUA Hawai`i!
                Philippians 4:13 --- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Do a grad project, or intern?

                  Take the internship

                  But only if you can pick where to intern. If at all possible avoid working in a big retail environment. You're not going to get big pay for interning, what you'll be getting is work experience and being in an environment where you can make contacts for the future. A big retail place doesn't really get you contacts with people who could help you after you graduate, you'll just be in with all the other grunts and gophers being treated like a mushroom, until your internship is over and they replace you with the next incoming 'shroom.

                  You want a place if possible in an individualized high tech environment so you could not only learn and hone your own skills but possibly be taken under wing and mentored by someone who'd teach you other skills.

                  What you want is to be in a place small enough to be able to impress the bosses enough that they'd give you a recomendation or point you to good employment after graduation...shoot ...maybe even a few years after graduating.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Do a grad project, or intern?

                    Originally posted by cezanne
                    It seems like you have an active part in your family's business. Are they paying you? Or is that part of the arrangement for you to have a roof over your head and meals? Also, you seem worried that whatever decision you make, it'll affect your parent's business. Maybe you should consider moving out and getting on with YOUR life.

                    Building a water-cooled computer for a grad project?... nothing new or startling... besides the fact that you finally have an excuse to build one . I would go with the internship.
                    Unless I can get about $1,000 from nowhere, then someone has to give me the money, and even if I could have saved since I began school, I only get about $300.

                    Hopefully that my classes next quater will give me the time to do an intern, or else I'll just stress out from all of the school and time at home.

                    And building a watercooled SFF computer is about the easiest project there is, unless I can get a hold of about 3 computers, then I can make a beuwolf them into a supercomputer.
                    How'd I get so white and nerdy?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Do a grad project, or intern?

                      I'm pretty much in agreement that an internship would definitely be the way to go. Job experience is king and I’m sure employers will put more weight on that instead of special projects.

                      Although I’d like to take a shot on that grad project deal you were talking about. Building a water-cooled PC sounds cool, no pun intended, but I don’t see that as being practical. I see that as sort of a hobbyist type project, that is, something you would do on your free time or perhaps you want to experiment with over clocking. As someone mentioned in this thread, the idea has been done many times before. In fact, there are a lot of kits you can buy which do that sort of thing easily. Last time I checked, these kits weren’t exactly cheap either. Would your project advisor let you do that kind of thing?

                      This might be a better idea. How about a project where you build your own web portal? You build your own server, install your favorite Unix, with your GNU compilers, and build it from scratch by compiling open-source code you can download for free. At this point, you can think about how to make the server with high availability with disk redundancy. You can also find ways to make it more secure by locking down various services that are enabled when installing Unix. How about a message board on the portal, something like hawaiithreads? How about functioning as a windows file server using Samba? The possibilities are endless.

                      The project would be inexpensive. You wouldn’t need to invest too much money in hardware. Linux can run decently on any of the older hardware that is out there. An old Pentium II would do fine.

                      Plus, the skills you learn from setting up a box like this would look very enticing to employers.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Do a grad project, or intern?

                        Originally posted by doc1456
                        then I can make a beuwolf them into a supercomputer.
                        First time I have ever heard "Beowolf" used as a verb; am I that far out of it, or is doc/adrian just an innovative wordsmith?

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Do a grad project, or intern?

                          Okay, I just received an email from my dean, and according to him, I have 2 more quarters, with a total of 5 classes I need to take (ranging from physics, to Algebra II [great] and of course the grad project/internship and 2 computer classes).

                          What I'm worried about, is the physics and the Algebra II. I passed Algebra I after taking it 4 times, and I don't think I had physics in my life, so it'll be a first for me.

                          ATM, I wish I can just delay this grad project/internship and just concentrate on my classes, but it looks like it won't be feasible.

                          I'll figure out what those other IT classes are, but either I hope that my internship will be easy (or atleast help me with my classes) or that some miracle will come and help my family with our finances.

                          To make this worse, I'm thinking of next year's classes, when school just resumed a few weeks ago! I'll be lucky if my hair will match santa's by the xmas season.
                          How'd I get so white and nerdy?

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Do a grad project, or intern?

                            Okay, I just came back from the mandatory internship meeting, and have posted the experience in my blog.

                            Basically, the intern will be done in the January quarter, and we need to revise our resume and setup interviews and get companies to accept us inorder to intern.

                            From what the teacher said, the closest intern site is Oceanic Cable, up in Mililani, and if I remember correctly, I'd need to take 2 buses (one to Waiawa, then another to Mililani) to get there, if I go from home (if not, then I can just take one long bus ride).

                            A lot of questions still are unanswered, and if you want to read more of it, then just visit my blog.
                            How'd I get so white and nerdy?

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                            • #15
                              Re: Do a grad project, or intern?

                              I'd choose intern. More experiance.
                              backwoodlessons2

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