Date Me Natalie!

[voodoolily]

For biological sciences, it makes way more sense to take stats instead of calc. And even though everyone seems to complain about it, I liked it a lot more than calc and it was a lot more intuitive to me. But physics was the bane of my existence (and wrecked my GPA) because of my lack of calc. Unfortunately, I'd fallen under the impression that I needed a year of physics, when it was in fact only one term. I coulda taken a bunch of geology instead, but oops!

[Strazos]

The things that killed pre-med for me, and made me realise I don't want to be a MD That bad are:

Calc 1 and 2
Physics 1 and 2
Chem 1 and 2
Orgo Chem 1 and 2
Embryology
Bio 1 and 2 (After I had taken AP Bio as a HS Senior and wanting to shoot myself. I perferred to play the newly (to me)-discovered EverQuest)


Arrg, fuck that noise. Then to go on to Med School, than umpteen years of residency, then more years until I'm in a position where my job doesn't Suck Ass?

Can I have a Major I like please? Kthx

[Samwise]

Pssch.  You didn't even have to take any electrical engineering.  Count yourself lucky.

[Pococurante]

Art hasn't been about skill for about 75 years. It's been about a chummy circlejerk.

75 years?  Since like basically forever actually.  It was always about latching on to some pretentious insecure patron.

[Strazos]

Well, at least old art looks like, you know....art, instead of random abstract shit-on-a-stick.


EDIT: I'll take Caravaggio over pretty much anything from the last 100 years or so.

[Pococurante]

Amen.

[Fargull]

Hmm.. guess my tastes in art are a little different than most.

Course, I also like Dali, but what do I know.

[Strazos]

They had a huge Dali display near the London Eye...I just didn't have time.


Such time was spent in the Namco Zone. 

[Fargull]

Also for sculpture, Eckman is just fucking amazing.  Caught a show of his at the Praire Edge in Rapid City a few years ago.

[Pococurante]

Course, I also like Dali, but what do I know.

I like much of his work.  But I viscerally dislike provocateurs.

Every morning when I wake up, I experience an exquisite joy - the joy of being Salvador Dalí - and I ask myself in rapture: What wonderful things this Salvador Dalí is going to accomplish today?

Ugh.

[Murgos]

Pssch.  You didn't even have to take any electrical engineering.  Count yourself lucky.

They intro it in Physics II w/calc - at least the basics of RLC circuit analysis and electromagnetic fields, or they did at my school.  Nothing like what you get in say Signals and Systems but it was a beginning.

A second order ODE in the morning sure makes working at McDonalds seem attractive.

[Strazos]

Also for sculpture, Eckman is just fucking amazing.  Caught a show of his at the Praire Edge in Rapid City a few years ago.

It reminded me of Bernini for a moment, before I realised it wasn't marble.

Still nice stuff though.

[Samwise]

They intro it in Physics II w/calc - at least the basics of RLC circuit analysis and electromagnetic fields, or they did at my school.  Nothing like what you get in say Signals and Systems but it was a beginning.

Signals and Systems was exactly what I was thinking of.  I liked Physics 2 (probably because I also liked multivariable calc).  Signals and Systems made my head hurt, though.  Dammit Jim, I'm a coder, not a ham radio operator!

[stray]

Art hasn't been about skill because it isn't the be all, end all. Emphasis on technique shouldn't have been the primary focus of art anyhow (at least not for as long as the thousand years that it did). It's not a science. Art is a world of expression first. Skill optional. A lack of ideals is much worst than anything. Which is where the circle jerk comes in.

The assertion that art is expression opened up the doors for every Tom, Dick, and Joe to take up painting in the 20th century.... And that's all well and good --- But for the most part, Tom, Dick, and Joe do not have ideals.

For every one of them though, there's a genius who comes up with something spectacular. A genius who would have never survived in the art world of the past. So for those guys (and gals), you've got to keep the door open and just *try* to ignore the circle jerk at the other end of the gallery.

[NowhereMan]

I count myself lucky that British Universities don't require anything outside of what your degree's in. For me that means I don't have to do anything but philosophy. Sure I'll be screwed as far as wide range of qualifications go but I enjoy it and I'm going to get a good degree because I don't have to do crap I wouldn't like, wouldn't be good at and so wouldn't work at.

[Signe]

Can I have a Major I like please? Kthx

I'll give you two!  Math/Philosophy.  Best double major ever.

[Strazos]

That would make me cry tears of blood, for all the pain such a program would bring upon my mortal soul.

[Yegolev]

Every morning when I wake up, I experience an exquisite joy - the joy of being Salvador Dalí - and I ask myself in rapture: What wonderful things this Salvador Dalí is going to accomplish today?

Ugh.

Well some people try to pick up girls
They get called assholes
This never happened to Pablo Picasso

[Ironwood]

I count myself lucky that British Universities don't require anything outside of what your degree's in. For me that means I don't have to do anything but philosophy. Sure I'll be screwed as far as wide range of qualifications go but I enjoy it and I'm going to get a good degree because I don't have to do crap I wouldn't like, wouldn't be good at and so wouldn't work at.

Not all of them.

[Zephyr]

Pssch.  You didn't even have to take any electrical engineering.  Count yourself lucky.

They intro it in Physics II w/calc - at least the basics of RLC circuit analysis and electromagnetic fields, or they did at my school.  Nothing like what you get in say Signals and Systems but it was a beginning.

A second order ODE in the morning sure makes working at McDonalds seem attractive.

The physics courses I took were very basic and only involved DC circuits.  However, the required Intro to Circuits course made me want to claw my eyes out.  Somehow I made it thru with an A, but I will never take AC power for granted again.  I do feel used though, as all the EE majors I spoke with never had to take any CE courses.  Although, CE majors in both schools I went to, were required to take Thermo and Intro to Circuits.  About $2.5k of wasted money IMO.  :P

[voodoolily]

Well some people try to pick up girls
They get called assholes
This never happened to Pablo Picasso

I love Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers. Kudos, Yeg.

[Nebu]

The things that killed pre-med for me, and made me realise I don't want to be a MD That bad are:

Calc 1 and 2
Physics 1 and 2
Chem 1 and 2
Orgo Chem 1 and 2
Embryology
Bio 1 and 2 (After I had taken AP Bio as a HS Senior and wanting to shoot myself. I perferred to play the newly (to me)-discovered EverQuest)


Arrg, fuck that noise. Then to go on to Med School, than umpteen years of residency, then more years until I'm in a position where my job doesn't Suck Ass?

Can I have a Major I like please? Kthx

Well, I had to go to medical school to realize what a shitty job being a physician is.  I think about 80% of my colleagues that are MD's are just biding their time until they can retire early and do what it is in life that the genuinely enjoy.  Consider yourself lucky that you realized it much sooner.

As for major, just study what you enjoy.  You'll perform better and be happier getting out of bed in the morning. 

[Pococurante]

After she retired from teaching my mom joined her friend's physician headhunting firm.  She quite after three weeks.  She said without exception everyone she called was miserable and a few even broke down in tears saying medicine was not really their chosen career but was pressured into it by their family.

That said I also have family in the field and they love their work.  But they're all either in R&D or administration so they travel a lot.

[Strazos]

Well, the thing that Truely made me look at my motivation to go to med school involves a short story.

When I applied to my school, I put "pre-med" as my desired major. I easily met the req's, so there shouldn't have been a problem with me getting into the program. Somehow, I was instead put into Pre-Major. I only learned this when I went to register for my second semester and found a flag on my account, blocking me from registering until I go to some kind of meeting to help me "find" a major.

Seeing as freshmen get shitty registration choices as it is, being delayed a week more just made it worse. Basically, I was registering dead last, even after the incoming freshmen and non-matriculated students.

I get into my major, and pick whatever classes are available. This included Calculus 1.

I proceed to bomb Calc 1.

I register to repeat the course in the fall, in addition to whatever I can find that will fit in my program. In the fall, I finally figure out who my advisor is, and go over to see him. He was very suprised that I hadn't yet taken Bio 1 or 2 (I couldn't register for them; they were always filled). So, I would have to take Bio 2 in the Spring, Bio 1 the next fall....I would also have to stack up a lot of other courses at the same time, because I was effectively a year and a half behind (the program at my school was practically on a set track of courses).

I say fuck that, and change majors before the week is out.

I will only regret my new choice of major if I have to end up teaching.

[Nebu]

If you want to go into medicine, do it.  Don't let one bad grade disuade you.  As I was a division I athlete, I had pretty marginal grades my freshman and sophomore years.  A strong finish coupled to volunteer experience and high MCAT scores can overcome that.  Particularly if you apply to a state school as a resident.

<sorry for the derail Natalie!>

[Yegolev]

Well some people try to pick up girls
They get called assholes
This never happened to Pablo Picasso

I love Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers. Kudos, Yeg.

I have to admit that I thought of it because of Bowie's cover on Reality.

Where have you been?  No one else laughs at my jokes.

[Strazos]

If you want to go into medicine, do it.  Don't let one bad grade disuade you.  As I was a division I athlete, I had pretty marginal grades my freshman and sophomore years.  A strong finish coupled to volunteer experience and high MCAT scores can overcome that.  Particularly if you apply to a state school as a resident.

<sorry for the derail Natalie!>

No, it wasn't the grade that disuaded me...it was the hell I would have had to go through to "catch up."

That, in turn, made me think about the hell I would have to go through in the form of med school and residency.

It made me realize I didn't didn't want to be a doctor for the right reasons. I just wanted the money (which is overrated once you account for NJ malpractice insurance) and I had a sick fasination with surgury and cutting things up (My AP Bio dissection of a cat was....over-done).

[Furiously]

Actually every book I've ever read on the subject of "Why should I become a doctor?" has said money is really the only reason you should consider it.  Wanting to help people will lead to the drinking and drug abuse.

[stray]

Eh, the money isn't worth it at 80 - 90 hours a week. Or is it? I'd think that the only thing that could possess someone to do that is the desire to help people.

[AOFanboi]

If you want to go into medicine, do it.  Don't let one bad grade disuade you.

However, do let the fact that your license to operate can be revoked, rendering your expensive and long education nearly worthless, disuade you.

As a computer scientist, there is no "revocation" of my right to write code. Yay for us!

(Caveat: My brother is a doctor, and he's not entirely happy about choosing that carreer.)

[Murgos]

You can get trapped into an oppressive non-compete though.  From what I understand if you do somehow manage to get an employer thats looking to destroy you in that way you can fight it pretty easily because you have a right to work in most states.  I really don't know much about this just hearsay.  Maybe one of the lawyers would care to enlighten us coders?

Anyway a good programmer/engineer can make as much as most doctors or lawyers.  Especially if your willing to take some risks with startups or are good enough (read: know people) for top tier positions at the big boys (Microsoft, Google, etc...)

[Yegolev]

I am glad I am not a programmer.  I'm a support specialist that happens to specialize in something most people don't know dick about.  Being a programmer must be like rowing a slave ship.  At least I get to do different things most of the time.  The other interesting thing about my job is that any sort of degree program is useless in practice.  I have taken exactly one computer course in fourteen years of dabbling at getting a degree, and yet I support a load of expensive computers.  Wacky.

I really wanted to be an aerospace engineer, but the Cold War ended.  And, uh, bad grades.

[AOFanboi]

You can get trapped into an oppressive non-compete though.

*checks Norwegian employment laws*

Then you live in the wrong country. The closest you get here is that your employer can keep paying you but keep you out of the loop (no work tasks or projects, no customer contact, maybe not even let you into the workplace) until a couple of years of surfing the web has passed.

[Murgos]

I'll happily move to Norway if you've got work for me.

[NowhereMan]

Eh, the money isn't worth it at 80 - 90 hours a week. Or is it? I'd think that the only thing that could possess someone to do that is the desire to help people.

Or anyone working in finance who wants to make lots of money and works that kind of insane week.