The last year has been literally insane with how much has happened, so I thought I'd just put up an update now that I'm done having a mental break down, which is what happened at the end of last year. Just really burnt out and still couldn't take a break. I didn't really feel like making resolutions for the new year, since I can barely keep up with everything that happens as is.
Spring 2019 wasn't as crazy as the rest of the year, but still a lot happened:
Anyways, to sum all of that up I'm finished with my winter class and the GRE and now spring 2020 semester starts next week, but the great news is that this is the last semester for my bachelors degree. I still haven't entirely figured my life out yet. I'm waiting to see if I actually am getting money for grad school or not and I have another job interview with a company called Indica next week. It's better than Navair, which I turned down, because I just really, really don't want to move to California. I mostly went to the interview because they paid to fly me out and for the hotel and everything and so it wasn't worth turning down the interview. I'm hoping if the grad school thing falls through that I'll have that as a backup. I'm very overall torn about going to grad school, mostly because I'm tired of being poor and I can't buy a new car with my college student wages. However, I really can't do what I want in computer science without a masters degree. I'm mostly interested in machine learning and you need a masters degree for that in general. If I don't go to grad school immediately I can probably find a software engineering job and then go back to grad school later. A lot of the jobs I've talked to are even offering to pay, which is a pretty good deal.
Spring 2019 wasn't as crazy as the rest of the year, but still a lot happened:
- bought my first handgun (not really stressful but still super exciting and fun)
- applied for a summer research position doing research on machine learning for botnet detection (which I got)
- went to Vegas for a few days over spring break (first time I've been, and the first time in like four years I'd left my state)
- managed to get through my classes with the best grades since my first year at college which is amazing because I also stopped sleeping at the end of the semester
- Mostly just involved in a 10 week paid research course at my college that was a really great experience
- Also started going to physical therapy to figure out what the hell was wrong with my foot (beneficial because I know what's wrong. It's not 100% resolved because it involves old dance injuries but at least I know what's wrong and how to deal with it)
- got hired on another research team at my college that is doing work for one of the big federal contractors in the state
- went to California for a job interview with Navair
- my adviser started a proposal for me to get grant money from the same federal contractor up above to pay for a masters degree to continue working on research that I started over the summer with her
- went to a meet and greet with same federal contractor to look for job positions
- went mentally insane trying to figure out if I should stay here for graduate school or accept job offer from Navair.
- somehow passed all five of my classes
- took a winter intersession five day history class, so I can take one last class this spring
- studied for and took the GRE to apply for grad school
- also one of my cats got very sick and died
- went more insane because I couldn't keep up with the research job while also taking a class and studying for the GRE
Anyways, to sum all of that up I'm finished with my winter class and the GRE and now spring 2020 semester starts next week, but the great news is that this is the last semester for my bachelors degree. I still haven't entirely figured my life out yet. I'm waiting to see if I actually am getting money for grad school or not and I have another job interview with a company called Indica next week. It's better than Navair, which I turned down, because I just really, really don't want to move to California. I mostly went to the interview because they paid to fly me out and for the hotel and everything and so it wasn't worth turning down the interview. I'm hoping if the grad school thing falls through that I'll have that as a backup. I'm very overall torn about going to grad school, mostly because I'm tired of being poor and I can't buy a new car with my college student wages. However, I really can't do what I want in computer science without a masters degree. I'm mostly interested in machine learning and you need a masters degree for that in general. If I don't go to grad school immediately I can probably find a software engineering job and then go back to grad school later. A lot of the jobs I've talked to are even offering to pay, which is a pretty good deal.