Informal talk at pict

Informal talk on life in and after
college

1st year 2nd year 3rd year 4th year

So why are we here?

We are here to give you that
*Push* you need and hopefully
show you what all is possible. :)

Note : These are just guidelines
and not hard rules to follow.

PICTPunetechGroup
● Group for techies.
● Started sometime in October 2011.
● Open to anyone who is interested in Computer Science.
● We value perspective more than knowledge.
● Expressing your ideas in a proper way is critically important
to us.
● Vision : To create a self-organized community which would
eventually help everyone.
● IRC Channel : #ppg-irc @ freenode network
● https://www.facebook.com/groups/pictpunetechgroup

●

Mayank Jain (firesofmay)
● Clojure Noob.
● Software Developer at Helpshift.com
● Currently Automating stuff.
● Admin of PPG.
● Graduated from PICT in 2012.
● Will share the perspective from working in a Startup.
● Contact me at:
– firesofmay@gmail.com
– https://twitter.com/
– http://firesofmay.blogspot.com/
– https://www.facebook.com/firesofmay

Gaurav Jain
●
Associate Engineer, Wireless R&D,
Marvell Semiconductor
● Linux hacker, Wifi Expert,
Loves open source,
Detests SMS language of any kind.
● Graduated from PICT in 2011.
●
Will share his perspective from working in a Big Company.
● Contact :
– https://www.facebook.com/gmjain
– https://www.twitter.com/grvj
– https://www.github.com/gmjain
– grvmjain@gmail.com

Alex James
● Works with Symantec.
● Graduated in 2011, PICT.
● Manga/Anime freak.
Likes tinkering around “infrastructure-stuff” (Please
ask him. We don't know what he means.)
Loves scripting in any language.
● Contact at:
– alx.james@gmail.com
– https://www.facebook.com/alx.james

You Ask us what matters to you!
● In these slides, we will list down some
questions that we feel are important.
● You can either ask us from the list or any other
question that you might have.
● Questions are broken into 4 slides covering
about 40 Questions.
1)How to improve your skillset during college?
2)How to go beyond the university syllabus?
3)MS and placement related questions.
4)Miscellaneous.

<Set 1/4> How to improve your skill set
during college?
Q00. What is computer science exactly?
Q01. How important is knowledge?
Q02. Why should I learn computer science history? It has no value.
Q03. What are the must-read books during college?
Q04. How can I improve my skill-set?
Q05. But during college we don't get time. After college I'm tired. No time to
learn.
Q06. So many things to do/learn. Help me!
Q07. I find that X (like Java/php) sucks, but still it is widely used. Why is it
that? And why should I care about learning things that are awesome?
Q08. I suck at Math. Can I still be a good programmer?
Q09. I hate hardware. I love software. Is that fine?
Q10. I am a topper, do I still need to put in so much extra effort?
Q11. I want to contribute to Open Source Software. Tell me what to do.

<Set 2/4> How to go beyond the university
syllabus?
Q12. Are studies/degrees really necessary?
Q13. I want to do 'X' certification. Will it help me? How
helpful are certifications?
Q14. Where can I find out the latest in tech/jobs?
Q15. How to find out events happening in pune?
Q16. What are the must learn tech/tools?
Q17. Is it enough to learn c/c++/java?
Q18. What are the awesome sites that I should check out?
Q19. How important is Blogging, Twitter, Facebook, Quora,
Linkedin in terms of career?
Q20. Y shud i typ prprly?????????

<Set 3/4> MS and placement related
questions.
Q21. How important are marks in relation to :
a) MS b) Placement.
Q22. Is it worth going for MS right after college?
Q23. How to apply off campus?
Q24. Are startups good?
Q25. Should I wait for a good job or join a mediocre company till I find a
good job?
Q26. Comparison of working in a corporate vs startup.
Q27. How cool is winning/participating in college competitions on resume?
Q28. What subjects should I focus on for placements?
Q29. I send out my resume to so many companies. No one responds.
Q30. Is it okay to negotiate in off campus placement?
Q31. Is it okay to ask questions in interview? What kind of questions to ask
them?

<Set 4/4> Misc.

Q32. I got a year down or ATKT. Am I screwed?
Q33. I want to start my own company. Tell me what to do!
Q34. I dont know what should be my (BE/TE/X) project?
How do I find the idea?
Q35. Is it helpful to have a sponsored BE project?
Q36. I don’t know what I want to do in my life? How should
figure that out? It kills me! Arghh!
Q37. I want to become a hacker. Can you tell me where to
start?

</end>

Q00. What is computer science?
● Define:computer - An electronic device for
storing and processing data, typically in binary
form, according to instructions given to it in a
variable program.
● Define:Science - The intellectual and
practical activity encompassing the systematic
study of the structure and behavior of the
physical and natural world through observation
and experiment

Computer Science.

● Computer Science is not really about the computer.

● It's not about computers in the same sense .
– Physics is not really about particle accelerators.
– Biology is not really about microscopes and petri dishes.
– Geometry is not really about using surveying instruments.
– You can see the moon and stars without a telescope.

● You can also play with computer science well without computers.

● Ideas are the real stuff of computer science.

</Set 1/4>

Q01. How important is knowledge?
● Knowledge is 10%.
● Perspective.
● Values/Principles.
● Determination and Flexibility.
● Networking with people.
● Writting Skills.
● Ability to express Yourself/Idea.
● History of your domain.
● Learn the Protocol of your domain.
– Example : Subject - “ANN: Pase Java Library for Parsing HTML.”
ANN Stands for Announcement.
</Set 1/4>

Q02. Why should I learn computer
science history? It has no value.
● Context is everything.
● Understanding the roots.
● Knowing the Demi Gods of your domain.
● History is not about Learning from mistakes,
but to understand the context of why things
are the way they are.
● To appreciate something you need context,
taste of what is good vs bad.

</Set 1/4>

Q03. What are the must read books
during college?
● Lauren Ipsum.
● Hackers and Painters.
● What the Dormouse Said: How the Sixties
Counterculture Shaped the Personal
Computer Industry.
● Nand to Tetris.
● Structure And Interpretation Of Computer
Programs.

Lauren Ipsum.
● A story about computer
science and other
improbable things.
● Start with this book if
confused.
● Small book.
● http://www.laurenipsum.
org/

Hackers and Painters.
● Collection of Blog Post by Paul Graham.
● Covers variety of topics.
● Talks about what is important.

What the Dormouse Said
● Book about Computer Science History.
● To know who are the real Legends.
● To understand the context.

Structure And Interpretation Of
Computer Programs.
● Must Read Book.
● It will change the way how you think.
● Video Lectures Available as well.
● Book : http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book.html
● Video Lectures :
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-
computer-science/6-001-structure-and-interpretation-of-
computer-programs-spring-2005/

</Set 1/4>

Q04. How can I improve my skill
set?
● Project Euler - http://projecteuler.net/
● TopCoder - www.topcoder.com/
● Code Chef - www.codechef.com/
● Reliscore - http://reliscore.com/
● Interviewstreet -
https://www.interviewstreet.com/challenges/
● KhanAcademy - http://www.khanacademy.org/

</Set 1/4>

Q05. But during college we don't get
time. After college i'm tired. No time
to learn.
● You won't really get time after college.
● Make the most of your time now.
● Learn as many things as you can.
● Work on small projects.

</Set 1/4>

Q06. So many things to do/learn.
Halp!
● Cost of delay.
● Example for a SE Student (Assuming he knows
nothing).
Task Cost of Delaying
Learning by 1 Month
Learning C Properly Very Costly
Learning No Cost.
Machine Learning
Learning Data Structures Moderate.
● Hence the order : C > DS >> ML

</Set 1/4>

Q07. I find that x (like Java/php) sucks, but
still it is widely used. Why is it that? And why
should I care about learning things that are
awesome?
● Why is it popular?
● Why Java/Php is used so widely?
● Do you want to be part of the crowd or stand
out?
● Do you want to create your own path or follow
others?

</Set 1/4>

Q08. I suck at Math. Can I still be a
good programmer?
● Good? - Yes.
● Awesome? - No.
● Minimum :
– Discrete Maths
– General Calculations.
– Algo Analysis.
– Statistics
● For anything advance like Machine Learning it's a Must.
● For Companies Like Google etc Solid Maths is must.
● Khan Academy

</Set 1/4>

Q09. I hate hardware. I love
software. Is that fine?
Teensy

Arduino

Raspberry Pi

64 Core Supercomputer with
Raspberry Pi

</Set 1/4>

Q10. I am a topper, do I still need to
put in so much extra effort?
Depends.
● If you want to lead an easy happy going life
you will do just fine.
● If you want to make an impact, you need to
add to yourself then marks.
● Greatness is not by knowledge/marks but by
what they stood for, what they valued.
● Student + Degree != Engineer.

</Set 1/4>

Q11. I want to contribute to open
Source. Tell me what to do.
● Go watch this presentation
http://www.shakthimaan.com/downloads/glv/pres
entations/i-want-2-do-project-tell-me-wat-2-do.pdf
● Address people by their first name.
● Learn to Read (A lot).
● Know how Mailing Lists work.
● No Interest +
BE Project != Free Software Project.
● Learn the basic set of tools.
</Set 1/4>

Q12. Are studies/degrees really
necessary?
● Best way : Combine Degree with self learning.
● Degree
– Provides Discipline.
– A surrounding.
– A strucuture.
– Some companies require you to have a degree.
● Self Learning
– Coursera
– Udacity
– Khan Academy
– Edx
– Google :) </Set 2/4>

Q13. I want to do x certification. Will
it help me? How helpful are
certifications?
● Certifications help you only to get the job.
● Various Certs :
– CCNA, CCNP, CCIE
– RHCE
– SCJP, SCWCD
– CEH
● Beware of Institutes. 99% Suck.
● Try to learn on your own.
● Learn how to learn yourself.
● Combine a certification with a project.
</Set 2/4>

Q14. Where can I find out the latest
in tech/jobs?
●
HackerNews - http://news.ycombinator.com/
●
Twitter - https://twitter.com/
●
Prismatic - http://getprismatic.com/
●
PPG - https://www.facebook.com/groups/pictpunetechgroup/
●
Valu - https://www.facebook.com/groups/VALU.vit/
●
HasGeek Job Board - http://jobs.hasgeek.com/
●
HackerNews for India - http://hackerstreet.in/
●
AngelList - https://angel.co/
●
Linkedin - http://linkedin.com/

Reddit.
● Reddit/SubReddits.
– http://www.reddit.com/
– http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/
– http://www.reddit.com/r/jobs/
– http://www.reddit.com/r/Python/
– http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/
– http://www.reddit.com/r/math/
– http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/
– http://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/
– http://www.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/
– http://www.reddit.com/r/java/
And many more.

</Set 2/4>

Q15. How to find out events
happening in pune?
● Punetech - http://punetech.com/
● Punetech Calendar - http://punetech.com/calendar/
● Pune Startups Jobs - https://groups.google.com/forum/?
fromgroups#!forum/punestartupjobs
● Pune OpenCoffee Club - http://punestartups.org/
● Pune Meetups - http://www.meetup.com/cities/in/pune/
● PICT Punetechgroup -
https://www.facebook.com/groups/pictpunetechgroup/
● VALU Group -
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VALU.vit/

● Pune Java User Group -
http://www.meetup.com/PuneJUG/
● Open Source Friday -
http://www.meetup.com/PuneRailsMeetup/events/83079892/
● NodeJS Pune -
http://www.meetup.com/NodeJS-Pune/
● CronaSDK Pune -
http://www.meetup.com/Corona-SDK-Pune-Meetup/
● TechNext -
http://www.meetup.com/TechNext/
● Pune Startups Google Group -
https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/punestartups
● Null Group -
https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/null-co-in
</Set 2/4>

Q16. What are the must learn
tech/tools?
● Emacs/Vim.
● Git.
● Any Distro of Linux (No Mac is not counted).
● C (GDB).
● IRC.
● Mailing Lists.
● Latex (For writing Papers/Resumes).

Advance
● For Low level Stuff -> C/Go.
● For scripting -> Pytho/Ruby.
● For Pure functional Programming -> Haskell.
● For Lisp dialects -> Clojure.
● For Solid Network Programming/Concurrecny
-> Erlang.
● Most Importantly, implement something with
your tools.

</Set 2/4>

Q17. Is it enough to learn
C/C++/Java?
● To Get a job? Yes.
● To do something super ultra cool and set your
names in stone? Hell No!
● Contribute in small ways.
● Ex. Good coding is not about getting the right
output for the right input.

</Set 2/4>

Q18. What are the awesome Sites
that I should check out?
● Coursera : http://coursera.com/
● Udacity : http://udacity.com/
● Edx : https://www.edx.org/
● KhanAcademy : http://khanacademy.org/
● DIYComputerScience : http://diycomputerscience.com/
● Kickstarter : http://kickstarter.com/
● Quora : http://www.quora.com/
● Stack Overflow : http://stackoverflow.com/
● Reddit : http://reddit.com/
● Reddit Programming : http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/
● Codeacademy : http://www.codeacademy.com/

</Set 2/4>

Q19. How important is Blogging,
Twitter, Facebook, Quora, Linkedin,
Github in terms of career?
● Online Presence == Super imp.
● Your Online Presence reflects you.
● Be thoughtful of what you post/share.
● Attract awesome people.
● Showcase your talent beyond a 2 page
resume.

Contd.
● Facebook : Taken Very Seriously.
● Twitter : To follow people you are interested in.
● Quora : To ask Questions.
● Blog : Reflects your capability to express.
● Github : To showcase your work.
● Linkedin : (Understand how It works)
● Don't just add people on facebook. Talk to them.
● Be nice.
● Be humble.

How to connect on facebook?
● Me :
Hi,
I have sent you a request to add you on facebook. It'll be
interesting knowing you in person, hence the request.
Cheers!

● XYZ :
Request accepted. Thanks. I look forward to connecting
with you as well.

</Set 2/4>

Q20. Y shud i typ prprly?????????
● Impression.
● Protocol of doing things.
● How to communicate.
● Following the standards.
● You have 30 seconds to impress.

Evaluation of your writing in 30
Why so many dots ? seconds.
Why shouting?

“helo ABC.......ur lec is VERY useful 2
as....thnk u fr ur lec by me....n.....my frandz,
plz provid knwldge suport 2 as !!!!!!!”

SMS == Not serious. Ambiguous.
As? Us?
Why so many “!!!!” ?

Very hard to read.

Impression? : Not worthy of my time.

Evaluation of impressive writing in
30 seconds.
Building Context.
Well Formatted.
● “Hi Abc,
We met at the talk you delivered on 10th Oct.
at PICT regarding what to do in college.
Your lecture was very helpful and I wanted to
thank you on mine and my friends' behalf.
Regards, Took effort to reply.

XYZ.” Clear

Impression?
What do you think? :) </Set 2/4>

Q21. How important are marks in
relation to :
a) MS b) Placement.
● Scholarship is decided on that.
● Top tier colleges care about that.
● Corporate companies care a lot.

</Set 3/4>

Q22. Is it worth going for MS right
after college?
● Depends:
– If you are getting placed in Top Tier Company then
No.
– If you are getting placed in Service companies
then yes.
– No easy answer.

</Set 3/4>

Q23. How to apply off campus?
● Start preparing at least one year from before.
● Build your Facebook/Twitter profile.
● Start Blogging.
● Upload your Projects online on Github.
● Go for conferences/meetups.
● Meet people. Talk to them. Make bonds with them.
● And find out who are the people you would like to work with.
● Create a list of companies you want to target.
● Learn about them.
● Send a targetted resume with a proper cover letter.

</Set 3/4>

Q24. Are startups good?
● You get to work on a wide variety of domains.
● You get to see why you are doing what you
are doing.
● What you do has real importance to the future
of the company.
● You contribute to the success/failure of a small
company.

Q25. Should I wait for a good job or
join a mediocre company till I find a
good job?
● You ask about the bond that you have to pay if you leave in
between.
● Make sure you know how long is the bond period.
● Some companies don’t tell you the bond amount to pay.
● Make sure you joining a medicore company won’t get in your way of
trying to find a better place.
● Read NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) because most companies
don't allow you Open Source Contribution.

</Set 3/4>

Q26. Comparison of working in a
corporate vs startup.
Pros Cons

Corporate Brand No context
Systematic Part of crowd
Less hectic Your actions has v.low impact
Great for MS Specific Knowledge
Will survive.
Startup Wide Variety of knowledge No Brand.
Know why and How Can die anytime.
Your actions make a huge impact. More hectic.

</Set 3/4>

Q27. How cool is
winning/participating in college
competitions on resume?
● Don't do it for resume.
● Organize them.

</Set 3/4>

Q28. What subjects should I focus
on for Placements?
● Do _not_ study only from Technical/Techmax/Jigar.
●
Algorithms
●
Data Structures.
● OS
● Networking
●
Databases
●
Dicrete Maths
●
Aptitude
● Speaking/Writting Properly
●
Doing your Assigments properly.

</Set 3/4>

Q29. I send out my resume to so
many companies. No one responds.
● Change your approach.
● Review what you did, what mistakes you
made.
● Make your resume stronger, cleaner.
● Read this link :
steve-yegge.blogspot.in/2007/09/ten-tips-for-
slightly-less-awful-resume.html

</Set 3/4>

Q30. Is it okay to negotiate in off
campus placement?
● Yes.

</Set 3/4>

Q31. Is it okay to ask questions in
interview? What kind of questions to
ask them?
● How many other people work in the team? What are their job roles?
● - Ask about appraisals and performance reviews – how often, will
they be tied to pay increases or bonuses?
● - How will my performance be measured?
● What skills and experience would you say are necessary for
someone to succeed in this job?
● What scope for progress and promotion is there within the company?
● Can you describe a typical day or week in the job?

Contd.
● - Will the job involve much travelling? If so, how much?
●
- When are you looking for someone to start?
●
- When can I expect to hear from you?
● - Could you explain the company structure to me?
● - What software / systems does your company use?
●
- What are the company’s plans for the future?
●
- What are the company’s core business goals?

</Set 3/4>

Q32. I got a year down or ATKT. Am
I screwed?

Famous Failures
● Albert Einstein
● Abraham Lincoln

● J. K. Rowling

●
Walt Disney
● Thomas Edison

● Michael Jordan

● Bill Gates

● Henry Ford

● Steven Spielberg

●
Charles Darwin
Link :
http://www.creativitypost.com/psychology/famous_failures

“Life is long. A lot could happen.”

“Make Mistakes.”

“Successful people are those
whose plan B worked.”

</Set 4/4>

Q33. I want to start my own
company. Tell me what to do!
● Join a good startup at an early stage.
● Learn everything about it. Every layer.
● Learn how funding works -
http://www.khanacademy.org/finance-economics/venture
● Make friends - Super Important.
● Need Determination & Flexibility
● Idea.
● Technical Know how.
● Read all his post : http://www.paulgraham.com
● Follow enterprenaurs on twitter. </Set 4/4>

Q34. I dont know what should be my
(BE/TE/X) project? How do I find the
idea?
● Do not get the project done from outside.
● No one gives a s**** about your marks.
● Find out what are the current happening in
various domains.
● Figure out the companies that interest you.
● Find a group that has similar taste/interest as
you. It is important to learn how to work as a
team.

</Set 4/4>

Q35. Is it helpful to have a
sponsored BE project?
● In Short Yes.
● Branded Companies matter for MS? Yes.
● Focus on learning not on getting it done
anyhow.
● Try to get a good internal guide.

</Set 4/4>

Q36. I don’t know what I want to do
in my life? How should figure that
out? It kills me! Arghh!
● Ask yourself these two questions honestly,
Q. What are the three things that you value the
most?
Q. Where you do see/want to see, yourself in 1
year down the line?
● Hard to answer? Yes.
● Life is about journey not destination.
● Remember : No one can answer this for you.s

</Set 4/4>

Q37. I want to become a hacker.
Can you tell me where to start?
“Don't learn to learn hack,
Hack to learn.”
● What is this Hacking?
● What is Cracking?
● How To Become A Hacker -
http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html
● The Hacker Manifesto -
http://www.mithral.com/~beberg/manifesto.html

</Set 4/4>

“Everyone is a genius. But if you
judge a fish on its ability to climb a
tree, it will live its whole life believing
that it is stupid” - Unknown[1]
Thank you.

[1] : http://www.quora.com/Albert-Einstein/Out-of-all-those-quotes-attributed-to-Einstein-
which-ones-are-really-his-How-can-you-tell

Informal talk at pict

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Informal talk at pict

Similar to Informal talk at pict (20)

More from Mayank Jain

More from Mayank Jain (7)

Informal talk at pict