I began my final academic (and calendar) year of university 2 weeks ago. It seems strange that I've finally reached this point - and I guess it'll seem even more foreign a year from now when I (hopefully) walk across that stage in a cap and gown.
For the first time since I started my post-secondary education, I actually had the pleasure of choosing which courses I wanted to take - meaning, which direction I want to take my career after graduation. Following the precedence of my choices jumping from high school to university, I opted to leap headlong into semiconductor-related technical electives. It has proved to be quite an interesting experience so far - but not at all what I expected from 4th year courses.
My first choice was a course in Digital Signal Processing, recommended by my past colleagues since DSP is used in so many technology-related areas today. During the first lecture, the professor managed to lose the confidence of most of his audience. I'm not sure whether the slips were caused by nervousness, but he kept mixing up courses, often referring to the current course as one we should have already taken! After that initial impression, the lectures have been better, but confusion will definitely run rampant once we delve into material that isn't review - especially considering our textbook isn't particularly great.
Another course I decided to take was Radio Frequency Microelectronics, praised by most of the alumni I spoke to as an awesome course taught by an extremely knowledgeable professor. As luck would have it, another professor was slated to teach us at the last minute, so it's been a learning experience for both parties in the lecture room. Obviously not your ideal scenario.
My extracurriculars have been going well, I suppose. The usual headaches and challenges hit me everyday - but there's some downtime when I choose to take a break, and small rewards make it worthwhile.
It's also that time - the hunting season. No, don't worry - no animals have been harmed in the making of co-op jobs. There are plenty to choose from this time, since I'm now one of the senior students - but none of the available positions really grip me as extraordinary. Lots of bait though, with the usual big players coming to fish for eager undergraduates - Microsoft, Google, Amazon. Let the clamouring begin!
For the first time since I started my post-secondary education, I actually had the pleasure of choosing which courses I wanted to take - meaning, which direction I want to take my career after graduation. Following the precedence of my choices jumping from high school to university, I opted to leap headlong into semiconductor-related technical electives. It has proved to be quite an interesting experience so far - but not at all what I expected from 4th year courses.
My first choice was a course in Digital Signal Processing, recommended by my past colleagues since DSP is used in so many technology-related areas today. During the first lecture, the professor managed to lose the confidence of most of his audience. I'm not sure whether the slips were caused by nervousness, but he kept mixing up courses, often referring to the current course as one we should have already taken! After that initial impression, the lectures have been better, but confusion will definitely run rampant once we delve into material that isn't review - especially considering our textbook isn't particularly great.
Another course I decided to take was Radio Frequency Microelectronics, praised by most of the alumni I spoke to as an awesome course taught by an extremely knowledgeable professor. As luck would have it, another professor was slated to teach us at the last minute, so it's been a learning experience for both parties in the lecture room. Obviously not your ideal scenario.
My extracurriculars have been going well, I suppose. The usual headaches and challenges hit me everyday - but there's some downtime when I choose to take a break, and small rewards make it worthwhile.
It's also that time - the hunting season. No, don't worry - no animals have been harmed in the making of co-op jobs. There are plenty to choose from this time, since I'm now one of the senior students - but none of the available positions really grip me as extraordinary. Lots of bait though, with the usual big players coming to fish for eager undergraduates - Microsoft, Google, Amazon. Let the clamouring begin!
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