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What do/did you study?


Callum

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So what did you study at sixth form or university or college? I studied Law, History, English and Business and hated all of them so have dropped out and am hoping to do a Business Internship with recognised qualifications as of September.

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I actually never completed any university level degree. I started learning programming as a teenager, and was fortunate enough (and stubborn enough to apply to over 200 job postings for entry level programmer positions) to land a job in my field before I gradiuated high school.

By the time I got to university or college, the hardest courses for associates degree in computer science was too easy (I got an A- without opening a book), and I could justify going through years of general courses for comp sci courses that gave me concepts that I already had.

As a note I am am not saying I am a prodigy, I was lucky to have learned a lot from a great mentor during my first job that taught me that all programming and software engineering is pattern and concepts. Learn those and everything else falls together.

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I'm currently working on my BFA in Illustration. Art is another one of those things that you don't need a degree in and the cost is pretty steep, but the access to great technology, knowledgeable and helpful professors, and endless employer visits and workshops help to justify the cost (scholarships help too haha). I've improved leaps and bounds and I'm hoping that takes me far when it comes time to employment!

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I'm not in college anymore, but most of the time I just study or research things on my own anyway, even when I was in college. :P Currently I'm going pretty hard core in Japanese. I took several courses in college, but I didn't stick with it and it just wasn't a great time for me. I've gotten newfound motivation this year and have been studying every day, I'm pretty proud of myself :D 

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@kami Japanese is a great language. I don't speak it but my wife can understand some of it (she is half Japanese, and grew up a few years in Japan). However my younger sister in law who attended elementary schools in Japan as a kid can read and write it fluently.

i unfortunately am still lost.

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5 hours ago, Callum said:

@kamiJapanese is a fantastic language, my ex girlfriend self taught and was all but fluent by the time she was 13 so I'm sure you will smash it! Best of lucky.

It's a very interesting one! Crazy how different it is from English, but I like it a lot better than other Western languages, mostly due to the lack of gendered forms. (I tried learning German in the past, and off/on Russian, and it's just so random most of the time with what words are fem/mas/neut x'D Japanese seems to have a more consistent structure.) That's really cool of your ex, props to her! :D And thanks ^^

25 minutes ago, Digital said:

@kami Japanese is a great language. I don't speak it but my wife can understand some of it (she is half Japanese, and grew up a few years in Japan). However my younger sister in law who attended elementary schools in Japan as a kid can read and write it fluently.

i unfortunately am still lost.

That's really cool! :D I'm mostly focusing on reading/writing first, then listening, and saving the hardest for last---speaking, haha. I'm eager to take another trip to Japan though once I've gotten better at it.

I don't blame you for feeling lost, it's a tricky language. Argueably the hardest for native English speakers to learn. XD

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On 3/26/2017 at 7:34 AM, kami said:

 I'm mostly focusing on reading/writing first, then listening, and saving the hardest for last

Which character set are you focusing on first?

 

On 3/25/2017 at 7:34 AM, Callum said:

I am keen to get more qualifications in IT and computer science.

What area's of IT and Computer Science?

 

On 3/23/2017 at 5:00 AM, N_E_Wunn said:

 

I began programming in high school, but my undergrad degree is Political Science with a minor in Business. I also have an MBA. 

 

Wow, very nice, I have a few friends with MBA's who have done well by them, but here it is a tough job market even with such a degree.

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Just now, Digital said:

Which character set are you focusing on first?

I already know Hiragana and Katakana, learned those yeeaaarrss ago, haha. You kind of need to learn those first to do anything anyway XD It's like learning the ABCs for English. You can't read anything if you don't know the alphabet. Working on kanji with WaniKani. (It's an online kanji teaching tool.) I'm currently in the 200s for kanji known on WaniKani, though I know more, as it teaches in a specific order, so some of the ones I haven't hit yet I already know.

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Popping by to chime in that Japanese is a cool language to learn @Kami.

My boyfriend took Japanese courses in university and he's loved every moment of it. He also went to Japan a few years ago on a solo trip and he had a blast. Learned a lot on the spot. :) But the coolest thing is that he's been able to interpret some Chinese characters because he knew kanji,  which makes learning to read Mandarin Chinese (my second language) a bit easier for him. 

In response to the OP it's interesting to see many business or IT minded folks here. My understanding of those topics have always been through self-studying, workshops, and networking. I just received my Bachelor of Environments from Simon Fraser University. I do policy and research analysis on environmental issues, but I've always had a soft spot for game development. So that's why I'm here. :) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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@Cadence It's been fun so far! I'm slowly losing motivation as of late, unfortunately (three months straight non stop is rough!), but I'm still trying to push myself and remind myself of the reasons why I want to learn. :) I can definitely imagine it being helpful for learning Chinese, haha. Props to him for exploring so many languages!

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On 3/30/2017 at 6:06 PM, kami said:

@Cadence It's been fun so far! I'm slowly losing motivation as of late, unfortunately (three months straight non stop is rough!), but I'm still trying to push myself and remind myself of the reasons why I want to learn. :) I can definitely imagine it being helpful for learning Chinese, haha. Props to him for exploring so many languages!

The great thing about languages is that you never really forget them :) It's less work relearning it than the first time learning. Good luck with learning Japanese! Breaks can be your friend haha. Burn outs are awful.

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2 hours ago, Cadence said:

The great thing about languages is that you never really forget them :) It's less work relearning it than the first time learning. Good luck with learning Japanese! Breaks can be your friend haha. Burn outs are awful.

Definitely true! It has been much easier the second time, though granted, I feel more strongly motivated this time XD But hopefully I can keep pushing through while avoiding burnouts x'D

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I'm finishing up my Bachelors degree in Computer Science this May. In retrospect I feel like I could have learned a lot of the information we covered through self-study, but I like the more structured approach a university setting provides and the deeper focus on topics like algorithms and data structures which I might have neglected if left to form my own curriculum.

Outside of my required university work I am also really interested in languages, mythology, game design/development, and Asian/European history. I'm actually pretty excited about finishing up my degree because I'll finally have the time to really apply myself to those studies, particularly my language learning goals.

In the past I've studied German and Japanese. I reached basic fluency in German, but haven't really touched it since the end of high school (I haven't really been able to find any interesting media or practical use for it here in the states) so I've grown pretty rusty. I know some basic phrases and vocabulary in Japanese but never got very far with it. Definitely something I'd like to go back to at some point. Right now my main focus is Korean and I've been really enjoying the learning process. The Korean alphabet (Hangul) looks intimidating at first but is actually really simple. There is also a lot of free Korean media online (games, dramas, music) that I enjoy which has helped to keep me practicing and motivated.

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