Comments on: Missed a day, but what the hey http://blog.thomas-robertson.com/2008/04/03/missed-a-day-but-what-the-hey/ Inside the Mind of Thomas Robertson Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:14:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: museumfreak http://blog.thomas-robertson.com/2008/04/03/missed-a-day-but-what-the-hey/#comment-1241 museumfreak Sat, 05 Apr 2008 04:08:37 +0000 http://blog.thomas-robertson.com/?p=897#comment-1241 For CoC your assessment is right on the money based on my discussions with alums -- I would NOT go to CoC as an MS student because 1) you'll get ignored 2) there's not much funding 3) let me repeat 1 & 2 for emphasis and 4) the reality is that sometimes their alumni *don't* get jobs in spite of what they think. This is why I put off starting at GA Tech until 1) I was good enough to get admitted directly to HCC or 2) something came together (this is what Amy was saying about being happy for me and me saying it had been a long road). I'm going specifically to be Digital Media-based because their PhD program is very new (within the time I've lived in Atlanta, I think) and as a result they still take way more care of their masters students (it's a smaller program in general too); also I've cultivated specific close relationships with faculty members. DM + DM-HCI last year managed to fund all but one of their MS students by the second semester: it is CC-HCI that has the lower statistics they talked about, and pretty much everyone we met but A and B was CC-HCI which explains the general feeling of dejection. I was really annoyed by the fact that they didn't really allow DM-HCI or PSY-HCI any opportunity to sell themselves (there were a couple of other things that really annoyed me about that visiting day but I won't get into them). DM is also a lot more creative and less about "serious work" -- it's not the freewheeling atmosphere of NYU, true, but there are some people there who are really fun and lots of people who are doing neat arty kinds of stuff. (A actually only looks buttoned up, incidentally -- she's way more fun in my experience than her sartorial choices suggest.) If the money thing fails for you at NYU or you have second thoughts about it between now and then, then I'll be glad to introduce you to people; if you're willing to work as a programmer (sounds like you do enjoy programming?) there is a really good chance of an GRA for you in DM. I am not necessarily trying to persuade you to come here -- you do what's right for you -- but from the perspective of a quick assessment from someone who's already kind of active in a lab, I think you're good, and I'd like to see you come play with us. You would still of course be able to work with Amy, but you would also work with one of the faculty in DM who does ethnography. For CoC your assessment is right on the money based on my discussions with alums — I would NOT go to CoC as an MS student because 1) you’ll get ignored 2) there’s not much funding 3) let me repeat 1 & 2 for emphasis and 4) the reality is that sometimes their alumni *don’t* get jobs in spite of what they think. This is why I put off starting at GA Tech until 1) I was good enough to get admitted directly to HCC or 2) something came together (this is what Amy was saying about being happy for me and me saying it had been a long road).

I’m going specifically to be Digital Media-based because their PhD program is very new (within the time I’ve lived in Atlanta, I think) and as a result they still take way more care of their masters students (it’s a smaller program in general too); also I’ve cultivated specific close relationships with faculty members. DM + DM-HCI last year managed to fund all but one of their MS students by the second semester: it is CC-HCI that has the lower statistics they talked about, and pretty much everyone we met but A and B was CC-HCI which explains the general feeling of dejection. I was really annoyed by the fact that they didn’t really allow DM-HCI or PSY-HCI any opportunity to sell themselves (there were a couple of other things that really annoyed me about that visiting day but I won’t get into them). DM is also a lot more creative and less about “serious work” — it’s not the freewheeling atmosphere of NYU, true, but there are some people there who are really fun and lots of people who are doing neat arty kinds of stuff. (A actually only looks buttoned up, incidentally — she’s way more fun in my experience than her sartorial choices suggest.)

If the money thing fails for you at NYU or you have second thoughts about it between now and then, then I’ll be glad to introduce you to people; if you’re willing to work as a programmer (sounds like you do enjoy programming?) there is a really good chance of an GRA for you in DM. I am not necessarily trying to persuade you to come here — you do what’s right for you — but from the perspective of a quick assessment from someone who’s already kind of active in a lab, I think you’re good, and I’d like to see you come play with us. You would still of course be able to work with Amy, but you would also work with one of the faculty in DM who does ethnography.

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