As an undergraduate uni student, there’s ultimately going to be two paths for me to take: postgraduate study, postgraduate research, or just start working. As at now, I still have no idea which way I’d like to go in the future. So the question remains: What am I going to do once I finish my degree?
To answer that question, I will need to know more about each of those career paths. Postgraduate study? Well that’s a bit like what I’m doing right now, right? Getting into the workforce might be a good way to go, but the last thing I want to do is to be trapped in the day job without the ability to escape from it and try something else like doing research.
Research has always been fascinating. Not only do they get to play with the cutting edge technology (it’s nothing like what you’d see in retail shops). I’ve also heard that there’s a lot of freedom when it comes to doing research – you’re not driven by what people buy, but rather research is driven by what you feel like doing. Wouldn’t that be nice?
So join me this Friday, 3rd October 2008, at 1:00pm at Microsoft HQ, 1 Epping Road, North Ryde to find out what research is about, and what Microsoft China can offer in a Research and Development role.
Be sure to tell all your smartest friends who might be thinking of doing research after they graduate.
More details about this event after the break!
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Once again, I’m writing this up on a plane on my way back home. The last two days (25-26 Sep 08) has been absolutely phenomenal at Student Daze 2008 – Microsoft Student Partners Summit 2008 v1.0. Why is it called Student “Daze†rather than Student “Days� I’m not really sure, but I think it has something to do with so many people having jet lag.
Student Daze brings a selection of MSPs around the world into Microsoft’s Headquarters at Redmond, Washington in the USA. We are given the opportunity to connect and chat to other MSPs, find out what it’s like and what’s happening in the academic scene around the world.
We also get to meet some of the greatest people from Microsoft, like Joe Wilson (again!) and Scott Guthrie, plus a sneak preview into amazing new software that’s yet to be released. Sorry, but you folks out there will need to wait until the upcoming PDC to see it. Any leaks? Well, read on for more about Popfly, Mesh, XNA, Silverlight, cloud computing and more.
Let’s get into what actually happened after the break!
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Today was the Sydney University IT Society AGM, which went for an incredibly long amount of time as we elected new members onto our executive team. As for myself, my position at SUITS has changed from Vice President to Industry Liaison.
Ah, A change in scenery. Hello Mr. Industry, here I come to liaise with you!
I’m writing this up using Live Writer on the plane (Note: offline!) as I fly from Melbourne (YMML) back to Sydney (YSSY) after a day of interviews. I say a day, because it involves flying down in the morning and then flying back up in the evening. No, the actual interview didn’t take then entire day.
What can I say? I gave it my best, and enjoyed talking each and every interviewers. Although I didn’t sign an NDA, I can’t (and don’t want to) disclose the interview questions. However, I do want to tell you how the process was.
So it turns out that they interview 3 people at the same time, with 3 different interviewers. So the day of interviews is made up of 3 different interviews, lasting for roughly 30 minutes each. We rotated from one interviewer to another, so that makes 3 × 30 minutes = 1.5 hours.
Overall it was a great experience – not strictly formal, but really technical. The three interviewers today was Carrie (HR), Chris (Testing), and Hugh (Developing). Basically these three interviewers reflected the three positions that we could be interviewed for: SDE, SDET or PM.
Anyway, the position that I’m aiming for is SDE, but I won’t know how I went until next Tuesday – more anxious waiting.
Finally, a word of congrats to everyone whom have made it thus far in the interviews, getting to fly to Microsoft Melbourne paid for by Microsoft. Especially to those from Sydney University: Peter Budd, Liviu Constantinescu, Yan Shvartzshnaider. I didn’t expect to see so many people from Sydney Uni today.
Have I missed anyone?
Update 16 Sep 08. I got in, yay!
Q: For DreamSpark – is it enough for me to bring my Uni student card? Or do I need one of those ISIC cards?
A: Well right now, DreamSpark is not available to Australian institutions, since it’s not out in Austrlia. So in order to get DreamSpark before anyone else here, you’d need to get the ISIC card, which can be authenticate you as an “international” student.
I imagine that they will open up the authentication to Australian institutions after the launch, so that you wouldn’t need to buy an ISIC card just to get DreamSpark. Don’t quote me on this, it’s just my prediction.
If for some reason they are issuing out ISIC cards, then you’ll need to bring your Uni student card. But I really can’t see that being the case.
Q: And what if I’m going to be late to the event?
A: Don’t worry, you’ll only miss out on the action. No seriously, just get there whenever you can and hope that you haven’t missed out on too much.
Events, Microsoft | Edmund Tse | 
30 Sep 2008 15:59 | 
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