[Haskell-cafe] possible CS major seeking advice

[Ben Lippmeier]

On 02/12/2013, at 8:23 , Dennis Raddle <dennis.raddle at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Although teaching is my passion, it would be good to stay open to a job in industry should that become desirable for financial reasons. I'm poor right now, have little retirement savings, and I'm blowing through them quickly due to the high medical costs I have. Although people say, "Do what you love, the money will follow." I wonder if those people have ever been poor, especially sick and poor. At some point money becomes more important.
> 
> But my first preference is teaching. I just don't want to close any doors.

If you're aiming for a permanent faculty position, then the top universities care primarily about research output and the ability to attract external funding. Teaching is also an important part of the job, but they assume that if you're a good researcher then you'll also be alright at teaching.

I suggest starting out as a teaching assistant / tutor to get more exposure to the field. You could probably tutor for a first year programming course at a local university, just based on your past experience. While at the university, make a point of meeting the faculty members and get to know what projects they're working on.

What matters is to find people working on projects that interest you, and for them to see you as an enthusiastic and useful collaborator. Reference letters and the "prestigiousness" of the university matter less than you would think.

If you think CS is your thing then step 0 is to get involved in some open source projects. 

Ben.