<p>Hi, I am a struggling Junior at UIUC majoring in computer science.</p>
<p>Currently, I am really trying to graduate in 4.5 years (I am very slow, trying to maintain GPA of 3.4~3.5). In order to graduate in 4.5 years, I would need to take summer classes (both this and the following summer). However, this means no intern for me. Should I instead aim for 5 years and do some intern during the summer or just go with my original plan of graduating in 4.5 years? (The thing is, all my friends are graduating in 4 years, and it would be really terrible for me to stay in school for another year without knowing anyone... Also, my family isn't very wealthy) As for what I plan to do after graduation, its either I go to grad school or try to get a job.</p>
<p>Any help appreciated.</p>
<p>ps - Does doing some psychology classes help you if interested in A.I.?</p>
<p>== Mr. Payne. If you want to go straight into industry, some sort of internship is essential these days. It will also pay you, thus offsetting some of the cost of the extra term.</p>
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Does doing some psychology classes help you if interested in A.I.?
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<p>Absolutely. My company specializes in applied AI/intelligent systems, and several of our scientists have PhDs in psychology. Which psych classes you take matters somewhat, though. Classes in learning, perception, cognitive psych, and (if you want to do something like organizational behavior modeling) social psych are all useful.</p>
<p>WHAT!?!? Of course they're important. Who else would do all the tedious mundane work, such as data entry and making copies? Some companies love interns because they're pretty much slaves, especially considering what they get paid relative to full time employees.</p>
<p>Working in A.I. more or less requires graduate school and grad school admissions aren't nearly as concerned with work experience as companies are. So if A.I. is definitely your chosen specialty, I suggest maximizing GPA for entry into a grad school, not work experience for entering the workforce. Also, getting some research experience is important for grad school and it can be done while taking classes, unlike an internship.</p>
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Working in A.I. more or less requires graduate school
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<p>No it doesn't. Grad school helps a lot, of course (which is why I want to eventually get an advanced degree), but if grad school were required to work in AI, a sizable fraction of my company (and some other local companies that I can think of, like iRobot) would evaporate. And AI is used in a lot of corporate applications not necessarily created by AI-specializing companies these days.</p>
<p>Maximizing GPA also isn't going to benefit you in grad school apps. Getting a good GPA will, but not maximization - they don't care if you got a 3.8 vs a 3.7. Research matters much more at top programs. Note that there is such a thing as a research internship (e.g. at a university or a national laboratory).</p>
<p>If you're working in a lab writing software, porting programs, working with some serious hardware, doing scientific research for 2 years. Is that a good experience or would an internship be preferred? Does it make a big difference if you worked in a lab or in an office?</p>
<p>Depends on the intern programs. Internships are a must nowadays. If you don't have one, you're already behind the others who do have one. I would suggest getting one. As someone pointed out, you get money for it, so you can use it to pay off loans or the tuition. It also gives you something to talk about when applying for jobs, hence making the interview process more smooth.</p>
<p>Could you try a part time co-op throughout the school year? Meaning, you work (for 10-20hrs a week) and attend classes full-time. That's also a good option.</p>
<p>The reason I am hesitating to get an internship is because I haven't taken much CS courses... I only completed data structures so far, and I don't think thats good enough. I am so lost these days :(</p>