<p>Oh man, you help the students with their calculators when you TA??!! Not me, I only help with the material at hand. It's their responsibility to learn how their calculator works! :) </p>
<p>Before making a decision sit down with the calculator and the manual and learn every single thing that 84 does. I think the OP would at least be in a better position to decide. </p>
<p>I totally agree about MATLAB, you can't get away from it and knowing how to use it is an essential skill. Although, I did work in a lab that used Maple, but no MATLAB....so you never know. All of the different programs take some time to learn and master. Personally, I'm glad I've been forced to use so many different programs. Now, I am confident telling a potential employer that I can learn how to use any software they want me to even if it their own weird self-coded program. But now, I am way off topic....sorry!</p>