Learning CS/Engineering - Self Study

<p>So I'm completely happy with studying business (major) and IR (minor), but lately I'm feeling like I'm missing out not understanding more about how technology works.
With one more year of college left, I'm starting to think of possible careers I want to pursue, and I think it would really help me to have a sound understanding of CS or engineering because even if I don't use it career wise, there's just so much innovation going on that I'd really like to understand.</p>

<p>So here's what I want to know, what's are some resources that I can use to teach myself CS, beyond just the basics? How did all of you get interested in engineering? </p>

<p>Also, are there post-grad programs that don't require an engineering undergrad degree? </p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>What CS do you want to know? If you want programming, the O'Reilly books are good, as as some of the For Dummies series.</p>

<p>Yes, there are post-grad programs that don't require an engineering undergrad degree. There are post-bac CS programs that will prepare you for grad degree programs or professional CS work, and there are bridge programs in engineering like Boston University's LEAP program. Some colleges will let you take random classes as a special student.</p>

<p>Edited to add: You can also self-study through MIT's Open CourseWare (Free</a> Online Course Materials | MIT OpenCourseWare)</p>

<p>If you've never programmed before I would recommend the book Practical Common Lisp, its available online for free at Practical</a> Common Lisp </p>

<p>If you want to get into electrical engineering, I'd say the best way to start is to build something, get it working, and then learn the theory behind why it works. There are a bunch of web sites with circuit diagrams that you can build. All you need to learn to get started is how to identify different parts. </p>

<p>Remember, one of the best ways to learn engineering is by doing. All the theory in the world is useless unless you get your hands dirty and apply it.</p>

<p>For engineering, I'd say just start by reading through a whole bunch of articles on howstuffworks.com. For the most part, the pages are well written, there's great diagrams, and you can find out what sort of technologies you're more interested in learning more in depth.</p>

<p>Perhaps you could still try to take an Intro to X Engineering class prior to graduation.</p>