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by mistermann 5833 days ago
I fully appreciate you have a language barrier, and have considered that when reading your post; maybe I'm wrong but my first impression is that you are yet another young uni student with a big ego, no notable accomplishments, and absolute certainty of greatness and success.

> Here is my case: 1: I am 22 years and 3 weeks old

> by the time I graduate I would still be 22 years and 11 months old

Why are you so concerned with your age such that you think it is somehow important to be precise to the level of months and weeks?

> I am really good at C.S.

yet...

>I am scared of doing Ph.D., if I dont get into top few universities.

Why would this scare you? If you are as good as you seem to think you are, your degree will be a footnote on your resume within years.

> I love solving problems, unlike people who got interested in programming by making websites

It seems to me that is an insulting statement..are you not (loosely) implying most(?) people in CS programs are there because they want to "build websites", or in other words, aren't nearly enlightened as you.

> Hence I dont want a job which involves significant amount of (for lack of appropriate term) enterprise fizz-buzz programming.

Yes, this is a totally valid point, no complaints here.

> I would love to become an Analyst in company like McKinsey or Bains or BCG etc. Though such jobs are extremely hard to get My beloved other option is to join any of Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Microsoft. These again hard if not harder than above ones.

My honest interpretation of this is, you want to get wealthy, ie: you're not in this field for your love and passion of it, but because of greed. That's the feeling I get from what you say, reality may be different.

> My Final Aim is to get an MBA from a really good university.

My personal opinion, but this is not a particularly honorable goal in life, at least a first goal....especially considering some of the stellar ideas MBA's have burdened the world with in the last 5 years.

> Lastly I would love to get a Quant Job

Again, just my opinion, especially at your age, and especially if you are as smart as you think you are, can't you aspire to something more than this?

Maybe I have the totally wrong interpretation of you, and I honestly don't mean to be rude, but from what you've said, you seem to me to be the type of person that has specific career goals and I would be afraid that you would walk over top of anyone that stood in your way to achieve these goals...like someone that wants to climb the ladder to the top and anyone that gets in your way better watch out.

Maybe I read it wrong.

2 comments

I agree I sound like someone big ego. However all I state in this post are my expectation, probably I will fail or die tomorrow while crossing the road. yet till now setting highest expectations has worked for me.

Scared of Doing PhD: The scare is due to the bureaucracy involved + unbreakable commitment for four years. One of My best friend got 3rd [last] option as his advisor, which means he will have to work for four years with him. Also being an alien student complicates the matter, you just cant say bye after an M.S. degree. That is my source of fear and not the research it self.

Regarding Solving problem: Sorry but In fact I was talking about people who are naturally drawn to programming the true and best top coders who love to code. [I am not that kind] When I said I wanted to solve problems, I meant that I started with Matlab to perform computation, When I realized its shortcoming, then I moved on to Python and onwards. Thus my drive for coding is generated by problem at hand. The Way i look at it Programming is a tool but not a pastime, As far as websites. I created a small webapp which was part of my project on Google App Engine few months after it was introduce. Thus i mean no slight to the coders.

Regarding the Greed Part, to be honest yes; I do feel a need for Monetary success. But I have met few Analyst and People who work in strategy or product development. And looking at their work I feel that they are much better suited at making significant decisions. A Startup provides similar opportunity, but again being an Alien student it is difficult to participate in the experience.

Regarding the MBA: An Intern from a One of the best business schools works along me at my current internship. When I look at the job she has been assigned. I realize that MBA is essential for getting those kinds of responsibilities. E.g. My current work might increase profits by [Best case - Impossible] few percents but her work could open a completely new segment. Now this is possible by gaining experience in a field yet it takes several years and significant office politics is involved.

Regarding the Quant job, it is a last as well as completely unrealistic option.

Thanks again for your comments.

I've got to say, you are truly a unique guy, I really hope you stick around here and give us updates on your progress.
Here is a recent post by someone else on HN http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1467116

To quote that guy """

Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely listen to the Merlin Mann/John Gruber talk. I agree that money doesn't come without producing value first. I guess I was just a confused engineer frustrated at the slow growth rate rather than thinking about the value I can produce. """

And he works in an Top SF company probably Google/FB etc! I am realizing the same thing before and trying to design an appropriate career path.