Message From Leadership

Dr. Radana Dvorak, Undergraduate Program Director & Associate Professor

Last week during the Thursday STC SCRG weekly meeting, Shanshan, a recent graduate from the MSCS, provided a very good presentation on preparing for software development job interviews. She recently was given a full-time job offer – congratulations Shanshan!! In this article, I want to build on Shanshan’s presentation and provide more resources. 

-Prepare for your interviews by learning about the company, its culture, and expectations. 

-Look at the job requirements in the job description and use the keywords in your resume. 

-Practice interviewing and preparing for your technical interviews. 

-Never ever give up! If you get rejected, and you will, keep preparing for technical interviews and keep submitting applications, there are thousands of companies needing developers. 

Here are a few excellent resources to help you become a better programmer and prepare you for interviews. These books are also helpful to guide you when you have a starting position to write quality code. These resources, among a long list, were recently published in Dzone. 

1 Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell: Still the best prep book with easy to complex questions, algorithms, solutions, etc. 

2 Things they don’t teach you in Software Schools by Shane Neubauer:  Letters from a mentor. Excellent for a starting developer. Easy read. 

3 14 Habits of Highly Productive Developers by Zeno Rocha: This book is a gem providing hints and tips from successful developers at Google, Microsoft, Spotify, Amazon, and more. This book is in the form of a quest – fun and helpful resource. 

4 Clean Code, A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship by Robert C. Martin: You will most likely be asked about your experience with Agile, why you would use it, and provide an example. This book is very handy not only for interviews but also to help you succeed. 

5 Refactoring – Improving the Design of Existing Code: This will be useful if you are asked how to improve existing code a company has or a project you were given. It’s a technique utilized for improving the design of a functioning codebase. This book will guide you how to code in small steps to reduce errors. 

If you have come across resources that have helped you, let us know! Happy coding! 

Recognition

Scott Zhou, STC Teaching Assistant

Congratulations for receiving a full-time Software Engineer job offer!

“STC Thurs Byte is my go-to place to check what is going on in our school. The message from leadership has been inspired me a lot and makes me always ready to challenge myself. When I saw the job opportunity on Thurs Byte, I took my chance immediately without hesitation. I believe there are two types of people in the world – always ready or never going to be prepared. As an MSCS student, there are many challenges in the programming world, and I can always find a place in Thurs Byte to either help me learn some tech history or laugh with the tech humor. Every student should check STC Thurs Byte on a weekly based. There is always something useful that could be beneficial for a lifetime.”

Club Announcements

  • Cybersecurity Club

Cybersecurity Club will not be meeting this week as the club is engaged in the NUARI TableTop Exercise. We will see you next week when the topic will be how to use the torproject to be anonymous online. 

  • STC Tech Club

STC Tech Club meets every Thursday from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM (PDT) via Teams to provide tech-related learning opportunities, skill development, and networking. Students or faculty who would like to share your expertise or project, please contact us at dangnhi@cityu.edu. Click here to join STC Tech Club Weekly Meeting – Fall Quarter. Everyone is invited! 

  1. Invited Talk:
  1. Virtual Mock Interview:

STC Tech Club encourages students to participate in virtual mock interviews with a panel of program managers. The goal of these practice sessions is to provide students with an understanding of what to expect in a typical interview as well as an opportunity to improve interviewing skills. By choosing to participate in this event, you are:

  • Improving communication/interview skills, which are required to be competitive in today’s employment market.
  • Professionalism is demonstrated by coming early for the event, dressing properly, and maintaining a positive attitude while at the event.
  • Developing your professional network before graduation and acquiring contact information to remain connected
REGISTER HERE
 
Date: Thursday, Nov 4, 2021
Time: 4:30 – 5:30 PM PDT
 
Student Registration Deadline: Oct 27, 7:00 PM or until full
 
Please note: limited spots are available, and registration may close on or before October 27th due to capacity. If registration does become full, a waitlist will be started.

Upcoming Events

CAE-NCX Tech Talk: MALWARE

NCX TECH TALKS: These webinars will be offered on a platform with very high participant capacity and will not require pre-registration. The webinars are a new NCX feature this year and are designed to offer focused instruction on the NCX scenario topics.

October 28 @ 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Mountain West Cyber Challenge

Opportunities

Company: Trimble

Job Title: Hardware Security Engineer

Location: Westminster, CO

We are recruiting for a self-motivated and versatile Hardware Security Engineer to join the global Trimble Cyber Security Team, which is responsible for securing Trimble’s product and enterprise systems.  You will be a visible member and thought leader of our cyber security engineering team and will help us advance cybersecurity requirements, processes, and technology solutions across multiple hardware products. The role requires someone who can use their initiative and work well independently and part of a global team.

Learn more

Career Tips

Be formal with every job search touch point! – Job Search QuickTip #4

During your job search, err on the formal side in dress, writing, speaking and follow-up. Raise the bar.

Welcome to a video series of helpful job search tips to help you succeed in the most competitive job environment ever. For college grads to senior executives.

Watch here

This Week in Tech History

October 28, 1998

Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) was signed into law by US President Bill Clinton to criminalize the production and dissemination of technology designed to circumvent digital copyright protection, known as Digital Rights Management (DRM). The law stirred up a lot of controversion regarding accusations of abuse of law to stifle innovation and competition.

Tech Humor