Undergraduate Advising

Greetings awesome undergrads! If you’re reading this, it’s likely because you are one of my advisees and I’ve sent you here to get some background info before coming to group advising. Here’s a preview of what we will discuss during the group meeting.

Some of this is based on great advice from Prof. Dan Garcia and his LAUGH mantra:

  • Lean In and take the initiative to connect with faculty and engage in research
  • Academic soulmate: find your best project buddies and try to take your project courses together
  • Underground project: work on personal projects you’re really interested in during free time
  • Give back as a TA or reader or lab assistant or volunteer
  • Have fun!

Resources for advisees

I’m always available by appointment to meet with my advisees, but if you find yourself in distress and/or need immediate support, please try these resources first:

  • For academic help (mentoring, tutoring, etc.): HKN, UPE, CS Mentors (especially for lower div CS courses)
  • For general advising and stress/work environment related issues, you can always informally stop by the CS Advisors’ offices
  • And if you find yourself in mental distress, Dr. Christine Zhou ((510) 643-7850) of University Health Services has drop-in and by-appointment hours in Bechtel.

What happens in advising stays in advising

We’ll talk about courses, grad school/industry, and more. Nothing you say in this room leaves the room, so if you have candid advice for your colleagues on who or who not to take a course with or anything like that, this is the place.

Our general advising agenda is whatever the advisees want to discuss, but popular topics have usually included these:

  1. Introductions—name, year, what you want to do after graduation: Grad school? industry? startup? what area(s) of CS most interest you? 
  2. Courses: new courses, format changes, advice from colleagues about when to take/not take certain courses, advice from me about choosing relevant courses
  3. Companies/interviews: life in industry (yes, I have been there), startups vs. established companies, entrepreneurship…
  4. Research: are you interested in it? Reasons to try it/reasons not to. I’ve put some info about it here.
  5. Grad school: are you thinking about it? What to keep in mind. When to go and when not to. FAQ about grad student life. PhD programs vs Masters programs vs 5th-year MS vs M.Eng. and other professional degrees.

Courses

HKN & EECS are great resources to figure out which are the best courses, as are your fellow students. I’m happy to try to answer any course or instructor related questions I can. But for each question I’ll call on someone in room to see if they know that course/prof and want to offer first-hand advice. If they want, I’m happy to shut my ears.

We’ll talk about any new courses or format changes that may affect registration for the coming semester (enrollment limits, prereq changes, and so on).

Do you have one or more “academic soulmates”/buddies/teammates who pair on homeworks or work in group projects with you? Many students have found this a key to enjoying and thriving in tough technicals.

Allow for lots of time in your schedule when  taking the courses that will matter most to your career. Whether for grad school or industry, you don’t get credit for taking lots of courses, but for doing really well the things that will be central to your job or research. For grad school you do need a strong GPA (for better or worse); for industry it really doesn’t matter.

Research

Getting involved in research as an undergraduate is a great way to explore whether you might be interested in grad school, to work on leading-edge projects, to get more depth in an area of CS you’re interested in beyond anything you’ll get in regular course work, and more. Most faculty are happy to work with strong undergrads and most colleagues I know do so. I’ve put some info about it here

The most important aspect of both getting and keeping a research position is a strong sense of initiative and ownership. I’ve put together some advice and guidelines you can take a look at as a start before you reach out to faculty. That said, don’t be afraid to take the initiative to connect with faculty and engaged in research: just taking the initiative already sets you apart. Check the EECS web pages for various REU (research experiences for undergraduates) opportunities—some target particular research areas, student demographics, etc., and others are more general. Apply widely!

Entrepreneurship

Berkeley is one of the world’s leading universities in terms of spinning off startups. Interested in participating in entrepreneurship via courses, startup competitions, and the like? The best place to start is the  BEGIN Portal (Berkeley Gateway to Innovation), which provides a roadmap to courses, certificate programs, incubators, competitions, and other campus activities related to innovation and entrepreneurship.

Grad school

Thinking of grad school? Here’s an outline of points we’ll discuss in more detail and specific to your situation in advising.

Follow-up advising

I’m always available to do followup one-on-one appointments with my advisees! The following may be helpful if you want to schedule one:

  • While I’m happy to discuss specific courses/profs, HKN reviews and your own colleagues are more reliable sources of that info. I can add more value in advising you on which courses might be most relevant/valuable for you to take given your career plans, intellectual interests, and so on.
  • Career advice gladly given. But please come prepared with focused questions. Rather than asking “What should I do after graduation?” you might try “After graduation I’m considering working for a startup vs. going to grad school. Here’s what I think the pros and cons are so far, but I’m having trouble deciding. What do you think?” In general, as with programming, you learn the most if you get as far as you can until you get stuck, and then seek help in the form of feedback on a well formulated initial question!

Looking forward to meeting you f2f in advising…