WEEK 5

Part 1: Support and Comment on Teammates' Goals

Morgan’s education and career aspirations were far more comprehensive than mine and showcased his high level of ambition. He broke down and outlined his educational goals in a straightforward roadmap. His career aspirations extend far into the future, relate to his prior work expertise and the skills he aims to acquire through his educational journey. 

https://mcsumbcsonline.blogspot.com/2025/09/september-30-2025-week-4-learning.html


Chris’s education and career goals were far more detailed than mine. He outlined specific topics he wants to improve on, how he intends to supplement his education outside of school, and his interest in artificial intelligence. His career aspirations reflect the skills he will gain from his educational pursuits and his interests in AI 

https://chrisatcsumb.blogspot.com/2025/09/week-4.html


Part 2: Possible Capstone Ideas 

The scale and type of project will depend on whether I work alone or in a team; I don’t have a preference. One of the topics that interests me is creating a Roguelike game similar to Enter The Gungeon. My second project idea is to create a nutrition calculator. Users would enter their recommended daily calorie intake, create a catalog of foods they eat regularly, and enter the weight of the foods they eat. Additionally, they would be able to scan nutritional labels. The vitamin daily value percentages and calories would then be tallied up. My third project idea is to create a range-based restaurant roulette table, where users can randomly select a restaurant to eat from. I’m not entirely convinced about these project ideas and would be open to my team’s projects and suggestions.


Part 3: Keep Up With Your Learning Journal

CST 349

This week we got an introduction into the capstone project, got some ideas of possible types of capstones we can make, and skimmed the fall 2020 capstones. We also reviewed and downloaded free and discounted software provided by CSUMB. For our team assignment, we brainstormed three research video presentation topics and then voted on other teams’ topics. Additionally, we scheduled a team meeting with the professor and conducted an interview with an expert in a computer science-related industry to gain valuable insights. 

Internship and Graduate Programs

While in the program, I do intend to apply for internships; I have yet to do so. After completing the program, I’m not opposed to the idea of pursuing a graduate program. I would rather get into an entry level job and work for a few years before applying for a graduate program to earn a Master’s degree in software engineering. 



CST 300

This week, we explored prompt engineering techniques to get the best output out of GenAI while mitigating its limitations and avoiding plagiarism by acknowledging its use. GenAI tools like ChatGPT are best suited for generating ideas, crafting prompts based on outlines, providing critical feedback on work, and facilitating research and source exploration. However, they are not well-suited for generating lengthy texts or producing unbiased content. Ultimately, GenAI should not be fully trusted, and users should thoroughly analyze its output. We also received an overview of stakeholder analysis, including a breakdown of the types of claims stakeholders can make. For our assignments, we took a quiz on stakeholders and engaged in a discussion about our experience using GenAI to generate our second stakeholder analysis.


Industry Expert / Executive Interview

I interviewed Manuel Gonzalez, a 2017 alumnus of the computer science B.S. program at CSUMB. I chose to interview Manuel because he is a friend of my older brother’s and I was introduced to him a few years back. Currently, he works as a senior software engineer in the CLV/OPS team (customer lifetime value and operations) at KiwiCo, a subscription based STEM and STEAM box provider. Before KiwiCo, he worked at Intellievent, an event rental and labor management software company. He also worked at SNAP Inc., a government contractor company, where he worked on the development of HeadStart2 language learning program and the iOS and Android app for the US Coast Guard. His diverse experience at various small businesses has required him to wear multiple hats, working on frontend, backend, and DevOps tasks.

He describes the most challenging aspect of his job as integrating NetSuite with Kiwico’s systems. NetSuite is a cloud ERP that assists businesses in managing various functions, including finances, inventory, supply chain, e-commerce, and customer relationship management. At his job, he mainly works with the Hapi framework, JavaScript, MySQL, and AWS Lambda. He explains that they are currently transitioning to using TypeScript, and that despite the availability of new technologies, transitioning takes a long time and resources, something that some companies are unwilling to undertake.

Besides technical skills, he emphasized the importance of developing strong soft skills in communication, collaboration, time management, and maintaining a pleasant demeanor. These skills are crucial for effective teamwork and securing a job from an internship. Another valuable skill is the ability to explain complex problems in simple terms, as part of the job involves working with individuals who may not be well-versed in technical aspects. Additionally, it’s important to be realistic about one’s capabilities, avoiding over-promising and under-delivering. He recommends utilizing tools like VsCode, VsCode plugins, and browser extensions to visualize performance and identify areas for improvement. Furthermore, he highly recommends getting internships, working on open-source projects, and participating in hackathons as these activities can provide valuable experience and can contribute to a resume. 

This experience has provided valuable insight into the field of software engineering from a professional with many years of experience. It gave me an idea of what to expect when entering the industry and the type of responsibilities in entry level positions.  I plan to explore internships and delve into the topics he mentioned, such as the hapi.js framework and AWS Lambda. I was also introduced to hackathons which are events where people collaborate to come up with innovative solutions to a problem with the potential to win prizes. These events foster collaboration skills and offer opportunities to gain project ideas as well as network with other like minded individuals. I plan to look into and register for some local hackathon events near me. Something that I’ve taken from this experience that I can try to improve is to try to be more clear when I speak; I sometimes struggle to provide a clear and concise explanation of my ideas.











Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

  Week: 1 CST 349: On the first week we went over a brief history of CSUMB and the SCD School of Computing & Design and got some tips on how to be a successful online learner. As part of one of our assignments we explored various helpful Chat GPT prompts and engaged in discussions with our classmates. We also held our first group meeting where we discussed agenda items. Additionally, we had to set up our Canvas profiles, create and add LinkedIn, Blogger, and a self-introduction video to the team roster spreadsheet.  CST 300: We learned valuable tips on how to write academic papers and developed an outline in preparation for the upcoming industry analysis paper.
Read more
Image
WEEK 2   Part 1: Review and Reflect Learning Strategy What are the top 3 items that you are good at. The 3 areas I think I am good at are getting main ideas, extracting important details, and taking notes.  What are the top 3 areas you feel you are weak in?   The 3 areas where I need improvement are adhering to a consistent schedule, creating an outline before writing an essay, and studying skills(the SQ3R method will be helpful).  Part 2 Preview Time Management Skills Part 3: Project Management Basics We learned about projects. A project is a complex temporary initiative that is taken to obtain a specific goal. It has three constraints: time, scope(the goal plus the work), and the cost. A company or organization may start a project for many financial and or non-financial reasons, such as meet customer demand, keep up with competition, save the company from financial or legal troubles, improve public relations, or provide some social good. A project after being ...
Read more
 WEEK 6 Part 1: Help Your Teammates to Develop Capstone Ideas In this week’s team meeting, we discussed our capstone project ideas. Everyone in my team was undecided about whether they wanted to work alone or in a team for the capstone. One of the intriguing capstone ideas was a medicine management system with potential applications in nursing homes. We also divided the workload for the upcoming video project.   Part 2: Keep Up With Your Learning Journal CST 349 For one of our assignments we developed a ILP portfolio website where we will store a portfolio of major assignments and projects we complete in each course through the program. The professor broke down the ten characteristics that companies are looking for when looking for new employees. Candidates should be dependable, communicate effectively and openly, have good problem solving skills, work well in a team and as a leader, be proactive, have integrity, be flexible with changing circumstances, they should be confi...
Read more