Whee! I passed!

If I could do cartwheels, I'd be heels over head right now. I passed the UP ITTC entrance exam! :D

Got no idea? Read Taking the UP ITTC Exam.

Interview this Monday. I wonder what questions they'll ask.

Taking the UP ITTC Exam

Date: Saturday, May 6, 2006
Time: 8:00 am
Venue: Room 303, Math Building, UP Diliman Campus, QC

First things first, if you're wondering what ITTC means, check out this site. If you're too lazy to click the link, read on.

UP ITTC is the acronym for Univerisity of the Philippines Information Technology Training Center. Its goal is to "fill the IT industry gap in the Philippines" due to "inadequate practical training and industry experience". Ouch!

So there I was last Saturday together with more than a hundred people, ages between (based on the wrinkles, frownlines, and number of white hair) 20 and 40, aspiring to be one of the final 75 who will study for a year, choose among the three tracks: embedded systems, application development, and network administration, and hopefully be UP ITTC certified by 2007. Out of the 75, 50 will be on scholarship grant, and also learn Nihonggo at the same time thereby increasing one's chances of working in Japan. Wakarimasu? (I know it's supposed to be wakarimasuka but I'd like to say understand? as in "understand?" with a question mark in English :D) My friend, who's so interested (bordering on obssession) with Japan's culture, would die with envy if he heard about this, and would most probably not talk to me for a year for not telling him in the first place.

Anyway, going back to the exam, it lasted for a total of 3 hours (that is without the breaks) and it was composed of 4 parts: verbal aptitude, reading comprehension, logic and reasoning, and math. I am going to break them down here, get to the specifics, and tell you what to expect. I am not so sure about the number if items and the total alloted time for each part (If you were there and know that what I wrote here is incorrect, please correct me). On the other hand, I am sure that the total time (in minutes) for the 4 parts is 180. So if you're not interested in taking the exam, click the X button on the upper right of the window because this post won't do you any good.

1. Verbal Aptitude (30-35 items 40 mins)
   I remember the very first item was a sentence with a phrase underlined and one was to choose among the choices. There was no instructions what to look for. The clue was just the underlined phrase. Now this wasn't the sort of verbal aptitude test that I was used to. It took me several seconds to collect my bearing and rearrange my thoughts. I had to reread it a couple of times till it finally sank in. Between the lines, the item said "Choose among the choices that would best replace the underlined phrase." Brush up on your grammar: past, present, past participle, present participle, singular-plural, noun-verb, etc. As far as that exam was concerned, its focus was on sentences. One word though, what's hardwired?
   
   
2. Reading Comprehension (30-35 items 50 mins)
   Prepare to read a lot of essays and portions of essays. This one, I expected. Brush up on topic sentences and contexts. Answer it as fast as you can so that you may spend the remaining time sleeping, or if you want, reviewing your answers. I had a hard time keeping myself from dozing off.
   
   
3. Logic and Reasoning (30-35 items 40 mins)
   As far as that exam was concerned, there was no abstract reasoning, no pictures or images to look at. Brush up on Philo 101. Trust me. You'll ace the test if you do. Remember
   
   No geese are felines.
   Some birds are geese.
   Therefore, Some birds are not felines.
   Think along these lines: What premise would make the conclusion incorrect? Of course, in the above example, the conclusion has already been given but think about premises and given these premises, what would be the conclusion. Think of the premises starting with "always" or "never" and what would negate them.
   
   
4. Mathematics (35-40 items 50 mins)
   Expect algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. Remember these:
   
   
   
   • SOHCAHTOA
     
   • d=rt
     
   • a triangle = 180 degerees
     
   • angles
     
   • pythagorean theorem
   • permutation
   • slope = rise/run
   • volumes
   • formula for the different shapes
   • 2 pie R
   • radius and radian
     
   • and etc
     
   
   Better yet, grab your high school books on these subjects.
   

So there's your UP ITTC exam in a post. If you're going to take the exam next year, I'm telling you, prepare for it! I certainly wish I did!

Programmer? Developer? Engineer?

I recently read an article on the identity crisis of computer science fresh graduates. It was a reaction to an article he read, Techies learn to decode the career code. Essentially, the original article dealt with the difference and prejudice that comes with the titles "coder", "programmer", "developer", and "engineer". The terms coder and programmer are generally interchangeable.

...Programmers are those who are primarily involved in coding very well defined pieces of software, whereas 'developers' are more involved with design issues and have more freedom in their decision. The problem with engineer, on the other hand, is so much weight has been placed on this term, that you'd better know your stuff.
However for US-based George Tomkins the right identity means something, for better or worse, to most people.

He shares, " I went to the first Java One conference, circa 1995 and at an event, I walked past a group of hardcore Java Developers. At least, I assumed they were due to the characteristic, urban safari uniform. Anyhow, they looked at my badge, which said 'George Tompkins' Programmer. I'll never forget the audible scoff when one of them said under his breath 'programmer."

Personally, when I graduated with a BS in Computer Science major in Software Engineering, I really didn't want to be a programmer. There was, for me, a stigma attached to it. I wouldn't have scoffed in Tomkins' face, but I'd have had thought 'programmer'. Programmer to me was just a cut above being a robot. No need to come up with your own design or algorithm. Maybe that's why I didn't go into development initially. I worked for a consulting firm and had ready-made tools/applications to work with. There was no need for me to code/program. I only had to think of a solution and then make this solution concrete by using said applications.

Just the same, right now, I'm back in software development. Unlike George Alexander who fell in love with programming at the age of 12, I went into Computer Science because I couldn't imagine myself spending more than 4 years at school by being a lawyer or a doctor and I didn't want to become like my mother who's an accountant and I didn't want to take a rich kid's course like Psychology and also because I was used to being by myself, a course that requires a lot of interaction seemed like a bad idea at that time. The first 2 years in the university, I was just sailing with the current though I never copied classmates' assignments, tests and programs because my inflated ego couldn't accept the idea that I couldn't do them on my own. It was only in my 3rd year, when introduced to automata theory, turing machine, and lambda calculus that I began to like my course. It was also at this time when I decided to major in Software Engineering because I thought it was "hard". Unconsciously, I'd already set up my future of Programmer? Developer? Engineer? But I agree with them. What matters isn't the position, what matters is what you know and how good you can be.

So here I am now, still in Information Technology. My dream is to be one of the movers and shakers of the field. Lol. I don't have the makings such as this guy but it never hurt to dream.