MikeWitters.com
My $0.02 on stuff.
LifeLessons
The Miami University CIT Spring Meeting Details
Apr 20th
I’m a member of the Miami University (Ohio) Computer and Information Technology Advisory Council. Basically, we’re a group of people who work in the IT industry that Miami U visits with at least twice a year to discuss curricula, industry trends, and other related IT issues that may help them increase enrollment, teach more relevant information, and better prepare students for a career in IT.
We had our Spring meeting today and it was pretty enlightening. Basically, the regional campuses are considering having a Bachelor’s degree program for CIT. That would mean that you wouldn’t have to transfer to the Oxford campus to ‘finish’ your 4 yr degree. I would have done it if they would have had it way back then. Another thing that was evident, and even mentioned by Marik Dollar (The Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science) was that computer science and IT degree enrollments around the nation were falling very rapidly. He mentioned some statistics that I found very interesting. Read the rest of this entry »
Entering the blogosphere – with purpose.
Apr 14th
So why do I blog? Well, a few weeks ago I heard a guy in a podcast or something, can’t remember exactly, say something along the lines of “With the way information is flowing today, and what KIDS just know about the internet and online identities, if you’re in a tech field and you don’t have an online identity in 2010 then you will be at a disadvantage to those who do.” I can’t remember the details because at the moment I giggled about it. A few days later, during my daughters 3rd birthday party at my house, I walked into my office and found my wife trying to help my nephew upload a picture she had just taken of him into his myspace page. We fiddled around with it for a bit and finally got it done. I was somewhat taken by the fact that he’s 12 years old and was talking about this friends page and that friends page, how cool they were, and how many people visited them. I decided that the guy I had heard was probably right. I wish I would have paid more attention to who he was. I do remember that he had started and sold 4 or 5 companies that were on the edge of technology – basically the commentator was saying he had a knack for seeing things coming and being right about them. Read the rest of this entry »
Running into an old friend
Apr 8th
I ran into an old friend Saturday night. We hadn’t seen each other or talked to one another in nearly 3 years for one reason or another. We were in a band together for years, he the lead vocalist and I the rythm guitarist. We were great friends for way longer. I left the band as soon as my wife and I were expecting our first daughter because I didn’t have the time that I would have wanted to devote to it. Anyways, we exchanged numbers and hopefully we’ll be able to hang out again soon.
His band’s myspace page gives a glimpse into what a great success they’ve become. I mean, look at the client list for the recording studio where they recorded their album. Listening to their songs takes me back… being on stage with a guitar was fun. Im not sure whether it was more fun than the Tuesday and Sunday night practices, but definitely more gratifying.
Resume Writing 101 (says me)
Apr 5th
Part of my job at my company is to interview potential employees whose resumes fit a technical profile – basically they’re a Java/WebSphere person (or aspire to be). They range from entry level people (who don’t really fit this blog post) to people who have been doing development for many years. I have two major pet peeves about resumes for potential candidates. Read the rest of this entry »
