So --- it has been several busy weeks for me, getting ready for school and the transfer to the US.I'm now (more or less) settled in our apartment. I've bought a laptop, purchased groceries and supplies with my roommate, gotten a bank account, registered my immigration documents, etc, etc, and purchased a prepaid SIM for my mobile phone.
For us Filipinos, who have forever been spoiled by the mobile carriers in the Philippines, the calling and texting rates in the US will come as a shock. Imagine being charged for incoming calls and incoming texts! Heck, you even get charged for accessing voicemail. It seems that nothing is free, and you start missing the unlimited calls, texts and rewards you get in the Philippines for very affordable prices.
Enter Google Voice.
Google Voice is this great service from the popular world-dominating force that lets you send and receive SMS messages in the US for free. The full, working version can even transcribe voicemail (!), save your SMS messages in your email, and route your calls to any and all phones you configure in your Google Voice account. Home or office, landline or mobile -- it doesn't matter. All you need is a Google Voice account, a WiFi connection (or data plan) and a smartphone (works best with Android, I believe).
To get the full suite of Google Voice features for free, you have to have a new number, courtesy of Google. (Or get a phone plan from Sprint, I think.) If you think that's such a hassle, then you can port your existing number to Google Voice, pay the $20 activation fee, terminate your old number and change it to a new one without terminating your line, which, hopefully, will not be such a hassle as it sounds. There are very helpful people who document how they ported their existing number to Google Voice around the web; all you need to do is search for them on the almighty Google.
For those like me who just need an alternative to the expensive SMS rates in the US and want to manage their prepaid load better, then there's this procedure:
From Technobuffalo: How to Get Free Text Messages with Google Voice
I've tried this, and it works! Of course, the free WiFi on campus makes it very convenient to use around school. Outside school, there are quite a number of places that offer free WiFi so I can use this there too.
I've given people my actual number but, when I have WiFi connection, I'd text them using my Google Voice number and just add in my name so that they'd know it was me. Usually, they text back to my Google Voice number so I can save on both incoming and outgoing SMS.
The one downside I can see to this is people texting you on your Google Voice number at a time when you don't have any data connection. A possible remedy to this is reminding people to use your mobile number when calling or texting you. At least, with Google Voice, you can save on outgoing SMS from time to time.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
MBA Alternative: MS Engineering Management
So... are you an engineer looking for some formal management training to complement your technical background? Thinking of taking an MBA? Thinking whether an MBA will be right for you? Well, lucky you, I just found out a few days ago about this grad course which you can consider alongside the MBA: the MS Engineering Management degree.
I've heard rumors that no Filipino has yet earned an MS Engineering Management degree from the US. Why is this significant? Well, I think that such a course taken abroad will give a student much more exposure to industry, not to mention the golden opportunity to interact with foreign faculty, students and institutions. The foreign curriculum could also be much more advanced -- example, is decision science being taught locally?
The business training is similar to what you receive in an MBA course, but is adjusted for those with engineering or science backgrounds (read: heavier focus on quantitative courses). If you want a technical management role in a business or a management role in a technology company, then, who knows, this might be what you're looking for. As a prominent local IT practitioner told me, MS EM applies engineering methodology in solving business problems.
I did some digging around and found that there are a lot of schools offering this degree in the US, and that there are six top schools that have formed a consortium to promote this fledgling course. They are (in no particular order):
This course doesn't have the fame and prestige of the MBA yet, but I think it's picking up. In the Philippines, UP offers a similar course (Masters in Technology Management). I believe the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila also has an engineering management curriculum. But, no, this is not equivalent to Ateneo's BS Management Engineering course. I'm talking about a Master's course for those with a college degree in engineering.
If you're flip-flopping between taking this course or an MBA, then I suggest that you take the GRE instead of the GMAT. (Hardly any schools accept the GMAT. There are schools that don't require any test though.) Some schools have similar requirements as those of the MBA: recommendation letters, essay, TOEFL, etc. The application fee is much, much lower though.
Apply real early for the MS EM because fellowships are not that abundant as in the case of the MBA. (There are several possible explanations for this: graduates find it very easy to repay the loans, relatively fewer alumni translates to fewer alumni donations/sponsorships, etc.)
A definite advantage of the MS EM over the MBA is that it only takes one year to earn the degree. A definite disadvantage is that it can be as expensive as a one-year MBA.
I've heard rumors that no Filipino has yet earned an MS Engineering Management degree from the US. Why is this significant? Well, I think that such a course taken abroad will give a student much more exposure to industry, not to mention the golden opportunity to interact with foreign faculty, students and institutions. The foreign curriculum could also be much more advanced -- example, is decision science being taught locally?
The business training is similar to what you receive in an MBA course, but is adjusted for those with engineering or science backgrounds (read: heavier focus on quantitative courses). If you want a technical management role in a business or a management role in a technology company, then, who knows, this might be what you're looking for. As a prominent local IT practitioner told me, MS EM applies engineering methodology in solving business problems.
I did some digging around and found that there are a lot of schools offering this degree in the US, and that there are six top schools that have formed a consortium to promote this fledgling course. They are (in no particular order):
- Cornell University (MBA school: Johnson)
- Dartmouth College (MBA school: Tuck)
- Duke University (MBA school: Fuqua)
- Massachussett's Institute of Technology (MBA school: Sloan)
- Northwestern University (MBA school: Kellogg)
- Stanford University
This course doesn't have the fame and prestige of the MBA yet, but I think it's picking up. In the Philippines, UP offers a similar course (Masters in Technology Management). I believe the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila also has an engineering management curriculum. But, no, this is not equivalent to Ateneo's BS Management Engineering course. I'm talking about a Master's course for those with a college degree in engineering.
If you're flip-flopping between taking this course or an MBA, then I suggest that you take the GRE instead of the GMAT. (Hardly any schools accept the GMAT. There are schools that don't require any test though.) Some schools have similar requirements as those of the MBA: recommendation letters, essay, TOEFL, etc. The application fee is much, much lower though.
Apply real early for the MS EM because fellowships are not that abundant as in the case of the MBA. (There are several possible explanations for this: graduates find it very easy to repay the loans, relatively fewer alumni translates to fewer alumni donations/sponsorships, etc.)
A definite advantage of the MS EM over the MBA is that it only takes one year to earn the degree. A definite disadvantage is that it can be as expensive as a one-year MBA.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Homework already?!
I haven't even set foot in my school, and I already have a list of things to do! Like:
1. take an online Math course
2. take an online career assessment test (done)
3. search for companies and job roles that I'd be interested in for internship/work
Not exactly easy peasy.
Finishing 1 means we'll be ready for business Math proper, for which we'll be having workshops in orientation. 2 and 3 are for getting us a headstart on landing internships. Any day now there'll be a fourth item on the list -- update my resume.
As I haven't got into the scholarly mindset yet, I'll procrastinate on these for a while and take time to enjoy the end of summer in Manila.
1. take an online Math course
2. take an online career assessment test (done)
3. search for companies and job roles that I'd be interested in for internship/work
Not exactly easy peasy.
Finishing 1 means we'll be ready for business Math proper, for which we'll be having workshops in orientation. 2 and 3 are for getting us a headstart on landing internships. Any day now there'll be a fourth item on the list -- update my resume.
As I haven't got into the scholarly mindset yet, I'll procrastinate on these for a while and take time to enjoy the end of summer in Manila.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)