Last week I took the comprehensive exams (“comps”) for my PhD in Computer Science. There were four of them: Theory, Programming Languages, Software Engineering, and Systems. I won’t know for certain how I did for a few weeks or so, but I feel good about all of them. I’d be shocked if I failed any of them.
For the past month or so I’ve been spending every spare moment studying for comps. I started studying a long time before that, but really didn’t get started in earnest until about a month ago. Cassie and the kids gave me a few weekends to myself so I could get a lot of studying done.
I was most concerned about the Theory and Programming Languages tests (the latter due to the Automata section), so I spent most of my time studying for those. Of course, I ended up feeling really good about those, but trying to cram the night before for Software Engineering and Systems. While I managed to stress myself out over the last two, and missed a fair amount of sleep from the cramming, I ended up doing fine on them too.
Studying for comps was an interesting exercise on its own. I learned and relearned a lot. I also convinced myself that I’m definitely in the right field. I found virtually everything I read to be fascinating.
It’s quite liberating to have comps over with. They’ve been looming for a few months now. Now I can spend time on other things…like my really tough Machine Learning course. I hope to find a little time for some ham stuff and some backpacking soon too.
I’ll finish the coursework for my PhD in the spring. I also hope to propose a topic for my dissertation in the spring. If I can stay motivated, with a little luck, I’ll defend my dissertation in spring of 2012. It’s certainly an optimistic schedule, but that’s what I’m shooting for.