Program Highlighted | Computer Science
Introduction by | Dr. Jim Clarke
Interview with | Daniel Fisla
Date | May 2000

Interview | Daniel Fisla

Daniel is an Innis College fourth year Computer Science student.

Innis: Would you break the ice by introducing yourself?
Daniel: Hi, I am Daniel and I am a fourth year Computer Science student, graduating this year. I am majoring in Computer Science and working for three years in the industry on the same subject. Now I am looking forward to my graduation. I am very excited about that.

Innis: Why Computer Science? What attracted you to study Computer Science?
Daniel: Partially I was influenced by two other programmers in my family. I was also inspired and influenced by the job market. My brother and my Dad are both programmers. I knew it would be fun to write codes and come up with new things. I knew from beginning that I was going to be a programmer. I knew that I could easily make a living just by writing codes and fortunately, it could be easily applied within the industry. As well, I worked full-time for a company and had insight into the program. Also, every summer, I have been working with people related to the industry. But during the winter semesters, I concentrated only on my studies. So that got me pretty much involved.

Innis: Given that there are so many programs offered by the Faculty of Arts and Science, how did you decide to pursue this program? What role did advice or influence from peers, mentors, relatives, and others play in your decision?
Daniel: While in high school, we would have counselors from universities, giving discussions and demonstrations on different programs. I participated in a couple of such discussions. I was thinking of either joining UofT or Waterloo, but for financial reasons, I couldn't afford to move away from Toronto. I had taken computer courses in high school, from grade nine all the way to OAC level. I love to code! And that pretty much says it all. There were job opportunities in Toronto, through which I knew that I could make some money while studying. UofT was pretty much my only choice. With regards to the program, I guess that by then I was so into computers that I wasn't interested in doing anything else at all. I approached guidance counselors and other academic advisors, in order to reassure myself that I was on the right track and making the right decision; a decision that would in fact have a great effect on my life.

Innis: How would you rate the facilities and opportunities offered by this program at the University of Toronto?
Daniel: I think it's a tough program. It even pushed me to my limits sometimes. It takes a couple of years for the opportunities to surface, so I have noticed some great opportunities in my last two years of being in the program. In the beginning it is more about just getting into the program, getting good marks, or doing more and more work to get into the program. It is more competitive. For the first two years you only care about survival in the program.

Innis: What aspect(s) of this program do you find fascinating or inspiring -curriculum, professors, practical experience, field courses, etc...?
Daniel: In respect to professors, like any other program there are both great and bad professors. The point is to let only the good professors influence you. In third and fourth year, there are research projects. After doing a research project on data bases in my fourth year, I approached the professor who was teaching CSC434 in the first smester, and I found a great source of help. The opportunity is there if you approach the right people. Other aspects are also very attractive. For example, a lot of companies come on campus and recruit for the PEY programs, which I think, is an excellent opportunity to get into the industry. There are seminars held on the subject, and guest speakers from companies such as Microsoft, Nortel, IBM highlight the program. A lot of these things are available to undergraduate students and they are really informative. Compared to other universities offering the same program, I think UofT offers one of the best programs in Canada or North America. I had a very good response from the industry with UofT documents. Some companies who have interviewed me, for example Microsoft and Nortel, see UofT as a great school. Surprisingly, they have not asked for my academic records or my transcripts. They just assume that I am from a good academic institution and the emphasis is more that they want to know if you could think the way they want you to. They don't necessarily concentrate on the academic score. But of course the program itself also plays a great role when it comes to finding a job.

Innis: Of all the courses in this program that you have taken so far, which one did you enjoy the most, and why?
Daniel: Ironically, some of the best courses have been the most difficult ones for me, the courses in which I didn't end up with any good grades. Some of them were CSC238, 378, 434, 324 (Programming Languages), and 458 (Computer Networks). They are all great courses. In particular, I really enjoyed Data Bases (434). In the fourth year you get to do a little bit more interesting work. I was familiar with the subject and I knew that I could apply it in the industry. Even if you work in software engineering or any other computer project, you will most likely run into a data base system. The whole idea is learning a few things on how data bases work. In my opinion, I think it is one of the most industry-applicable courses in the program. The practical aspect of the course follows the pattern of other courses and there was a theoretical part. But the assignments are very well connected to what is being taught. You are able to work in groups (I think there were three groups for assignments.) It was great.

Innis: Are there things that you might have done differently while completing this program? Would you have chosen another area to complement this one? What are some things that you wish you had known before?
Daniel: Even though I have been in the Computer Science program, I have taken quite a few other courses, like philosophy, history, astronomy, and classics. I wanted to develop my writing skills and some other skills which are not covered by the computer science program. It is hard to say what would have I done differently. I don't think I would've done anything different. Instead I would take more theoretical courses. I always want more maths. I don't regret for not doing anything at any time. In the first year as I took Computer Science 108, even though I did well in these courses, I realized that how much is expected from you compared to high school. It was sort of a wake up call. I wish I had someone to talk to at that time. Because, when you come out of high school you think that Computer Science is more about programming, computing, designing algorithms and the efficiency of the work, so the image that people have for computer science before entering university is a lot different, then by the time they graduate. Even though I was aware of this to some degree, but I wish I was more informed about it. I didn't contact the computer science department. May be I should've. I sort of figured everything out on my own I guess. Talking to other people. May be if there were professional people available, that would've helped me more. Now I have realized that if I have a problem or any concern, I can go and talk to the undergraduate secretary in the department. There is the Computer Science Students Union (CSSU), and friendly volunteer Computer Science students represent the program on student level. They try to help other students or at least point you towards any specific source.

Innis: Being for four years in the University of Toronto, how much changes, improvements and differentiation have you noticed so far?
Daniel: Over all the university is great. New buildings were built, but I regret that I won't be able to enjoy the bigger classrooms and the renovations. Within the computer science department, there have been improvements such as the launch of discussion sessions between student representatives and the faculty and the undergraduate students are welcome to participate. There has been improvement in terms of instruction and instructors. Professional instructors have been hired, versus professors of research, who even though have PhD in CSc. But they are only doing research and someone who knows the application can do much well than them.

Innis: In terms of interactive sessions, did you find the TA's and other instructors helpful?
Daniel: I found the TA's helpful in the early years of the program. In the third and fourth year, I didn't attend many tutorials and figured out most of the things on my own and with friends. I didn't find the TA's very useful at that point. The problem was that in much of the tutorials, the TA's would just repeat the material from lecture. They themselves didn't have much time and of course it wasn't their own fault. In UofT the way TA's are paid and the time that they can devote is not well balanced. They are also having studies to do and in third and fourth year the course material becomes fairly complex. So if you ask them a question specifically, and basically you can figure ninety percent of the work yourself, they usually won't be able to help you. But that is not to say that if you post something on the news group, you won't get an answer. The class sizes are growing and they have tons of assignments to mark and I won't be willing to volunteer as a TA. The TA's can devote more time if they are paid better. They are students and almost all of them stay up all night coding for their programs. They are more exhausted than the students themselves. A lot of times, they devote a whole lot more time than they are getting paid for.

Innis: What do you think of the PC labs offered in UofT and did you really take the advantage of the facilities offered?
Daniel: I think in first year it is a must and as in second year you are exposed to the UNIX lab, you are supposed to visit it. In third and fourth year it is good to work there, especially as in some courses you are required to work in groups and then you can push everyone to one computer and we would decide we won't go home until this is done. Sometimes it is better, even though it is now easy to collaborate through the net, but still it is an environment where you feel that you should really work. In the initial years even I spent overnight in the lab a couple times, but later in third and fourth years I tried to work at home in my own PC.

Innis: What suggestions do you have on how this program might be improved for other students?
Daniel: That's a tough question. But initially recruit better instructors and compensate the TA's fairly. Introduce new courses. There are few courses, which I didn't like the outline. The sometime, the course demands more in terms of course load. The material is challenging, but of course you want to make it interesting for the student. You don't want to over load them with tons of work, which is unnecessary.

Innis: What is the one piece of advice that you would give to someone who is interested in pursuing this program?
Daniel: The only advice that I can give would be, you better love it. It's fun. If you organize yourself it really does help. Sometimes, it is important to organize your schoolwork and it saves you a lot of time to do your other works. Look at something and get the best out of it and sometimes it is not important to get into every possible details offered regarding computers. It also depends basically how efficient you are in terms of computing. Sometimes you won't have time to do other stuff, like I would work out and relief stress, but sometimes I would sit in front of the computer and it won't help. So what I would suggest is to take a break, go swimming for example and when you are back you can do something in two hours, which initially would take you 10 hours to figure out.

Innis: As a student in this field, I am sure you have researched the job market. What kinds of employment opportunities are there? What types of jobs are you interested in obtaining in the future? What steps are you taking to assist you in achieving these goals?
Daniel: I think Computer Science is a little bit more fortunate, but given the fact that before coming to UofT, I was working for a company as a volunteer, just because I wanted to learn more as well later I joined a company for salary. So that was a pretty good head start for me. From then on I established contacts and I was able to launch my own personal business and attracted some of the clients of the first company that I was working with. Then in summer time, of course I was working for three or four months for companies. When you are done with school and want to look for a job, the employer looks at your resume and you can simply can get a job in the field. So far I have been doing good and lately, I signed a contract with a company in Seattle. Having the good marks and scores in terms of academia really doesn't have a big impression. That could not be necessarily the formula for everybody, for example a lot of people get into the consulting and management and even for that you need practical experience. Some of the companies which have interviewed me, they haven't looked at my transcripts even though I was in second or third year and it has never been my priority to kill yourself for an extra five percent in the course. I am still proud of it and it still it doesn't matter.

Innis: Any particular message for general public, and not in particular students?
Daniel: I don't want to be a role model. Given the opportunities in this field, whether you are involved in the programming side, engineering or management, it is fun to be there. There is a lot of room to accommodate a larger number of people in the field. People are coming from other disciplines, such as Biology and they can do great. There is such diversity in the field that anyone can fit having the interest. Saying that I am not good in this or that should not discourage people. Once in the program you can learn.

IInnis: Thank you very much for speaking with us. Best of luck in your future endeavors.
Daniel: Thank you.

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