The Cambridge Chat Thread - it's over 90,000!

Yeah I knew one was sketchy. I have been trying to find out the name, but have failed so far

Does anyone know much about working at any of the summer schools that occur over the Summer in Cambridge? Needing ideas for jobs to do over the summer

Bless you, it came out months ago here I really enjoyed it as well though. I think a lot of people were put off by the plot not being so explicit, but the issue is that the book itself is very psychological, and while I think they did a good job of conveying that aspect, they didn't always do a good job of conveying the specifics of what was going on. There's a lot of inference, and if I hadn't read the book I don't think I would have enjoyed it so much. Certainly the people I was with didn't really like it, and I had to explain the entire plot to them when we came out.

That said, my younger brother and sister both went to see it and understood it perfectly, so perhaps it's just a certain type of person who it appeals to?

If you happen to be a Cambassador, there's a load of 1-2 weeks summers schools to do over the holidays. That does involve an interview/assessment thingie with the Admissions Office though (I can't remember when they recruit).

If you're good with software, I can recommend a couple of places that are intern-friendly for summer jobs here and in London.

I have to admit, I saw Tinker Tailor on the plane last month, and didn't particularly 'get' it. The plot seemed very drawn out and characters not-too-distinctive, and I never really had an idea of what was going out. It felt like I needed to have read the book, or at least a wikipedia summary to realise what was happening. It's a shame, since I really wanted to like it.

Sadly not a Cambassador.

As for being good with software, being from a medic background I have no coding experience at all sadly. Wish I had as it would open so many doors. Otherwise I'm good with the standard Microsoft packages and normally pick other things up fairly quickly.

To be honest if its loads of money you want to clock up, that's not what University summer schools are for. For four days you get £200 which is perfectly reasonable. But people do it for the fun and because they enjoy helping applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds. They don't do it to earn lots of cash. Its private companies which pay people £1000+ plus a week, or whatever. And you can find out about those through going to the University Careers Service.

I have to admit, I saw Tinker Tailor on the plane last month, and didn't particularly 'get' it. The plot seemed very drawn out and characters not-too-distinctive, and I never really had an idea of what was going out. It felt like I needed to have read the book, or at least a wikipedia summary to realise what was happening. It's a shame, since I really wanted to like it.

To be honest, I think the summer schools would be fun. However something that pays well would be a bonus. I have checked the careers service. I'm assuming the sketchy company wont be on the Careers Service Website...

To be honest, I think the summer schools would be fun. However something that pays well would be a bonus. I have checked the careers service. I'm assuming the sketchy company wont be on the Careers Service Website...

In that case give Charlotte Richer an email. Just google her name. Basically they usually have not enough positions going, but every now and then somebody drops out of a summer school commitment at the last minute and then they have to replace them in a hurry. So they might put you on a reserve of people to contact if they're desperate

To be honest, I think the summer schools would be fun. However something that pays well would be a bonus. I have checked the careers service. I'm assuming the sketchy company wont be on the Careers Service Website...

Unfortunately I think those may also require a CRB check (which I suspect are non-transferable between organisations). I'm guessing independent summer schools may also require one if you're working with kids, but they'll probably apply on your behalf. But for the longer term, if you do want to be a Cambassador go ahead and give Charlotte an email. I did it for nearly 3 years (as the only CompSci representative ) and it was oodles of fun.

Dissertation finished...and printed Just need to get it bound and then I can hand it in. So relieved!

Congrats! It's always good to get it out of the way so your mind's clear for exam term . Or at least, that's what I keep telling my students .

Thanks Are you supervising now then? (and you're younger than me...I'm scared!). You sound like a very responsible supervisor...I have a Phd student as one of my supervisors and so far his pearls of wisdom include "I never worked past dinner time in my final year" and "It's fine to read this book in English, I did". We also spent ages one supervision looking up books on Newton to pick the shortest ones for the next essay

I hate my essay. I am just debating concluding it with "No one knows which law applies here. However, of the options the supervisor has given me, 66% says Q wins and only 33% says P does. Probability therefore tells me to cut my losses and go with Q"...

What course? Conflicts?