A: FROM MENTOR AIMEE WILLOZ.
To read Aimee's bio click here.
Hi Yunji,
Actually, you don't always need a 4-year degree to do work like
debugging
computers that have viruses and checking on computers to see
if something
is wrong. You certainly could have a degree, but there are also
2-year
technical college programs that prepare students to do a lot
of work with
different aspects of computers, such as setting up and maintaining
networks, servers, etc. The 4-year degrees are more needed when
you're
looking at working in doing the actual computer design (as opposed
to using
computers to build a network, etc.). I've also included part
of a previous
response I sent, describing what I think the differences are
between
Computer Science and Computer Engineering. Hope this helps!
CS vs. CprE:
Here are the differences between Computer Science and Computer
Engineering
as I see them (different people will have different experiences
and
opinions). Computer Science degree programs are generally focused
on
software and programming skills. There are no absolutes, but
people with
degrees in Computer Science might work more on application-level
programming. (I would define application-level programming as
programs
that run on PC's or other computers, usually having a GUI (graphical
user
interface). Microsoft Word, for example, is an application)
Computer
Engineering degree programs generally focus on systems that
have software
and hardware aspects that are designed together. Again, there
are no
absolutes, but people with degrees in Computer Engineering might
work on
programming embedded or real-time systems. (Embedded systems
rely on an
internal microprocessor -- examples are cars, toys, microwaves,
digital
clocks, etc. I work on disk drives. They have a very complex
embedded
system, which surprised me a lot when I first entered the field.)
A:FROM MENTOR CHANDRA L. INGLIS. To read Chandra's
bio click here.
I am only qualified to answer one part of your question, so
hopefully others can answer the rest! Anthropology is defined
as: n. Abbr.
anthrop. 1. The scientific study of the origin, the behavior,
and the
physical, social, and cultural development of human beings.
Anthropology
and all it's subfields (including a subfield of Paleontology),
in short deal
with human nature. Anthropology is a general title for a field
of study
that can have many, many different types of people doing many
diferent types
of things. Some of the subfields are:
Archaeology which is The study of the material evidence (graves,
pottery,
lithics, etc.) left behind from past human activity. Archaeology
also has
subfields too like Marine Archaeology, Archaeoastronomy, Biblical
Archaeology, Historical Archaeology, Urban Archaeology and
Zooarchaeology.
Cultural Anthropology which is the scientific study of the
development of
human cultures based on archaeological, ethnologic, ethnographic,
linguistic, social, and psychological data and methods of
analysis.
Physical Anthropology which is The branch of anthropology
that deals with
human evolutionary biology, racial variation, and classification.
Also
called somatology. -physical anthropologist.
Forensic Anthropology which is the study of human remains
that are found in
mysterious circumstances. They deal with crime scenes. For
example, when
they recently found the remains of Chandra Levy, there were
Forensic
Anthropologists there to identify and try to help determine
what had
happened. You need to have a very strong stomach to work in
this field!
There are many additional subfields like Agricultural Anthropology,
Environmental Anthropology, Cyber Anthropology, Business Anthropology,
Medical Anthropology, Paleoethnobotony, Primatology, Visual
Anthropology,
Ethnomusicology, Public Anthropology, and Finally:
Paleontology- pa·le·on·tol·o·gy
n. The study of the forms of life existing
in prehistoric or geologic times, as represented by the fossils
of plants,
animals, and other organisms. -pale·onto·logic,
pale·onto·logi·cal adj.
-pale·on·tolo·gist n. Many times Physical
Anthropologists are called
Paleontologists as well. However, depending on individuals
persons
experience and education that can be an incorrect title and
should more
likely be referred to as Paleoanthropologists. Most Paleontologists
deal
with things like Dinosaurs, or Mammoths, or other types of
creatures on land
and sea. Paleoanthroplogists, a subfield of Paleontology,
deal with
prehistoric humanoids like Neanderthals and Australopithicus'.
Some other
subfields of paleontology are Palynology, Phlogeny, and Paleoecology.
So while there are differences between the two, it's only
because
Anthropology is an entire field of study, while Paleontology
is a specific
subfield of study under that.
A: FROM MENTOR JOAN LUSK. To read Joan's bio
click here.
The similarity is that some paleontologists and some anthropologist
study fossils in order to understand evolution. Both words
come from
Greek: "paleo-" meaning "ancient" and
"anthro" meaning "man". Since
our species is not so very ancient, just a few million years,
most
paleontologists are studying species that are much older,
for example
the dinosaurs of hundreds of millions of years ago and back
to the
origins of life. Frankly, I'm not sure whether the anthropologists
are considered a subset of paleontologists or are just too
modern in
their interests to qualify as "ancient"! Many anthropologists
don't
study fossils at all but are interested in living human societies.
As we run out of "primitive" societies to study
in this world of
globalization, may anthropologists have turned to studying
less
exotic modern societies, including our own.
A: FROM MODERATOR SARAH SHIRK AT UIC
Back in March 2002 Archaeology was the GEM-SET career-of-the-month.
Learn more about archaeology and its subfields on the career-of-the-month
pages.
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