Kelly Peterson is a 2011 graduate from the Computational Linguistic Master’s in Science program and is a software developer at Attensity in Salt Lake City, Utah. In this interview, he discusses what he has gained out of the program and how it helped him secure his new job.

Kelly Peterson

What is your educational and professional background?

I received my B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Utah in 2002, and began a career as a video game software developer. I worked at several video game studios including Microsoft, Take Two Interactive and Disney. It was something that I enjoyed but never saw it as my ultimate career path.

Why did you decide to pursue a master’s in Computational Linguistics?

I have always had a passion for language that was just as strong as my interest in computers. I studied French Literature for some time at the University of Utah and considered getting a degree in Linguistics instead of Computer Science. I finally decided to work on a master's degree in Computational Linguistics in 2007.

Why did you choose the MS Computational Linguistics program?

One of the main factors in my decision was the focus and experience of the faculty. I was looking for expertise in several areas of Natural Language Processing. I had multiple programs I could have enrolled in, but the faculty at UW covered all the requirements that I was looking for. The ability to work on the program remotely was also a huge bonus, since it meant I was able to remain in my hometown of Salt Lake City.

What was the online learning experience like?

The online learning experience worked surprisingly well. I performed the majority of my course work in Salt Lake City, although I did visit campus every two months or so to spend a week working on individual or group projects in person. I was able to communicate with professors and classmates using both text and speech capabilities during lectures to ask questions and share ideas.

A seminar I took worked extremely well in spite of the fact that a couple of us [students] were remote. The distance was not an issue for us at all. I was able to have very helpful and meaningful discussions with my classmates, which seriously improved the direction and quality of my own research. The interaction and feedback with the professors were also very high quality.

What types of individual and group projects did you work on?

I worked on a number of interesting software projects. One interesting group project was a large scale question-answering system. The requirements of the project were demanding but as a group we were able to meet them, and it was an enjoyable experience to work in a group like that. In Winter 2011 I attended Dr. Fei Xia's seminar on using methods of Natural Language Processing in Social Media. Some interesting results were found during the seminar, which fit neatly into a paper. Dr. Xia recommended that I and my colleague Matt Hohensee submit the paper. It was accepted in the Language in Social Media workshop at the Association of Computer Linguistics (ACL) conference and was well received. This experience would not have been possible without the guidance and experience of Dr. Xia.

Do you feel this program prepared you for your transition into your new job?

I found that having a master's level degree in a field like Computational Linguistics was essential in my job search. Without this degree and research experience I do not believe that I would have had the qualifications or confidence to attain the kind of position I was seeking. I've been very pleased with how well the program has prepared me for my new work position. When my current employer was looking for candidates, I know that they were looking for specific knowledge and a skill set that I was able to demonstrate in the interview. I am also fairly certain that the paper I published was one of the reasons my resume passed their screening and I was able to get the interview.

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