Anyone else doing foundation degree at a college and feel conned?

[Phil99]

Hmm I understand dBs just fine, I don't need to understand how to plot a graph of the resistance of some rubbish to install and maintain a network.

I think many people make this mistake when it comes to Computer Science degrees in general. Quite a few people want to be web developers, support staff, network technicians etc. so do a degree thinking it'll be some vocational training directly related to a job. As you've found out, that's not what a degree provides you with.

I think if you get your head down with this course, learn the stuff they're teaching you to a good standard and then apply for the sort of job you're after you'll do much better than if you'd not done it. If you find the right job you'll get training specific to the role and that will build on what you've learnt in the degree. You should then see where it all slots in to place and things that didn't immediately seem useful will probably become near-essential knowledge.

It does all depend on whether you want to know how and why things work to get an in-depth knowledge of the systems you could be designing and maintaining or whether you just want to be told that the red plug goes in the red socket and the power button turns it on.

 

[steve-h]

Maths is critical to networking. Once you get over the mental hurdle of thinking in different number systems (binary, decimal, hexadecimal), then things become easier. But you have to let go of the decimal fundamentals you were taught in school. That's just one system of which there are many. Each digit has 10 values (0-9), in binary, its just 2 values (0-1), in hexadecimal, its 16 values (0-9-A-F), creating a huge number system. Ip addresses work in octets of binary. There's a huge tie in.

As much as I agree to an extent... but it should be taught after... not before

my course did it the same... so *ing stupid, teaching a bunch of kids from highschool how memory is sectioned, converting binary to hex and whatnot...

 

[dowie]

• Learning trig and other pointless maths stuff

How is maths pointless if you're interested in studying networks?

Signal processing, queuing theory etc.. is all fairly mathematical - I'm presuming this foundation stuff is aimed at giving you the necessary grounding.

Seems like you're not really interested in studying networks and just want a vocational course so you can go and have a fun career plugging bits of wire into boxes....

Instead of attempting to pursue an academic course and then complaining because its not vocational why don't you just go do a vocational course.

CCNA/CCNP should help you if you just want to go plug stuff into boxes for a living.

 

[The Badger]

My foundation degree (HND) Is pants aswell. Wish i never started it to be fair. Nearly finished like.

 

[clv101]

It does all depend on whether you want to know how and why things work to get an in-depth knowledge of the systems you could be designing and maintaining or whether you just want to be told that the red plug goes in the red socket and the power button turns it on.

Seems like you're not really interested in studying networks and just want a vocational course so you can go and have a fun career plugging bits of wire into boxes....

This sums it up.

 

[Mr^B]

As much as I agree to an extent... but it should be taught after... not before

my course did it the same... so *ing stupid, teaching a bunch of kids from highschool how memory is sectioned, converting binary to hex and whatnot...

How would that work? You can't build a house first, then lift it up and stick the foundations in. How is it stupid to teach (allegedly mature) people (who presumably are there by CHOICE and WANT to learn) the basics of what they are studying?

Or did you think that computers all just work by magic and that memory handling and hex and binary are concepts that you don't *actually* need to know to get them to work?

 

[-Mike-]

This sums it up.

Dude I've come across you in a few threads before. If you're not willing to help, butt out quite frankly.

As for the guy who said CCNA CCNP should help...... thats the basis OF the course.

 

[GingerNinja1989]

Jeez, two years for that??

Methinks you'd have been better off applying for a foundation year at a uni before progressing onto a 'proper' degree.

 

[Craig321]

Hi all,

I'm just after some other opinions on the quality of degree education at colleges. I took a foundation degree in computer networking and currently I feel conned for the amount of money borrowed to what I've actually learned.

Such fine examples include

• Lecturers that don't even bother to turn up and with no warning
• Taking your pulse rate to put it into an excel spreadsheet and compare to sports students
• Learning trig and other pointless maths stuff
• Learning C and Java

I thought the degree would be network installations, configurations and other things to enable me to either one day get a job in the field or something similar.

All it seems to me is that we have lecturers that don't want to be there, and are being taught pointless rubbish when they should be devoting more time to the actual course material.

Anyone else have the same going on, or did I just choose a bad place?

Thanks

Sounds like you went to a bad college. On my course lecturers were never late, always turned up, were decent people & taught us well. We also had all the equipment to set up a proper small/medium business network (racks full of switches, routers etc.) and were taught everything that was listed in the course specifications.

Learning trig, maths, C & Java definitely isn't pointless.

 

[Roland0]

Interesting people are talking about this subject. I was looking into doing an FdSc, it seemed ideal, both the industry recognised Vendor certs (Cisco, Microsoft Etc) as well as the academic background, sounds IDEAL to me? Perfect for a young person who wants to start getting on in IT, and you can go back later on a get a degree!

Although I can see where the OP is coming from, an academic course is an all-round theoretical education, it's NOT a practical guide as to how to do things in the real world. Even bearing that in mind that an academic course can often leave people thinking "crickey this is all pointless" I do think the OP possibly needs to redress his thoughts on the course and what he wanted to gain from it...

Anyways, has anybody here don THIS course, it looks ideal for me, and i am wondering what people made of the course and the facilities...

 

[dowie]

As for the guy who said CCNA CCNP should help...... thats the basis OF the course.

So if you just wanted that vocational bit then why didn't you just do CCNA?

Are Java, C and "pointless maths stuff" part of the CCNA?

These are the bits that your moaning about and are probably there so they can actually award you an academic degree rather than a vendor certificate.

I think you've got a valid complaint about lecturers not turning up, but to complain about having to learn useful stuff such as maths and programming is frankly insane. This is the stuff that allows you to carry on and get a proper degree if you chose to - you kind of need to get a decent foundation in this stuff to carry on at a higher level.

What if you decided to carry on get say a full undergrad degree or masters, have you looked at the sort of stuff you'd have to study at say level 3 or at post grad level... You'd be pretty miffed if all your 'foundation course' did was teach you a vendor cert rather than actually giving you a proper foundation in the subject.

 

[Delvis]

Cool. What did you do for them? I've got a pair of IB1S-A with the new PMC amps on loan at the moment.

Used to build and test the speakers

Anything from the littlens to the big mahoosive ones they do Mb2's abd BB5's etc

Different anyway

 

[Roland0]

So if you just wanted that vocational bit then why didn't you just do CCNA?

Are Java, C and "pointless maths stuff" part of the CCNA?

These are the bits that your moaning about and are probably there so they can actually award you an academic degree rather than a vendor certificate.

I think you've got a valid complaint about lecturers not turning up, but to complain about having to learn useful stuff such as maths and programming is frankly insane. This is the stuff that allows you to carry on and get a proper degree if you chose to - you kind of need to get a decent foundation in this stuff to carry on at a higher level.

What if you decided to carry on get say a full undergrad degree or masters, have you looked at the sort of stuff you'd have to study at say level 3 or at post grad level... You'd be pretty miffed if all your 'foundation course' did was teach you a vendor cert rather than actually giving you a proper foundation in the subject.

What he said!
Getting a grasp of programming (no matter what you think of C and Java) is going to be useful. Even if you want to do pure networking, there's a a good chance you are going to have to write some perl scripts (or at least edit them) when you get to a more advanced stage of networking. And evenb the maths will prove useful at some point

Why don't you just concentrate on the networking, and do enough in the rest of the course to get you by? - The best of both worlds!

 

[Jamesdavid3]

Hi all,

I'm just after some other opinions on the quality of degree education at colleges. I took a foundation degree in computer networking and currently I feel conned for the amount of money borrowed to what I've actually learned.

Such fine examples include

• Lecturers that don't even bother to turn up and with no warning
• Taking your pulse rate to put it into an excel spreadsheet and compare to sports students
• Learning trig and other pointless maths stuff
• Learning C and Java

I thought the degree would be network installations, configurations and other things to enable me to either one day get a job in the field or something similar.

All it seems to me is that we have lecturers that don't want to be there, and are being taught pointless rubbish when they should be devoting more time to the actual course material.

Anyone else have the same going on, or did I just choose a bad place?

Thanks

Not worth it at all, i suggest you write a letter to the head or the department bosses. You dont have to tell them who its from

Also you would have been better of getting a basic Network Job and being trained up on the job far better than going on a Uni course for years.

 

[Gall1987]

It's not a foundation year. That is an extra year at the beginning of a standard degree course for people who do not have the entry requirements to start the degree at level 1.

I foundation degree is a two year course that is normally taught in Colleges and then you go to a Uni for a year to finish it off and ensure that it is a full degree.

To be honest, I can't believe you've paid nearly £6k for a course you didn't know what involved. God help you when it comes to using it for a job.

 

[peetee]

Can compare this to the fact 1st years at uni dont count toward your grade and are generally aload of generic rubbish for a lot of courses, there really isnt much point in a lot of them.

Sounds like someones having your pants down OP.

 

[Roland0]

Can compare this to the fact 1st years at uni dont count toward your grade and are generally aload of generic rubbish for a lot of courses, there really isnt much point in a lot of them.

Sounds like someones having your pants down OP.

You certainly aren't wrong there, the first year of a degree is really not much more than A-Levels, in order to get people to the same level. Also they don't count for anything other than passing onto the next year. I think that an FdSc would be pretty much pointless if it didnt have the vendor certs. or you where going on to do a degree.

 

[craptakular]

Isn't the foundation year just to get you up to the standard to actually start the course? So basic maths skills like trig would be relevant?

Edit - Looks like I didn't read that properly, it's a foundation degree? Not a foundation year? What on earth are they?

They're for people with no A-level's or the thicko's that did so badly at A-level they need to do a foundation "degree" to get into university.

No offense intended Mike!

 

[Roland0]

They're for people with no A-level's or the thicko's that did so badly at A-level they need to do a foundation "degree" to get into university.

No offense intended Mike!

Yes and no, I think you are probably thinking of a foundation YEAR, which is for people with inadequate A-Level results.

Not everybody (mature students in particular) can spend 3 years doing a full time academic course.

 

[Vanquish-Storm]

After being made redundant ive gone back to my old college to do a Foundation Degree in IT.

Our course is fine, the first year is "basic" but i knew this already. I knew all the tutors there from last time i went and the majority of them are great they know their stuff, used to work in the industry in their given lessons.

So far we have gone through; info systems, website design, and programming. Our course also includes Cisco CCNA (which i have already done but some modules have changed so cant hurt going through it again as a recap )

I learnt from my friends that went off to uni that the first year is just very basic, a lot of what they did was recap what was done in their a-levels or btecs. (this isnt just IT its also psycology and social care)

I think the OP got ripped off price wise though, what Uni does the course run through??