Applying for IT courses at college...good idea?

Biz.Kid09

Biz.Kid09

Biz.Kid09

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Right, I am currently applying for different colleges (Yr 11) and i have been looking at different it courses but i dont want to do it and then find out that it was a waste and i should have studied something else.
BTEC NATIONAL EXTENDED DIPLOMA IN IT (Business) was the first one i was looking at.
[URL="]http://courses.nwkcollege.ac.uk/course_view.php?course_id=262[/URL]
Thats the course outline.
So what do people think? Good course or should i be looking at something else?
 
That course covers a bit of everything, if you're still undecided exactly what part of IT you want to get into it might help.

MW
 
Thanks MW.
Well thats what appealed to me because in the first year it is a bit of everything and then second you choose exactly what you want to do so networking,web etc
Any other views?
 
I did a similar course... and having had a strong knowledge and passion for computing already - I now wish I'd of done one of those £100/week apprenticeships to get me the cash to spend on night school for certs. But I did meet some good people in college, so whatever~

Good luck and know that traditional education isn't the only way (or best way) to get into 'IT' :)
 
Does cover a bit of everything, but I suspect that as with every BTEC I've ever known all the work may be assignment based. If you're like me and you don't get on very well with assignments then consider something more like AS Computing.

If you're aiming on getting into a decent university you'd probably be best going down the AS/A2 route as opposed to the BTEC, as they tend to have quiestionable reputations.
 
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Steve- Thanks for giving me another choice :p,
I think i will be best to do that course as i dont know about a lot of stuff on that course so hmmm
Zefan- Can you explain a bit more about the assignments? Can you give me a name of a course for that AS Computing because there isnt anything called that in the different colleges?
Well to be honest i was going to do the course and then try get a job and if not then go uni.
 
The computing BTEC a lot of my friends did at college was entirely assignment based, for instance you'd have to make a program for a specific task and the assignment would include documenting the progress of the project. Nearly all of the marks were for providing the evidence of being competent at certain things, for instance it didn't matter if your program worked like a dream if you didn't take a screenshot at a specific time to provide evidence for whichever box to be ticked on the marking sheet. they had no exams whatsoever, which for me would have been a complete disaster as I seem to handle them much more than being given an assignment and sent on my merry way only to spend months browsing OcUK :p

I chose A Level computing instead, along with a couple of other unrelated subjects, to make up the UCAS points in order to gain entrance to uni. I'm not sure if they've changed the way things are done or what they call A Levels nowadays but it used to be AS for year one, and A2 for year 2.

:edit: The BTEC you're looking at could be completely different, so don't let my potentially inaccurate judgement put you off! Find out what it's like, and if your aim is to go to university after college, try have a look at other subjects the college offers to get a broader education. Some of my mates ended up getting pretty bored of doing just IT/computing.
 
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Zefan said:
Nearly all of the marks were for providing the evidence of being competent at certain things, for instance it didn't matter if your program worked like a dream if you didn't take a screenshot at a specific time to provide evidence for whichever box to be ticked on the marking sheet.
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Yep, that's how it works. :(
 
digipeep said:
No, just register for an account here, and download all the software and documentation, study it for 12/24 months then go an earn a shed load as a contractor.

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/index.html

Oracle allow you to play with their software for free and it will beat the hell out of any IT course at your local college.
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Surely i would need some kind of experience though to do stuff like that?

Anyone got any more views on the course?
 
I'm in my first year of this course, I had a pretty good knowledge of most things IT related before I started and I'm finding it a bit of a drag at the moment but that's mostly due to my inability to keep up with assignment work, but that shouldn't be a problem if your motivated enough to not spend all of your time on here and playing games :o

Obviously don't let my experiences put you off, the course is interesting and covers a bit of everything and providing you pass with merit or distinction you should be able to get into a university.
 
Before I got into Uni I did a BTEC National Diploma for IT Practitioners (General), that was 2 years, then to get into uni I did a FDSc Computer Systems Support for 2 years.

The BTEC was mostly databases, abit of graphics, web design, I found the FDSc easier than it tho :s, should be other way around.
 
Biz.Kid09 said:
Surely i would need some kind of experience though to do stuff like that?

Anyone got any more views on the course?
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Experience might make a small difference in IT but I doubt it, the IT industry needs young hungry ambitious people not old fuddy duddies playing office politics. Don't let experience worry you, the older you get in IT the more likely you are to get fired.
 
NvidiaDan said:
I'm in my first year of this course, I had a pretty good knowledge of most things IT related before I started and I'm finding it a bit of a drag at the moment but that's mostly due to my inability to keep up with assignment work, but that shouldn't be a problem if your motivated enough to not spend all of your time on here and playing games :o

Obviously don't let my experiences put you off, the course is interesting and covers a bit of everything and providing you pass with merit or distinction you should be able to get into a university.
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Thanks mate, well thats what brought me to the course as it covers a bit of everything and i can work out what i want to focus on etc when i finish.
digipeep said:
Experience might make a small difference in IT but I doubt it, the IT industry needs young hungry ambitious people not old fuddy duddies playing office politics. Don't let experience worry you, the older you get in IT the more likely you are to get fired.
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I meant experience in the types of stuff Oracle offer. Thanks for the suggestion though i will check it out.
 
I took a BTEC, as I wasn't sure what I really wanted to do. I am now at Reading Uni studying Comp Sci - I had offers from Kent, Loughborough, Bristol and Southampton as well, but stayed in Reading due to family commitments at the time.

What I will say, is if you want to progress to uni, you need to do really well in the BTEC, which isn't at all hard as long as you are methodical and picky with all the assignment criteria. I achieved a DDD (before you could get D*D*D*), and still had plenty of time to enjoy myself.

I had no exams, all coursework - this is really down to what suits you, personally I didn't miss the exams one bit.

Also make sure you check out the exact spec of the BTEC you do, as you have probably seen BTEC FOR IT PRACTITIONERS for example can come in any flavour from "PROGRAMMING" to "NETWORKING" - I was always advised that something more generic/software/software engineering would make life at Uni easier, and 100% honestly almost all the stuff I learnt at college has popped back up at some point since I started Uni (2009). Hope this helps.

EDIT: To gain entry onto some courses, some universities require that you do a separate maths course, or that the BTEC includes a maths module. Mine was the latter, and hand a module "Maths For IT Prac" which contained some algorithms/logic/binary systems, needed a Distinction in this to be eligible for Comp Sci/IT/and Cybernetics.
 
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Biz.Kid09 said:
Well thought i would update this, I have got an interview at a local college to study this course: http://courses.nwkcollege.ac.uk/course_view.php?course_id=262&school_id=12&mode=
Does anyone know what kind of jobs that this qualification would lead to?
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I completed something very similar to that in August. Now I'm working for an IT Consultancy; setting up and managing servers/exchanges and office networks for dozens of clients, as well as providing general IT support for said clients.
 
Nomisf said:
I took a BTEC, as I wasn't sure what I really wanted to do. I am now at Reading Uni studying Comp Sci - I had offers from Kent, Loughborough, Bristol and Southampton as well, but stayed in Reading due to family commitments at the time.

What I will say, is if you want to progress to uni, you need to do really well in the BTEC, which isn't at all hard as long as you are methodical and picky with all the assignment criteria. I achieved a DDD (before you could get D*D*D*), and still had plenty of time to enjoy myself.

I had no exams, all coursework - this is really down to what suits you, personally I didn't miss the exams one bit.
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I got PPM, I'm abit disappointed, but looking back I thought it was quite hard, yet in my foundation degree I got a Merit and am aiming for 2:1 at uni and doing a lot better quality work in uni than at my previous courses. Don't know if I was just lazy and younger then or what :(.

How many working hours was you doing to achieve a DDD?
 
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