I agree.
Either swap institution (start over if you have to) or save yourself the money and hassle.
To stay in Uni, or not to stay in Uni
- Thread starter snedie
- Start date
I agree.
Either swap institution (start over if you have to) or save yourself the money and hassle.
Just my take, but....
As someone who dropped out after week 3 (yes, week 3) of Uni I think I can offer a fair insight.
Nearly 9 years after making that decision I do and don't agree with my decision. I did the right thing to leave that course and institution and at that time (Mobile Computing BSc, Staffordshire University, I wasn't 'ready' for the commitment) but the wrong thing in abandoning doing a degree.
I'm in a great position work wise, earn pretty much as much as anyone else my age whether they do/don't have a degree, but part of me is realising when I get the next couple of promotions at work done I'll find things a bit more difficult to move on. Trying to do a degree part time when at work, and at some point over the next 5-7 years hopefully having children too will not be easy.
If your going to do a degree, it needs to be the right sort of course (IMO, 'Pure' subjects like Maths, Physics, whatever) the right sort of University (A top one, or probably the Open Uni if your working at the same time as you don't really have a choice unless its a sponsored course like IBM offered at Portsmouth) , Resulting in the right end qualification (1st/2:1)
Thats my take as someone who has sat on countless interview panels, and died a little inside every time you get someone with a 2:2/3rd from a University that you never even knew existed, in a subject which it looks like they learned absolutely bloody nothing.
As someone who dropped out after week 3 (yes, week 3) of Uni I think I can offer a fair insight.
Nearly 9 years after making that decision I do and don't agree with my decision. I did the right thing to leave that course and institution and at that time (Mobile Computing BSc, Staffordshire University, I wasn't 'ready' for the commitment) but the wrong thing in abandoning doing a degree.
I'm in a great position work wise, earn pretty much as much as anyone else my age whether they do/don't have a degree, but part of me is realising when I get the next couple of promotions at work done I'll find things a bit more difficult to move on. Trying to do a degree part time when at work, and at some point over the next 5-7 years hopefully having children too will not be easy.
If your going to do a degree, it needs to be the right sort of course (IMO, 'Pure' subjects like Maths, Physics, whatever) the right sort of University (A top one, or probably the Open Uni if your working at the same time as you don't really have a choice unless its a sponsored course like IBM offered at Portsmouth) , Resulting in the right end qualification (1st/2:1)
Thats my take as someone who has sat on countless interview panels, and died a little inside every time you get someone with a 2:2/3rd from a University that you never even knew existed, in a subject which it looks like they learned absolutely bloody nothing.
I started a Computer Science degree in 1992, got booted out after failing Pascal programming 3 times.... moved to London and fell into banking..... realised I hated it after many years and last year did an MCSE..... now in IT Support back at the Uni I originally went to which is quite weird really....
I think perhaps change your choice of degree, perhaps you can get credits on the subjects you've done
I must agree that the people I did the course with were, in general, total freakazoids ! haha
I think perhaps change your choice of degree, perhaps you can get credits on the subjects you've done
I must agree that the people I did the course with were, in general, total freakazoids ! haha
Move to another degree if you can, I can understand your problems with Comp Sci at a sub standard university entirely. At Oxford Brookes the School of Tech has fallen from one of the best in 5 years to 1 of the worst, leaving my course in ruins. I had gotten through enough of mine to have to complete.
Many people have suggested in my thread before that having a degree, any degree is all you need to get you past the post in the job world. So just get one to get noticed!
Many people have suggested in my thread before that having a degree, any degree is all you need to get you past the post in the job world. So just get one to get noticed!
- The original tutor who designed the degree was fired (Allowing cheating)
so what
- 60% of people on the course are idiots, and regularly cheat (If Cisco decided to take action, ALL of us would loose our Cisco Quals)
so what
- Some of the coursework units are full of crap: A perfect example is one about decorating a house (Not even joking)
you are not going to learn much of use on low level computer degree anyway, get the cisco quals and the rest is nothing in comparison.
- The Uni has not considered how much time is needed to complete the external units (Cisco CCNP: Yes, It's VERY hard) and as such everyone regularly misses deadlines.
as long as you can do it who cares about other people?
- I've only completed the first year (paid for second, but I'm on extended leave) so the monetary loss is still low.
You already spent 3k? another 3k for a cisco qual and a degree is a bargin i'd say
so what
- 60% of people on the course are idiots, and regularly cheat (If Cisco decided to take action, ALL of us would loose our Cisco Quals)
so what
- Some of the coursework units are full of crap: A perfect example is one about decorating a house (Not even joking)
you are not going to learn much of use on low level computer degree anyway, get the cisco quals and the rest is nothing in comparison.
- The Uni has not considered how much time is needed to complete the external units (Cisco CCNP: Yes, It's VERY hard) and as such everyone regularly misses deadlines.
as long as you can do it who cares about other people?
- I've only completed the first year (paid for second, but I'm on extended leave) so the monetary loss is still low.
You already spent 3k? another 3k for a cisco qual and a degree is a bargin i'd say
I always found the cisco parts the easiest, and to be frank the CLI commands are fairly idiot proof...actually I take that back, I know a few idiots who still manage to mess it up.
I've heard on a few occasions that many employers simply dont look twice at people who don't have a degree. My sister who is a a manager at an NHS site follows guidelines that state things like:
- If CV is not written to a standard that a person of said post would require, do not consider person
- If person does not have at least <instert qual>, do not consider
- If personal statement is not encouraging, do not consider
Just basic stuff like that, about twelve guidelines that they follow and it wittles a stack of 300 cv's down to 10.
WTF is this all about? I would ahve thought these degrees are designed at a national level but a team of industry experts??? sigh... no wonder so many are crap if this is how they are designed...
depends on the job, we do 2nd / 3rd line support if you only have a degree you CV is filed in the bin, my previous 2 jobs were the same
Before graduating I was under the impression that the quality of University you attended was a vital factor when seeking employment. From a finance and business perspective, to an extent, I can safely say its meaningless.
I graduated with a 2:1 in Accounting & Finance and Manchester Metropolitan University. If, as you put it, studying at a "proper University" is a big factor, how did I manage to get onto an ACA graduate scheme while having Ernst & Young literally beg me to attend an interview? One of my close friends, who also graduated from MMU, is currently working with PwC.
Fluke?
Unrelated to a Computer Science degree but this broad generalisation about University is not as simple as you think.
It's easy because it's vocational crap. Why pay money for a course to teach you stuff that will be pretty much out of date within a year or two whenever Cisco brings along the next big update? A true CompSci course is timeless.
They managed to prove you took the hard drive, then?
Still, most large businesses won't even let you sneeze near a piece of networking gear without it with the only way around having them is to have worked in IT since the dawn of the silicon chip.
