a job in computing

Beansprout said:
but things like several-thousand-word reports I just don't get on with at all..
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:(, for that one module there was about 3 or 4 essays as well as a full assignment and presentation. After the first two years, which I cruised though without attending lectures *** third year was a shock, in the labs till after dark most nights.
 
Beansprout said:
Fortunately I have a placement year to prepare myself before final year....
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Ahh, to be on placement! Where you havent a care in the world as the company falls apart around you, ey Fox?

Although, having been in the real world for a year, I have now realised that all this uni stuff is rubbish. no one employs you on your ability to do a strategic group analysis of the airline industry, write a report on applying the production line aproach to the service sector, or write a million pages of ip addresses that a computer works out on its own anyway! Get me back in the real world learning real skills!

Cue Fox, with the 'Uni is great, stay as long as you can' side of the coin
 
AcidHell2 said:
Also we have a very very strict drugs and alcohol policy. If your found to have anything in your system it's an instant sack and 5 year ban from the industry. even office staff are checked. But there less likely. Never had a random rugs test though, but any incidents that happen you have to stay on site and be drugs tested ( I have had this)
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Just noticed this, i was under the impression that drugs generally stayed in your system and were tracable for weeks if not months after use? Surely virtually everyone would come back as having *something* in their system?
 
yes drugs stay in your system. but not in any way that can be used to determine quantity and time. after a few hours its just a trace...
 
Skeeter said:
Ahh, to be on placement! Where you havent a care in the world as the company falls apart around you, ey Fox?

Although, having been in the real world for a year, I have now realised that all this uni stuff is rubbish. no one employs you on your ability to do a strategic group analysis of the airline industry, write a report on applying the production line aproach to the service sector, or write a million pages of ip addresses that a computer works out on its own anyway! Get me back in the real world learning real skills!

Cue Fox, with the 'Uni is great, stay as long as you can' side of the coin
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My placement year will be spent working on my business, just as my gap year was, so I hope that won't be the case :D

Uni is great....it teaches you a lot of things, not just in the lecture room....a lot of the things you/we do are menial/silly, but that's also down to the course...so far, mine's been pretty good, with only a handful of dodgy/pointless modules.

Best thing about uni is the lifestyle, though - the cheap/easy living, socialising and time to try different things and meet people you'd never have otherwise met.
 
Jez said:
Just noticed this, i was under the impression that drugs generally stayed in your system and were tracable for weeks if not months after use? Surely virtually everyone would come back as having *something* in their system?
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They do, hence your not aloud to have drugs even if there legal, all prescribed drugs have to be noted to management which are then checked on a web page to show any restrictions to duty.

weed stays in the system for upto 4 weeks. however Charlie is 3 days, so people have been known to use it on a Friday night out and they should be clean for work. (not me I wouldn't touch anything like that). Alcohol limit is 1/3rd that of drink driving so you have to be careful, however it's very rare you get tested.
 
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Any trade to do with building or maintaining homes is a great job, homes will always be built in this country and the money is bloody good.
 
Beansprout said:
so far, mine's been pretty good, with only a handful of dodgy/pointless modules.
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thats the part of your opinion that will change. in your 3rd year, all modules feel pointless. How do you get to work in your own business on placement? surely that dodgy, let alone missing a huge chance to experience a big organisation or a far fledged part of the world?
 
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Skeeter said:
thats the part of your opinion that will change. in your 3rd year, all modules feel pointless. How do you get to work in your own business on placement? surely that dodgy, let along missing a huge chance to experience a big organisation or a far fledged part of the world?
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I guess I'm hoping things get hard/interesting in 3rd year since I'm bored of getting 80%+ :p

Working in my own business is allowed if it's reasonably substantial and so on - I've talked to my course leader and just need to have a meeting with the faculty at some point to check all is in order.

If my business was smaller and I had a choice, I'd possibly work somewhere else, but I don't really have a choice if I want to keep involved and keep it running well, but that's ok by me :) Essentially if I went on placement with another company I'd have to employee someone to work alongside my colleague and it wouldn't really work.

I also get to explore far-flung parts of the world on holiday or visiting my girlfriend (when I have time - didn't last summer), so travelling or working in another country doesn't excite me too much :)
 
Thanks for the input, another quick question, if i was to get into IT once i have left college (next year) what would be the best path to take?
IT course at uni or the likes of comptia courses or other while trying to work as a technician (if possible or anything similar) and get qualified that way and slowly work my way up as my experience and relevant qualifications progress?

And can anyone give me a general insight into the type of work involved in a general IT/computing course?
 
3rd year computing gets a lot less computery, and 3rd year business becomes about how much you can read in 8 months!

Still not sure working in your own business is the best use of a placement year? Whos going to fill out your progress reports and your development of your personal action plan?

To analog: Computing at uni involved MS access, more MS access, SQL, more SQL, programming in various stuff not limited to C Java VB etc, Web development using ASP and JSP, more SQL, and lots of written feasabilites and assesments of stuff.
I chose a buiness and computing course (Business Information Management Systems, BIMS). It gives you a select ammount of IT (you get a lot of choice) and also the bsuiness understanding to be able to see how IT fits with business needs. In business now adays, it not so much about 'This IT does this' but more on 'how can we use technology to solve this business problem or improve this business function'.
Plus, at Uni, you get 3/4 years of living off other peoples taxes!
 
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Cryogenic said:
Do mechanics mate, you will spend your whole life crying in the computer industry as computing wages head in the downward direction due to cheap overseas compys and computer engineers :)
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IT in some areas is on the boom again, i really hate the way people put down IT all the time.

Whats the reason behind it? Is it because you work for some crap company on crap wages? If so, not all places are like this, i work in IT and have done from 17 start off part time of course because of uni etc, and i still love it.
 
Skeeter said:
To analog: Computing at uni involved MS access, more MS access, SQL, more SQL, programming in various stuff not limited to C Java VB etc, Web development using ASP and JSP, more SQL, and lots of written feasabilites and assesments of stuff.
I chose a buiness and computing course (Business Information Management Systems, BIMS). It gives you a select ammount of IT (you get a lot of choice) and also the bsuiness understanding to be able to see how IT fits with business needs. In business now adays, it not so much about 'This IT does this' but more on 'how can we use technology to solve this business problem or improve this business function'.
Plus, at Uni, you get 3/4 years of living off other peoples taxes!
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I see, business one sounds right up my street, i don't really want to go into all that technical stuff which to me seems more like programming than IT but then again i am probably wrong and most of that is what will be needed in IT knowing my luck.
So for the BIMS what is the work like? is it all *shudder* projects? i remember IT at school, make a data base on this or that and i hated it with a passion, i really dislike coursework, far rather sit an exam.
Ahh taxes how i love thee for now.
 
Skeeter said:
3rd year computing gets a lot less computery, and 3rd year business becomes about how much you can read in 8 months!

Still not sure working in your own business is the best use of a placement year? Whos going to fill out your progress reports and your development of your personal action plan?
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Eek! Glad I'm not doing business - two business modules is enough for me.

I'll fill out my own progress reports, or get our other director to :) Lecturers also pay visits I think, so I'd need to put away the table football on those days...
 
BIMS at Plymouth (my modules + what I can remember from electives):

1st year:
Accounting - Tests and Exams
Economics - Courseworks on Music downloads and some regiona difference analysis
Human Resources - Courseworks on some HR stuff (hated it, was core tho)
Stats - Business moddeling using stats
Databases - Design a database, understand object orienteated (Access)
Some rubbish module on CVs and stuff that was core

Electives were Marketing or some more stats, along with languages

2nd Year:
Artifical intelgence - coursework with some genetic AI algorithms (bad choice by me, but was kind of interesting)
Enterprise and Innovation - coursework and exam on enterprise and innovation
Networking - basis of network assesses on history of the internet essay
HR again - core, coursework, hated it
ASP web design and Project skills - coursework and exam
Databases - Oracle, SQL, and more SQL
IT and the Law - exam and coursework on Law around IT (very interesting)

Electives were again marketing, some more HR and languages, with some other bsuiness modules too

3rd year:
Placement in organisation

4th Year:
Corporate strategy - businessy and examed
Business Systems - Working with North Cornwall council to assess is SMS technology can be used in the housing department (real life woo!)
Databases - understanding how advanced databases work - coursework
Operation management - businessy and examed
Advanced networks - pages and pages of ip address based coursework (I chose it)
Information society - next term, no idea yet
Stats - business modeling by case study
Individual project

Electives were Law, more buiness modules, multimedia, HR and marketing, and some more computer modules on information retreval and databases

Hope this helps! The course does asume no knowledge, so the first year was to get everyone on the same level. Seen as id done Business GCSE and Alevel and Computing Alevel I found this easy, and a bit boring, but you understand why.
 
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Thanks for all the info, much appreciated, some of that sounds ok but some of it would make me go insane.
Wonder how widely accepted those comptia courses are (i know the basic one almost everyone has) but the other in more specific areas, could anyone recommend me some good courses in any area of IT?
Still 50/50 on this uni or courses thing, what where the entry requirements for that course Skeeter out of interest to give me a rough idea of what i am looking at.
 
i was in your position, and i took electrical and electronic engineering (with placement year)

and i have nearly finished CCNA1, so will have some qualification in IT/computing areas. not sure about pay, but i like doing it... and i dont spend to much anyways, so as long as i earn over £25,000 i dont mind. i can still become a teacher.
 
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