Can't decide on a course.

willhub

willhub

willhub

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Chadderton, Oldham
I have decided to take the route of getting a BSC qualification, pref is MMU or Uni of Salford.

I've being looking at the courses and am totally unsure as to which would be the right choice for me.

The sort of job I would like to go into would be computer support, maintaining computer systems, upgrading, troubleshooting problems in a workplace or perhaps user problems over the phone.

The thing is, all the computing related courses seem to be heavy on programming, databases and networking, I really don't want to do programming or database work at all, when I get into networking subjects I find them quite interesting, if I wanted to go into computer support would networking be necessary?

Will all courses have databases and programming in so you get the basics of these subjects anyway?

Any insight would be appreciated, I've got till end of march to decide on a course, mainly so I get my accommodation sorted.

Thanks
Will.
 
Pretty much every computer related degree will have some kind of programming and 90% of undergrads will hate it!

To be honest mate, from what you've described youd want to do you dont need a degree.

You might want to look at something like Computer Systems or engineering or something like that as they will be a bit more hands on.
 
Well I thought getting a degree would help and I want to stay in Manchester too, and I can't see how I'd be able to afford it any other way, don't know where I could apply to round Manchester to get a job when all I've got is a foundation degree in computer systems support.
 
you'll need to know how to build/fix/maintain/configure a server... which relies on knowing your way around networks

programming will come in very handy too... I wouldn't not do the course because it offers it

Maybe you could get in touch with places you would like to work for and see what they advise in terms of courses, etc?
 
I wouldnt let finances put you off going to any uni you want to.

I left for uni with about £200 in the bank and just relied on student loan and grants.

I reread my first post and it did come across a bit aggressive. steve-h said it better, you will need to know how networks work in order to provide support in an organisation. ANd you never know you might find a love for programming!
 
willhub said:
I have decided to take the route of getting a BSC qualification, pref is MMU or Uni of Salford.

I've being looking at the courses and am totally unsure as to which would be the right choice for me.

The sort of job I would like to go into would be computer support, maintaining computer systems, upgrading, troubleshooting problems in a workplace or perhaps user problems over the phone.
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You WANT to do that? Mate, you're mental.

The best thing you hope to do is go into something like a network admin role, and loads of unis have courses on networking and the likes.
 
You could probably get a 1st line job without a degree, do that for a year then you will probably have a better idea of where you want to go in IT.
 
willhub said:
I don't see where else I could aim tbh.
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Why aim so low when you want to get a degree? There's a huge amount of jobs out there, and by the time you graduate university, jobs will exist that didn't when you started uni. Aiming so low for career aspirations just seems like a waste. What is your dream job?

Look into things like graduate schemes with large companies. Not all of them are just software development.
 
So am I wasting my time by going to uni?

http://www.mmu.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/course_detail.php?course_id=7147

That looks the most interesting course they offer.

The part that worrys me is:
In Year 3 you will be investigating the design and evaluation of both embedded and modern high performance computing systems and analysing current trends and security measures and the technologies used in computer communication networks. You will also study one of three options. You may choose an analysis of satellite hardware and communications technology and its applications or you may decide to extend your Web-based skills using open-source and commercial solutions for dynamic web content, or develop your programming and database skills across a range of platforms. The final year also includes a large individual project of your choice, in which you can showcase your skills and knowledge.
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I don't know what to think though, it's the 3rd year that and I'd hope I learnt enough through it to manage the 3rd year ok.

Seems mad though, I'll be 24 or 25 when I finish that if I choose to do that as I'd think the sandwich route would be the best bet?

All the money, 2 years doing a foundation degree, 3/4 doing a BSC, I'm going to be in allot of student debt. Would it be worth it??
 
willhub said:
So am I wasting my time by going to uni?

http://www.mmu.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/course_detail.php?course_id=7147

That looks the most interesting course they offer.

The part that worrys me is:


I don't know what to think though, it's the 3rd year that and I'd hope I learnt enough through it to manage the 3rd year ok.

Seems mad though, I'll be 24 or 25 when I finish that if I choose to do that as I'd think the sandwich route would be the best bet?

All the money, 2 years doing a foundation degree, 3/4 doing a BSC, I'm going to be in allot of student debt. Would it be worth it??
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What qualifications do you have currently? I know a number of people who didn't start uni until 24-25, so you won't be at any disadvantage because of your age.
 
To me It's a bit pointless doing a degree with the aim of getting into 1st/2nd line support, i'm in that line of work now doing a degree with the aim of getting out of it. Also if you spend 2 years doing a foundation degree you can often do a top-up year to a full hons degree without starting again from the beginning.
 
Deiwos said:
What qualifications do you have currently? I know a number of people who didn't start uni until 24-25, so you won't be at any disadvantage because of your age.
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I have a BTEC National Diploma for IT Practitioners (General) and Foundation Degree in Computer Systems Support.
 
I have done a Degree in Computer Systems and Networks - All it is was useful for was I had a year out industry where I learnt the majority of the stuff which is useful in the real world IT job and Life skills.

Don't get me wrong I am glad I did Uni it was great fun but as career progression your money would better spent on doing a CCNA or Microsoft course!
 
The sort of job I would like to go into would be computer support, maintaining computer systems, upgrading, troubleshooting problems in a workplace or perhaps user problems over the phone.
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you do not need a degree for that.

basic corporate support, you have different departments

server support
network/comms
ip phones
active directory and exchange
application support

those are mostly 3rd line level stuff, but some places you can have people doing those departments who also do 1st and 2nd line. depending on the size of the corporation.

then you have 1st and 2nd line, 1st mostly answer the phone and do the emails and first time fixes while the 2nd line can spend more time on problems and if they can't fix or they don't have access, they pass it to the 3rd line guys.

so find out what you want to do in that then learn what you need to.

i know people that have comp sci degrees and were like 25 with £10000 debt and i was 21 barely finished high school, taught myself computers. they didn't even know difference between mbit and mbyte for example... so a degree is not everything.

i was lucky to get a job with a big corp as my first job and started at the bottom. worked my way up the chain over the years.

if you are going to uni get a degree and student loan debt then do something very advanced.
 
I did a BSc in Computer Network ant Tech at Hertfordshire which was good fun, there was programming though.

Now I'm a network admin but that is what I wanted to do, I always wanted to work in networking. I was always prepared to go in to support though as most graduates are. It's sort of like a right of passage to gain experianceb before moving on.

As to your other questions, dont think of the debt, uni is a life experiance and in my mind worth every penny. I'm nearly 20K in the hole but you dont think about it, its not like a car loan where they will come and take you to court. It comes off your wages and you dont notice it, like a graduate tax.

And when I started uni I became very good friends with a 24 and 25 year old and I was 18, you dont notice the age gap and just get on with it. I would strongly recommend living away from home though, even if its just for year 1.
 
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