Can't decide on a course.

willhub · 24 Feb 2010 at 14:58

QuickLink said:
Could get a job doing what you want to do now with that piece of cake!

I've no idea where to start looking tbh, I've also never had a proper job before.

J.B said:
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.

I'm away from home at the moment in Manchester, I want to stay here as I'm a keen cyclist and have had good training opportunities come up that will turn me into a proper good cyclist, but once college finished, I'd not be able to afford to live here unless I was doing a course at uni, I'd not be able to find a job and get enough money to pay for a place to live quick enough.

If a BSC would improve my prospects and possibly open new doors I'd be all for it, especially if it has work experience in a real workplace.

Truth be told I'm not 100% at all sure what I want to do, I do think maybe a BSC which would give me a degree but also possibly help me decide what I want to do after the degree, if the degrees got plenty of areas of computing in the course to help me decide.

CrazyMonk · 24 Feb 2010 at 15:19

willhub said:
Truth be told I'm not 100% at all sure what I want to do, I do think maybe a BSC which would give me a degree but also possibly help me decide what I want to do after the degree, if the degrees got plenty of areas of computing in the course to help me decide.

If thats the case you really want to find a uni course that provides just that.

The course that I did covered a lot of different areas of IT and in final year I got to choose the subjects I found interesting.

I would definately advise on doing a sandwich course personally you a lot more valuable with that one year in industry!

willhub · 24 Feb 2010 at 15:40

CrazyMonk said:
If thats the case you really want to find a uni course that provides just that.

The course that I did covered a lot of different areas of IT and in final year I got to choose the subjects I found interesting.

I would definately advise on doing a sandwich course personally you a lot more valuable with that one year in industry!

The best course I can find is this:

http://www.mmu.ac.uk/study/undergrad...course_id=7147

RDM · 24 Feb 2010 at 16:04

willhub said:
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.

No you don't. You might think that you do and you may even enjoy it for a year or two but it is absolutely bobbins work and generally you stop learning new things pretty quickly. Especially in a corporate environment.

If you really want to do a degree what I would suggest would be to look at doing straight Computer Science (http://www.mmu.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/course_detail.php?course_id=7048). Yes it does have some programming in, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing and knowing the ins and outs of DBs if you are supporting the hardware is no bad thing either. A wider degree gives you more options when you finish it and maybe have a better idea of what you want to do with your career.

willhub · 24 Feb 2010 at 21:06

RDM said:
No you don't. You might think that you do and you may even enjoy it for a year or two but it is absolutely bobbins work and generally you stop learning new things pretty quickly. Especially in a corporate environment.

If you really want to do a degree what I would suggest would be to look at doing straight Computer Science (http://www.mmu.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/course_detail.php?course_id=7048). Yes it does have some programming in, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing and knowing the ins and outs of DBs if you are supporting the hardware is no bad thing either. A wider degree gives you more options when you finish it and maybe have a better idea of what you want to do with your career.

That's 100% programming and database though :s

RDM · 24 Feb 2010 at 21:32

willhub said:
That's 100% programming and database though :s

Really so it doesn't also include "computer hardware and fundamentals" or "communications and operating systems" or "network management and security"?

I went from Sys Analyst to Infra Analyst and the knowledge I picked up about programming and databases helped immeasurably when doing the infrastructure side. If you are not sure what you want to do in IT (your idea of 1st or 2nd line support really doesn't need a degree and you will get bored quite quickly if you are capable of doing a degree) then a more general degree will give you more exposure to the field and leave you with more options at the end of it.

[TW]Fox · 24 Feb 2010 at 22:45

willhub said:
So am I wasting my time by going to uni?

Yes. You dont need it to answer the phone and tell people you'll log it as a call request.

Stellios · 24 Feb 2010 at 22:50

I have the same problem matey, only difference being im on the final year of a computer science degree. I have to agree with some people, ive found it totally pointless to what I want to do but im going to finish what Ive now started.

[TW]Fox;16033403 said:
Yes. You dont need it to answer the phone and tell people you'll log it as a call request.

Depends what you want to do, I accept that is probably where ill need to start, but theres always a path to do better.

Spyhop · 24 Feb 2010 at 22:58

IMO it's pretty dubious to decide up front that you'll only consider universities right next to where you currently live.

RDM · 24 Feb 2010 at 23:13

wush said:
IMO it's pretty dubious to decide up front that you'll only consider universities right next to where you currently live.

Sometimes circumstances dictate such a choice.

Spyhop · 24 Feb 2010 at 23:39

Sorry - that can of course be the case, but not so for a lot of young people.

willhub · 25 Feb 2010 at 12:22

I could look at Leeds or Sheffield, but I would like to stay in Manchester.

This is what I got from contacting MMU:

Hello Will,

Thank you for your enquiry.

Maintenance, troubleshooting is not seen as a degree level if you are looking to work
with hardware I would tell you to consider networking as that has a lot of the elements
that you have discussed. A lot of undergraduates would maybe get a initial job in support
but at degree level you would or should really aim for management level rather than
technician. All undergraduates would be expected to have this foundation of knowledge
developed during the course or by the end.

I would suggest that you review the path that you want to take as all lines within our
institute for computing require you to interact with software and in our degrees it will
involve programming or an appreciation of programming as all hardware is used to
accommodate the software.

Please feel free to contact us for any further queries.

Maybe I'm scared of getting a job that level, I don't see I'd be able to even after a bsc, I'd have to start from the bottom as I've never had a real job, just voluntary. I guess the skills to be in a job at management would be gained from the job.

Seems every job I'd also need a CCNA.