Computer Science degree

[sammo62]

My dream is to become an IB (Investment Banker) but I guess this is out of the question for a CS degree, maybe I should study Math instead?

One of my mates did CS at Warwick and now earns ~ £120k per year designing systems for IB firms.

 

[D.P.]

Howdy y'all. After recently receiving my offer to study Computer Science at Loughborough University I have started to look into possible careers for when I graduate. For the purpose of the thread, lets assume I get a 1st or 2:1.

What sort of doors will this open for me? I really don't fancy being in a support role after spending £20k+ on my degree to be honest. I know that there is an increasing demand for .net programmers but what is this demand actually like in comparison to the supply? What other options will there be for me :\?

My dream is to become an IB (Investment Banker) but I guess this is out of the question for a CS degree, maybe I should study Math instead?

Also, does anyone have any general tips for preperation for studing CS, from what I grasp getting a basic understanding of a language such as Python can be a good idea as it teaches good habits but I've also read that some universities prefer to start from scratch?

Cheers guys
Ben.

If you can get a 2.1 or above in CS from Loughborough (+work experience form summer placement) you will be laughing and can become an investment banker if you so desire.

 

[D.P.]

If you want to get into investment banking a Law degree, finance or economics degree with 75% maths based, is what you need if you want to get into IB. Most CS degrees are outdated, you really need to sit down and think what you want to do.

if your interested in economics or finance then have a look at these,
you need to learn differentiation, intergration, partial differentiation, elasticity optimiation both constrained and uncontrained, lagrange matrix / inversion these are the basic stuff you'll need to learn, then you'll move onto advanced lagrange like marshallian.

No an otudated Cs course is outdated. An upt odate CS course is up to date.

those maths topics should have been done in school before even starting a Cs degree.

CS, by definition, is a highly mathematical subject, like physics for example.

 

[D.P.]

Hi, I was wondering what computer related roles are available with a Comp Sci degree if you don't want to do software development or project management?

The only one that springs to mind is a Linux/Unix sysadmin type role, but are there any other roles worthy of consideration?

Depends what you mean with computer related. Computer science does not require the use of a computer for the most part as it is a theoretical subject. If you want to program then do software engineering or some such.

An example job could be designing optimal algorithms, the heart and soul of CS.

 

[SMN]

You'll find it hard. Ive got 3 years experience, 2 of which with top HPC companies, a 2:1 (Hons) in CS and i still get turned down by grad jobs with HP/IBM etc.

Experience is key. Get your foot in the door at a smaller company, work your way up, get experience and quals and move to a big company from there using experience and skills as leverage (if thats your desire).

Unless your degree is from the the Cambridge and Oxfords of this world its going to be tough to break through from what ive seen. Especially given the way the market is atm.

 

[Burnsy2023]

Depends what you mean with computer related. Computer science does not require the use of a computer for the most part as it is a theoretical subject. If you want to program then do software engineering or some such.

An example job could be designing optimal algorithms, the heart and soul of CS.

That's rather dependant on the university, Southampton's CS degree has a fair bit of coding in it to demonstrate theoretical principles.

 

[Burnsy2023]

Hi, I was wondering what computer related roles are available with a Comp Sci degree if you don't want to do software development or project management?

The only one that springs to mind is a Linux/Unix sysadmin type role, but are there any other roles worthy of consideration?

Network architecture, consulting, research and a lot more.

 

[Indy500]

That's rather dependant on the university, Southampton's CS degree has a fair bit of coding in it to demonstrate theoretical principles.

I'm doing CS at Kingston, it has a mandatory java module to start with, but I chose a different route to traditional CS students (programming was one option of four).

Most of my degree consists of practical IT implementation, design, troubleshooting, device configuration, project management etc. I personally see real world standards and scenarios as more useful to build on my existing experience.

 

[megakid]

Unless your degree is from the the Cambridge and Oxfords of this world its going to be tough to break through from what ive seen. Especially given the way the market is atm.

You don't need an Oxbridge degree to get a break through into a IB grad scheme. These guys (BoA, GS, MS, JPM, Citi etc) all recruit grads (tech grads starting on somewhere around £35k) from many other universities such as Durham, York, Bristol, Sussex, Manchester, Loughborough, Birmingham, Warwick, Southampton, Kings, Imperial ... the list goes on. You definitely don't have to be in a top 5 university to get your break into the IB graduate schemes. Just show a bit of proactivity by getting yourself an internship (apply early - prepare for interviews etc) and you're 75% of the way there.

 

[D.P.]

That's rather dependant on the university, Southampton's CS degree has a fair bit of coding in it to demonstrate theoretical principles.

Yes, most CS graduates learn to program in a variety of languages. Whether they are taught in detail or learn themselves 8nornmally a mix of the 2). But you don't do a CS degree to learn to become a programmer, you program, as you said, to demonstrate theoretical principles.

 

[Burnsy2023]

You don't need an Oxbridge degree to get a break through into a IB grad scheme. These guys (BoA, GS, MS, JPM, Citi etc) all recruit from many other universities such as Durham, York, Bristol, Sussex, Manchester, Loughborough, Birmingham, Warwick, Southampton, Kings, Imperial ... the list goes on. You definitely don't have to be in a top 5 university to get your break into the IB graduate schemes. Just show a bit of proactivity by getting yourself an internship (apply early - prepare for interviews etc) and you're 75% of the way there.

Indeed. I know 6 or 7 people from Southampton who bot jobs in IB last year from a group of about 25.

 

[Burnsy2023]

But you don't do a CS degree to learn to become a programmer, you program, as you said, to demonstrate theoretical principles.

Or, you could look at it another way and say the principles allow you to design and program to a professional level. Pretty much all the theory you learn has a practical application.

 

[britboy4321]

Howdy y'all. After recently receiving my offer to study Computer Science at Loughborough University I have started to look into possible careers for when I graduate. For the purpose of the thread, lets assume I get a 1st or 2:1.

What sort of doors will this open for me? I really don't fancy being in a support role after spending £20k+ on my degree to be honest. I know that there is an increasing demand for .net programmers but what is this demand actually like in comparison to the supply? What other options will there be for me :\?

My dream is to become an IB (Investment Banker) but I guess this is out of the question for a CS degree, maybe I should study Math instead?

Also, does anyone have any general tips for preperation for studing CS, from what I grasp getting a basic understanding of a language such as Python can be a good idea as it teaches good habits but I've also read that some universities prefer to start from scratch?

Cheers guys
Ben.

I have a degree in Computer Science (HONS). So many questions. IB is a bit like an old boys club .. hard to get into but once you're in you're in for life. Go on to job serve and see the number of jobs you could go for if you had a degree but no experience ... none yea?

Your best bet is to try and do a sandwich course and get a year in IB as your year out.

My computer science degree directly allowed me to earn over £80K a year aged 24 .. 6 months after I graduated. I am based in the city mind. It is the most useful degree out of any that me and all my mates took. I use my degree knowledge gained every day at work.

Don't think about .net at all, as it will be out of date by the time you graduate. Learn more general concepts at UNI. The concepts of how programming languages work .. 4GL, and most important UNIX. Don't think 'I hate Xwindows' -- learn everything about it and you'll set yourself up for life.

Definately do some programming before you get down there. Not in a 4GL. C++ would be most useful - at least learn what a library is, declaring and using variables etc. Also do you know about stuff like IP addresses, subnet masks, AND/OR/NAND gates? Having a working knowledge of that lot would be useful.

Don't learn about any FADS or CURRENT IT FASHIONS. Don't learn SAP. Or .NET. Or how to edit Windows 7 registry settings. All this is 'fad' stuff that will be out of date by the time you're job searching.

Getting a CS degree will open hundreds of doors for you. The best way possible is to go to Uni somewhere in the city (London). When you graduate they'll be 1600 IT jobs waiting for you if you stay in the area, as opposed to .. er .. Bath university. After which you'll end up going home and , if that is not in a city, they'll be 3 jobs open to you!

Let me know if there's anything else I can help with. If you get into IB and are good you'll be on > £250,000 by the time you're 35. but then you'll get moved to back-office! Bit like footballers really ..

 

[NathanE]

SAP and .NET are fads?

I appreciate what you're getting at though... which is to keep your knowledge abstract and unspecialised whilst learning.

 

[Mr^B]

...£80K a year aged 24 .. 6 months after I graduated

If you get into IB and are good you'll be on > £250,000 by the time you're 35.

Shenanigans!

The only way to see ANYTHING approaching that money is by contracting, and you do NOT want to go contracting for any length of time in an IB, which is why most people don't.

 

[britboy4321]

SAP and .NET are fads?

I appreciate what you're getting at though... which is to keep your knowledge abstract and unspecialised whilst learning.

Yea everyone used to use SAP 5 years ago, jobs going for £200,000 a year. but you must have noticed it's fallen by the way-side now.

.NET is about as important as 'Windows 7'. Sure, for 5 years everyone is going to be all over it. But after that, .SOMETHINGELSE is going to take over and you'll never hear much about .NET again.

And his course is going to be 4 years long

 

[britboy4321]

Shenanigans!

The only way to see ANYTHING approaching that money is by contracting, and you do NOT want to go contracting for any length of time in an IB, which is why most people don't.

I've been contracting for 15 years in a parellel industry to IB! Best decision I ever made in my life and I don't know why every single person in the country doesn't do it! If I'm unemployed for 8 months per year, I earn the same as my full time colleagues!

 

[megakid]

I have a degree in Computer Science (HONS).
-- snip --

All great comments in that - and before anyone says £80k is unobtainable at 24 with a computer science degree (well done by the way ) - it most certainly is.

I joined an IB straight out of uni at 22 doing C++ and 18 months later, I joined a much smaller prop. trading firm as a .NET developer which earnt me £100k+ last annum. So if these posts can't inspire you (it's not all about money I hasten to add) then I don't know what will

My plans are to stick here for at least a couple more years whilst the firm is still growing rapidly and then jump back into the big boys where experience really pays off.

 

[toshj]

an idea might be to do an MSc. in finance/financial mathematics/computational finance/etc.

you'd find a director within development/quant dev at an IB to be earning £100 -£120base and 100% bonus(ish). you can hit director level in 6 years (depending if you head off to do a PhD. you'd start at an IB at associate level).

 

[NathanE]

Yea everyone used to use SAP 5 years ago, jobs going for £200,000 a year. but you must have noticed it's fallen by the way-side now.

.NET is about as important as 'Windows 7'. Sure, for 5 years everyone is going to be all over it. But after that, .SOMETHINGELSE is going to take over and you'll never hear much about .NET again.

And his course is going to be 4 years long

SAP has been popular in its market for a couple decades though? It's just a software application. Nothing special about it. No idea what the job market is like for it. I suspect, given its size, it has its own little ecosystem going and that's when prices inflate.

.NET is basically on a par with Java. It's a programming platform. It's not going anywhere. I've never, ever, heard it described as a "fad" before.