Studying computer science at uni!

[Biz.Kid09]

Like you say Jon you can go either way, if you went for the year in industry and did Ok but didn't show much interest then when you left uni and went for others and did the same your not going to get a job.

There is no guarantee to anything, i am going to see how my interviews go and then enquire about changing to year in industry if possible and just see what happens.

I know someone who did a normal degree and he took a break after his second year, secured a placement at Microsoft in America, went and did that...came back and finished his degree then went back again. He got the placement at Microsoft by himself and a recommendation from his lecturers.

As I say you can go both ways.

I am still undecided on if I want to do Comp Science which is is terrible I know but its just what I am enjoying at college is Cisco etc and I can't help thinking I should go on and do my CCNA and try for junior network jobs etc.

 

[explicit4u]

Well now I know I do wish that I applied for a year in the industry option as i have heard a lot of good things about it. Unfortunately my choices were all just the standard Bsc Comp Science. However I am considering deferring for a year so I can always apply next year for the Year In Industry.

Thanks for the replies. I too have been accepted at Lancaster but I am not really keen on going there but it was nice to see I was offered a place as I really wasn't expecting it.

You shouldn't really have a problem adding a year in industry to your course. If you decide where you want to go and confirm an offer just send them an email asking and it should be okay. My sister applied for straight Chemistry at Bath but added a year in industry after securing a place.

 

[Biz.Kid09]

Well that's good to hear, I have got my interviews in two weeks so fingers crossed.

Cheers for the replies guys.

 

[bitslice]

On a geographical note, Stirling is a terribly depressing place to visit let alone live in for four years.

God yes, I spent 16hrs and 37minutes there once, hated every minute. For days afterwards I was unable to see the colour grey as all my grey retinal rods had burnt out.

That and it's full of Scottish people, and although the women are great, the blokes will stare daggers at you all the time, it really got on my nerves. Basically it's like Wales, but grey instead of green and even colder.

 

[clankk]

Do league tables really matter? Personally I think its snobbish not to mention true skills speak for themselves. My experience with graduates from some of the above named uni's has just been all talk and no substance.

I studied comp sci and first thing lecturer told us is wotever we learning will be obsolete, learn to learn! People going to uni expecting everything handed to them, including a job because you at a top league uni are very misguided.

 

[dowie]

Do league tables really matter? Personally I think its snobbish not to mention true skills speak for themselves.

Depends really... some courses, due to the nature of the people they accept, won't be able to cover as much or might have to be more vocational. Its not always a bad thing... not everyone is going to end up working at some high paying job at a tech firm, bank etc.. Someone just doing general IT stuff might well be better off with the vocational skill set and would probably be more productive from the outset in a general IT type role than someone who knows lots about the theory of networks but has never so much as seen any of the hardware.

I studied comp sci and first thing lecturer told us is wotever we learning will be obsolete, learn to learn!

That's a bit disconcerting... perhaps it was more of a vocational course.

Discreet maths, the theory behind databases, networks, different programming paradigms etc.. shouldn't have changed much (as far as how its taught) at an undergrad level over the past decade.

 

[Biz.Kid09]

Thought I would update this thread,
Have received conditionals from all of my options so Kent, Greenwich, Southampton and Essex and Lancaster.
The Essex and Southampton ones are to study a different course so they are bottom of my list and I may well reject them soon especially now I have offers for what I want to do at the others.

Just a decision between Lancaster and Kent now. I went to Kent last week for the open day and an interview and really liked it, very impressive compared to the others. There is an open day at Lancaster that I am going to try and go to but its just difficult to organize around family commitments and money!

So yeh, thanks again guys you really helped me. I will let you know what I decide on in the near future!

 

[Biz.Kid09]

Just to update,

I have received conditionals to study Computer Science at Essex, Kent, Greenwich and Lancaster.

Have till June to reply but of course want to get it out of the way!

Will post again when I decide

 

[Biz.Kid09]

Thought I would update this.

I "firmed" Kent. According to my lecturer at college I will receive triple distinction which is what I need so fingers crossed that place will be confirmed soon!

A quick question, Whilst on my open day at Kent they talked a lot about the software they use which is BlueJ.

I have since downloaded this program and got the book that is recommended on the site which is Objects First with Java A Practical Introduction using BlueJ.

I have been reading through it and working within the software and finding it challenging but I am learning. Just wondering if anyone on here would recommend any other books or anything else I should read up on before starting my course.

Thanks in advance

 

[Zogger]

Bearing in mind I started comp sci at kent 9 years ago, so this knowledge is probably a bit out of date.

BlueJ was co-created by David Barnes who is a lecturer at Kent (and my final year project supervisor). He is a good lecturer / teacher and it's not bad for teaching OO programming to people who have not had any experience of it. In my opinion if you are capable it's a real head start to go through the basic java tutorials provided by Oracle. This is what I did and I found that understanding the fundamentals before starting made the first year relatively very easy.

BlueJ is mainly just a tool for teaching concepts, so from my experience of other people who also did the same course, they just relied on doing the bare minimum they could in BlueJ without ever trying to write code by themselves, and didn't get a proper grip on the overall structure of the code and struggled later on.

But yes, just going through that book will really help and if you can get a good grip on just that before you start you will do well as you will be better placed to actually understand what is going on behind the scenes.

edit: I missed out the other co-creator Michael Kölling who is also a Professor at Kent

 

[Biz.Kid09]

I have done some really basic Java before and created a few HTML websites so my experience in coding/programming isn't that great.

I will keep working through this book and then like you say I will check out the tutorials provided by Oracle.
I have another book on the way which is "Head first Java". This has been highly recommended so I am going to also read through that and see what else I can learn.

I didn't meet Michael Kolling but I am sure I met David Barnes as he was the one who introduced us to BlueJ.

Just out of interest if you don't mind me asking, what job did you go into when you left?

 

[Zogger]

I applied for jobs in my final year and went straight into financial / trading software as a developer, mostly server side C++, am still in the same job (albeit in a more 'advanced' role with a higher salary). I don't remember how I found the job, I think it was one of those magazines with a big list of companies that employ graduates. I just went through and circled a few that sounded interesting and filled in their application forms etc.
Originally I was planning to do the year in industry in the middle but changed my mind after applying for a few. I don't think it really disadvantaged me, but the jobs world has moved on quite a bit since then given the recession.

The thing is, at our company for example, they are continually recruiting for developers. While many people who apply don't get jobs, it's actually because, despite getting through a degree and even having relevant experience, they still don't seem to get the basic concepts and the majority fail the recruitment tests... The majority of people who actually have the coding ability would be able to walk into the job no problem (some soft skills required of course).

 

[RDM]

You could try the "For Dummies" books, they are normally pretty good for giving you a head start. I also found "Big Java" and "The Java Cookbook" to be reasonable.

 

[Biz.Kid09]

Cheers for the replies guy. I went for the Head First Java and it is really good so far

Thanks for the info Zogger as well.

 

[Mr. Pickle]

My honest advice for you is DO NOT GO.

You can use your time and money so much more wisely than going to university these days

It is hard not to follow the status quo and you have to be brave, but it is the better option

Take 1 year off before going at least

 

[AJK]

My honest advice for you is DO NOT GO.

You can use your time and money so much more wisely than going to university these days

It is hard not to follow the status quo and you have to be brave, but it is the better option

Take 1 year off before going at least

Or - assuming that you have done the proper due process on working out if a degree is the right option for you - DO GO.

 

[dowie]

I have since downloaded this program and got the book that is recommended on the site which is Objects First with Java A Practical Introduction using BlueJ.

LOL brilliant - both the authors of the book also lecture on your course...

We used to have 'the golden plug' awards published by our student paper where they listed estimated sales from lecturers plugging their own books on course reading lists.

you can check out the MIT open course ware site for some java tutorials too - I'm not sure you need to do too much prep, they will start from scratch when you begin your course so even just going through the recommended book and maybe part of an online course will give you a decent head start.

My honest advice for you is DO NOT GO.

You can use your time and money so much more wisely than going to university these days

It is hard not to follow the status quo and you have to be brave, but it is the better option

Take 1 year off before going at least

Not sure this is helpful unless you outline an alternative... everyone has different ambitions/perspectives and your alternative might not be what the OP wants. Some people in other threads have gobbed off with the usual 'you don't need university, I didn't etc..etc..' then proclaim to be a great 3rd line bod or generic IT 'manager'... great if that's where you want to end up - not so great if you're not interested in those roles and the route to get to them.

 

[Biz.Kid09]

My honest advice for you is DO NOT GO.

You can use your time and money so much more wisely than going to university these days

It is hard not to follow the status quo and you have to be brave, but it is the better option

Take 1 year off before going at least

If I can use my time and money more wisely then please tell me how!

LOL brilliant - both the authors of the book also lecture on your course...

We used to have 'the golden plug' awards published by our student paper where they listed estimated sales from lecturers plugging their own books on course reading lists.

you can check out the MIT open course ware site for some java tutorials too - I'm not sure you need to do too much prep, they will start from scratch when you begin your course so even just going through the recommended book and maybe part of an online course will give you a decent head start.

Yeh I know!

Cheers mate, will check that out.

Yeh, they did say that, some people start the course having never done anything like programming before so they start from the beginning but I would like to just understand it a little before I start!

 

[chriscubed]

I would like to just understand it a little before I start!

It's not so much understanding a little - it's making sure you could understand it and that it actually interests you. By all means give it a go first, the head start won't mean much but it should give you an idea of what's to come.

 

[Biz.Kid09]

I do understand to a certain level at the moment, I have only really just started but it certainly interests me hence why I am starting now rather than just messing about all summer and then going to uni and having one hell of a shock!

I know it doesn't mean that much but I think I am helping myself by doing something now to as you say give me some idea of what is to come.