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Big_Adam
So I’ve been on my BSc now for around a week or so (only 3 days a week) and I’m starting to have second thoughts. It could be just because the course has started and we are being slightly treated like idiots (really not enjoying the systems analysis … again) but that’s to be expected in the first few weeks.
My problem is that I’m not sure I really want a degree.
During the time between the end of my HND and the start of the BSc, I went looking about for job as I was not sure the BSc was happening. Most of the jobs either wanted Asp.Net people, Oracle specialist or just in general stuff I’d never heard of from my sheltered little world of a HND. On the few occasions I find something I think I could do it has the words “must have X years of experience” which I don’t have.
I’m just not seeing how a BSc is going to help or hinder me, apart from costing a large sum of money.
We had an ice breaker of sorts in one class last week, I normally detest them but it was quick and we only had the one. Anyway, during the ice breaker EVERYONE knew what they wanted to do. Two people wanted to move to the USA and to work there, a few wanted to get out of their current jobs and set up as a self employed developer and then me. I got nothing. No ideas, clues or a vague idea what I wanted to do or why I was even on the course.
I’ve been in education for far too long and I still have no damn idea what to do or why. I did want to do system admin as it covers a nice range of hardware and networking as well as some other stuff but all those types of jobs want experienced people and not someone fresh out of an HND.
I’m not sure what to do anymore. I think I could maybe pass the BSc (as in scrape past).
Really wish I did a course that coved better coding now. Might have been useful, more than VB is anyway.
I’m going to go have a sandwich and be all emo about this, or depressed. It’s one of the two.
PS: If anyone can tell me why I can just highlight a word/sentence in Word and just overtype it (it just keep the bit I wanted gone, does the same with backspace) anymore that would be lovely. The problem is getting f**king annoying.
PPS:Now that I think about it, all of the above (bar the Word stuff) could be explained via extreme confidence issues.
Damn.
If you do not kno what you want, its hard to help.
Just remember everything has a positive and a negative.
Its true Uni will cost a lot, but as you do not have the ‘X’ years of experience, being a graduate will help with some employers (they will just pay you less).
Another option; take certificate courses in your field, it will cost left, and be more specific to a developers needs and these certificates are recognised by the majority of employers.
Then again, you have no idea what you want to do, there these are just suggestions.
I kind of felt similar during my degree, asking myself why I am doing all this and I also had no clue of where I was going.
But I decided to just push through it and get over and done with it and now I am glad I did it. Wouldn’t say the degree helped me much in my jobs but it opened the door to some jobs I couldn’t have applied for without it.
Plus I changed directions a few times during my career and that often isn’t such a bad thing.
Sounds really cheesy but I just I always try to do what I am doing as good as can and see where it gets me.
So I would just carry on, get it done and when you get closer to the end try some traineeship or the odd holiday job in IT or any other interesting area.
But that’s just my personal viewpoint.
Lars
kk dude what it sounds like is ur doing computer science. In the real world only reason u want or need to go to uni is if u plan to do programming. I’ve talked to alot of companies and they are rarely interested in degree’s unless ur talking about the high end stuff (e.g. building microcontrollers and learning to program them.) Put it simply it sounds like u have just choose too much of an easy subject. Trust me ull know when ur on the right computer course when u actually have to work really hard to get it. E.g. In my second year im having to build a shell.
But if all u ever what to be is a systems admin get urself a job asap gettting a degree wont help with that. Btw don’t do computer science or software engineering both very poor courses (these are normally the same at all universities). Want u want to find is a course that isn’t available loads of other places as those are the courses that are actually challenging.
Hi, I can see where you coming from as I was in a similar position, I’m now in my second year of Computer Networking course, and have decided to just finish the course and pass hopefully and then do some certificates such as the Cisco’s ones so that I can be employed! I probably wont get much out of the course, but the hell with it, lol.
I too had the same thoughts. I was doing a HNC course I got into my second year and I quit within the first few months. I had had many troubles in my family life, my mother had sadly passed away from cancer and my dad was very ill with vertigo (dizziness not fear of heights). So I quit, I never went back. I kinda regret it now though as the teachers were so helpful, and I got on with all of them as some of them shared the same overclocking/hardware interests as I do. Just look at me now, Im doing an SIA course to become a bouncer as Ive decided that I dont want to change my hobby into a career. I want it to stay as a hobby. I dont want to come home from work one day to not want to go on my PC and blast some alien scum to kind come. Or own any of you on CSS, or TF2. At the end of day it is up to you, I am only 20 years old (just turned last month) so I have the rest of my life to do what I want to do. I could change in a few years and go back to ICT, I could go into writing and I have always wanted to publish a book. Thats the great thing about life you can do anything you want if you put your mind to it. So if you want a good job with decent money then do your course, its another qualification under your belt. You see with me it aint about the money, I want to be in a job that I like doing, not something that is going to ruin my home life.
Hello Adam,
I was in a situation where I went to university to study Business Studies at HND level. There was also an option to do a ‘top-up’ BA degree which would only require another year of study. However after years of pissing around, re-sitting numerous times I decided to quit last year. Whilst I came out with nothing, I had at least got my freedom back and I felt free to pursue a career. I finally decided that computing was the place to go, so I had a look at Skillstrain, where they had a systems engineer course (A+, CCNA Foundation and CCNA). I sorted things out and that’s what I’m doing now. It’s not a degree, or a highly demanding subject such as programming but it’s in line with a core interest of mine. Considering that you’ve only just started your course and the academic term has only just begun, I’d implore you to stick with the course and give it at least until Christmas. I remember when I began at uni, I felt the work was rather simple. However after the first few weeks things did become more challenging and you should find things more stimulating.
I’d like to know if the BSc is an ‘add-on’ like the top-up degree I mentioned. Or whether it’s entirely separate and you’ll need to spend another three years doing the course?
If it’s the latter, then it may be an idea to consider trying other options. Before you get too far in and feel even more frustrated. I’d certainly look into Cisco qualifications and see if they interest you.
http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/learning_career_certifications_and_learning_paths_home.html
The CCNA is network based, but it may at least point you in a direction that’ll interest you.
Good luck.
I didn’t choose uni. I spent a year working as a lifeguard, with only home-grown IT expierience.
During this year, I hti the books and completed the MCDST for Desktop Analysts. I then applied for a job that requested 2+ years of experience…thought it was wortha shot, even though I had 0 years of experience.
And here I am, having been in the role for 6 months, and loving it.
These days, its more down to personality, teamwork/leadership skills, and being able to adapat quickly…not what degree you have.
And, as you may also see…I now also run my own home business offering IT Support, and the client base is growing weekly.
Just goes ot show, you don’t need a degree, or any experience, just put your mind to it, apply yourself and anything is achieveable.
following on from previous post.
New website goes on-line 10th October. Check it out @:
Don’t go to uni expecting to learn anything particularly useful, just realise a degree allows you to apply for large company graduate schemes; these will teach you 100x more in a year than a degree can, and will give you an excellent career start.
i completed a HND and moved on to the 2nd year of a sandwich degree in ‘Computer Studies’. if your degree is not a sandwich degree…i’d probably recommend changing to a degree which gives u experience. I got a job working in support…at this stage i had no idea what i want to do after leaving uni. whilst on this placement, actually working made me want to move into coding. so i focused my attention on developing in the final year of uni and wrote an application for my final year project. after uni, went back to my placement to earn cash while looking for a developer role, which i eventually found.
but my advise is..no matter what you do..YOU MUST study at home for new languages etc. uni basically teaches u nothing..u sud only use uni as a means of getting work experience.
I am in UNI and i LOVE IT! you mate are one of those boys that heard there is $$$ in IT and lets rush in to it! the fact that you want to do NO SPECIALIZATION… you would rather do System Analysis, says quite a lot! i em quite tired of hearing ppl complain “ohh i got “computer science” degree and still working in tesco’s” but put the simple question to them? what can u do? and they stuter for few min make up some stuff and keep quite… so i go in to more detail? can u link up 5 computers with a server and make it run well? :”ermmm no” can u develop a nice tidy clean code for whatever :”eeeeerrmmm no” and thats 90% of ppl out there with degree in food retailers atm… you are going pretty much same way… concentrate on what you really want to do! do not look at salarys do not look at benefits look for what is your call… my call is computers and always has been! my mom told me first time i told her i want to work with computers i was 4! so think about it… is it what you really want to do? and why do you want to do it?
I agree with Neophyte here, find what you truly want/can do and head for those goals, it is a much more rewarding feeling knowing you have worked hard at it and achieved it rather than to just look at your bank each day and think…i have money…but did i enjoy myself making it?
As with Neophyte, my calling was in the IT industry. Did my training, work for a multi-billion £, multi-national company, run my own business on the side, and yes, i look at my bank balance and smile, but i also smile knowing I achieve something each day…all this, and I still didnt go to uni.