Computer Science, Work Experience

Raskolnikov

I'm in the middle of a computer science degree at the moment and next year I've got the possibility of jacking off college for the year to go working in a relevent field. The chances are I'd be working with Microsoft, Oracle, Intel, etc so I'm thinking that I'd be getting some decent, relevent experience which would be fantastic and leads to the possibility of a full-time job if/when I graduate. The only problems with this are that I'll still have to go back to college after the experience and finish the last year of my degree (essentially 5 years in college). The fact that I'd be getting paid minimum wage and would have in all probability to relocate to Dublin is another negative.

Can any kind sage who's been in a similar position help me to make up my mind on this? Also since my forté in the CS field is Java programming can anyone recommend a company where I'd be doing Java/something similar? Any general comments or advice for me would be great.

WizZard

My God! Grab all the experience you can while its going. It'll be well worth it when you leave college, I promise you.

seamus

Originally posted by Raskolnikov
Also since my forté in the CS field is Java programming can anyone recommend a company where I'd be doing Java/something similar?

Um....I think Sun Microsystems may tinker a little in Java. Just a *little* though

Seriously though, I don't know if they even have anything to do with Java over here.

I thought you said you had the opportunity? If you haven't got one lined up now, you better get cracking. Competition for internships is really, really fierce, way worse than the actual IT job market. Unless you're 1.1 all the way, your chances of a normal internship (i.e a flavour of everything computer-related) are slim. You could score work doing Tech Support though, which is what I would say most IT graduates end up doing to start their career. So you'd be a year ahead in that respect.

Also think about the money and moving aspect. Suddenly you'll find yourself with a lot more csh than you have now, and freedom. You may love Dublin. So what happens if you decide to stay? Will you be without any qualifications whatsoever? It's very easy to say "Ah, of course I'll come back", but fiscal solvency is an addictive drug. It's hard to go back to the days of super noodle breakfasts and ultra cheap beer after having a few pennies in your pocket.

Stephen

You could score work doing Tech Support though, which is what I would say most IT graduates end up doing to start their career. So you'd be a year ahead in that respect.

<-- chugging away at a corporate helpdesk ... 1 year to go in college.

Peace

I did my work placement from college in Microsoft. They recruit about 40-50 students for a year or so.. my placement lasted 15months. I was working as a developer but there are limited places for developers, you might end up in localisation or testing.

Depends on your suitability... i would never have lasted in most of the other jobs that were on offer for placement. But they do a good job of matchin candidate to job, almost none of the students left their jobs before the contract was up. Hell i was even trying to get a full time job when i left.

Its called the COOP programme and is located here http://www.microsoft.com/ireland/jobs/ . Highly recomend, my ex[perience was ledgendary... high pressure, a lot to learn, better money than anyone else offers for work placements.

Raskolnikov

Originally posted by seamus
Um....I think Sun Microsystems may tinker a little in Java. Just a *little* though

Seriously though, I don't know if they even have anything to do with Java over here.

It's a student Co-Op thing like Peace was talking about, a few one year placements, academically I shouldn't have problems getting into them.

Suprisingly enough they don't do much in the way of Java here or so I'm led to believe. I was advised that the big financial companies like Accenture, Fidelity, etc are the guys that are really into their Java. I was hoping that there'd have been more.

Originally posted by Peace
I did my work placement from college in Microsoft. They recruit about 40-50 students for a year or so.. my placement lasted 15months. I was working as a developer but there are limited places for developers, you might end up in localisation or testing.

What sort of work were you doing as a developer, C++ I imagine? Unfortunately I don't know a jot of that, I could learn but I'm already pushed for time Getting a job in the MS XBox division would be fantastic Did Microsoft offer you or many of the COOP's jobs after they graduate? We've been told that they will for most of the guys they take on.

Stark

Oracle are total ****e. Did a year's work experience with them and learnt nothing, all I did was the same "sanity test" over and over again day in day out. Also the head of the seriously boring division - global product engineering (us produces revision after revision of the same code, you check if it's okay every time) does the interviews, so if you're one of the highly talented people you'll end up in that division as opposed to a more interesting division, which is totally unfair.

Microsoft are really good ones to work for, everyone who's done work experience for them has come away beaming,

Peace

Originally posted by Raskolnikov

What sort of work were you doing as a developer, C++ I imagine? Unfortunately I don't know a jot of that, I could learn but I'm already pushed for time Getting a job in the MS XBox division would be fantastic Did Microsoft offer you or many of the COOP's jobs after they graduate? We've been told that they will for most of the guys they take on.

Don't joke about the xbox thing, a couple of coop's were working in the xbox division!

I was developing automation in VB6... one guy was using C++ but not me.

It doesn't matter that you don't know VB/C++ they took on guys who had never seen VB code before and they caught up in a couple of weeks. No biggy. They had used Java up until then.

No they don't offer jobs to everyone who goes through work expeirience with them, one guy was successful on getting a FT job but he was working on different stuff then me and had a lot more C++ experience. He turned it down in the end.

It might be different if i go back to them after i get a degree... But at the time they look at coops as still having to go back to college to learn more. I'll apply when i finish and see what comes of it... they are great to work for, treat you very well.

brainstorm

you'd be MAD NOT to take a year and get a job with one of them if u can.... sun do take interns but i dont know for how long, but thats not to say that u'll be doing java in sun.... Correct me if im wrong sun ppl!

a years experience at anything (except tech support... nuffin wrong with it i suppose!) is like gold to a grad these days and if its in what u like even better. plus the extra year it will take u to do ur degree buys u time for when the job market improves itself. plus u;ll be a grad with 1yrs experience at something!

Raskolnikov

Thanks for the advice guys

tk123

Um....I think Sun Microsystems may tinker a little in Java. Just a *little* though

Sun are in East Point in Clontarf - so are Oracle and Vivendi - they do XBox games but you need to have a language