Anyone doing MSISS

DemonOfTheFall

Hey, I'm torn between MSISS and Computer Science, trying to make my mind up before the CAO changes deadline...

Anyone here on the MSISS course ? Just how hard work is it, are you enjoying it etc ?

I'm more interested in the computers side of things but I like economics too so I could probably stick the business/economics side of things. MSISS just sounds like a better bet for a good job out of college.

I did a search but only turned up 1 thread from a year ago and there wasnt much info in it...

Cheers for any help

Chardee MacDennis

i am doing ICT(now defunct), but one of by friends is doing MSISS and i know a lot of people in his course, lot of hard work and you would have to be pretty sharp, but it seems well worth it as the jobs open to him are pretty good.

with regards CS is a tough degree and the employment options arent as good. i would recommend MSISS, but its only my opinion.

xebec

Firstly, I'm biased, I'm studying MSISS.

As an overall course MSISS is excellent in most respects. It is hard work, but the idea is that it should be preperation for the real world.

The subjects covered means that it has something for everyone and it has something for every prospective employer. We do less programming that CS obvously, but we still learn how to program in a variety of languages and a variety of situations.

A large part of the course is project work - the majority over the last two years - which develops the skills necessary for success in the workplace and other areas. The project work is challenging but usually fairly topical so quite interesting.

The most important aspect to MSISS is the social side of the course. MSISS students from all 4 years socialise together - trips to the dogs, karaoke, annual trip away, to mention but a few regular events. There is a real sense of belonging to a group.

MSISS is one of the most employable courses in college. The best graduates usually come out at the higher end of the graduate job market. The range of jobs taken is huge - everything from Investment Banking to Computer Programming, Actuary to Management Consultancy. You really can do almost anything with this degree.

For more info see: http://www.msiss.com

patzer117

heya, i'm doing msiss and i'm in first year. It's tough enough, but i imagine it'd be quite easy if you did the work. so far nobody's tried that method so we don't really know.

the computers bit is interesting, but it focuses on C++ for programming and then things like word, excel and dreamweaver for software labs. The business side is really easy, but we don't get to keep that up next year so it'd be difficult to 'stick to that side' as you say.

Finally there is one thing that makes our course hell: Stats. It's really difficult, or so it seems, and the course information doesn't really tell you what it's about. Tbh Stats and Management Science are the core parts of our course, otherwise we're just doing business with BESS and maths and computers with Engineers.

Any more questions pm me or write back here. It's a good course though, and everyone on it is great craic.

Hope this helps

patzer

DemonOfTheFall

Ah I didn't mean just stick to the business side of things, I meant stick it out since I don't really like business jargon and all that stuff.

I find statistics/probability absolutely grand in honours leaving cert, and I'm going for an A in it, shouldn't find it too bad should I?

What exactly is management science by the way ? The ideas behind teamwork and motivation and that kind of stuff ?

Anyone have any idea how hard this degree would be relative to a science degree?

Cheers for the help so far, keept it coming! I've still got a few days left to make up my mind on CAO.

patzer117

the probability aspect is grand, but statistics is very different, and it's one of the only aspects that is continued through all four years, and the leaving cert statistics is kinda the stuff you learn in the first chapter anyway. it gets more complicated and apparently in 3rd year and 4th year very hard, but don't let it put you off the course. Like if you're good at maths it's not impossible. just it's not incredibly interesting, and the lecturer wrote the book which isn't very well written...

Management science is stuff like minimum order quantity, queueing theory, shortest path through a circuit, networking, time series forcasting, a bit of probability, reliability theory, it's mostly grand. in fact it's kinda interesting and the exams are handy.

things like teamwork are built into the course by having plenty of group projects to do, and you're forced to make a few presentations over the years (i've made 3 i think), using powerpoint for some, so you'll be well able to do that kind of stuff. motivation and things like that i haven't been taught, i think that's more psychology which we may do at a later stage. http://msiss.com has the details on all the courses over the four years

http://adamdeating.googlepages.com/msissis.html is a site I made about first year, cause it's an assignment you have to do in software labs... don't believe everything that's on it, we have to submit it so it's not fully true

Nietzschean

the stats ye do in 3rd n 4th year isn't too bad(parts i've done anyway...)

DemonOfTheFall

Hmmm... It's looking like I'm going to do it. Sounding pretty good. The only thing I'm still dodgy about is the apparent amount of work involved. I worked pretty hard through secondary school and was hoping for a bit of a doss in college really.... Suppose I wouldn't have gotten that on computer science either.

Thanks very much for all the help lads, if anyone else has good/bad to say about the course let me know, still all ears till the 1st...

Nietzschean

well there is no point in picking a course cause its a dos....ye pick the one you are likely to like(anyway in tcd if you have the points you can pretty much move to any course until jan of JF, and the course isn't full...)

xebec

The Stats isn't as bad as patzer117 is making it out to be, it takes time to get your head around but is okay in the end! Although by the end of first year we were all sick of hearing about the statistics of the diameter of a tennis ball!

Stats is an important but very managable part of the course and few people have problems with it after first year.

Management Science is one of the more interesting sublects, it's basically using simple mathematical techniques to solve quite complicated real life problems such as how much money you will earn on an investment or the optimal queuing system in a supermarket.

DemonOfTheFall

Well my CAO is changed. First choice MSISS, second choice is the BA(mod) in computer science and thirdly we have the BSc in computer science at ucd.

As long as I actually start doing any study for this leaving cert malark I should get into MSISS grand...

Thanks for all the advice and info on the course, definitely sounds like a good course and a good laugh. See yous there in august hopefully...

xebec

DemonOfTheFall wrote:

See yous there in august hopefully...

Eh... October actually

DemonOfTheFall

Woops, thats the one.

I knew it was october, just a brainfart.

xebec

Eh, ok, I know I'm dragging up an old thread but just wondering if anyone on here has accepted MSISS for this year?

If any of you have any questions on it, please feel free to ask!

I think there were two or three of them in the 'say hi here' thread.

BrenC

Ah Ross, The employment opportunities in CS are very good, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

lost_soul

yup i did!!! so what sort of timetable should i expect in first year??? also is the class mainly full of girls or lads or 50/50?

xebec

We were told before we started that it was 50/50! Not a hope!! It's normally about 75/25, with about 6/7 females in the class. Hours in first year are the heaviest - about 22 hours - but there's very little course work and the stuff is fairly easy and varied.

Get to know everyone from the other years, we're usually in the stats computer room. Everybody is usually pretty helpful as long as you don't catch them at a busy time or hold up computers surfing Bebo!

lost_soul

22!!! :eek: so am im looking at a nine o'clock start every morning?

Crash

my course has been 20/21 hours a week for the last two years, and was usually 3 9 o'clocks, a 10 or 11 or 12, and either a later starting day (2pm) or not in at all...

Amateurs. Though I think we've around 25 hours in SS Engineering, which is a bit nicer.

xebec

Yeah, like crash said, some early starts, and some later ones. The big advantage of more hours is less work outside of those hours. In third year we only had about 12 hours but had to spend a lot more time doing work outside of that. It's ok though, everyone is in the same boat and the MSISS crowd are usually very helpful when it comes to helping (sharing) work! You're coming to Trinity, don't expect a lie in and an easy degree from this end of the college - if you want that there's always the Arts block...

LiamD

I've accepted it, can't wait to start. It seems like a great degree. At the open days the only course that really caught my eye was Msiss. The talk and lecturer was very impressive, the other students were pretty friendly and they were giving away a PSP I think...

The reason I'm doing it is I liked business and I liked maths. Also want to know a bit about computers and want a nice high paid job, perhaps an actuary.

So yeah, see you all on the 2nd (and in the registration queue on the 5th)

xebec

LiamD wrote:

talk and lecturer was very impressive, the other students were pretty friendly

Cheers, I was on that stand! And Frank Bannister who gave one of the talks is easily the most engaging and interesting of all the lecturers we have, although he lectures less now cos he's head of Stats dept.

LiamD wrote:

and they were giving away a PSP I think...

Nope, wasn't us I'm afraid, if it was anyone it was CS, they had a few games consoles there.

LiamD wrote:

The reason I'm doing it is I liked business and I liked maths. Also want to know a bit about computers and want a nice high paid job, perhaps an actuary.

All definitely possible, you might change your mind about being an actuary when you see the other careers that are out there, but it's definitely possible to move into that area from MSISS. A lot of us go into banking, I'm considering an offer from a big Investment Bank at the moment and I know that every year almost everyone who wants a job gets one.

Nietzschean

Myth wrote:

Amateurs. Though I think we've around 25 hours in SS Engineering, which is a bit nicer.

i think i'd something like 12hours in SS

lost_soul

LiamD wrote:

So yeah, see you all on the 2nd (and in the registration queue on the 5th)

Why do we have to go in on the second?? I though we just have to go to a faculty talk on the wednesday and then register on the thursday??

LiamD

We don't have to go in on the second but I want to have a look around and make the most of Freshers Week. The SU website encourages people to go in and meet people throughout freshers week. It's up to you whether you do or not.

lost_soul

ahh now it all makes sense!! somehow i ended up on the old SU website!!

Crash

Go in for freshers week - make the most of it

lost_soul

will do but since i dont register till thurday will i not be walking around like a loner till then??

Crash

nah man - if you know anyone, like even a single person in trinity, meet up with them and have a laugh. even if not, we'll probably have a boards meetup at some point, come along to that. there are many things that are well worth seeing, and tbh the odds are that anyone you meet on thursday will annoy the living piss out of you by the following thursday, so this is your chance to make other friends

Agent Smith

Lost_soul

If you want, feel free to pm me and we could meet up and i'll show you around for a while someday during freshers week, a good few of us are involved with the SU and Socieitys, and could show you how to get pissed trinity style!

joe

Crash

Joe, that post just comes across as creepy.

Nietzschean

i was going to say his post comes across as nice and generous tbh, he's not the creepy type, unlike you cs heads...

Crash

...You've met joe, right? heheh

WunderFull

Anyone doing MSISS needs to make sure they maintain fun things in their life. Unless you like statistics and many hours in front of the computer, it gets less interesting as the years go on. One of my friends does MSISS. It gets less maths, business and IT and more integrated statistics/using the computer/using business sense as it becomes more specialised.
On the other, you can transfer to BESS if you do not like MSISS, it seems easier. I have heard this from several people who moved.

jen27

xebec wrote: »

Eh, ok, I know I'm dragging up an old thread but just wondering if anyone on here has accepted MSISS for this year?

If any of you have any questions on it, please feel free to ask!

Hi, Im actually a sudent in England at the moment...but really want to come to Trinity to do MSiSS.
Can i ask you a few questions?
x

anonymousman

If I could redo my CAO I'd pick MSiSS.

snappieT

There is a new course, "Business & Computing" coming to Trinity this year. Looks interesting, espically for those who aren't sure about CS/MSISS

-Steve
(Final Year CS)

LiamD

anonymousman wrote: »

If I could redo my CAO I'd pick MSiSS.

We are pretty darn fantastic.

Stev_o

snappieT wrote: »

There is a new course, "Business & Computing" coming to Trinity this year. Looks interesting, espically for those who aren't sure about CS/MSISS

-Steve
(Final Year CS)

What advantages does it hold against MSISS?