At odds with what I should study..

dlofnep

Just finished my first year of multimedia application design.. Passed everything with ease.. General IT, web design, audio, video & programming just comes easy to me. I especially like Java and haven't got lower than 82 in either of the semesters. I think I could make a good living for myself out of programming, but I'm not sure if multimedia is the way to go for me?

I look at people who finished their three years doing it, and they are in the same job as me right now and I haven't done diddly squat besides and few programming & networking courses in Fas and the CTI.

I'm trying to decide what's best for my future, and to be honest - i don't know what options are open for me. I'm thinking it might be better for me to do a more programming orientated course like software development?

I don't really know.. Anyone who has studied at WIT - what do you think I should go for? Overall, what would be best suited for me if i wanted to gear towards either programming or network administration?

Sully

Programming and Networks is heavily invovled in the BSc (Hons) Applied Computing. From Year 1 (Semester 1) you are doing Java work which would be more advanced then covered in multemedia. You do a lot of other related IT stuff, and a lot of Maths (First year is like Applied Maths for the Leaving Cert though). Year 2 brings in some web application development but just HTML and JSP - nothing special.

It also brings in "Data Communications" which is a networking subject and Internetworking (a follow on from Data Comm, but more advanced). Other avenues to take include Computer Forensics.

Also, people doing this course can take part in the networking cert from Cisco - CCNA.

dlofnep

Would I be able to switch to Applied Computing for year 2, or would I have to go back and do first year - and if I did switch, would I be out of depth?

Sully

Well if your willing to put the work in you can switch. Its a fair bit of work invovled, and tends to have a knock on affect. One chap already tried and ended back in first year, but he just didnt want to put in the extra time so went back

dlofnep

Yeah I understand.. I'm nearly 25, so not really looking forward to repeating first year. I have a good grasp of web design, php, java, cs in general and so forth so I'm sure I would have a good chance of transferring.. I'll e-mail my programming lecturer and see what he thinks.

Sully

Well in that case, you can handle second year fine.

Im just a bit concerned as the college is to relaxed about it - they let a chiense lad with hardly any English transfer into second year from another IT and he had feck all programming knowledge. He held up each programming class (and other non-programming ones!) asking questions about stuff we done back in first year. In the end the lecturer asked him to wait until the end of class (he kept insisting, but he ignored him)!

If you want, I can scan in a copy of the exam paper for programming?

dlofnep

Yeah cool, that would be nice. Cheers Sully.

Sully

dlofnep wrote:

Yeah cool, that would be nice. Cheers Sully.

See http://kevsul.com/PastExams.zip (give it 5mins, just uploading!)

Programming (Year 2 Semester 1) - Continuous Assesement here was a football league, which was sorted and stuff.

Data Communications (Year 2 Semester 1 + Repeat Paper)

Ill see if I can track down 2 other programming ones. Later ill put up the Internetworking (Year 2 Semester 2).

Year 1 Semester 1 prorgramming project (I cant remember it) was our grade for that subject (ie no exam). Semester 2 we did a text based game and an exam which ill find later.

dlofnep

Cheers man! Appreciate it alot, just downloading now.

Appears it's not fully uploaded yet I'll try again in 10.

dlofnep

Could pass that data comm one with flying colours. The Java one is a little out of my reach, but I'm sure the semester would cover it anyways. We only briefly tippled on object orientation.

Sully

All our programming is object orientated.

dlofnep

Yes same for us, but we only barely covered object orientation structure at the end of last semester. Essentially, first two semesters covered basics programming practices (if, loops, logic, arrays, 2d arrays and methods).

This was my end year program: http://www.bernarddunne.net/c_code/trigApp4.java

Sully

There are a few exam papers inside the college network which I can get. I can only find the CA for 1st year programming, and not the theory exam. The current first years are in repeats (like me) so if you like ill track it down later this week and post it up? Other then that, I can get the Digital Electronics one, Maths, and general computing ones - tho I dont know if they are much use!

dlofnep

Cool Sully!

You don't have the email for pat mcinerny by any chance do you?

Sully

Never heard of him. If its a WIT lecturer, try pmcinerny@wit.ie

(Always, the majority of the time, first inital of the first name then the surname @wit.ie!)

dlofnep

cheers man!

dlofnep

Was just speaking to my course leader today. Judging by the prospectus I have either commercial computing, applied computing or information technology.

Ideally I want to do programming & network as already stated.. All seem to cover programming - which of the above do you think is best suited?

Sully

Applied Computing by far. The other two courses dont have half as much as the Applied Computing course does.

dlofnep

Ok man, I'll speak to the course leader tomorrow! Thanks again.