MSc Networks and Distributed Systems

irish59575

Hi, Just wondering if anyone is doing the MSc in Networks and Distributed Systems, starting Oct 09. I have been accepted and am wondering if it is two semesters of 12 weeks or 9 weeks?? Has anyone done this course, would they recommend it for finding work afterwards?

snappieT

I'm doing this also, have just paid my deposit. I'm coming in straight from the undergrad Computer Science course, and know that there's a bit of an overlap, so I'm hoping that'll it'll be handy enough at the start.

I know 2 guys who are doing it this year, and they seemed to finish up lectures in March, which would make for 18 weeks of teaching. Of course, everything is changing now, I've no idea how they'll organise it for next year, though I suspect it'll be a 12 week semester (which is actually 11 weeks, all departments now have a reading week stuffed in the middle afaik), followed by another 6 weeks.

Even with just the undergraduate degree, I'm having work thrown at me from ever direction. With a masters, I can't imagine anyone would have any difficulty in finding a job, so long as they know how to code.

lenovoguy

Hi

I finished this course in Sept '08. It's well worth doing, though you will work very hard for the first six months with many projects running concurrently. It won't necessarily let up for the thesis stage, but you have an opportunity to do something you're really interested in, I found it the more enjoyable part of the course anyway!

I got a job while I was still two months from finishing, though I was made redundant from it last dec. Now working as a junior C++/C# dev in Dublin and loving it.

irish59575 wrote: »

Hi, Just wondering if anyone is doing the MSc in Networks and Distributed Systems, starting Oct 09. I have been accepted and am wondering if it is two semesters of 12 weeks or 9 weeks?? Has anyone done this course, would they recommend it for finding work afterwards?

snappieT

I don't mind killing myself over assignments, the first 6 months sound fine to me.

The thesis, on the other hand, gives me a shiver up my spine. Doing my final year project for undergrad was not fun, I can't imagine this could be any better. Maybe if there aren't any lectures going on at the same time, and there's much more freedom over when you work on it, it'll be fine, but cramming in the number of hours needed for a final year project (and the hundreds of hours of writing the report too) is just impossible alongside lectures, if you are aiming for a good grade at all.

irish59575

speaking of grades, in this MSc course are we still dealing with distinctions etc or is it simply a pass or a fail?

snappieT

irish59575 wrote: »

speaking of grades, in this MSc course are we still dealing with distinctions etc or is it simply a pass or a fail?

This is something I've searched for clarity on for a while now. It's certainly not I, II.1, II.2 etc., but I do believe there is Pass, Fail, and Distinction, the latter of which is awarded in extreme circumstances. It's not expected that you would get one.

Steve Higginson

I'm doing this course at the moment. The dissertation is not fun. Not fun at all. In fact, I should probably be working on it now...

The first six months aren't that bad. There were a lot of projects, but I still had plenty of time to do other stuff, like run a society and sleep an ungodly amount of the time.

The exams are pretty stressful, and I'm not sure when they'll be on this year with the new year structure, but it's actually difficult to fail them if you put even a bit of effort into them.

The course is just pass or fail i.e. you get an MSc or you don't. There are distinctions, but I've no idea how well you have to do to get one (I certainly won't).

If you happen to fail the exams you are allowed to sit a set of repeat exams to get a masters diploma or something along those lines (and you don't do a dissertation).

snappieT

Thanks for the input Steve. May I ask if you progressed directly from undergrad (CS or Engineering) into the course, or worked in the industry, or just took it upon youself after many years of having a CS/Maths/Engineering degree to go ahead and do the course?

Lectures I love, projects don't bother me, and exams aren't any trouble as far as I am concerned usually. In fact, scraping a 40 (or is it 50) to get the pass suits me down to the ground after the year I've had.

Disertaion. Urgh. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I really wonder how they'll structure the course wrt semesterisation, chances are they'll just keep exactly the number of teaching weeks, and finish up when that elapses. I doubt the reading week will actually make it through some of the departments (CS undergrad, for example, currently have 24 teaching weeks, no messing. New timetable would cut that down to 22. They can't just shave 2 weeks off of every course without a bit of thinking)

Steve Higginson

snappieT wrote: »

Thanks for the input Steve. May I ask if you progressed directly from undergrad (CS or Engineering) into the course, or worked in the industry, or just took it upon youself after many years of having a CS/Maths/Engineering degree to go ahead and do the course

I finished CS here last year (and I'm not Colin).