Construction and Fire Technology (LY537) in LYIT

theboss80

Hi all just wondering has annybody on here taken this course in the past or has anybody applied for this year?

muffler

From reading elsewhere apparently construction related courses will not be as popular as in previous years.

tatabubbly

I know someone who did it, they said the final year was really hard but very enjoyable.. He's off to coleraine now to do his masters in it

Mr. Magic

I completed this course a few years back, 2 year cert,then diploma and degree. A good course at the time but wouldnt be too optimistic doing it at the moment but who knows in four years.

Harps

I'd disagree that its not a good area to get into at the moment, with the huge drop in new graduates there'll be a shortage of skilled construction workers in 5 years or so. I was looking at doing that course myself but went for something else in the end.

I've got a friend who's doing something similar at the moment in Limerick and he seems to enjoy it and says theres some great job opertunities at the end of it

theboss80

thanks for the replys everyone. Yes im well aware theres a recession in progress, ive been in construction for ten years untill this year, thats why im going 2 college 2 upskill myself.

I hope that in 3/4 years i will be in a better position so secure a long term future for myself and my family, for those of you that have knowledge of the course can u tell me if i will need a laptop for the course????

thanks again

Harps

I doubt you'll actually 'need' one as theres hundreds of computers around the college & in the library that you can use at any time but it definitely wouldnt hurt to have one. I know from my own course that it can be very handy if you want to do some work at home and for research and as well as that theres not always a free computer when you need one at college so its handy to always have access

theboss80

thanks harps.
im a mature student going to college for the first time so want to keep down the expenses as much as i can

zoey

I'm not sure about your specific course but in general I'm sure you will get through college without a laptop, but as another poster said they are really handy when you want to do some research/work at home!
Computers in the library/computers rooms can be difficult to access at times when you need them most- when assignments are due! I also find it more stressful trying to work in that kind of environment than i would from home.
I suppose if you manage your time better than some of us:o you won't have to worry about this!

BlackEdelweiss

I was a mature student last year and found a laptop invaluable for research and assignments. If like me you have family commitments that demand a lot of your time you may not be able to get down to college at night to do your work, most of my assignments were done after 9pm when the kids were in bed. Most of the guys in my class had laptops or pc's at home and this is where a lot of the work was done.
If you are free in the evenings to go down to the college then maybe you will not need a laptop but if not I would recommend getting one. You dont need a top of the range model, a basic laptop with word processing and internet is all you will need.
If you go to the access officer and tell him you cannot afford one but you cannot make it in to college in the evenings either he may be able to give you one from the computer dept free of charge for the year, but get in early as they go pretty quickly, they only have a few spares.

As for the course, I dont know where the world will be in 4 years but what I do know is that there will be a lot of unemployed construction staff all clambering for the same few jobs as they become available, why would there be a shortage of skilled people when there is a glut of it at the minute, yes some of these people will find alternative careers but there will still be a surplus, especially if you go on to do the fire 4th year, there is only a limited number of fire jobs at any one time and this year they have doubled the number of entrants on to the 4th year of the course due to the high number of people on the dole who are going back to college.
If this is your chance to go back to college, choose wisely. Just because you are from a construction background dosent mean you have to study construction, maybe this is the chance for a totally new life, dont waste it on what could be a dead industry.
I'd say the crime rate is going to go up due to unemployment and general dissatisfaction so maybe go for the forensics course!