BIS

dodgystuff

I'm considering doing this course next year. Just wanna know what can you do out of it? What kind of content is in the course? How hard is it? How many hours? yaddayadda...
Any information would be great

itsallaboutheL

dodgystuff wrote: »

I'm considering doing this course next year. Just wanna know what can you do out of it? What kind of content is in the course? How hard is it? How many hours? yaddayadda...
Any information would be great

If difficulty of the course content or amount of hours are major concerns of yours then i wouldn't recommend it....

dodgystuff

Well its not a major concern, I'm just curious about the course in general

maglite

If you want to pm me I'll relay my exp

titan18

I'm in 2nd year in the course and I like it.Programming first year is hard enough and most people found accounting hard but the rest is ok.2nd year has been grand so far.

In 1st year,you do programming with Visual Basic,web development,systems analysis and design,database stuff,financial and management accounting,stats,psychology,economics and a choice of management/marketing.2nd year theres no stats,web development,psychology and finance becomes an option.

Theres around 25ish hours of classes/tutorials/labs/practicals during the week.Some weeks might be more,others will be less as a lot of tutorials are once every 2 weeks and stuff.Then you can have days where you have a 3 hour break between classes so you actually spend most of your time in college tbh especially when you get projects etc.

I like the course though,some of it can be challenging whilst some of it can be easy so its a good balance.Depends on the class you go in with of course,but the class I'm in are all sound and we have a good laugh together.

If you don't like computers though,avoid the course.If you have anything else to ask,you can pm me if you want.

Aodan83

Have to agree with everything Titan said. Theres a six month work placement in third year as well to look forward to. Not really a lot to add tbh. It is difficult, but you'll have a bit of craic at it like.

Seloth

From what I hear its the most dropped out of course

Aodan83

Seloth wrote: »

From what I hear its the most dropped out of course

Dunno. I suppose there could be quite a few drop out after 2nd or 3rd year. Even this early in second year it is rather difficult, but so far I don't think anyone has dropped out of my class. I find it hard to believe that the drop out rate would be higher than that of law or medicine though. Any way of checking that out, actually?

titan18

Aodan83 wrote: »

Dunno. I suppose there could be quite a few drop out after 2nd or 3rd year. Even this early in second year it is rather difficult, but so far I don't think anyone has dropped out of my class. I find it hard to believe that the drop out rate would be higher than that of law or medicine though. Any way of checking that out, actually?

About 40 have dropped out since the start of 1st year in our class,I think.Attendance numbers are generally poor too so if you turn up a lot,you get to know pretty much everyone.

Aodan83

titan18 wrote: »

About 40 have dropped out since the start of 1st year in our class,I think.Attendance numbers are generally poor too so if you turn up a lot,you get to know pretty much everyone.

40? Seriously? How many were there in our class starting 1st year? Although, ya, it is just the same people turning up to all our lectures.

Seloth

I know 3 or 4 that dropped out,One who did on the first day lol.

My friend was sayings its because people believe there will be more business than IT

Busyness

Hi Dodgy,

I'm in third year BIS and I'm loving the course.

It's true that if you don't enjoy working with computers it's certainly not the course for you. However if you like using computers and want to delve into coding without getting too technical then it's a great course.

Contrary to what you've heard it's certainly not the most dropped out of course. Generally all those who pass first year go on to complete the course. I'd imagine in my class of 155 there are around 130 left in third year.

There are no perquisites for BIS - everything is taught from day one. So while accounting, business and economics are beneficial they aren't certainly aren't a necessity. I didn't do any of the related subjects in school and I'm getting on just fine.

Content wise, in first year you'll cover computer basics including creating websites and design, financial accounting, management accounting, basic business psychology, economics, VB.Net (computer programming), and you'll learn about the Software development life cycle.

In second year you'll be stepping up a level with the management accounting and economics. You'll start learning Java (a widely used computer language) and go into more detail in VB.Net. You'll learn about database management and learn business modelling tools.


In third year you learn about Networking, System software, Database management and Infrastructure. Economics is there again, and there's placement plan with is to prepare you for work placement in third year.
The 6 month internship in third year is one of the major draws of BIS. Unlike other courses, the department do a lot to get you a great placement. As much as half the class go to Boston with the remainder going to London, Edinburgh, Dublin and Cork. Sometimes people go to far flung places like Seattle and Arizona.
As a generalisation, those that want to go to the States get to go.The department is very accommodating and it's a great opportunity to travel. (In contrast, if you're doing Commerce or Computer Science, you can forget about working abroad)
It's a paid placement and if you go abroad you are on very good money and can afford to travel around the country.

In BIS, labs are a very complementary part of the course. Labs are an hour long and consist of half the class (around 75) using computers.
The tutors are helpful (they are in fact 4th year students) and everyone goes through the labs at the same pace.


One of the best things about the course is the social aspect. No other course is as tight as BIS. In the class there are coffee meetings in first and second year to introduce everyone to each other. This is a great experience for people to meet each other and it really opens up the course.
In lectures there's a very colloquial atmosphere. All lecturers are known on a first name basis and if you talk to them they will remember your name which is very impressive.


Like other courses if you put in an effort you will reap the benefits. Attendance is a sticking point in BIS, they are quite strict on attendance in contrast to other courses.
If you want to fool about in college then do commerce but if you want a serious degree which involves some input on your part while at the same time having a lot of fun do BIS.

Job prospects are open to you after BIS, it is a well recognized degree that many employees look for. Many graduates have job opportunities open to them with their internship company.

If you want to have a chat about it drop me a PM and I'll tell you all about it.

foxyboxer

I did BIS from 1998 to 2002. I remember that the course was quite tough for me as I struggled a lot with the programming side of things. I found the first year quite difficult as an immature 17 year old
I did not apply myself to the work at all and suffered as a result.
If you are interested in the course then I would recommend that after the leaving cert you spend time going though visual basic in order to get a foothold on principles of programming. Coming from a secondary school which was done through Irish to concepts such as global variables and do while loops was a bit of a shock to the system!
It is actually a lot easier than it looks. You have to just get past the archaic conventions of all programming languages.

I would strongly urge anyone doing this course to apply themselves completely and try to enjoy the course. Some of the more academic modules like the psychology and organisational behaviour were actually my favourites.

It took me a few years in order to get work in the industry which was based on the BIS course. I am now working as a software tester. It is only now doing this job that I could see the benefit of the course and what they are trying to achieve, which is a well rounded graduate who can pick up new concepts and technologies at a good pace.

foxyboxer

Excellent post, Busyness

Aodan83

Seloth wrote: »

I know 3 or 4 that dropped out,One who did on the first day lol.

My friend was sayings its because people believe there will be more business than IT

I dont count those people though. They were never really in the class.