Computer Systems

Stuxnet

So I'm hopefully going to UL in sept as a mature student (30 :eek:)
left school when I was 17, into construction like most young lads at the time tempted by the Celtic tiger ! so all that's gone belly up and I need to re-skill,
I've a passion for computers, always have, all my life, playing around with linux distros and the like. I was at the open night for matures during the week and I was speaking to Nora Power course director, she said I'll have no problem getting on the course, she mightn't even bring me in for formal interview when the time comes she said. So that's great, one foot in the door. Now being out of school so long, and looking at this post about maths on the course scares the beejazus outta me, is the maths really tough, i think Im confident enough about learning java and c++ etc, but the maths scares me,
should I be worried, I'm just so out of the loop, I'm afraid ill struggle in this part !

many students on the course this year ?

Im looking forward to the challenge,

thewheel2.0

Hey I'm a first year in comp sys and im liking it a lot. The maths arent impossible if you attend the tutorials you should be fine, if not the maths learning centre provides free maths grinds and as well as support tutorials. Other than that you should be fine also the course this year is 60:40 leaving certs:mature students, so you can meet people you own age aswell.

entropic

Although the maths does get pretty intensive at some points in most computer courses if your starting with cao entry first years in September then a Leaving Cert knowledge of maths is expected by the lecturers. I would recommend getting the Texts & Tests 4 & 5 and going through them before you start.

If you do find your still struggling with the maths there is a fantastic Maths Learning Centre where you just drop in any time that suits and their open and one of the tutors there will give you 1 on 1 help(or group if you go in a group) with anything your having difficulties with.

bazkennedy

I'm currently in 3rd year computer systems. The maths is generally grand. As has been said before go to the tutorials as they really make the difference and if you're struggling the maths learning centre is a great help (I've had to go to them myself)

Its not an easy course (no point lying about that) but i've found it to be an enjoyable and worthwhile course so far

And FYI its NoraH Power (she'll make a big deal of that in your first lecture with her) :D:D:D

slyph

I'm in first year of this course myself.

It seems to me that you will either find this kind of stuff very easy or very hard. I guess it just clicks with some people, depends on how your brain works.

The maths in my opinion is easier than leaving cert honours.

For me, I tend to get more out of tutorials than lectures, not to say lectures are bad, I attend both, I just find after doing examples in tutorials I start to catch on.

The best thing though about this course is the support available. A learning centre for both maths and ICT. The lecturers seem quite friendly too and encourage questions.

I've really enjoyed this first year anyways, well so far at least!

zig

Hi Bobby, I was in this course from 2000-2004, I wont lie, its tough, first year is grand and easy, but certain modules can be very tough from 2nd year onwards.

However you seem to have a good understanding of what your getting yourself into. You also have one massive thing going for you that I didnt. Your a mature a student and will have the discipline to stick it out, study hard, attend lectures and not mess about. As a result it shouldnt be too hard for you. I did zilch , had to endure repeats every summer and tbh am very much none the wiser when it comes to programming now years later.

I, unfortunately was too young to appreciate what I was doing, I got my pass degree (well 3rd class honours:D now) but I wish i was doing it at the age Im at now (27)

Regarding the maths, its ok, it doesnt get too intense but make sure you are understanding it when they are teaching cause if you let it build up with no knowledge you'll be lost.
Theres not too much maths anyway throughout the course, maybe 2 or 3 modules.

Stuxnet

thanks for all the titbits of advice lads, much appreciated, and you have eased my maths reservations some bit !!

good luck

Stuxnet

I was at an open day for computer systems a few weeks back, it was great to see what we'll be doing hands on, at the end of the day Norah was giving a talk and she was saying this is the type of course you need to get stuck in from day one, you cant cram at the end of a term etc, thats fine no problems there,

then i thought she said you'd want to be doing 60 hours a week !! :eek: was i hearing things !!!
I understand there are about 21/22 hours class work a week, surely to be expected to do 40 hours on top of that is insane !! or am i wrong, any of you guys on the course tell me what kind of hours are needed at home etc studying and practising code etc
Ive no problem doing the hours, but as a mature student I have to balance a life and a child etc !

thanks

bazkennedy

Norah (with a H) is right to a point. All UL courses are currently being ECTS accredited which means they being measured up to a European standard.

In a 6 ECTS credit module you are expected to do 10-12 hours each week including lectures, labs, tutorials, project work, research, study etc etc etc. Now that said its debatable how realistic that is.

As someone who's currently doing the course, I can tell you there's a lot of work in some modules (others not so much). There's a few projects that take a huge amount of work (OO programming in second year and Systems Analysis/Design in third year) but its doable

Stuxnet

so did she say do at least 16 hours on top of lectures etc, not 60....

bazkennedy wrote: »

In a 6 ECTS credit module you are expected to do 10-12 hours each week including lectures, labs, tutorials, project work, research, study etc etc etc. Now that said its debatable how realistic that is.

your saying 10-12 hours on top of the tuts, lec, etc
well thats very manageable ! i'd imagine

2smiggy

i finished about 6 years ago, i'd imagine it would be the same mix of maths / networks / programming. i showed no interest really, attended very little lectures/tutorials but managed to get through it somehow , so with a bit of effort you would be fine.

slyph

In first year you can coast and cram at the end. Well maybe not in programming. Some guys in second year though said the work rate needed goes way way up after first year.

Niall09

BOBBY wrote: »

then i thought she said you'd want to be doing 60 hours a week !! :eek: was i hearing things !!!

I was at the same open day thingy...nearly fell off me chair when I heard that!

Stuxnet

Niall09 wrote: »

I was at the same open day thingy...nearly fell off me chair when I heard that!

it cant be right ???

can it...
jesus i worked 40 hours a week in construction for 13 years and i was knackered after that !!

no way i could commit 60 hours a week to studies, noo feckin waay...we're not going for heart surgeon positions !!


can someone in layman terms, give it to me straight, I'm outta school so long, I've forgotten what its like to even hold a book
but say a full day in the college, grand can handle that, how much time at home do you need to put in, 3 hours an evening be enough maybe 2 ??
I'm just trying to build myself up to it, its gonna be a huge life changer for me, and i have a small family to think about ! so time is crucial to me

Peteee

BOBBY wrote: »

can someone in layman terms, give it to me straight, I'm outta school so long, I've forgotten what its like to even hold a book
but say a full day in the college, grand can handle that, how much time at home do you need to put in, 3 hours an evening be enough maybe 2 ??
I'm just trying to build myself up to it, its gonna be a huge life changer for me, and i have a small family to think about ! so time is crucial to me

Did comp sys a few years ago.

Lectures/tuts/labs make up 15-20 hours or so of your week.

Do a few hours a week on top of that (More admittedly at exams/project crunch) and you'll be fine

TEMPLAR KNIGHT

Hi,I started in computer systems in september 2009 but left the course (due to me not liking it if you like computers then you will like it I just threw it down on my CAO,unfortunately) but theres 23 hours a week for labs,tuorials and lectures. The day I started my advisor said that we would need to put in 60 hours of work a week but from talking to other people in the course past and present no one seems to have put in 60 hours of work a week, best of luck with it anyway!

Susicia

currently a 4th year just about to graduate:

Tis grand, if you come back for the 2nd semester of first year you'l be there till the end however expect to fail on average one exam every semester :-) this is pretty normal so no worries!

nobody get's A's in this course, B3 is considered spectaculery fantastic and d2 is pretty cool too. Lots of projects very little essay writing junk, they've copped on a bit that asking comp. students to write anything never goes well.
i hated the course in 1st year but glad i stuck it out now, looking back, it's quite good crack

good luck!

ps. 60 hours~?!!!!? ha!

rmacm

Susicia wrote: »

currently a 4th year just about to graduate:

Tis grand, if you come back for the 2nd semester of first year you'l be there till the end however expect to fail on average one exam every semester :-) this is pretty normal so no worries!

nobody get's A's in this course, B3 is considered spectaculery fantastic and d2 is pretty cool too. Lots of projects very little essay writing junk, they've copped on a bit that asking comp. students to write anything never goes well.
i hated the course in 1st year but glad i stuck it out now, looking back, it's quite good crack

good luck!

ps. 60 hours~?!!!!? ha!

Speak for yourself I got several A's when I did Comp Sys

TheSpecialOne

rmacm wrote: »

Speak for yourself I got several A's when I did Comp Sys

oh la la!

Have a friend in there now in 1st year he hates it with a passion.be careful what ye pick people!

RonMexico

Stuck with it until the second semster of second year. A complete and utter disaster of a course in my opinion. You would want to be quite handy at honours leaving cert maths because otherwise you will struggle.

When I was there the drop out level was ridiculous, people were dropping out like rats off a sinking ship.

Only choose this course if you have actually considered having sexual relations with a computer. :pac:

rmacm

TheSpecialOne wrote: »

oh la la!

RonMexico wrote: »

Only choose this course if you have actually considered having sexual relations with a computer. :pac:

You'd be surprised what I've considered having relations with :P

Stuxnet

RonMexico wrote: »

Only choose this course if you have actually considered having sexual relations with a computer. :pac:

lol
deep down i'm a comp nerd bustin to get out., so id say ill be fine ! :pac:

Nagoh

Susicia wrote: »

currently a 4th year just about to graduate:

Tis grand, if you come back for the 2nd semester of first year you'l be there till the end however expect to fail on average one exam every semester :-) this is pretty normal so no worries!

nobody get's A's in this course, B3 is considered spectaculery fantastic and d2 is pretty cool too. Lots of projects very little essay writing junk, they've copped on a bit that asking comp. students to write anything never goes well.
i hated the course in 1st year but glad i stuck it out now, looking back, it's quite good crack

good luck!

ps. 60 hours~?!!!!? ha!

rmacm wrote: »

Speak for yourself I got several A's when I did Comp Sys

Ah haha. Just thought I'd let ye know Norah mentioned these posts in class today. :P

As said already, the hardest part is the maths in the first two years; If you can handle them you should be fine.
As far as above is concerned, I believe it's very possible to get A's if you put your head down to it. Alas, I wish I tried harder in previous years

bazkennedy

Nagoh wrote: »

Ah haha. Just thought I'd let ye know Norah mentioned these posts in class today. :P

Norah's on boards?

PeakOutput

i dont do comp sys but im pretty sure my maths modules in first year were shared with comp sys (tech maths 1 & 2) i did pass maths for the leaving cert and hadnt done any maths in 3 years since i had left school

they start with more basic things than honours leaving cert but move on FAST so as long as you show up on day 1 and attend lectures and tutorials you should be golden

good look im regretting not sticking with computer science all those years ago, i walked out of my first maths lecture having not understood a word and never went back(dit not ul) and now im doing my best to do a practical fyp with as much programming as possible :rolleyes:

Susicia

rmacm wrote: »

Speak for yourself I got several A's when I did Comp Sys

Speak for myself eh? Well, I've gotten several A's myself as well thankyou very much :-p
- I just didnt think this was a place to boast about my grades especialy when we were asked for "advice" on Comp Sys and what it's like for most people. To be honest, I've lost several friends over the years who failed at some "project/exam hurdles" because they had expectations of an easy course and didn't put in what's needed to do well.

To sum this up in a nice little line : it's not easy & it's not impossible but you will have to work. Advice? When you're in 4th year - choose Norah for your FYP supervisor - she's awesome.

Marie - Current 4th Year Comp Sys.

Stuxnet

Nagoh wrote: »

Ah haha. Just thought I'd let ye know Norah mentioned these posts in class today. :P

busted !!

::waves to Norah !!

Stuxnet

got my acceptance letter yesterday WHOOOOP
looking forward to the road ahead ! roll on sept !

Procasinator

As a recent enough graduate of this course, I found most people struggled with the math and the programming.

I did ordinary level mathematics in secondary, and passed all the math modules. I did struggle at times, but that was more due to a much too high level of absenteeism and last minute preparation.

Programming was fine for me personally, but many find this subject hard to grasp. It could potentially be like nothing you've done before, and does take a while before anything clicks.

My advice is if you have no programming experience beforehand, be prepared to do some work on this front. Go beyond the classes. To be honest, I think you need to go far beyond the programming modules if you want to be at all competent at programming. And if you actually like programming, this course will be all the more bearable.

For the maths: it's not that bad. It's possible the maths has been dumbed down through the years (pretty sure the whole course has been dumbed down due to dwindling numbers in the course), but if you keep up with it, you should pass. If not much has changed, it's usually the maths module in 2nd year, 2nd semester that claims the most victims. Make it through this semester, and you'll be flying it.

My advice if I was to do it all again, would be to attend everything and do an hour of work (revision, programming practice, additional reading) on-top of the other coursework. Doesn't sound like much, but I think half the battle is just staying on top of everything. Of course, I'm pretty sure if I did it again I would fail at taking my own advice. :P

Nagoh

^Sound advice, especially about programming outside what you're taught in class.
Also, go for as many competitions/challenges as you can, even if you don't feel like you're up to scratch. Not only does it give good experience but looks great on a CV..!

Congrats Bobby, might see you around in September then

Stuxnet

Nagoh wrote: »

^Sound advice, especially about programming outside what you're taught in class.
Also, go for as many competitions/challenges as you can, even if you don't feel like you're up to scratch. Not only does it give good experience but looks great on a CV..!

Congrats Bobby, might see you around in September then

great thanks, any books you recommend for some outside of class reading

yup you'll be seeing me in sept !

bazkennedy

Nagoh wrote: »

Also, go for as many competitions/challenges as you can, even if you don't feel like you're up to scratch. Not only does it give good experience but looks great on a CV..!

like all those competitions you go to???

Congrats Bobby, might see you around in September then

+1

Nagoh

bazkennedy wrote: »

like all those competitions you go to???

Exactly, I would if I could have a do-over. It's only in hindsight I see their value :rolleyes:

pajunior

First year is handy, just make sure you get the basics of programming down. The lecturer is fantastic.

However second year is much much harder. But i'll say this, if you go into college and work from 9 til 5/6 five days a week then you will get nearly all A's as long as you're not brain dead. In second year I tried just going to lectures/labs/tuts and will now be doing second year again . But I do have a good co-op.

Stuxnet

hey guys any one able to tell how much i should be setting aside for books etc for first year comp sys, been along time since i was in school
need a new laptop also i guess, i have a few but they are destroyed by my 2 1/2 year old !
any excuse for a new one tho

Zeouterlimits

You don't "need" any books for first year, but it might be a nice idea to pick up some for some extra curricular programming.
This is of course dependent on you going to lectures, labs & tutorials.

The library has alot of the stuff you need, so evaluate your needs as you go along. The lectures won't (haven't for the past 2 years of first years) be strict about getting books, in first year at least.

Procasinator

I personally bought only 1 book during my 4 years, and rarely used that one.

Many times, you can do without books - in between book sharing, stray PDF files and the library, often if you need access to a book you'll get it.

If I did it again, I would have bought no books.

Saying that, your mileage might vary.

Peteee

Yeah when I did it I had a C++ book and thats it.

You can get by with whats on the web, pdf's, handouts, library etc

Stuxnet

oh ya,

cheers so guys, there's me thinking id be forking out hundreds !!

Procasinator

Just make sure you can get away without the book. If you see a lecturer relying heavily on a book, and lack the ability to get notes covering the material, you may have to buy one (or obtain it by other means).

Just don't rush out and buy all the books they tell you too in week 1, cause it'll probably be a waste of money.

Nagoh

There is of course the library with a handy selection of relevant books. I'm only discovering just how handy in the past few weeks while doing some prep work for the masters.

Stuxnet

Nagoh wrote: »

Ah haha. Just thought I'd let ye know Norah mentioned these posts in class today. :P

lol she mentioned this thread at orientation last thursday !
I went tomato red !!

Nagoh

If you need any programming help, in the CSIS building the ICT center is on the first floor. From around week 3 onwards it's a drop-in center where you can get help with programming.
I should (hopefully) be around a few hours a week to give tips.
Look for the guy who may have taken your ID card picture

Stuxnet

Sound !