Buisness Information Systems

DaveMur1

First off sorry if I posted this in the wrong area ,or if there's already a similar thread.Feel free to move this!

But I am currently in 6th year ,doing my leaving cert and choosing which college courseto go for next year & at the moment the most appealling course is quite easily Buisness Information Bystems in UCC!

Really I am just wondering does anyone hear have any experience of this course,
Like:how many hours a week?,lecturers?is it a good all round course?Is UCC a nice place?
Basically any information you have, first or second hand.
Thanks in advance for any replies....;)!

Rich1691

I'm a first year BIS in UCC this year so i'll try and help you out with what you need to know!

Course is around 25 hours a week depending on what time of year it is.
9 modules in first year, Programming, Technology and Internet Development, Psychology of Business Organisations, Statistics, Introduction to Marketing or Management (Choice), Principles of Accounting, Management Accounting, Economics, Introduction to Management Information Systems and Systems Analysis & Design Techniques.

you have around 12 hours of Lectures per week and around 10 hours of Practicals/Tutorials but this varies throughout the year.

Expect to spend some of the hours you have off in the computer labs in the ORB (O'Rahilly building) doing one project or other.

Overall i'm liking the course so far but then again, I'm only 5 weeks into it so maybe you should get some advice from 3rd/4th years who have experienced the work placement and more of the course.

DaveMur1

Thanks for the information,

topics,modules sound good & really the sort of things im looking for.

Interesting you mentioned the O'Rahilly building, I heard at the open day you should never go in there without a GPS or you will just find yourself going around in circles

Rich1691

Well it's not too bad for first year because the labs are straight in and down the stairs, I have yet to go on an expedition to the far side of the building so I cant confirm whether a GPS will be needed or not better bring one just to be safe

JeremyH

DaveMur1 wrote: »

First off sorry if I posted this in the wrong area ,or if there's already a similar thread.Feel free to move this!

But I am currently in 6th year ,doing my leaving cert and choosing which college courseto go for next year & at the moment the most appealling course is quite easily Buisness Information Bystems in UCC!

Really I am just wondering does anyone hear have any experience of this course,
Like:how many hours a week?,lecturers?is it a good all round course?Is UCC a nice place?
Basically any information you have, first or second hand.
Thanks in advance for any replies....;)!

Hi Dave,

I work in BIS. I'd be happy to chat with you about the course or can arrange for you to chat with some final year students/graduates if you'd like. Send me a message if you would like to do so.

It's always worth doing as much research as possible when considering potential college courses of study.

Best of luck,

Jeremy

JohnyDarko

I did a year of BIS before switching course and, to be honest, hated it. But in fairness that was only because I only picked it as one of my best friends at the time did and I was very interested in programming and computing and was told that you didn't need accounting or any business subject at all. (Which you don't, but you'd be at a big disadvantage as theres two accounting modules, business stats (or math for morons), economics and marketing in 1st year)

If you aren't doing accounting, or economics (or have a strong interest in wanting to pick them up very quickly) I would avoid it and go for CS, but otherwise I can see how it is a very good course and while it mightn't give you the in-depth IT background of CS or the business one of Commerce it will give you a great overview of both and the lecturers were/are great. Also the work experience choice is much better than other courses as they organize it themselves and don't leave it up to the overworked careers dept.

DaveMur1

JohnyDarko wrote: »

If you aren't doing accounting, or economics (or have a strong interest in wanting to pick them up very quickly) I would avoid it and go for CS, but otherwise I can see how it is a very good course and while it mightn't give you the in-depth IT background of CS or the business one of Commerce it will give you a great overview of both and the lecturers were/are great. Also the work experience choice is much better than other courses as they organize it themselves and don't leave it up to the overworked careers dept.

Thanks for you're reply Johny,in relation to leaving cert subjects that is not really a problem,as I am currently doing , Economics , Business , Accounting and higher level maths.

Honestly, what I find to have been the best information, is how everyone holds the lecturers in such high regard , which is always a good thing .

Thanks again, Dave.

DanCronin

DaveMur1 wrote: »

I am currently doing , Economics , Business , Accounting and higher level maths.

Honestly, what I find to have been the best information, is how everyone holds the lecturers in such high regard , which is always a good thing .

I'm a fourth year BIS student, 1st and 2nd year are a breeze, 3rd and 4th are much harder.

Lectures and staff are top notch. The professor, Ciaran Murphy has got great relationships, good funding and an insight of where he wants to take the course.

BIS has one of the highest-quality internship programs in the world and the niche industry we can enter is one of the only industries in which job opportunities are increasing.

Pros for you taking this course:
Your on boards, so your already computer proficient. First year is a doddle for those who know there way around a computer.


You took economics and accounting, which make up around 15-20% of the entire degree, and its all LC stuff rehashed into different teachings, so you'll be fine. I breezed through accounting and economics because of this.


Higher Level Maths: you have a logical mind, which will help with programming which is logic in its purest form!

Highly recommended course.
Dan

Steba

DanCronin wrote: »

You took economics and accounting, which make up around 15-20% of the entire degree, and its all LC stuff rehashed into different teachings, so you'll be fine. I breezed through accounting and economics because of this.


Higher Level Maths: you have a logical mind, which will help with programming which is logic in its purest form!


Dan

Hey I'm pretty much in the same boat here ( the whole 6th year confused about what course's to pick) Except I'm not doing a single business orientated subject and I'm doing pass maths( A1-A2 student though). Would you think I'd be better off looking into a different course? If its as you say, leaving cert accounting and all, then i'd be willing to put in the work to catch up! And even at that, I'd prefer to take the more computer orientated modules.
Cheers!

Aodan83

Steba wrote: »

Hey I'm pretty much in the same boat here ( the whole 6th year confused about what course's to pick) Except I'm not doing a single business orientated subject and I'm doing pass maths( A1-A2 student though). Would you think I'd be better off looking into a different course? If its as you say, leaving cert accounting and all, then i'd be willing to put in the work to catch up! And even at that, I'd prefer to take the more computer orientated modules.
Cheers!

The business oriented subjects are a bit of an advantage, but not necessary. They start from pretty much the same point you would have started from in the leaving cert, so you shouldn't have a hard a time with it at all. Accounting compulsory in first and second year, and you have to do economics the whole way through, but they are doable and you can do well with a bit of work.
Theres no real maths in the course, so only doing pass isn't a major disadvantage. I did pass maths as well and I'm doing ok so far. The ability for logical thinking is far more important than the ability to solve equations for x.
By all means keep your options open, take a look at computer sciences and whatever else you might be interested in as well, but I wouldn't write it off because you haven't done any business or honours maths.

JeremyH

Aodan83 wrote: »

The business oriented subjects are a bit of an advantage, but not necessary. They start from pretty much the same point you would have started from in the leaving cert, so you shouldn't have a hard a time with it at all. Accounting compulsory in first and second year, and you have to do economics the whole way through, but they are doable and you can do well with a bit of work.
Theres no real maths in the course, so only doing pass isn't a major disadvantage. I did pass maths as well and I'm doing ok so far. The ability for logical thinking is far more important than the ability to solve equations for x.
By all means keep your options open, take a look at computer sciences and whatever else you might be interested in as well, but I wouldn't write it off because you haven't done any business or honours maths.

I agree. Willingness to work is more important than what leaving cert subjects students studied (in my experience).

Steba

JeremyH wrote: »

Willingness to work

Just to get an idea, what would that entail? An hour extra a night? Or would i be slammed with work?

JeremyH

Steba wrote: »

Just to get an idea, what would that entail? An hour extra a night? Or would i be slammed with work?

I'm not really talking about study, what I mean is... lecture attendance is really important, students who do well tend to work hard at their projects during the year (coursework is worth either 30 or 40% of the year depending on the module), and of course when it comes to exam time, students who are well prepared will excel.

When I say, 'willingness to work', I'm saying that students who skip lectures, who don't submit projects, or that begin projects very close to deadlines will struggle, no matter what leaving cert subjects they have done. I'm sure Aodan and Dan will back me up on that.

Best of luck with the decision. I'd be happy to meet with you or talk on the phone if you have any further questions.

Steba

Cheers! Information is much appreciated! I have a meeting with a guidance councilor soon so if I have more questions I'll ask!

Rich1691

I'd have to agree with Jeremy on willingness to work, in the few months that I have been doing the course, I've noticed that it's better to get your course work done in good time because you'll be under a lot of pressure if you leave it to the last minute, It's not a matter that you'll be worked off your feet and have no free time but dont be fooled by the relatively low points, it's a challenging course that requires commitment,

best of luck with your decision,
Rich

DaveMur1

Just a quick question in general for anyone on the course.
What age would the first year applicants usually be around , would you be missing out on many activities & gatherings if you were 17 for the first few months???
Or would you hardly notice this and be able to just get on with the corse?

JohnyDarko

DaveMur1 wrote: »

Just a quick question in general for anyone on the course.
What age would the first year applicants usually be around , would you be missing out on many activities & gatherings if you were 17 for the first few months???
Or would you hardly notice this and be able to just get on with the corse?

Well you would..... but no more than in any other course. besides, you can always just go to the house parties for a few months :rolleyes:

When I was in first year there were maybe 6 or 7 mature students and the rest were typical post leaving cert age (17 - 19, although not too many were under 18 I have to say)

Just get involved in class, and with societies and clubs. If you do head out, you'd stand a fairly good chance of getting in anyways if you're relatively sober with a group of people like.

fulhamfanincork

Lads, if you do manage to get your qualification in bis how easy is it to get a job in another country such as England?

pirateninja

fulhamfanincork wrote: »

Lads, if you do manage to get your qualification in bis how easy is it to get a job in another country such as England?

As easy as it is to get any job out of BIS. On your placement you get the opportunity to go abroad to England or America. I'm going to London myself and I knows theres 4 other BIS masters got jobs in the same company in London.

It's a really good degree and the skills you take from it are recognised all over the world.

fulhamfanincork

pirateninja wrote: »

As easy as it is to get any job out of BIS. On your placement you get the opportunity to go abroad to England or America. I'm going to London myself and I knows theres 4 other BIS masters got jobs in the same company in London.

It's a really good degree and the skills you take from it are recognised all over the world.

Thanks very much.

And you don't have to answer if the question is deemed too private, but what is the money like generally from a bis qualification?

x43r0

fulhamfanincork wrote: »

Lads, if you do manage to get your qualification in bis how easy is it to get a job in another country such as England?

Its easy enough. I'm doing the Masters, I assume I'm one of the 4 guys Pirateninja referred to. I didn't have the BIS undergrad degree (I did Computer Science) but doing BIS (albeit through a masters) really opened up doors for me in the job hunt.

The job I got was the first one I applied for and having been through recruitment processes before (successfully) I can say that this one was an absolute breeze in comparison, and I would put a lot of that down to the BIS name getting me in the door

fulhamfanincork wrote: »

And you don't have to answer if the question is deemed too private, but what is the money like generally from a bis qualification?

Depends on the job really. Financial institutions tend to pay more than IT companies for graduates though

What we're starting on for example is almost €10k more than what Microsoft in Dublin start graduates on in the main grad programme they run and Microsoft would be one of the higher paying IT ompanies

pirateninja

I think on average companies abroad pay more though that could be because of exchange rates in the currency

JeremyH

Starting salaries in Ireland tend to be around the €30K mark. In the UK, some of the investment banks are paying up to £40K. I don't have figures for the US companies, I'll try and find out, but a few years back people were starting on between $50-60K.

After that, it depends on you, and how quickly you progress in the organisation. For example, consultancy firms will hire at the analyst level, but if you perform well, you can make consultant in 18 months (and receive a big salary bump). Similarly, investment banks will pay high performance related bonuses.

dvemail

Sorry for bringing back up an old thread, but would there be much of a difference between this course and the one in C.I.T?

maglite

This is better. :P

Seriously, I would think this course is seen as the better course by industry, the faculty have a lot of contacts, better placement opportunities and you still have to contend with a lot of people still hold a University degree in higher regard.

quietsailor

Much as it pains me to say it because I originally graduated from the CIT its better to have a University name on your parchment.

I graduated in Marine Engineering (Diploma/level 7 degree) and I'm back doing the BEng Energy Engineering degree as HR people didn't like the look of my original qualification.

Best of luck getting your course