Computer science and information technology-gy350

GSI

Hey Ive just finished the LC and I've put the above coarse down on my cao.

Is anyone doing the coarse able to give me any insight? I have a keen intrest in computers but I'm particulary worried about the maths and programming as I did ordinary maths for the LC

Any help is appreciated,

Thanks:P

reap-a-rat

There's a lot of useful info in these two threads:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055653263

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055953233

If you have any questions after reading those, feel free to ask me! I've just completed second year of the Information Technology course, they're pretty much the same course. There are plenty more IT people here willing to help you with any further questions you have !

I did Honours maths til after the mocks and then did ordinary, which was probably an advantage with the maths element, though plenty of the peple in my class just did ordinary and once they put the work in, they did grand for the most part!

We're only beginning to see how the maths is related now though, so I wouldn't worry about programming just yet! They start you off as if you have no prior knowledge and again, if you put the work in its very doable!

TheCosmicFrog

I'm in the same year as reap-a-rat. The course we're doing is the exact same as CS&IT, they just didn't change the name our year due to... politics...

I've offered to answer any questions anyone has about the course. Just drop me a private message with anything you want to know or are concerned about

GSI

Thanks a lot people:)

GSI

Really starting to like the sound of this now:o

I have business information systems as my no 1. But I'm really tempted to switch haha. I have computer applications in DCU as my number 2. One particular thing that attracted me to was that I would have the opportunity to teach computer studies through that coarse. I wonder wonder would CS&IT be better though? Ah decisions:/ not long left to decide either:/

galwayman17..

GSI wrote: »

Really starting to like the sound of this now:o

I have business information systems as my no 1. But I'm really tempted to switch haha. I have computer applications in DCU as my number 2. One particular thing that attracted me to was that I would have the opportunity to teach computer studies through that coarse. I wonder wonder would CS&IT be better though? Ah decisions:/ not long left to decide either:/

i have found another person wanting to do this course on boards! thank god! i had that down too but i dont do french so i had to drop it.

do CS&IT galway is the place to be! so i've heard.

GSI

What coarse do you have to do French with? Are you you going to do CS&IT yah?:D

barry181091

I'm just finished my first year of this course. The maths is hard enough to be fair, you will get frustrated will all the maths for sure. Is it worth it? That's up to you

I like the course overall. Sure, too much maths and programming gets annoying but think about the jobs

galwayman17..

GSI wrote: »

What coarse do you have to do French with? Are you you going to do CS&IT yah?:D

the business information systems one. ya im going doin it. hopefully!
CS&IT all the f***king way!!:D:D

galwayman17..

barry181091 wrote: »

I'm just finished my first year of this course. The maths is hard enough to be fair, you will get frustrated will all the maths for sure. Is it worth it? That's up to you

I like the course overall. Sure, too much maths and programming gets annoying but think about the jobs

well barry! i think i remember you from reading the old CS&IT thread! i generally dont mind maths its just that the paper was annoying this year in paper 1.

is the programming hard? do you need to pick it up very quickly to keep up or is it manageable?

GSI

Galwayman. For business info systems french is just a requirement to get in isn't it? you don't actually learn French on the coarse.

Yeah CS&IT sounds great now. Although Barry you have worried me again haha:(

TheCosmicFrog

galwayman17.. wrote: »

is the programming hard? do you need to pick it up very quickly to keep up or is it manageable?

Not at all. It's taught under the assumption you've never seen a piece of code before in your life. Before you know it you'll be printf()ing your ifs and elses, like a main() function that's gone into an infinite loop

ru437z9t8fidq2

GSI wrote: »

Ah decisions:/ not long left to decide either:/

do cs&it you'll do fine if you want to...

GSI

Haha business info systems is my number 1. I'm just debating whether or not to switch computer applications in DCU with cs&it as my number 2.

So far everyone I've asked have encourage me to do CS&IT:P

galwayman17..

GSI wrote: »

Galwayman. For business info systems french is just a requirement to get in isn't it? you don't actually learn French on the coarse.

Yeah CS&IT sounds great now. Although Barry you have worried me again haha:(

its just an entry requirement i think.! i dont think you do.! barry you're causing awful trouble here now man!:p

TheCosmicFrog wrote: »

Not at all. It's taught under the assumption you've never seen a piece of code before in your life. Before you know it you'll be printf()ing your ifs and elses, like a main() function that's gone into an infinite loop

haha cosmicfrog to the rescue again with putting my mind at ease! gabh raibh maith agat!:D

TheCosmicFrog

Come to Galway. It's not just about the degree course. It's just a piece of paper in the end. It's also about the craic. And you won't find mightier craic than Galway.

And never mind that Barry lad. He was once a programming and algorithmical scholar. Then he settled down.

GSI

Hopefully I get the points for my number 1 anyway. But I think I will change my number 2 to CS&IT now...despite barrys comments haha. Ah no seriuosly I just hope the maths/programming isnt too hard:(

EDIT: **** I dunno what to do again:( I want to go to NUIG more than DCU. But computer applications might be better than CS&IT. Does anyone know anything about computer applications?

ethernet

The maths side of things can be a bit hairy. Back in my day (*just finished, feeling old*), there was no choice in the level of maths taken. It was nothing short of rotten. At least that's since been addressed.

Furthermore, you don't necessarily have to pass the maths subjects - passing by compensation can help you out in this regard. Needless to say, extra help is put on (for free) in the form of tutorials if you're having trouble with assignments, as well as grinds (ching, ching).

Just to add: the mandatory placement in third-year is greatly beneficial. Many of my classmates have secured jobs already. You can be sure having some industrial experience under their belts before graduating makes them more likely to be shortlisted as candidates.

In summary: don't let the less attractive mathematical modules put you off a good course!

TheCosmicFrog

GSI wrote: »

EDIT: **** I dunno what to do again:( I want to go to NUIG more than DCU. But computer applications might be better than CS&IT. Does anyone know anything about computer applications?

Most people seem to get seduced by the course they're applying for, rather than the college/city. In fact, once they get their course, it only then hits them that they'll be going to Dublin/Galway/Timbuktu. Remember to give college and city a thought as well. As I said before, once you're in the course you'll forget about any other courses. You'll be doing a computers degree and you'll tend not to care after that.

Galway's friendly, the college is right in the middle of the city, it's safe, the craic is mightier than any other city, we have class night life, we have the Spanish Arch and, most importantly, Barry!

GSI

TheCosmicFrog wrote: »

Most people seem to get seduced by the course they're applying for, rather than the college/city. In fact, once they get their course, it only then hits them that they'll be going to Dublin/Galway/Timbuktu. Remember to give college and city a thought as well. As I said before, once you're in the course you'll forget about any other courses. You'll be doing a computers degree and you'll tend not to care after that.

Galway's friendly, the college is right in the middle of the city, it's safe, the craic is mightier than any other city, we have class night life, we have the Spanish Arch and, most importantly, Barry!

Right I'm changing my cao tomorrow:D please no more negative comments about the coarse to make me have second thoughts.....again:P

barry181091

GSI wrote: »

Right I'm changing my cao tomorrow:D please no more negative comments about the coarse to make me have second thoughts.....again:P

You're changing it 'cos i'm here, aren't 'cha!?

GSI

barry181091 wrote: »

You're changing it 'cos i'm here, aren't 'cha!?

Nah not really. More because of cosmic frog. But il blame ye all when I'm dropping out in December because the maths and prgramming is to hard :P:P

RolandIRL

FYI, if you find the maths a bit tough, there's a support centre called SUMS on campus. really handy, and the guys in there are dead helpful. and i think there's one for programming called DISC or something, frog or barry might know about that

barry181091

whiteman19 wrote: »

FYI, if you find the maths a bit tough, there's a support centre called SUMS on campus. really handy, and the guys in there are dead helpful. and i think there's one for programming called DISC or something, frog or barry might know about that

DISC are good as they help you figure out programming problems or find errors.

The problem I found with SUMS is that they are only open for a few short hours (The Maths students have them exclusively for half the day) and during that time they are usually packed. There's like 2 people for 15? people maybe in the room.

ethernet

GSI wrote: »

Nah not really. More because of cosmic frog. But il blame ye all when I'm dropping out in December because the maths and prgramming is to hard :P:P

Give yourself a chance.

Give yourself a headstart.

If you're twiddling your thumbs idly like most of your peers this summer, you should definitely take a look at an introduction to programming. They teach (or at least used to) the C programming language in the first year. Then it's primarily Java.

You can find tutorials online but quality varies. I read this book when I was in your position at this time four years ago. It made the programming a lot easier having even a rough idea of how things work first. Highly recommended. Great analogies and humourous explanations. Even though it's for C, the same ideas will apply to lots of other languages you'll be exposed to in the course so it's well worth getting this solid foundation.

TheCosmicFrog

GSI wrote: »

Right I'm changing my cao tomorrow:D please no more negative comments about the coarse to make me have second thoughts.....again:P

*gets Boardsie to change CAO form*
*Tyler Durden deed for the day done*

Erm-erm, sweet! I should have also mentioned that we have the best society setup in the country. As far as I know, we have more socs than any other college, even some completely bonkers ones like Nothing Specific Soc and Kazoo Soc. Check out http://socs.nuigalway.ie and watch this video - I'm in it somewhere

As mentioned by the other guys, there's two excellent support facilities for maths and programming. If you want a leg-up on programming, I can't recommend the book "C In Easy Steps" highly enough.

And remember, programming is one of the best parts of a computer science degree. It's how you build software yo!

And as before, feel free to ask me anything by PM. That goes for everyone

gant0

Heading into second year of this course from undenominated engineering...looking forward to it:D

TheCosmicFrog

gant0 wrote: »

Heading into second year of this course from undenominated engineering...looking forward to it:D

Ah right, you'll meet Barry face-to-face so. God help your soul.

Foxx92

TheCosmicFrog wrote: »

Ah right, you'll meet Barry face-to-face so. God help your soul.

This has turned into a Barry-appreciation thread!

ru437z9t8fidq2

More like a barry disgust thread! :P

TheCosmicFrog

Foxx92 wrote: »

This has turned into a Barry-appreciation thread!

This is just a warm-up for "Barry: The Experience". Coming this September to a Galway campus near you.

everdead.ie

gant0 wrote: »

Heading into second year of this course from undenominated engineering...looking forward to it:D

Wow didn't know you could do that now.
Like Ethernet(Hulk/Mr.Bana )
I have just finished the course as far as I know most people have either a job or masters sorted for next year.
I thought the maths were ok I found Databases the hardest over the years but if you get a minimum 25% in a class you can pass by compensation by getting a good grade in other classes in that group.

The experience is actually really good you can get a job for after college directly from that or get an industry referee that holds a lot more weight then any lecturers reference.

I have a position now and it took two weeks to get a job after I started applying. At the moment IT is in a boom in Ireland with very few graduates coming out this year 13-15 graduated next year their is only 8 in the class. It has started to pick up though the course was intended to hold 100 people but it takes a maximum 60-70 due to resources cutting. First and Second year or next years second and third years class sizes are in the region of 55-65.

You learn a variety of languages over the years
c, Java, SQL, UML,Prolog,HTML,PHP once you learn one it gets easier each time to learn a new language I had to learn a new language for my final year project which while annoying is great to have on my CV and I was able to pick it up quick enough.

err don't think I have really answered any question but it's just a bit of an overview of the course at the moment.

TheCosmicFrog

There were 49 in the class the year I started (2009/2010). Last year was 50, and that was the cut-off point i.e. there was no second round.

galwayman17..

jesus Barry, sucks to be you!!:p:p

TheCosmicFrog

galwayman17.. wrote: »

jesus Barry, sucks to be you!!:p:p

Don't be ridiculous. Barry is god.

PadraicEgan

do you not have to be really creative to do CS&IT? it's more geared towards software development and creating new software I understand.

TheCosmicFrog

PadraicEgan wrote: »

do you not have to be really creative to do CS&IT? it's more geared towards software development and creating new software I understand.

It's an Information Technology degree so it covers a lot of grounds. But no prior knowledge of programming or software development is expected or required.

everdead.ie

PadraicEgan wrote: »

do you not have to be really creative to do CS&IT? it's more geared towards software development and creating new software I understand.

You don't need to be creative at all once you know what you are developing its really straight forward.

GSI

I knew I would reply back to this thread sometime.

The coarse has gone up to 390. Three ****ing ninety. That's 65 points.

Its not even 6am and I know I haven't gotten my coarse.

You might say to me, you have other things down on your cao, but after reading the indo there, I've just been crushed. All computer coarses gone up, my cao consists of all computer coarses in and around the same points as which I got, which means I was tight getting them as it was.

Just cannot believe. CA in DCU, maybe if that doesn't go 30+. Otherwise, it will be trying to find a job :'(

BmxNoob

GSI wrote: »

I knew I would reply back to this thread sometime.

The coarse has gone up to 390. Three ****ing ninety. That's 65 points.

Its not even 6am and I know I haven't gotten my coarse.

You might say to me, you have other things down on your cao, but after reading the indo there, I've just been crushed. All computer coarses gone up, my cao consists of all computer coarses in and around the same points as which I got, which means I was tight getting them as it was.

Just cannot believe. CA in DCU, maybe if that doesn't go 30+. Otherwise, it will be trying to find a job

Please tell me your joking ...

TheCosmicFrog

GSI wrote: »

Just cannot believe. CA in DCU, maybe if that doesn't go 30+. Otherwise, it will be trying to find a job

Computer Applications in DCU up 15 points to 340.

guitarman1

Got in by the skin of my teeth ! Can't believe the points , really crap for anyone who was confident of a place .

amiacamal

Only read the first post, sorry everyone else :P

About to start final year, and i failed leaving cert honers maths
The one piece of advice i'd give is to do the god Damn continuous assesment! All of them! Properly! its free marks god damn it!!

gant0

Anyone have a 2nd year timetable or know when its coming out?

TheCosmicFrog

gant0 wrote: »

Anyone have a 2nd year timetable or know when its coming out?

It's coming out on Monday

techguy101

Was unlucky about the massive points increase, specifically this course in NUIG, thankfully i got in though! Good luck to everyone who didn't get in, I hope it all works out.

Eugers

Can anyone give me any info on what the hours are like for this course? I'm assuming its gona be 9 to 5 everyday or something along those lines. any inf on it would be great

TheCosmicFrog

Timetables are up:
http://www.it.nuigalway.ie/timetables/index.html

techguy101

Commencement dates of Labs & Tutorials will be advised by individual lecturers.

is printed on the bottom of the timetable, do some of the labs & tutorials begin later in the year?

Foxx92

techguy101 wrote: »

is printed on the bottom of the timetable, do some of the labs & tutorials begin later in the year?

Some do. Our programming labs started straight away last year but some of the other classes started a few weeks later.

techguy101

Foxx92 wrote: »

Some do. Our programming labs started straight away last year but some of the other classes started a few weeks later.

Thanks. Looking at the timetable theres some blocks of 6 hours, will I be getting 6hours flat of lectures?!