MSc Information Systems Management Masters NUIG

starlit

Hi, has anyone completed the Masters in Information Systems Management Masters in NUIG?

What is the course and modules like? What are the job prospects like? Is the course worth doing if having a BIS/Information Systems Management and IT background or would it overlap with what I have done in my degree? Already have work experience in IT technical support, just wondering if the MSc ISM be worth doing?

Any information be greatly appreciated thanks.

Skopzz

doovdela wrote: »

Hi, has anyone completed the Masters in Information Systems Management Masters in NUIG?

What is the course and modules like? What are the job prospects like? Is the course worth doing if having a BIS/Information Systems Management and IT background or would it overlap with what I have done in my degree? Already have work experience in IT technical support, just wondering if the MSc ISM be worth doing?

Any information be greatly appreciated thanks.

If you have experience, that should be enough to get you an interview at any company. Have you tried that route yet?

starlit

Yes I have but hasn't proven fruitful for me here in Ireland for the past year or so since finishing my last college course, trying to seek other avenues like unpaid work, graduate programmes and other types of jobs outside my field and looked into work in the UK too but nothing has been happening.

I think maybe doing something with research in the latest technology might help in seeking work not just work experience but finding it difficult to get my foot in the door. No bother getting interviews its getting pass that stage is proving frustrating despite work experience, qualifications and skills. I have had feedback that I am fine in interviews just that how I answer a question might not be how interviewers want me to answer despite giving them examples from college and work experience still not enough if I don't meet all of their criteria.

Its been two years since I have had a job and a year since finishing college so things just aren't looking good for me here job wise. I'd go abroad but want to wait till I have my full licence before doing that.

I wouldn't go to an interview if I didn't have a chance of getting a job. Sometimes proves pointless going to an interview if you feel you aren't going to get the job or do well in an interview. You could go but not be a very good experience could be the opposite or be a good experience and be confident about the interview but not about getting the job. You could perform really well and still not get beyond interview stage. Just not good enough for the job which can be a bit disheartening.

I can only apply to graduate programmes for only so long. I achieved honours in all my courses so from that point I view I am qualified. So hoping a Masters might be the next step or else going abroad.

Have looked in unpaid internships but have done a lot of unpaid work in the past few years and hasn't helped much. Only had one paid job and that was only for a few months work placement its the only IT work experience I have while the rest be more business/office/customer service related type of jobs. I don't want to be forced into jobs I don't want or wouldn't be good at but relevant to my degree and work experience as well as something I be good at and have the skills do be good at a certain job. Even if its not IT I am willing to work in retail and so on and other areas maybe teaching if I had to but can't even get a shop job or office job now at the moment as the demand for these jobs are either saturated or too many competing and not enough jobs to go around or not meeting the demands of the job.

What you think Skopzz?

Skopzz

Sounds like your skills aren't appreciated. Lots of these interviewers are looking for someone with the most convincing talent. Many of these tend to bypass young applicants because they want someone from another generation that basically isn't work shy (typical interviewer wants this nowadays). I wouldn't waste my time with these stereotypes because your skills are demanded in more awarding countries abroad than here in backward Ireland.

Having a masters doesn't give any advantage, unfortunately. You really need to be flexible, willing to work for less and have a convincing argument why you would be an asset if given the job. This industry is actually experiencing a shortage of skilled graduates. Are you applying to the right companies (multinationals)?

starlit

I've applied to the best of the multinational companies but haven't been successful in getting an interview with that many of them mainly with businesses, financial, IT, public service and retail companies. I have applied for more jobs than I could imagine though to someone else might be a small number but in this recession I think its a reasonable number over 120 jobs and perhaps only getting 1 interview out of every 10 batch of jobs I apply for. I tailor my CV and Cover Letter. Those requesting application forms I fill out to the best of my ability as to what they are looking for and match what I have to that.

Recruiters keep saying I have strong skills and qualifications and a strong CV yet they are still not enough to get hired which proves frustrating.

I felt from a research point of view that a Masters be worth doing. I probably wouldn't be rushing into it though as I know work experience be more important but just not getting any where on the job front, going around in circles looking for work since college.

I have done a lot of voluntary work so feel I want to move on in the job front.

I have applied for various jobs really, IT, software, programming, multimedia, office, retail, internships, business related, web development, technical support, business analyst.

Thanks Skopzz, that's very true. Thanks for your insight, good perspective. Have kind of forgotten that way of thinking when it comes to interviews. I think that is the case with employers they want something specific in a candidate to fill a job as well as tick all their boxes. Nothing wrong with my skills, qualifications and work experience just that employers are looking for more convincing candidates that can fill the role of the job better as they want talented candidates. Hard to compete on that front. So basically not good enough for them and not the right jobs for me. Having the skills, experience and qualifications isn't enough for them they are looking for raw talent!

I keep thinking is it that I haven't enough years experience in a certain role or that I have been in many different roles over the years in different industries? Surely not only the technical skills but soft and people skills are important too in IT?

What would you advise?

Skopzz

Having a masters doesn't guarantee any job I'm afraid. I have friends who did a masters without any success at securing a job.

You need to beware of recruitment agencies because they have been exposed as advetizing jobs that don't exist in order to fill their database. This makes it look attractive for a company to hire them during a real recruitment.

Apply to the companies directly - do NOT apply through these middlemen agencies.

starlit

I have applied to a few via recruiters but not many mainly try to apply directly to companies, I at least know those jobs are genuine.

Definitely don't apply to those middleman type agencies since though. Any where there is a middleman when it comes to job hunting I steer clear of them even if it means a middleman offering a job.

Thanks for your advice skopzz.

starlit

Ya I understand perfectly that A masters or any qualification not even a few months work experience can guarantee a ticket into a job.

What oneself can prove to employers if they worth hiring is what matters to employers in the end of the day!

Thanks again skopzz for your advice.

Skopzz

doovdela wrote: »

Ya I understand perfectly that A masters or any qualification not even a few months work experience can guarantee a ticket into a job.

What oneself can prove to employers if they worth hiring is what matters to employers in the end of the day!

Thanks again skopzz for your advice.

They really want your work experience more than your qualification.

The interview thing may need to be improved, just a suggestion. One more note:I have a friend who lied about his previous experience and it actually worked out sucessful. In this case, you could extend the dates of your experience and have a friend or someone pretend they were your boss in the event the company telephones them... Familiarize them with the details beforehand and arrange a time for the employer to telephone them.

starlit

Thanks Skopzz. Ya Work experience wins out in the end I suppose.

forfcksake

Hi all,
I'm thinking of applying for this course soon & was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on it!
I'm from a civil eng background & have had an interest in technology without ever pursuing it until now I suppose, if anyone has completed the course or is in the process of doing so I would be interested in hearing their thoughts!
Thanks

forfcksake

anyone?

Marto10

I'm in my final year of the Business Information Systems Undergrad and have just secured a graduate position in a large software company so companies are crying out for people with Information Systems skills.

Doovdela - Loads of software and consulting companies are hiring now so there are jobs, I had 1 interview and then got the job. I suppose its how you approach the interview but with your background you should be getting called for a few, companies are crying out for IS and IT grads at the moment.

I have covered nearly all the modules that are in this masters program and I have to say that it is a quality course and there is a large rate of employment from it. You would be looking at vb.net and java programming, technology management subjects, database and media stuff as well so it is really interesting.

forfcksake

Anyone thinking of applying for this for September?

bookthief

I've just finished the course. It's absolutely fantastic, I would highly recommend it. The content is very interesting and is completely employment oriented. Quite a few people in the class have job interviews lined up already. It is an extremely intensive course thoguh- not to be entered into in a half assed way, it requires a lot of work.

There are people doing the course who come from backgrounds in BIS. Although you've probably covered most of the material, having a masters in the subject to your name will definitely help you to get a job. The course is very recognised, and is somewhat affiliated with companies like HP, Bearing Point and SAP, who have given talks during the year. There is an entire module on enterprise systems, with hands on experience of SAP systems- and SAP have just announced 250 new jobs in Ireland!

forfcksake

bookthief wrote: »

I've just finished the course. It's absolutely fantastic, I would highly recommend it. The content is very interesting and is completely employment oriented. Quite a few people in the class have job interviews lined up already. It is an extremely intensive course thoguh- not to be entered into in a half assed way, it requires a lot of work.

There are people doing the course who come from backgrounds in BIS. Although you've probably covered most of the material, having a masters in the subject to your name will definitely help you to get a job. The course is very recognised, and is somewhat affiliated with companies like HP, Bearing Point and SAP, who have given talks during the year. There is an entire module on enterprise systems, with hands on experience of SAP systems- and SAP have just announced 250 new jobs in Ireland!

cheers for the info. bookthief,
just wondering what the hours are like? I have applied for the course and was thinking about travelling up and down for the two semesters, do you think it would be feasible? I am about an hour away from the college. How many days a week is there classes anyway and do you have to be around the days off or could you work away at home? Cheers for the insight!

bookthief

Classes are on all day tuesday and thursday, but theres also tutorials which can be any day really-except Fridays, they don't seem to do Fridays! Theres really heavy emphasis on group work though, which does involve being in college quite a lot anyway. I think it could be pretty exhausting to try to do an hour long commute every day- definitely doable, but it's such an intense few months that you might be better off living closer so you don't waste valuable sleep time on sitting in traffic!

forfcksake

bookthief wrote: »

Classes are on all day tuesday and thursday, but theres also tutorials which can be any day really-except Fridays, they don't seem to do Fridays! Theres really heavy emphasis on group work though, which does involve being in college quite a lot anyway. I think it could be pretty exhausting to try to do an hour long commute every day- definitely doable, but it's such an intense few months that you might be better off living closer so you don't waste valuable sleep time on sitting in traffic!

Thanks again!
Is the workload heavy? Do you mind me asking what undergrad you did? I'm coming from a civil eng background, is there alot of self learning or is what you need to know well laid out? I wouldn't have a great knowledge of programming or the likes and was just wondering how hard it is for someone with no previous knowedge!
sorry for all the Q's just trying to make my mind up! cheers

forfcksake

"In teaching these subjects, a variety of sought-after technical skills are covered using leading-edge industry software such as: SQL, Visual Basic, Java, HTML, CSS, XML, PHP, Dreamweaver, Flash, Photoshop, Visual Paradigm, DBDesigner, Microsoft Visio, UML, Linux, database design, business process modelling, usability / accessibility principles and software quality techniques."

^ this is what it says in the course outline, I was just wondering how much experience of each of these, e.g. Java, do you get? How technically in-depth do you get? Hope someone can help here, really struggling to make up my mind! Cheers

xtopee

forfcksake wrote: »

"In teaching these subjects, a variety of sought-after technical skills are covered using leading-edge industry software such as: SQL, Visual Basic, Java, HTML, CSS, XML, PHP, Dreamweaver, Flash, Photoshop, Visual Paradigm, DBDesigner, Microsoft Visio, UML, Linux, database design, business process modelling, usability / accessibility principles and software quality techniques."

^ this is what it says in the course outline, I was just wondering how much experience of each of these, e.g. Java, do you get? How technically in-depth do you get? Hope someone can help here, really struggling to make up my mind! Cheers

hi forfcksake,

just searching and found this thread. You have asked some interesting intelligent questions which have helped to answer some of my own questions too. thank you. I'm just wondering if you got an answer to your last question quoted above, perhaps you got an answer offline. I'd be glad if you wouldn't mind sharing with me as I'm in a similar dilemma as to whether to take this course. I've already accepted another one from Limerick b4 this offer came, bringing about the dilemma of wheter to forfeit my acceptance fee on Limerick. I'd be prepare to forfeit it this provides better prospects. Your - or anybody's -thoughts here will be greatly appreciated. thanks

forfcksake

xtopee wrote: »

hi forfcksake,

just searching and found this thread. You have asked some interesting intelligent questions which have helped to answer some of my own questions too. thank you. I'm just wondering if you got an answer to your last question quoted above, perhaps you got an answer offline. I'd be glad if you wouldn't mind sharing with me as I'm in a similar dilemma as to whether to take this course. I've already accepted another one from Limerick b4 this offer came, bringing about the dilemma of wheter to forfeit my acceptance fee on Limerick. I'd be prepare to forfeit it this provides better prospects. Your - or anybody's -thoughts here will be greatly appreciated. thanks

Its a tough decision to make alright! I didn't really find out anything on the above question you mentioned but I did find out this:
last year about half the MSc in ISM graduating class responded to our annual survey. 87% were working with another on an internship. The remaining 2 were studying or taking a year out.
Sample job titles were:
Software Development
Account Manager
Business intelligence IT
Trainee Accountant
Business Application Developer
IT Consultant
Customer Support
IT Support Analyst
System analyst
Financial Analyst
Business Analyst
Hope that helps somewhat, Best of luck with the decision!

Shane St.

What's the story with these personal statements?

EithneB

I applied for this course during the Christmas and got accepted in Feb/March (whenever the first round offers were).

I found the personal statement very challenging to put together- I hadn't written about myself since probably around Junior Cert year! The best way to approach this is by searching the internet for sample personal statements. There's loads out there!

Basically my personal statement talked about what I had learned in my undergrad course, from working, from my pastimes and how they applied to the masters course. For example, I had no experience what-so-ever with business so I added a paragraph about how from working for years in a busy shop "I began to gain interest in how to boost sales and gain more customers. This interest, along with my interest in media and computers is why I want to undertake a postgraduate degree that fuses them together."

Hope that all helps

degzs

Hi all,

Just searching and found this thread. Got offered this Masters courses but was wondering what does financial management side of the course involve and is the work load heavy because I am coming from an IT background and the business side would not be my strong point.

Will i find it difficult not having the basics in business and are the subjects taught on a high level?

I do find the behavioural science side very interesting and also with my IT skills in data bases and programming i think i would enjoy this course.

if any body can help me with my questions i would be very grateful.

pinkdiamond

Hi degzs. I'm doing this course this year and I also come from an IT(ish) background with no previous experience in business what-so-ever.

I really enjoy the course.we did most of the IT side last semster and this semester is all the business type modules. We're only in week 3, but I don't seem to be having any problem keeping up just yet. The class all come from very different backgrounds so the modules all start from square one.

There is a ridiculously big workload. Lectures are only on Tuesdays and Thursdays,but I find myself in college Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday (I work Saturday) in the library from 9am til late evening studying.although the modules start at square one, I find they move to a high level very quickly.

Any more questions, throw them this way and I'll answer them as best I can.

g5fd6ow0hseima

Looking at this thread, I get the impression that most people doing this course are from somewhat relevant backgrounds, be it business or IT. I'm looking at this as a person with absolutely zero experience, i'm simply looking at getting into IT as a career.

Are there many out there who've came from BA (or other random) backgrounds who've went on to do this course? If so, how have you fared out since? In terms of employment, do employers welcome the fact that you're somebody who's taken a giant leap into a totally new world? Or am I better off pursuing a hdip in computing first?

cheers,

pinkdiamond

only about half of the people in the course have relevant backgrounds. probably even less. can't say for sure how they will manage on the job front, but employers seem to be screaming out for graduates in this field so i can't imagine they are at a massive disadvantage. one of our lecturers described a masters at the start of the year as an undergraduate course crammed into one year- so why should it matter what you've done before it?

the course have a stand at the postgrad fair tomorrow. would definitely be worth your while checking it out: http://www.nuigalway.ie/media/nuigalwayie/content/files/aboutus/openday/Postgraduate-Open-Day-February-2013-brochure.pdf

g5fd6ow0hseima

pinkdiamond wrote: »

only about half of the people in the course have relevant backgrounds. probably even less. can't say for sure how they will manage on the job front, but employers seem to be screaming out for graduates in this field so i can't imagine they are at a massive disadvantage. one of our lecturers described a masters at the start of the year as an undergraduate course crammed into one year- so why should it matter what you've done before it?

the course have a stand at the postgrad fair tomorrow. would definitely be worth your while checking it out: http://www.nuigalway.ie/media/nuigalwayie/content/files/aboutus/openday/Postgraduate-Open-Day-February-2013-brochure.pdf

Yeah, it's more that i'm worried that i'd be up against it if a sizeable number of applicants had more relevant backgrounds. But then again my total lack of prior exposure should work in my favour given that it's a conversion course after all.

I'd love to check that out, but i'm not in Ireland at the minute.

Also, the nuig webpage doesn't seem to mention anything about a personal statement, does anyone know more on this?

cheers,

J.E. Cairnes

Hi all,
Please see this page from NUI Galway's Career Development Centre which may point you in the right direction wrt personal statements.
http://www.nuigalway.ie/careers/students/faq/statement.html

Good Luck!

bookthief

Briggs Attractive Quadruped wrote: »

Looking at this thread, I get the impression that most people doing this course are from somewhat relevant backgrounds, be it business or IT. I'm looking at this as a person with absolutely zero experience, i'm simply looking at getting into IT as a career.

Are there many out there who've came from BA (or other random) backgrounds who've went on to do this course? If so, how have you fared out since? In terms of employment, do employers welcome the fact that you're somebody who's taken a giant leap into a totally new world? Or am I better off pursuing a hdip in computing first?

cheers,

Hi

I did this course, and went into it with zero IT experience and an Arts undergrad (and a crappy one at that). I ended up with a couple of job offers, and in my experience employers were really positive about the fact that I was coming from a multi disciplinary background. It shows that you're well rounded and have decent oral and written communication skills.

I actually can't recommend the course enough- you pick up really solid IT skills which are well sought after. You won't get a job as a programmer (unless you turn out to be some kind of java genius after doing it for three months), but there are so many other well paid jobs in IT that you can expect to have a strong chance of getting..

starlit

Hiya Booktheif,

I be interested in knowing what kind of jobs would employers offer to those having completed this Masters whether or not the candidate has an IT background or not? For example you could be very good at a combination of subjects some might blend together you be good at (it be easier to find jobs in those areas) other subjects opposite of the spectrum making its more difficult to find a suitable job that relates to your strengths unless they compliment each other some way like web programming and interactive multimedia.

What would have been your degree discipline? Mine was a BA but in ISM but more like a combination of business/management, IS, Business Admin, Multimedia and some IT subjects not in any one specific area but i'd imagine subjects been similar to this Masters just wondering would it be a bit of an overlap? Would this Masters be focused more on IT than business? as I be comparing it to the other similar one in UCC.

I got an honour but only disadvantage be my overall result and wonder is that affecting my job prospects along with other things despite an IT background and work experience in IT I am just not meeting employers criteria which is making interviews a hurdle for me. Then can't decide on a career to follow has anything I apply for whether or not I get interviews for them just doesn't seem to go beyond that stage. I'm approaching my 30's and I am still at a crossroad as to what to decide to do as its been three years since I finished my postgrad deciding on a Masters is difficult as I haven't had much work experience since.

I'd imagine it would be hard work getting honours in this Masters? I did a hdip in computing but it was fairly broad a mixture of computer science such as more programming subjects and more technical modules in IT and some subject I did in my degree in the business/multimedia IT side of things.

How much in detail is covered in the subjects the number of subjects seems fairly broad and I'd have some idea as to what they might be about but they might look into it in more detail than a degree that have those subjects?

So is there light at the end of the tunnel?! Is there hope for someone with a BA and still do this Masters?

Thanks