HELP! need advice on courses

sboyle

hi i am 31 year old mature student thinking of going to WIT and i need a little help with the 2 courses i am thinking of doing , like timetables , workload and such, i have an 8 year old so i need to know if i would be able to manage the course. the 2 courses i am thinking of doing are health promotion level 8 and applied social care level 8. also what kind of jobs are there in these areas? any help would be appricated

callaway92

I know numerous people that are in 3rd year atm in Social Care and I have to say, their hours have seemed very nice. 16 every year. Only 4 semesters of lectures. 2 semesters of work placement. Of what I know, their placement was in places with troubled children or children with mental disabilities. They all love the course. Probably the highest number of students in the college are doing it I'd think. 40-50% of students in it are mature students too.

castaway_lady

Not a lot of jobs in Health Promotion these days.

queev1988

Hi OP. You have to ask yourself the question what value is this degree going to give me in say Health Promotion. Now talking from experience as I did the first year of the course before realising the whole set up and qualification was a joke I jumped ship and studied for a degree in applied chemistry and havent looked back. Oddly the other day I bumped into one of the students in my class in Health Promotion who was enrolled in that course and btw they were decent and did quiet well regarding exams. Today they are cleaning the toilets/dressing rooms of a gym somewhere up the country! With the cuts in Health in this country you just have to ask the question what value will this degree give me or will it look pretty in a frame in the living room!Otherwise consider a course like Manufacturing Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Science or Accounting. Open day is tomorrow and if you are going dont be fooled by their sales pitch because the more students that get enrolled on that course then the more funding that department secures, consequently securing their own jobs etc etc. Have an open mind. Best of luck:)

sboyle

thanks for your replies it has given me something to think about, no point wasting 4 years and not being able to get a job. im going out tomorrow to the open day even though its for lc students but the mature one is not on till march , thinking of the biology course do you know anyone on that?

queev1988

I know quiet a few people on it!Classes start out large as always. Im a mature student myself so understand what its like to go back and slog it out for another four years. There is alot involved in the courses, but if you stay on top of your work, attend class and listen you will succeed. Dont be put off by the maths in it etc as they start slow and build you up. Definitley consider it because you dont want to resent that piece of paper after 4 years. Essentially, its a ticket for an interview and you want the best ticket possible.

sboyle

thanks op , yeah kinda worried about the maths on that course,was not too good in school but loved biology and did well in it just so torn between courses dont want to make a wrong decision , just wondering if the workload on that course would be too much with having kids? and just want to do a course with good job prospects . how did you find going back? was your class all leaving cert students? did you find studying again hard?

queev1988

My best mate is a 30 and is in his final year engineering-failed ordinary level maths for the LC 12 years ago. With hard work his maths average in college is over 90%. Maths is only difficult if you let it be. Im not wonderful by any means but end of the day you are shown everything. The set up in first year is actually excellent as you get alot of one to one time in tutorials and then there is a free maths learning center on campus. My class at the moment in my final year has 6 mature students myself included and there are a range of skills and abilities..just dont adopt the attitude 'i cant do it i was never good in school at it' because as you know yourself, you grow up a hell of a lot and see that an education is so valuable. Long story short you want a career with a direction in an industry that will always be booming and will require skilled graduates. Health Promo sounds lovely etc on paper but scratch beneath the surface and you'll see that there aint much going on. Have a chat with the lectures tomorrow, beware though some are iffy but thats the case with every course:)

sboyle

thanks so much yes your right you do grow up alot and are willing to work unlike school. that sounds good that its one to one and there is extra help, any idea of timetables? need to work round school run what happens if you are late to a lecture ? do i need a laptop or is it still refill pads lol! yeah the other courses sound interesting but as you said not much work and maybe not worth too much. just want to provide a good life for my daughter so i have to get it right

queev1988

A laptop is not essential as there are decent IT facilities in WIT, but is handy. You are provided with all the material i.e notes on each module. If you are late you are late, ive been late plenty of times and it doesnt matter really. You would have designated lab time in the week and this will take up the bulk of your hours. It certainly is a better way of providing for someone like a daughter as you said, but it will demand time and effort from you. That being said Im sure it wasnt a holdiday you were signing up for;) It is a busy timetable in fairness too...9.15 to around four of five each day.

sboyle

i wish it was a holiday lol! yes more than willing to put in the time, sorry about all the q's . is there alot of homework and assesments to do? only prob is she is finished school at 3

queev1988

all in all youd be looking at putting in two hours or more every night of solid productive work...alot of that time is spent doing lab reports

sboyle

Wow that's a lot don't think I would have that much time to do it as well as being in college all day I wouldn't have Time to spend with her think I might have to give the social care another look don't think there is as much time involved

queev1988

in fairness thats across the board for all courses really...sitting in class waiting for the information to just absorb into your head sadly doesnt happen..whatever you choose prepare to work hard because anything lower than a 2.1 wont cut it these days.Good luck

sboyle

thanks for your replies was going to go this morning but my daughter is sick so cant go think i might email the lectures about the course instead, i know they will all involve alot of work and i am prepared to work but i still need to be around for her so i need to find something with a balance

castaway_lady

You could always look into PLC courses, in something like social care or healthcare assistant. They start in mid Sept and finish in April, while they may not give you highflying career options, lots of grads after the one year fetac level 5 course in these areas get jobs from them. They have a fairly good idea after the 8 months if they're cut out for studying at a higher level or going further in that area.

Other people do the plc and work while studying part time degrees.

castaway_lady

You could always look into PLC courses, in something like social care or healthcare assistant. They start in mid Sept and finish in April, while they may not give you highflying career options, lots of grads after the one year fetac level 5 course in these areas get jobs from them. They have a fairly good idea after the 8 months if they're cut out for studying at a higher level or going further in that area.

Other people do the plc and work while studying part time degrees.

castaway_lady

Stupid 'puter ate my initial reply. I was saying you should also look into plc courses in the likes of social care and healthcare assistant. These start mid Sept and end in April and lots of grads find work from them. They may not lead to high flying careers but they do make you employable. They also let you figure out if you're cut out for studying fulltime or taking it to a higher level before you commit a lot of time and money to a degree. People also often do them, get work and study for a degree part time.

callaway92

I'm not sure if it has been said yet but :

You could always look into PLC courses, in something like social care or healthcare assistant. They start in mid Sept and finish in April, while they may not give you highflying career options, lots of grads after the one year fetac level 5 course in these areas get jobs from them. They have a fairly good idea after the 8 months if they're cut out for studying at a higher level or going further in that area.

Other people do the plc and work while studying part time degrees.

. . . . . .

Media999

Timetables change constantly. Thats one thing ive learned. Ive 2 kids and im a mature student.

Complete waste of time trying to get a course that the timetable suits as itll probably suit for a few weeks and then change.

I had a half day on a wednesday then they changed it. Completely messed me up as i planned my week around it and they gave me a few days notice that it was changing. I also had a couple of 3 hour and 2 hour breaks but they changed aswell. All in first semester.

Also remember that the college year is only 6 months and the rest are breaks and holidays.

Dont bother with health promotion as its one of those doss courses that people do. No work at the end of it. Its as bad as "The Arts". Its a very scientific course and a lot more difficult than you would assume.

The jobs are in IT. Still demand in Waterford and Ireland for IT graduates. 40k a year start no problems. Software is a manageable course aswell.

Media999

No offence also meant by this but i dont think he has the time to be doing a plc course just to see if he want to be in college. get straight to the point. get into a proper Degree level course. If theres no jobs for people with degrees in health promotion there certainly isnt jobs for people with a 6 month PLC course.

johnnykilo

Media999 wrote: »

Timetables change constantly. Thats one thing ive learned. Ive 2 kids and im a mature student.

Complete waste of time trying to get a course that the timetable suits as itll probably suit for a few weeks and then change.

I had a half day on a wednesday then they changed it. Completely messed me up as i planned my week around it and they gave me a few days notice that it was changing. I also had a couple of 3 hour and 2 hour breaks but they changed aswell. All in first semester.

Also remember that the college year is only 6 months and the rest are breaks and holidays.

Dont bother with health promotion as its one of those doss courses that people do. No work at the end of it. Its as bad as "The Arts". Its a very scientific course and a lot more difficult than you would assume.

The jobs are in IT. Still demand in Waterford and Ireland for IT graduates. 40k a year start no problems. Software is a manageable course aswell.

:eek: Hardly! Try 30K and you might be closer to the mark. Software isn't suitable for some people, there's a lot of maths involved, the drop out rate is fairly high in the software courses as it's fairly intense. If the OP is mathematically minded then it may be something they could consider but I'm guessing based on their course suggestions so far that they're more into humanities/health science based subjects.

You're right about the timetable though. OP you'll just have to make yourself unavailable from 9-5 Monday to Friday as you won't know when you might have classes no matter what course you do.

Media999

Software in WIT is far from Maths heavy.

Its easier than leaving cert ordinary and finishes in first year. 30% goes for piss easy Excel and only 40% is needed for a pass.

Try going from the dole to 30k or 40k with benefits. Makes no difference. Its enough to make a good life for himself.

50 - 60k with only 2 years experience. Thats insane and really shows how much demand there is for (good) programmers.

Accept your point about it not being suitable for some people though.

queev1988

Media999 wrote: »

Software in WIT is far from Maths heavy.

Its easier than leaving cert ordinary and finishes in first year. 30% goes for piss easy Excel and only 40% is needed for a pass.

Try going from the dole to 30k or 40k with benefits. Makes no difference. Its enough to make a good life for himself.

50 - 60k with only 2 years experience. Thats insane and really shows how much demand there is for (good) programmers.

Accept your point about it not being suitable for some people though.

Programmers are some of the hardest people to get your hands on and they will always be in demand!Well said!

johnnykilo

Media999 wrote: »

Software in WIT is far from Maths heavy.

Its easier than leaving cert ordinary and finishes in first year. 30% goes for piss easy Excel and only 40% is needed for a pass.

Try going from the dole to 30k or 40k with benefits. Makes no difference. Its enough to make a good life for himself.

50 - 60k with only 2 years experience. Thats insane and really shows how much demand there is for (good) programmers.

Accept your point about it not being suitable for some people though.

Well it depends on the Software Course, there's a big difference between say Multimedia and say Computer Forensics which is very maths heavy.

Yes, it's possible to get well paid with experience but that's the same with any job. Believe me, I've been spending about 2 hours every day looking at jobs over the last number of months, so I know exactly what the starting pay is. Yeah, fair enough the sky's the limit once you're good and experienced but the average starting pay is 30k. I've seen as low as 24k and it's rare to see more than 34k, even in Dublin.

Also it's not just a matter of waltzing into a job either, there is a shortage of people in the industry but companies aren't just going to hire anyone; you need to have a good degree with a good mark, possibly a Masters too and/or work placement. Another issue (one which affects me too) is a lot of companies now require a certain amount of LC points e.g. 450. I did my LC 13 years ago and got a bit less than this but a lot of companies won't even look at your CV even though I have a Masters with a good mark and good work experience. Seems silly to me but that's the reality of what's out there at the moment.

Media999

Agreed. Id recommend just going into Software development as ive heard jobwise Multimedia and IT courses arent great.

Also whats up with that LC nonsense? First time ive heard it. What if someone goes back as a mature student with a passion for programming and does well in college?

johnnykilo

Media999 wrote: »

Agreed. Id recommend just going into Software development as ive heard jobwise Multimedia and IT courses arent great.

Also whats up with that LC nonsense? First time ive heard it. What if someone goes back as a mature student with a passion for programming and does well in college?

<rant> I know! That's my predicament! I did my LC in 1999 and went back 5 years ago as a mature student. It's only something which has come in the last year or so, but I'm already after being refused an interview with BT in Belfast because of it even though I met or exceeded all the other criteria, same thing with another financial company in Belfast whose name escapes me.

Paddy Power's graduate scheme want people with 450+ points too, and there's a few more I can't remember. And then they complain about not being able to find suitable candidates. :mad: I don't know how my knowledge of Physics, Chemistry, Economics, English, Irish, Maths and Geography from 13 years ago affects my ability to be a software engineer! </rant>

Media999

Man thats pissing me off now as its the first ive heard of it. Seriously how are they justifying it?

Theres people who dont even do the leaving cert that are master developers because they have a passion for it. Ive seen forty year olds who went back and would make a show of other young peoples skills in development. To think some stupid HR department somewhere would say they are not better than some leaving cert student who was good at geography is shameful. Probably best not to work for a company that thinks that way.

Youve probably 40 years of working left so dont rush into anything.

sboyle

thanks guys for all your replies still havent decided on what to do, i know i def want a full time degree course not a plc course and i dont have the head for software and all that or engineering and tbh being a girl i dont have much interest in either of those anyway, so hard to make my mind up :]

Media999

sboyle wrote: »

thanks guys for all your replies still havent decided on what to do, i know i def want a full time degree course not a plc course and i dont have the head for software and all that or engineering and tbh being a girl i dont have much interest in either of those anyway, so hard to make my mind up :]

I think another solid choice is something that you can work cash in hand for and has potential to start a business. Have you any interest in hairdressing?

Perfect trade to learn. Huge industry. Probably the easiest business to start once you have a few clients. A good determined woman can make a ton of money.

callaway92

Media999 wrote: »

I think another solid choice is something that you can work cash in hand for and has potential to start a business. Have you any interest in hairdressing?

Perfect trade to learn. Huge industry. Probably the easiest business to start once you have a few clients. A good determined woman can make a ton of money.

Probably the most stressful job possible - Hairdressing

sboyle

yes i do like hairdressing always had an interest in it but it can be long hours and stressfull, suppose at lot of jobs can be though! there is a course in the tech for it alright just so undecided and not long left to go! i will def be doing an emt course while im waiting to start college in sept , just thinking the more courses i do the more chance i have of getting a job, i know none of my choice are related!

Media999

Youve 40 years of working left in you.

Dont be turned off by a few stressful ones while you get trained in and up through the ranks. One of the wealthiest women i know is a hairdresser who opened her own place. Less than 30 and pretty much set for life. Has a massive house and a 2012 Audi.

What do they make? 100 euro an hour on a good day maybe.

Dont do something you dont like just cause its a bit less stressful now.