Fear of math

JJJJNR

I'm thinking about doing a computer science degree at some stage, I failed leaving cert math and its been about 10 years since I've done anything other than simple day to day stuff, and feel that it would be a deal breaker for this course.

Are there any courses that would cater for this, is it possible to resit the leaving cert at 30, or is there a pre-computer science math class I could take to get an idea of the level I should be at, I am in IT for over 10years and got into it the back door its all good plenty of work for me but I want to advance and would fly this course from what I've read but I want to approach it with my head in the right place, I feel I would spend too much time trying to learn this aspect.

Anyone been in the same situation.

gline

JJJJNR wrote: »

I'm thinking about doing a computer science degree at some stage, I failed leaving cert math and its been about 10 years since I've done anything other than simple day to day stuff, and feel that it would be a deal breaker for this course.

Are there any courses that would cater for this, is it possible to resit the leaving cert at 30, or is there a pre-computer science math class I could take to get an idea of the level I should be at, I am in IT for over 10years and got into it the back door its all good plenty of work for me but I want to advance and would fly this course from what I've read but I want to approach it with my head in the right place, I feel I would spend too much time trying to learn this aspect.

Anyone been in the same situation.

I'm kind of in the same situation as you. Im going to UCD in september doing science, hopefully physics, im 29 and did my leaving cert 12 years ago, and got something like a C in ordinary level maths. I worked in IT for over 5 years also getting in the back-door so to speak, without a qualification, then unemplyed for a few years.

I looked into re-doing the leaving cert etc and where to get some extra training and here's some options/advice I can give.

- Redoing the LC, I wouldnt bother with this unless you did really bad in the whole thing and you want to complete it for yourself (as in it has been a mental stumbling block for you or something along those lines). Otherwise there are easier routes into university. It didnt look very straightforward to me to re-do my leaving as I had done it and passed it. I think doing the LC as an adult is more for people that never did it.

- Do a fetac course that has a Maths module in it and try and get distinctions, this will allow you to gain access to Computer science courses via CAO (fetac entry). I did a fetac level 5, 2012-2013, but it was in something pretty much unrelated to a science degree and it didnt really count towards my enterance to UCD as I just got in via thier MSAP exam. There are IT based fetac courses that will directly help you gain enterence to a computer science degree course.

- I honestly found the best way to try to get up to speed is to read up on it yourself. Check out udacity and coursera and the likes (online universities), it is free and you can do it at your own pace. Im in the middle of a "college algebra" course on udacity and it starts from the beginning, like the VERY BEGINNING, so it should be doable for most people. I also got my hands on Junior cert and leaving cert books and will start looking over those.

- Some universities offer maths help for mature students, so I've heard, and I'm hoping UCD will offer some form of help/resources to improve my maths ontop of my self-study.

-Pay someone to give you lessons, I never really considered this, as funds are not available to me, but if you have some cash and dont mind spending it on your future, this is a good option. Im sure there are some students that would jump at the chance to make some extra cash.

Fetac is probably your best option, you can do a level 5 or 6 fetac course in an IT discipline. This will have some form of maths in it, so you will be learning that and also learning how to get into the world of acedemia again and it can help you directly in gaining access to a degree via CAO. It helped me a lot to do one, it gave me confidence and got me into the swing of studying, exams, projects etc after 10+ years being out of it.

Hope this is of some help to you, its just my experience with getting back into education.

Tom_Cruise

I was in a similar position to you OP.

Maths was always something i struggled with - i think most people do to be honest.

I started by learning the basics again - addition, subtraction, basic algebra etc. Even though i knew the majority of this already i wanted to start fresh and have a good solid base to build upon.

There are many books, online tutorials, forums etc online that i found to be of great help - with an honorable mention to YouTube, i cant tell you how much that has helped me understand topics that teachers just cannot convey properly (well at least to me, anyway).

gline

Tom_Cruise wrote: »

I started by learning the basics again - addition, subtraction, basic algebra etc. Even though i knew the majority of this already i wanted to start fresh and have a good solid base to build upon.

This is great advice. Its what I did also, start from the beginning even if you think you are ok with the basics. Its surprising how much this jogs your memory and things start to come back to you.

Shine7

I too have always had a fear of math and did ordinary level math all throughout school (and even at that I struggled to grasp it). I started a software development degree when I left school and first semester I failed the math module. I left the course in second year for other reasons.

Fast forward 9 years and I just completed a Springboard Level 6 Computer Science course (available if you're unemployed) and what do you know, math was my highest scoring module! Now I've been accepted into a Software Development degree and I'm far more confident in my ability to do math. The Springboard discrete math module covered all the math required for computing (set theory, Boolean algebra, functions, relations, etc) and started them as if you've never done math before, so it may be worth considering.

collegeme

I was good at math but when i went back to do a finance degree 6 years after my leaving cert, irlt felt like i was totally out of my depth. It was advanced differentiation and intergration thaat exceeded higher level lc math.
I had a word with my lecturer who recommended a website to catch up with.
Fast forward and i left college with a first class hons degree.
If you are struggling with math topics this link is your get out of jjail free card.

Www.mathtutor.ac.uk

Good luck.

JJJJNR

gline wrote: »

I'm kind of in the same situation as you. Im going to UCD in september doing science, hopefully physics, im 29 and did my leaving cert 12 years ago, and got something like a C in ordinary level maths. I worked in IT for over 5 years also getting in the back-door so to speak, without a qualification, then unemplyed for a few years.

I looked into re-doing the leaving cert etc and where to get some extra training and here's some options/advice I can give.

- Redoing the LC, I wouldnt bother with this unless you did really bad in the whole thing and you want to complete it for yourself (as in it has been a mental stumbling block for you or something along those lines). Otherwise there are easier routes into university. It didnt look very straightforward to me to re-do my leaving as I had done it and passed it. I think doing the LC as an adult is more for people that never did it.

- Do a fetac course that has a Maths module in it and try and get distinctions, this will allow you to gain access to Computer science courses via CAO (fetac entry). I did a fetac level 5, 2012-2013, but it was in something pretty much unrelated to a science degree and it didnt really count towards my enterance to UCD as I just got in via thier MSAP exam. There are IT based fetac courses that will directly help you gain enterence to a computer science degree course.

- I honestly found the best way to try to get up to speed is to read up on it yourself. Check out udacity and coursera and the likes (online universities), it is free and you can do it at your own pace. Im in the middle of a "college algebra" course on udacity and it starts from the beginning, like the VERY BEGINNING, so it should be doable for most people. I also got my hands on Junior cert and leaving cert books and will start looking over those.

- Some universities offer maths help for mature students, so I've heard, and I'm hoping UCD will offer some form of help/resources to improve my maths ontop of my self-study.

-Pay someone to give you lessons, I never really considered this, as funds are not available to me, but if you have some cash and dont mind spending it on your future, this is a good option. Im sure there are some students that would jump at the chance to make some extra cash.

Fetac is probably your best option, you can do a level 5 or 6 fetac course in an IT discipline. This will have some form of maths in it, so you will be learning that and also learning how to get into the world of acedemia again and it can help you directly in gaining access to a degree via CAO. It helped me a lot to do one, it gave me confidence and got me into the swing of studying, exams, projects etc after 10+ years being out of it.

Hope this is of some help to you, its just my experience with getting back into education.

Thanks a mill for taking time to write that, yeah im not in a rush to do get into the CS degree, will look at one of fetac courses as an intoduction and go from there.

Tom_Cruise wrote: »

I was in a similar position to you OP.

Maths was always something i struggled with - i think most people do to be honest.

I started by learning the basics again - addition, subtraction, basic algebra etc. Even though i knew the majority of this already i wanted to start fresh and have a good solid base to build upon.

There are many books, online tutorials, forums etc online that i found to be of great help - with an honorable mention to YouTube, i cant tell you how much that has helped me understand topics that teachers just cannot convey properly (well at least to me, anyway).

Going to have a look at the site quoted and get started on the basics, thanks for your help.

gline

Hope everything works out for you, it is daunting at the beginning, but once you start on the path it gets easier.

BinaryRyan

I going to Ucd this year for computer science and looked into the same [mature student] I know they have a module for people who didn't get X in the leaving cert-Introduction to Mathematics so other places may have a similar set-up and there's a good few cheapest books on computer maths and maths online to.

Pawblo Pugcasso

gline wrote: »

.- Some universities offer maths help for mature students, so I've heard, and I'm hoping UCD will offer some form of help/resources to improve my maths ontop of my self-study.

I'm a mature student and went back to do Commerce in UCD last September. Like Computer Science and Science, you need to have a grounding in Maths for the course.

Just before I started UCD contacted all the mature students who had a maths element in their course and asked them to come in for an optional refresher course. It was run by the Maths Support center, who are a free resource offering support for ANY maths or stats you do.

You can drop in anytime during the year to their office between certain hours. It's basically free maths grinds for any student who is struggling, not just mature students. I used them for a Data Analytics and Maths for Business course during the first Semester.