Need advice on Computer Science course's

Picasso711

Hi,

If all goes well this year I will be studying CS in ITT or CSSE in NUI Maynooth. I am trying to decide what course better suits me. I have some programming experience in Java and have an Oracle SE 7 Cert, so I am not a complete noob.

I really like both college's for different reasons but my main motivation is to pick one that will give me the most benefit with my programming. I would love to be a master of programming.

I have read on old post's that NUIM graduates and not all that comfortable programmers, again this is all I read and I hope its wrong. I have read some negative things about ITT on other posts. Could someone please shed some light on what they think from their experience would be the best place to leave a well able, confident programmer. Again I understand its all opinion but would really appreciate any advice...

theGavin

You will only be as good as a programmer as someone who puts the time into programming. Period. College cannot make you a good programmer. That's not to say that a good lecturer can't help you with programming, or explain complex problems to you in a way that you can understand, but that you need to invest your free time into programming.

I.T.T. is a great place to increase your knowledge of programming. We have a great relationship with IBM, 4-6 fourth year students get to work with them every year, and every year IBM hire graduates.

But to reiterate : Program in your free time. Not just weekends, but all week.

Good luck in your decision.

Picasso711

theGavin wrote: »

You will only be as good as a programmer as someone who puts the time into programming. Period. College cannot make you a good programmer. That's not to say that a good lecturer can't help you with programming, or explain complex problems to you in a way that you can understand, but that you need to invest your free time into programming.

I.T.T. is a great place to increase your knowledge of programming. We have a great relationship with IBM, 4-6 fourth year students get to work with them every year, and every year IBM hire graduates.

But to reiterate : Program in your free time. Not just weekends, but all week.

Good luck in your decision.

Thanks mate I appreciate the the advice. Very well said I have to say and I agree with you but if you are in a full time course and your week is taken up with other modules and their CA's.. Can take away a lot of your valuable time that could be spent coding.

And don't get me wrong either I understand Maths is going to be a big part of life now and other CS related modules.I just want to make sure I am getting the most out of the course programming wise as I know I will be giving it my all.

I have read some of your other posts on boards and have to say I found them very interesting and informative. So again really appreciate your advice and if you find you have some more especially on this post please do let me know and anyone else out there please let me know.!!

theGavin

Picasso711 wrote: »

Thanks mate I appreciate the the advice. Very well said I have to say and I agree with you but if you are in a full time course and your week is taken up with other modules and their CA's.. Can take away a lot of your valuable time that could be spent coding.

Yes it can, which is why you have to see it as more as hobby than a chore.

Also, that's not to say that you don't do a lot of programming during class. On average you will have at least 1 or 2 labs a day in first year, solely for software development. That number changes from year to year (some years you may only have three labs a week), but that's because every year after 1st year you will be working fulltime on a software project, which takes up a considerate amount of your time.

And don't get me wrong either I understand Maths is going to be a big part of life now and other CS related modules.I just want to make sure I am getting the most out of the course programming wise as I know I will be giving it my all.

There is a bit of maths, but only one per semester. Around 3rd and 4th year it will stop being maths and become theory behind algorithms, speeds of algorithms, O notation, stuff like that. If maths isn't your strong suit (wasn't mine), don't worry, the maths lecturers in ITT are amazing. They are always happy to answer a question via email or face to face, and the college sets up after hours maths lessons if you need it.

I have read some of your other posts on boards and have to say I found them very interesting and informative. So again really appreciate your advice and if you find you have some more especially on this post please do let me know and anyone else out there please let me know.!!

The only advice I have is:

• Set up a GitHub account, put up all your solutions to labs there. Also your projects
• Get used to Microsoft OneNote. Install it on your laptop and make sure it is on during every class, or when you need to take notes. It's such a handy tool
• Join a group fairly early on, especially with a group of people who seem to know what they're on about. You need to rely on people for CA's and reports and it pays to be friends with people who are at the same capacity as you and who can put the work in
• Start using source control early on. Trust me.
• Learn C++ during the second year summery holidays.
• Try the Euler problems to strengthen your programming skills
• You mentioned you are familiar with Oracle. This will benefit you greatly in second year during the projects.

Picasso711

theGavin wrote: »

The only advice I have is:

• Set up a GitHub account, put up all your solutions to labs there. Also your projects
• Get used to Microsoft OneNote. Install it on your laptop and make sure it is on during every class, or when you need to take notes. It's such a handy tool
• Join a group fairly early on, especially with a group of people who seem to know what they're on about. You need to rely on people for CA's and reports and it pays to be friends with people who are at the same capacity as you and who can put the work in
• Start using source control early on. Trust me.
• Learn C++ during the second year summery holidays.
• Try the Euler problems to strengthen your programming skills
• You mentioned you are familiar with Oracle. This will benefit you greatly in second year during the projects.

That is really solid advice mate and I really do appreciate it. I will definitely start getting familiar with this list.

Is there much done on Android Dev in this course?

theGavin

Picasso711 wrote: »

That is really solid advice mate and I really do appreciate it. I will definitely start getting familiar with this list.

Is there much done on Android Dev in this course?

I actually just finished the Android class there a couple of weeks ago. It was just a semester. Honestly though, after a few months with Java you should be able to program for Android no problem.

In saying that though, the college might start doing more mobile classes. Last year, in 3rd year, we have a mobile dev class, and we have to develop a multi platform website / app within a month. Was pretty interesting actually.

If you're looking to get into Android development then start by making a small calculator, then a converter, then move into small games, so like a pong clone, or a breakout clone.

Oh also, IDE's : The college has NetBeans and Eclipse installed, but for the first semester you will be using Dr.Java, and then after that a fully fledged IDE. I recommend getting familiar with an IDE (preferably Eclipse, simply because the examples the lecturers do are done in that IDE).

For C++ it's Visual Studio (2012 at the moment), and Android development it's Eclipse again (but Android Studio is there too).

Picasso711

theGavin wrote: »

Last year, in 3rd year, we have a mobile dev class, and we have to develop a multi platform website / app within a month. Was pretty interesting actually.

That sounds really interesting alright. Really looking forward to getting involved projects like this.

theGavin wrote: »

Oh also, IDE's : The college has NetBeans and Eclipse installed, but for the first semester you will be using Dr.Java, and then after that a fully fledged IDE. I recommend getting familiar with an IDE (preferably Eclipse, simply because the examples the lecturers do are done in that IDE).

For C++ it's Visual Studio (2012 at the moment), and Android development it's Eclipse again (but Android Studio is there too).

I have a little bit of experience with C++ from a part time course and have used VS 2012. I have both Netbeans and Eclipse, in my java course we just used Netbeans. I have just used Eclipse in my own time. But I would probably prefer Eclipse and not having to add a jar to access your own classes is pretty cool.

I had got another Eclipse with an SDK download but errors kept appearing in my project and believe it or not only last night flicking through new tutorials I found Android Studio and I have to say in the little time I have used it <Very Little> I really enjoyed.

So are you in 4th year now ? Did you go on a work placement module ?

theGavin

Picasso711 wrote: »

So are you in 4th year now ? Did you go on a work placement module ?

Yup, doing my last exams now.

Nope, ITT don't do work placement for computing students (for IT students there is though). I was part of the IBM projects this year though, which is like work placement. I got to develop from the ground up a new piece of software for IBM. The whole experience was great and I totally recommend applying for it in fourth year, if you choose ITT.

Picasso711

theGavin wrote: »

Yup, doing my last exams now.

Nope, ITT don't do work placement for computing students (for IT students there is though). I was part of the IBM projects this year though, which is like work placement. I got to develop from the ground up a new piece of software for IBM. The whole experience was great and I totally recommend applying for it in fourth year, if you choose ITT.

Best of Luck mate I hope you do really well in your exams.. do you have many exams to do ? How much percentage wise from the exam goes off your entire grade for a single class?

That project sounds really interesting I will definitely be looking to get involved in that.

theGavin

Picasso711 wrote: »

Best of Luck mate I hope you do really well in your exams.. do you have many exams to do ? How much percentage wise from the exam goes off your entire grade for a single class?

That project sounds really interesting I will definitely be looking to get involved in that.

You get around 4 exams per semester.

It varies, usually it's 60% 40%, and that can either be for exam or CA, depends on the subject.

Picasso711

theGavin wrote: »

You get around 4 exams per semester.

It varies, usually it's 60% 40%, and that can either be for exam or CA, depends on the subject.

Thats sounds resonable. Cheers again theGavin, you have be very helpful, look forward to chatting again.. best of luck in your exams