Anyone Doing the Software Design and Development (HDip AppSc) Conversion Program?

Thargor

Do any of the IT people have any opinions on conversion courses like this and their worth? Salaries, employment opportunities etc. Would I be able to get into app development if I did this? Do companies disregard this kind of qualification?

http://www.nuigalway.ie/courses/taught-postgraduate-courses/softwaredesignanddevelopmenthdipappsc-industrystream/

I have previous Biotech and Pharmaceutical degrees but I hate my current career, been at it 5 years now, its just a boring office job no matter what you do, Id rather be doing something that interests me if Im going to be stuck in an office. I'm 30 if that makes any difference...

wmirl

I'm currently in the industry stream version of this course, and I know a good few who did it the previous year as well. Jobs-wise, you're guaranteed one at the end of the course. The course includes 12 weeks internship with a partner company, and a high proportion is kept on with them. Others that have gone looking for jobs have found it easy enough to get work. Can't say that companies look down on the conversion course, since you'll also have your primary degree in addition to IT, which provides a better mix for them.

App development, it might give you a basis to start on if you haven't previously done coding, but the course itself doesn't cater for it. You learn Java first semester and either more Java or C#/.NET in second semester, which would make it easier to break into Android development.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Thargor

Thanks a million Wmirl, what do you think of it the course? A couple of other questions if you dont mind:

-Are you learning in the lectures or just being told what to go learn yourself?

-Is it a difficult course?

-What are the age groups of the people doing it like and are they from totally different areas like Pharmaceuticals/Biotech?

-Will you consider yourself to be a fully qualified "IT guy" or software developer at the end of it even though its only one year?

wmirl

Thargor wrote: »

Thanks a million Wmirl, what do you think of it the course? A couple of other questions if you dont mind:

-Are you learning in the lectures or just being told what to go learn yourself?

-Is it a difficult course?

-What are the age groups of the people doing it like and are they from totally different areas like Pharmaceuticals/Biotech?

-Will you consider yourself to be a fully qualified "IT guy" or software developer at the end of it even though its only one year?

I find the course a bit of a mixed bag, but that's more where my interests lie. I enjoy the programming/algorithmic side of it, but there's more to IT than that. Software engineering is a big part of the industry, topics like Agile development come up a bit. I found that side of it incredibly boring, but it does suit some people.

Learning: some modules, you're expected to go further in your own time. The course is only 1 year long so they don't have time to drip feed you everything in lectures. The lecturers will give you the bones in the lectures, but you'll have to flesh it out yourself to understand it fully.

First semester can be tough if you don't have much experience with coding, as there's weekly assignments and quizzes to be done. There are support facilities available such as DISC where you can get help from other postgrads in the IT department.
Second semester is currently a fair bit of work, even though there's less modules. A project needs to be completed this semester, which should incorporate some technologies that your partner company wants you to learn.

Most of the people are in their 20s/30s, so you won't be out of place. Even during my undergrad, a fair chunk of my friends were in their 30s/40s, and we got on great. Of course it depends on the other people in the course, but generally, postgrad courses don't tend to have that age divide.
We all came from fairly different backgrounds, like languages, maths, psychology to name a few. I don't know if anyone came from biotech, but there's a regular stream of the course, I'd say a few would have come from that area.

I wouldn't have as much knowledge as someone who did IT for their undergrad. The course is mainly designed to get your foot in the door of IT, but it does provide a nice base for companies to work on, as they've got some input to what is learned in the course, and thus they don't have to spend as much training you up.
The course gives you a nice foundation for the mindset that is needed for software development, but ultimately, working in the industry will build upon that much more than a university can.

Thargor

Thats brilliant thanks for taking the time.

wmirl

You can also send the course director an email for any more info, it's listed on the page you linked in the OP. Sure, he'll give ya the aul spiel about the course being great, but he's very down to earth and approachable.