Information Technology

exiot

Anyone here doing Information Technology? I have the Leaving Cert this year and Im just curious about the course..

I dont like French or Physics, would I like this subject as alot of it seems to be geared at languages/physics/maths...

Im good at computers, have taught myself many programming languages.. so any ideas?

apoch632

My advice is unless you are comfortable with honours maths at the leaving stay away as the non computer subjects (Algebra, Calculus,Statistics, Physics etc.) will be the bane of your life on this course. They have caused me to fail mjy second year exams while i passed my computer modules i failed descrete maths and statistics so i have to repeat second year. If you don't like french. You can start German,Spanish and Accounting as beginner subjects.(They assume you have no knowledge and take it from there)

Buffer

As well as the Language or Business options, there is a new option now called Next Generation Technologies, which involves a range of IT-related topics. Unfortunately for people already in 2nd year or higher, it has only been introduced for 1st year this year, and will be extended as the current group of students move into 2nd and 3rd year.

po0k

exiot wrote:

Anyone here doing Information Technology? I have the Leaving Cert this year and Im just curious about the course..

I dont like French or Physics, would I like this subject as alot of it seems to be geared at languages/physics/maths...

Im good at computers, have taught myself many programming languages.. so any ideas?

If you can't code or don't have a head for a bit of business and maths, stay away. And - aside from matriculation requirements - what you did in school has little bearing on what course you can pick. Of course, if you want to do a course of which some material is covered in the Leaving cert, then it'll probably be easier/more familiar for you.

ITs are mongrel students. Neither scientist, engineer nor business professional. Jack of a few trades, master of none.

BE Elec represent, bitches.


j/k

cuaifeadh

In order to avoid those pesky subjects like stats and a language, I did Arts and took IT as one of my subjects. If you're interested in expanding your knowledge beyond the coding area, this is a great way to go. Even if you end up in a pure techie job, the other subjects will stand to you.

redmosquito

The maths is absolutely killer, I was in first year last year but left after RAG week, fair enough I didnt always head to lectures (Made one programming lab out of 13 in the first semester and didnt go to either of the X-Mas tests in Maths) but the one thing I really struggled with was Maths, even my friends who were savage at maths struggled when I showed them what I had for doing.

Now im stuck in a dead end job not able to decide what to do with myself (But the partying while I was up there was worth it)!!

eoin_ie

SyxPak wrote:

ITs are mongrel students. Neither scientist, engineer nor business professional. Jack of a few trades, master of none.

Indeed. As a graduate of the IT course in Galway, the only thing I would say is that if your maths aren't great, then don't bother. I think the matriculation requirements include an A in pass maths this year because you'll be sharing maths with engineers who have (AFAIK) higher matriculation requirements. According to people I know in the IT department, there are 13 people in first IT this year so it's still not a popular course. It has undergone some changes since I left with the introduction of 4 streams which I can't remember offhand. I think one is AI and another is game programming. They have also started teaching Java in second year as opposed to third year.

If you want four years of battling with the department and lecturers to get stuff done, go for it. If you feel like not doing anything, don't bother because the course is harder than some would let on.

redmosquito

Only 13 students this year??
When I started last year I think it was around 55 or so students and by the time I left in March I think there were only about 25ish left, not a popular course.

eoin_ie

Well the points were something crazy, 205 or something, last year. That probably put people off it alright. We started with 103 and had 65 in final year.

Robbo

redmosquito wrote:

Only 13 students this year??
When I started last year I think it was around 55 or so students and by the time I left in March I think there were only about 25ish left, not a popular course.

When I started in 2000, there was 125 on the first day. Down to 70 at the end of the year and I think we finished in the low fifties.

That sorted the men from the boys who let there domineering mammies fill out their CAO forms.

apoch632

I've been talking to a few of the class reps for the years and i heard that they have changed the minimum requirements to honours maths which would account for the HUGE drop in numbers

eoin_ie

According to the latest NUIG prospectus, under additional requirements:

OA2 or HC3 in Mathematics or,
alternatively, a pass in a special
Mathematics entrance
examination approved by the
Faculty of Engineering will be
acceptable

apoch632

Still higher than when i got in. I think it was a B3 or higher on ordinary level

noLoner

Unless your class at honours maths at LCert, I mean A1 class or if you like applied maths :eek:

I did IT in 2003/2004, all was good except Maths, it was just a killer harder than anything I had ever done.

Now researching doing a course in GMIT, just wondering how much it's gonna cost me to do GA442, any1 do a year in NUIG and leave to do a course in an IT? If so whats it gonna cost me? :mad:

toiletduck

noLoner wrote:

Unless your class at honours maths at LCert, I mean A1 class or if you like applied maths :eek:

applied maths ruled.... as for the op do elec eng or if you're really into programming do elec&computer eng

full forward

I did a computing sciece degree in Griffith College Dublin. Within 3 years of graduating I was earning €85,000 a year plus vat as an Oracle contractor. nuff said.

toiletduck

full forward wrote:

I did a computing sciece degree in Griffith College Dublin. Within 3 years of graduating I was earning €85,000 a year plus vat as an Oracle contractor. nuff said.

good for you, but the OP is asking about IT in NUIG......

Ice_Box

toiletduck wrote:

good for you, but the OP is asking about IT in NUIG......

You're missing the point of his post. I think he means that a little bit of hard work is worth the big reward. I agree totally with him as Im an Oracle DBA. Maths was very tough in College but worth it. Almost 50 people started first year with me but only 11 of us entered second year. For me 1st year was the most difficult.

dubhthach

apoch632 wrote:

I've been talking to a few of the class reps for the years and i heard that they have changed the minimum requirements to honours maths which would account for the HUGE drop in numbers

Awh so they have reverted it back to how in 1998 which was the last year that minimum requirement was a HC3 in maths.

The main problem with the course is they are under agreement to provide 100places every year. This was one of the requirements to receive the funding for the IT building. The agreement dates back to about 98 (they started the building when i entered 1st year in 99) and times have sure changed when it comes to people applying for computer courses on their CAO. Up until then the course had been running at 440 points each year (though it did go to 445 once or twice - in 97 i think)