Higher Certificate in Science in Computer Systems Management-Tips&Info

I just finished this back in May as an evening course, a good 60% of it was really good and really useful and definitely assisted me in getting my last 3 jobs, the other 40% were pretty fluffy and pretty ****!
The classes that deal with IT like Operating systems and Networking were really good and to be honest the networking is something I reference every day, the modules are taken from CCNA and if you have that understanding it makes things a WHOLE lot easier in work so def pay attention when it comes to those classes! but the classes like interpersonal communications I found were quite bad and a waste of time but hey if they say you gotta do them you gotta do them so put in a minimum effort to pass it and never look at them again.

if you've no IT experience you may find it gets difficult quite fast
over half the class dropped out within the first year. if you have IT experience or even a good understanding of IT and you attend all of the classes and I mean a good 95-100% of classes then you should cruise by and pretty much have the year passed even before you sit down to take a Christmas/Summer exam

Generally the IT world is pretty easy to get into but you really need to start at the bottom of the ladder and trust me you'll have no choice in the matter, I'm talking about a call centre answering stupid peoples questions for 18-19 grand per year but you can move up quite quickly if your motivated and can play the game you can take jumps up the ladder every 9 months or so.

Plus the handy thing is that once you're in the IT game about 2 years then really you can walk into any job and won't have any issues job security is a huge benefit especially in this market however your salary for 2-3 years experience in roughly 30-40 grand depending on what your doing.

Any other questions let me know!

The Networking and java can get quite difficult quite fast, some people in the class will pick it up quite easily and some wont, your classmates should be able to help you out, we all got along really well and we all helped each other out! so I wouldn't worry about it to much,

In regards to getting a job afterwards, I wouldn't wait that long, start looking for a job ASAP, you'll more than likely find something for a junior IT administrator or call center type role, everyone it IT starts here, it gives you your base knowledge and you would be surprised how much you will learn in 3-6 months on the job, plus work and college will compliment each other.

College teaches you enough to blag your way into a job but its real world experience that will keep you moving upwards - just remember a majority of IT people don't really know that they're talking about, they're just more confident that they know a little more than everyone else and your colleagues and Google will help you out the rest of the way!

Anyone get the info from Aoife the other night emailed through yet for moodle?

Anybody has done or going to do this course (P/T Evening) @ ITB ?

085cheeky wrote: »

starting myself tomorrow. reg at 4-6pm and classes beginning at 6pm i believe

yep, same times for me too

085cheeky wrote: »

do we have to be there at 4pm or do we have to be there anytime between 4-6pm?

i would say you have to pick your student card up between 4-6pm then the class kick off at 6pm.... so no point to be there at 4....

I'm gonna be there around 5.30ish....

085cheeky wrote: »

what you think so far?

looks good to me, so far so good....

we have no class tonight, right?

What's the numbers like for the class this year? I'm in the 3rd year now (BN311) which is a continuation of BN026.
When I did it we started out with almost 40 people and were split into two groups. By the end of year two we were down to about 25 people.

If you guys have some questions about the course feel free to ask.

Oh, and who are your lecturers?

Never had Brendan, but Stephen is a great lecturer. His MCQ exams can be tricky though!

As for the difficulty, there is none that's very difficult and it really depends on the student. But the two modules that are quite loaded are Networks 1 in year 1 and Operating Systems 2 in year 2. If you had a Networks class already you'll know that you will do subnetting. But subnetting is a big part of networking 1 and 2. So get good at it and you'll have a good chunk of marks.

MCQ is multiple choice quiz.

Yes, some people chose to do only 2 years and some people have gotten IT jobs since finishing year 2. Of course the degree is better, but if you're planning on doing the 3rd year the results of the 2nd year don't carry over. 3rd year is it's own thing. Also, the results of the first year don't count for the 2nd year either. They're only for getting into year 2.

Past papers are available on the ITB intranet. First go to https://portal.itb.ie then log on with the username: campus\<studentid> and your password.
Then click "ITB's new intranet". Then at the bottom left there is a link to previous exam papers.

You'll probably notice if you look at all the past papers (particularly soft dev) there is many repeating questions or questions that are just slightly different.

I didn't buy any books at all. Didn't feel like I needed any to be honest.

I am thinking of doing this as well, is there anyone on here with advice, how they got on, how they found the different modules and working and doing this course part time, did it interfere with your life/work much?