what are the best computer courses to do at the moment

robert18

hello i am a dell worker who is trying to go in to full time education and was wondering which computer course is the best one , i have worked in dell for 14 years the last 7 in fixing the computers ( mainly hardware with a small knowledge of software ) ,so is there anyone there that can point me in the direction off a course that might suit me and also that has a future thanks .

Falcon.ie

What's your area's of interest in Computers? Programming/design/etc?

robert18

that is the problem i work with them all day mostly hardware and a bit of software and mess a bit at home downloading and such , but as regards to courses i actually don't know what they consist of , i mean with some there is a strong link with maths which i was ok with at school but not strong , i suppose i am asking which of the computer courses that are there at the moment are maths orientated and which are not , also which ones have a future .thanks

Falcon.ie

robert18 wrote: »

that is the problem i work with them all day mostly hardware and a bit of software and mess a bit at home downloading and such , but as regards to courses i actually don't know what they consist of , i mean with some there is a strong link with maths which i was ok with at school but not strong , i suppose i am asking which of the computer courses that are there at the moment are maths orientated and which are not , also which ones have a future .thanks

I'm doing Internet Systems development Year 2 which is a mix from the the Programming course/Multimedia and some Web design thrown in for good measure. We had Fundamental maths(Basic Leaving Cert stuff for the majority) in 1st year but that ended after the year. Means I'll never be doing maths again(hopefully). I was similar, decent at maths but not the best. I think its got a decent future for me, since my interest lies mainly in Web Design. Although a word of warning, theres alot of Programming involved from the get go. Be certain what you want to do before you commit.

robert18

thanks falcon i saw that course and was interested in it , i suppose i am just a bit frightened at the prospect of going back ,i am 34 now and cannot remember anything from leaving maths and such , can you tell me is the programming hard to pick up ,i mean i have never done any before so don't know what it consists off thanks .

NMG37

robert18 wrote: »

thanks falcon i saw that course and was interested in it , i suppose i am just a bit frightened at the prospect of going back ,i am 34 now and cannot remember anything from leaving maths and such , can you tell me is the programming hard to pick up ,i mean i have never done any before so don't know what it consists off thanks .[/QUOTE

I am also leaving Dell in May and like you I am hoping to go back to full time education. Have you been able to find any info on what grants are available for mature students?

MonsieurD

Just a heads up that LIT are planning to set up information stands on Jan 28/29/30 and Feb 2nd in Dell (EMF1 and 3 - I think). Hope they will give you all the info that you need.

robert18

thanks mon knew that ,anyway already applied for 4 courses through cao so see how that goes thanks.

sleezyandy

A lot of the courses in computers in LIT are going out of date coursework and course content wise Im a third year doing software engineering the first 2 years were computer programming. It tends too be very difficult for people i had about 50 in my course the start on 1st year and its now down to 12. If you have never tried out programming before java as an example you really need too look into it before making any rash decisions because it can be very hard too understand. Also there is a lot of contact hours when compared too other subjects i thing in first year i had about 25 and i have 28 now and thats not including the assignments and the project which take up at least another 10 + hours weekly

Hopefully i helped you out a little bit

robert18

thanks sleezyandy the 4 courses that i have appled for are 1) computer newtworks and systems 2)software development 3)multimedia programming and design 4)internet systems development . now i was told by the it person in lit that because of my back round i should try the network course as it may be suited to me ,are the other courses all maths based .

sleezyandy

Well in first and second year you will do maths and networks is highly math based ive had it as a subject for 3 years now and it tends too be tough.you will be working a lot with binary numbers also calculating frequencies which you will need too have knowledge of sin cos and tan and all that rubbish so there is a lot of maths in it unfortunately.Maths are a very important part of networking too understand how the things work. But you will need a fair knowledge of maths in every one of the IT subjects

Another tip for you is if you havent done the ECDL yet i highly recommend you do it because one of your subjects is basically that and if you have a cert showing you completed it you wont have too do that class or its practicals!!

Out of all the computer courses up there i think that web design is probably one of the more interesting ones.But networks if you like it wont be too bad

But if you have any questions about lit or anything at all feel free too ask

Barrypr

I did the computer programming and business info systems in LIT. Did not really like either course(thats not to say you wont, Java and IBM AS400 programming, not much call for AS400 programming now, maybe thats changed.

For the Maths you would get through fine, in my opinion was not very hard.

I see you have networking down, dont forget you could go and do something like: A+ IT Tech( if you dont have it already, I did this course with a few Dell people) from there do Network+ and then Cisco CCNA Or Microsoft engineering/admin which ever you decide.

I wish I had done this in the first place, you could get the courses above in around 1.5 years along with staying in work full time.

If you chose this route by the time you have a 4 year degree done in college.. you could be a quailifed network engineer with a few years experience, just something to keep in mind.

But like I said this option was better for me, something to keep in mind

robert18

i have the a+ done already a couple of years ago , was ok with it done the tests in about 10 minutes so i suppose i have a start with it , its just the maths i am worried about have not done any since leaving cert , i done ordinary maths and passed it but never really studied it so don't if it was laziness or just not been able to do it .

Barrypr

Well the Maths in the programming I did was fine, I also did pass Maths, with any bit of study id say you would get through it, I was also like you about the Maths when I started the course, I thought there would be a lot more of it involved but there wasn't.

OwenM

I took VSP and left Dell in Nov 2007, I was already studying computer programming in LIT part time and am now in 3rd year full time.

If maths is your biggest fear then be aware all computer science degrees have maths or related subjects. My course had no maths in third year but we are doing data structures and algorithims which is arguably an obtuse form of maths and it is driving me around the bend but I will get through it.

The maths level in 2nd year is, in part, at leaving cert honours 'old syllabus' level but only touches certain topics, other maths topics cover for example the theory of queueing and if you can do ratios you can do this.

Don't make the mistake of doing a business computing degree if you want to get into a career in coding or as a network engineer, their is a big difference between a Joe Bloggs BSc and Joe Bloggs BBs.

yupyup7up

wel lad. im just after finishing the software development course. Its a bit hit and miss for whether you like it or not. Most of my classmates don't like it but I personnally found it very good and I'm fully confident going into my job. If you want to get into software, then this is for you. Programming is very logical so all you really need is a bit of common sense and to be OK at maths... The computer networks and system management course would be better suited to you if your handy with hardware... Lot of money in software after a few years though...:D