Higher Diploma in Applied Computing Technology

frogstomper

doovdela wrote: »

Start as soon as you start hdip. I came into the course the worst possible time for jobs 2009 was impossible to get an interview for few months till after i finished course. Took another 8 months before anything started to happen as in offers of interviews. 2010, 2011 before jobs started to pick up but more competitive now from 2012, 2013. Get learning the codes before getting in depth in course. If you can at all get some I.T experience before or doing course i was lucky i had that before course but not enough to land a job since so need to keep up to date and fill gap on cv by other means!

Thanks, I've been in a testing role in the company I'm in now for 3 and a half years but its mostly front end stuff and not particularly good for really getting the IT skills I'd like to have. I'm hoping that will be helpful for trying to get interviews too.

Ardennes1944

frogstomper wrote: »

What kind of jobs did they get from it? I dont think I'll be heading on to the Masters stage of things to be honest - money wont allow it for me so will be looking at going straight into a job once I finish

Thanks Doovdela.

About 3/4 got actual junior programming jobs and another 2 got IT support, another handful have gone back to education like me and some are still trying I guess.

starlit

One distinctive thing was that i got a lot more job opportunities and more interviews after hdip compared to after my degree and I.T job people are shocked by that but cant understand my struggle. So do freelance and online courses brudh up on things. Been all unpaid, uk, city and local/county nd speculative cvs iv sent as specific jobs i go for are scarce. Stopped applying to grad programmes not much luck.

Congrats by the way ye have a heads up anyway!

starlit

One distinctive thing was that i got a lot more job opportunities and more interviews after hdip compared to after my degree and I.T job people are shocked by that but cant understand my struggle. So do freelance and online courses brush up on things. Been all unpaid, uk, city and local/county nd speculative cvs iv sent as specific jobs i go for are scarce. Stopped applying to grad programmes not much luck.

Congrats by the way ye have a heads up anyway!

Ardennes1944

one question from me actually doovdela, when did ye get your diploma?

starlit

The end of 2010.

Ardennes1944

So ill be waiting another few months?

starlit

Ya i got mine few weeks before Christmas.

Whizzgirl

Hi All,

I have been offered a place on the UCC Higher Diploma in Applied Computing Technology 2013/2014. I plan to do this course part-time over two years. Just wondering what sort of work load is involved in the course (ie how many hours outside lectures are required to carry out assignments etc?) - as I will be working also.

All advice on the course would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Ardennes1944

how many hours will you be working? i really recommend you doing it full time for 1 year, 2 of my friends were working and did it part time and actually dropped out after a while and are doing it full time this year.

starlit

Whizz girl, I did it full time most of my classmates did it full time and in the first year of the course many of those that did it part time either dropped out due to other things such as work or didn't go back to do it the 2nd year many of them didn't. I know of which did it part time originally but decided to do it full time it worked out better for them in the end as they still attended the classes they weren't meant to be in they were killing time with the timetable it suited them better to do the course full time they had the time to do it. They went off to do a masters afterwards.

Though I know of them did the course full time and worked their working hours around it but they did give up the job towards the end of the course but went for another job instead after. They still in same field of work they studied originally but in the IT industry.

Is it a full time or part time job you going for? I would still recommend you do the course full time and still possible to hold down a job as well for the first term anyway in the second term its up to you.

The assignments really only get hectic in the second term but I think if you plan ahead and manage your time you get everything done. The first term be fine the second term you might need to reduce working hours but to be honest its only when the assignments come close together you might need that extra bit of time.
I say let your employers know of your circumstances with the course but I think you will give up on the course if you do it part time you best to do so full time you get more out of it!

Whizzgirl

Thanks for your reply.

If I was to do the course full-time, I would need to work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoon and a full day on Friday. Would it be possible to do the course without doing the afternoon labs? Thanks

starlit

There are a few subjects that require you to go to the labs that might count towards attendance a few lecturers take note of it.

What I can remember you need to be in the internet computing 1st term and 2nd term java and web technology 2 labs anyway they mainly in mid week. You could skip the others alright but for the multimedia might be hard to catch up on the lab work without being there. Be sure to nominate someone to keep notes/handouts for you. Most lectures are in the morning and finish early in the afternoon in the 1st term some might go on till 3, 4 or 5 no later. You might have the odd extra class during lunch hour but other than that some classes finish at 1ish. The 2nd term mostly early morning starts, some late afternoon starts. Though the timetable can change! Its up to the lecturers and labs/rooms free.

To be honest you don't even need to turn up on a friday except the first few weeks. By 2nd term no class on a friday. My guess you be bycotting a few classes anyway! :P

If you managed to go to half of the lab classes maybe??

Whizzgirl

Thanks. It sounds like part time is my only option because I have to keep to the same work pattern for the year. So I would choose to take Monday and Wednesday morning off for the year.

doovdela wrote: »

There are a few subjects that require you to go to the labs that might count towards attendance a few lecturers take note of it.

What I can remember you need to be in the internet computing 1st term and 2nd term java and web technology 2 labs anyway they mainly in mid week. You could skip the others alright but for the multimedia might be hard to catch up on the lab work without being there. Be sure to nominate someone to keep notes/handouts for you. Most lectures are in the morning and finish early in the afternoon in the 1st term some might go on till 3, 4 or 5 no later. You might have the odd extra class during lunch hour but other than that some classes finish at 1ish. The 2nd term mostly early morning starts, some late afternoon starts. Though the timetable can change! Its up to the lecturers and labs/rooms free.

To be honest you don't even need to turn up on a friday except the first few weeks. By 2nd term no class on a friday. My guess you be bycotting a few classes anyway! :P

If you managed to go to half of the lab classes maybe??

starlit

The timetable for part timers is a bit all over the place to be honest that why a lot of the part timers came into full timers classes not just ones set for them but its entirely up to you if it meant keeping your job going then doing the course part time is the best option.

There is a link to the timetable for the part timers if you want to have a look the full timers get email/or hand out from the department of computer science.

starlit

1st Term http://timetable.ucc.ie/1314/showtimetable.asp

2nd Term http://timetable.ucc.ie/1314/showtimetable.asp

Whizzgirl

Thanks for info. I might get back to course director before I make a final decision.

doovdela wrote: »

The timetable for part timers is a bit all over the place to be honest that why a lot of the part timers came into full timers classes not just ones set for them but its entirely up to you if it meant keeping your job going then doing the course part time is the best option.

There is a link to the timetable for the part timers if you want to have a look the full timers get email/or hand out from the department of computer science.

Whizzgirl

Thanks to everyone for advice. I have decided not to go for course after all. Just not possible to fit the part time option in with my job. Given the current economic climate I am going to hold on to the one I have.

magic17 wrote: »

I'd definitely recommend the course if you're interested in going into this area and have no prior experience. There are nine modules on the course which are nicely split between term one and two if you're going full time so the workload isn't too bad once you stay on top of things. Term two is definitely the tougher as you do PHP and JAVA along with two poorly thought modules which provide more work than they should. Six of the modules are thought to a good standard, especially the more important topics such as HTML, CSS, PHP and JAVA. In those six you learn a lot of new stuff which is extremely useful. For example by the end of the course you should easily be able to design your own website using the stuff you learned. The JAVA course covers the basics really well and probably takes you up to an intermediate standard if you put in the work. I wasn't a huge fan of the way this was thought, it wasn't as practical as it should have been. The PHP in particular was brilliantly thought because everything was explained and then we had a chance to try it ourselves.

There's only one downside to the course that I could see. Unfortunately, three modules are thought to a terrible standard by the same person - the worst I've ever come across - but they are manageable if you put in the work yourself. Not only is it thought to a bad standard but the modules come across as filler type subjects and I can honestly say I learned absolutely nothing from two of the three modules and I passed both quite comfortably in the end.

BOCall

doovdela wrote: »

No problem. I'll PM you the book details. I say the numbers applying for the course should be grand. It was a reasonable number at first when I applied but the numbers increased as the course went on. So it should be a popular course choice for people like you who are interested in the course.

Best of luck with it!

Would it be possible to get book list too as starting next couple of weeks and would like to get organised.

starlit

BOCall wrote: »

Would it be possible to get book list too as starting next couple of weeks and would like to get organised.

No probs I pm it too you when I get a chance. Anyone else need list? It's a long one!

Corkfeen

doovdela wrote: »

No probs I pm it too you when I get a chance. Anyone else need list? It's a long one!

If appreciate it too.

BOCall

doovdela wrote: »

No probs I pm it too you when I get a chance. Anyone else need list? It's a long one!

Thanks very much doovdela.

frogstomper

doovdela wrote: »

No probs I pm it too you when I get a chance. Anyone else need list? It's a long one!

Could I get the book list too please?

purplexmas

Could I get the book list too please if it's not too much of a hassle???

purplexmas

doovdela wrote: »

No probs I pm it too you when I get a chance. Anyone else need list? It's a long one!

Could I get the list too please???

Corkfeen

Forwarded it on to you.

BOCall

Purplexmas are you starting next week too. Will see you there :-)

purplexmas

BOCall wrote: »

Purplexmas are you starting next week too. Will see you there :-)

Yea really looking forward to it!:)

Manach

Best of luck - it was a grand course and is respectable to build a career on.
One tip, if any projects - own them. In that these tend to be asked about in interviews, somewhat from a specific tech point but moreover as a means of showing that the person is a team player.

Transposition

Anyone on here complete the HDip while holding down a job? I'm thinking of applying full-time while working three days a week (with the possibility of switching one of my days to a Sat in the second term).

I'll have (hopefully) earned a distance learning comp sci diploma by the time the UCC HDip starts, so will have a decent enough grounding in most areas covered by the HDip. The distance learning diploma I'm doing wouldn't be as recognized (or quite as comprehensive) as this UCC HDip, it was mostly for myself, to test the water.