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Considering a Masters in Computers.

  • 01-11-2012 7:39pm
    #1
    Sparky1972
    Registered Users Posts: 40 ✭


    Hi All,

    In 2013, I am considering taking a year out of work and return to college to take a masters in Computers. I graduated with a Beng (Electronics) in 1994 and will be in my 40th year in 2013.
    I have always worked in Hardware and Project type roles and now feel I need a new direction and am considering moving into the IT world . In order to faciliate this - I definitely need to upskill and complete a type of conversion course. I can see there are many conversion courses on offer for the Computer/IT world and there are lots of opportunities in the Dublin area.
    My concermns are:
    1) Am I too old at 40 to be taking a out and completing the Masters to move in this driection.
    2) Will I be competitive in the market place haveing finished the course taking into account my previosu experience.
    3) What kind of financioal assistance am I entitled to, if any, during the period of study.
    I would like to hear your advice on the above 3 questions or any other general advice if you can provide.
    Thanks,


Comments

  • #2
    danthefan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,770 ✭✭✭danthefan


    On points 1 and 2:

    I will admit I'm a bit younger than you but I don't think your age is a barrier. You hear/read/see all the time about people taking up a new skill. If it's something you want to do then go for it and don't worry about your age.

    On the 2nd point, there are apparently a lot of jobs in IT available, while I'm not in IT I was discussing this with a friend recently who did CS. I was saying I was considering going back doing a conversion course and he reckons that basically you've a very very good chance of a job at the end of it. I know he had a ton of interviews and got a couple of job offers.

    On the third point:

    If you give up your job I'm really not sure what assistance you'd be entitled to. If you're made redundant or unemployed for X amount of time I think you can get back to education allowance, but if you just decide to try something else I'm not sure.


  • #3
    djpbarry
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,104 ✭✭✭✭djpbarry


    Sparky1972 wrote: »
    In 2013, I am considering taking a year out of work and return to college to take a masters in Computers.
    What do you mean by a masters in "computers"? That's a very broad area!


  • #4
    Sparky1972
    Registered Users Posts: 40 ✭Sparky1972


    I was considering this conversion course from UCD:

    http://www.csi.ucd.ie/content/msc-computer-science-conversion

    Any Thoughts on employment prospects after!


  • #5
    djpbarry
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,104 ✭✭✭✭djpbarry


    Sparky1972 wrote: »
    I was considering this conversion course from UCD:

    http://www.csi.ucd.ie/content/msc-computer-science-conversion

    Any Thoughts on employment prospects after!
    It depends on what you want to do, but this course is really just going to provide you with a foundation in computer science. Without any experience, I think you’re likely to find anything beyond entry-level positions out of reach.


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