hdip Computing Kevin St Dit DT265

sky19

Greetings,
Alot of us are a bit confused by this course. At the moment alot of us are having issues getting placements after doing about two and half semesters in our respective disciplines in either Software Development,Databases or Games. The IT specialisation is in tallaght IT. Infact i know of very few if any that got a paid placement, it seems if you are not eligable for job bridge then you are at a disadvantage. But job bridge should only be used by graduates for full advantage and i think that the placement process for this course should be used to enhance our training in our respective disciplines such s/w,databases etc. Infact i think personally if there is or was at this stage any substance in doing a specialisation unless one can build on it through a placement and maybe use job bridge to build on that further. I feel this should have been pointed out to us.
We were told there were alot of vacancies in ICT but we are unsure what this means. We were told if you can code, you will get work, the vast majority of the software class can program and yet no one wants to offer a placement in software to enhance our knowledge. Our programming was in .Net/c# and lua/corona.There are the same issues in the Databases stream. There seesm to be some vacancies in IT, however doing six to seven months in s/w or data puts some at a disadvantage.
And of course one has to switch off from doing that specialisation for the last few months and leave it to do something else entirely. It seems we will have to go looking for work directly. I believe this course is been run again in march although i am unsure if a internship is advertised with it.
There is a general feeling that industry does not rate us or this course highly at the moment unless they are waiting for our projects to finish or they simply only four computing graduates?
On the positive side we have luarned alot and i ma gratful for but where it will take is uncertain at the moment for some plus there is nagging thought was it worth it. Well thats its for today.

sarahc1

Hi,

just wondering whether you have managed to secure a work placement for this course yet? I'm thinking of starting this course this year and one of the main attractions was the work placement, as most other conversion courses don't have it.

Would you recommend the course overall?

Thanks

kelleya1

wrote:

Hi,

Just wondering did you manage to find out anything else about this course? Hoping to start it next week but not much information to be found!

thanks

sarahc1

Hi,

no I wasn't able to get more information. Have you started the course today?

kelleya1

Hiya, yeah I was there today Where u?

sky19

sarahc1 wrote: »

Hi,

just wondering whether you have managed to secure a work placement for this course yet? I'm thinking of starting this course this year and one of the main attractions was the work placement, as most other conversion courses don't have it.

Would you recommend the course overall?

Thanks

In fairness the course is ok but tough as it is a conversion course so the first semester has alot in it. You will luarn if you grasp the basics. It does help if you have done some IT or programming before hand. Unsure of internships in general. About 44 started the course, 40 finished sem 1, about 26/27 finished sem2. I do not know how many decided to take extra lectures for sem3 or leave after that to maybe take a job.I think must people got their own internships and how good these are or if they are luarning much within their specialisation as such; i am unsure. As i mentioned i am unsure of the job profile for graduates of this course in general?

Also as a edit to my original post :

"There is a general feeling that industry does not rate us or this course highly at the moment unless they are waiting for our projects to finish or they simply only four computing graduates?"

i meant :
There is a general feeling that industry does not rate us or this course highly at the moment unless they are waiting for our projects to finish or they simply only want computing graduates of a four year degree which is understandable?

The Duke of Moral Hazard

I was hoping that former students could provide some insights into the second semester and their time on work placement, how did your specialization modules go?

Cheers.

Blondie2010

Hi All,
I've applied for this course starting spring 2015. I'm hoping to get seem feedback on how previous graduates are getting on and if you could advise whether or not to do this course.
I have experience in business analysis type roles and am looking to gain a qualification which will be relevant to my experience and help me gain business analysis roles in the future. Do you think the data analysis section of this course would benefit me? I'm interested in all areas of IT but would want to specialise in this area.
What was the work experience like and were you able to gain meaningful employment after?
As this is a springboard course were there any financial supports available to those who had started the course who were previously signing on?
Thanks in advance for your help :-)

The Duke of Moral Hazard

Hi Blondie,

This is a good course. A lot is packed in in semester one. Be prepared to be totally dedicated and committed from the start. Follow closely the marking criteria for assignments.

I took the data analytics steam. The Core module in analytics was great, lot's of theory and and practicals. Give yourself a head start by getting onto Code School, Code Academy and Coursera in order to learn as much as possible so you can hit the ground running. Download R and RStudio, check out Youtube etc.

When I started the course it was under the Digital Skills initiative and not Springboard. So zero financial support. I had to take a graduate loan and thankfully rely on family to get by.

Good luck with the course and keep an eye on the Data Analytics / Big Data forum.

chris_john_lane

Thinking of applying for this course, what type of jobs have people got after completing this course? Any advice?

Blondie2010

Hi Chris,

I've since started this course and The Duke was right, there is alot of work involved in semester one!
It is a very good course, give you a rounded experience in the fundamentals of computing, yet to specialize in Data Analytics so can't comment on that but looking forward to it.

There seems to be many opportunities available, I have a profile on Monster.ie and have already received interest. Don't have any concrete answer to previous students though. Many of my class are going to specialize in software development where there also seems to be interest.

Piece of advice though is definitely youtube, code academy and research Python/object orientated programming as much as you can. This is the main area of struggle we face during the year. It is intense.

Hope this help :-)

chris_john_lane

Thanks for your reply appreciate it. I have a Degree in Social Care but want to change my career completely so this seems like the quickest way of doing it.

How many days a week is this course? Do people have enough time to work outside of college hours or is the course 2 intense?

Also what type of jobs does this course qualify you to work in straight away?

Thanks

Supercell

chris_john_lane wrote: »

Thanks for your reply appreciate it. I have a Degree in Social Care but want to change my career completely so this seems like the quickest way of doing it.

How many days a week is this course? Do people have enough time to work outside of college hours or is the course 2 intense?

Also what type of jobs does this course qualify you to work in straight away?

Thanks

Chris, maybe the DT265C course would be more suited to you.
Its a stripped down version of the full course and doesn't have a work placement in it (assuming thats what you want as you are working already). its on three evenings during the week (first semester was mon, tue thu, second is tues , weds, thu)
If you average 50% or higher on it you can progress directly to the Msc in Computing. if you dont want to do the masters you can do one more semester to get a full postgrad diploma I believe.
I'm doing it at the moment (second semester) so any questions feel free to ask.

eoinp11

Supercell wrote: »

Chris, maybe the DT265C course would be more suited to you.
Its a stripped down version of the full course and doesn't have a work placement in it (assuming thats what you want as you are working already). its on three evenings during the week (first semester was mon, tue thu, second is tues , weds, thu)
If you average 50% or higher on it you can progress directly to the Msc in Computing. if you dont want to do the masters you can do one more semester to get a full postgrad diploma I believe.
I'm doing it at the moment (second semester) so any questions feel free to ask.

Hi supercell, i have a few questions if you don't mind!

Do you know the price of doing the 3rd semester to get the diploma?
Do you know know if you do the 3rd semester can you still go on to do the masters?

In general, how do you find the course?

Supercell

Hi Eoin,

I've no idea what the cost is for doing the third semester, I'm sure if you emailed the course lead (see here for details) that they would be able to advise on that.

Yes you definitely can go on to the do the masters after the third semester, in fact you have to do it if your average is <50% to go on to the masters.

Overall I've enjoyed the course, I found the Python and Information Systems (databases essentially) modules the most challenging but not incredibly so (2 out of 5 modules). It was strange going back to college after so long away, but most of the people on the DT265C course (this year) are in their 30's and 40's I'd guess so it was easy to fit in. I'm glad I had the chance to do a one year course part time rather than committing to two years right away - I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to hack it , especially with a wife and kids and mortgage to look after but its been fine and I'm really looking forward to starting the masters in September.

firjjg

Hi
Supercell,

Im Tony, an international student from China; I got the offer of international conversion premaster for MSc in computing this year. My bachelor degree is Clinic Psychology,but i wanna change my career path towards IT related field.

I have some questions about the program, and really hope to get your help.

1, I have checked the program website, but I cannot find any indepth course information. Would you please tell me more information about core computing modules,including concrete course content and the recommended text books?
The core computing modules are listed:
object-oriented software development,
Information Systems,
Architecture, Operating Systems and networks,
Web and user interface design,
System analysis and testing.

2, As an international student, I have no idea of DIT and its computing program; to your knowlege, how about this college and the school of computing?? How about the job prospects?

3, If someone lacks the IT background, like me, how does he or she prepare for the study? Any advice are welcome!!!

Thanks a million!
Tony

eoinp11

Would anyone know if the work placement on the HDIP is paid?

ElliotM

Would be really interested in talking to anyone who's done this course.

Could anyone advise about the schedule, particularly for the first term? I applied for Sept and in the meantime a contract job came up that would have me fairly busy (but not in a 9-5 way) during three weeks of the first semester, wondering if it's possible to do both if you're on top of it.

I understand there's a hell of a lot of work involved - just wondering about contact hours, labs, etc. in terms of organizing around other things.

Like I said would really like to talk to any alumni or former students - I'll buy you coffee/pints if i can pick your brain

Shlippery

Looking forward to starting this in September! Should we have heard from DIT by now or do we just assume it starts Mid-Sept?