Should I do Year 12 Informatics or Year 12 Psychology? Please help

[AJRogers25]

So I'm in Year 11 at the moment and I need to choose my subjects next year for year 12.
I did IT Informatics this year and didn't really like it. I'm thinking of doing Software Development next year instead and doing psychology or should I just do Informatics and Psychology or just Informatics and Software. I'm interest into going into the IT Industry in the future but not too sure. I like psychology too as well. I just don't know what subject to pick for next year. Please send me your experiences with these subjects and give me some suggestions what subject I should pick. Thanks for your help 

[Aaron]

FYI: Informatics is the dry one of the two (three if you include Algorithmics as a Computing subject, which it technically is).

I don't understand why schools favour it over SD, but they do for some reason. Frustrates me because I have done Informatics myself and know how tedious and dry it can be. Sometimes unbearable and it's a shame because it puts people like you off from pursuing it later on.

I'm interest into going into the IT Industry in the future but not too sure.

You've answered your own question, buddy. Subjects should be picked based on interest and future aspirations (inc. prerequisites for uni courses), rather than other factors. SD is very hands on in terms of programming so it does expose you to more practical aspects of IT. If that floats your boat, give it a go.

Another subject i'd recommend looking into (if you are strong at Maths and have done Methods 1/2) is Algorithmics. Not many schools offer it but it's available via Distance Ed. That will give you a real reality check

Can I also say that opinions of others here essentially aren't going to help you much, because they'll be providing a point of view from their perspective, not yours. For e.g. somebody who has zero interest in IT and does Informatics is clearly going to hate it. Please keep in mind that everybody's experiences are different.

[AJRogers25]

Okay thanks man I appreciate your answer alot. I'm still deciding but I think I'll drop Informatics for SD instead
Thanks again 

[Aaron]

Okay thanks man I appreciate your answer alot. I'm still deciding but I think I'll drop Informatics for SD instead
Thanks again 

Wait, do you mean you did Units 1 and 2 Computing this year? Sorry, I think I got confused when you said Informatics (thought you already did Units 3 and 4 this year). If you did Unit 1/2, the teacher who runs it designs the program (provided it still meets the study design, of course).. There's much more flexibility at Units 1 and 2.

I still stand by my comment that Informatics is the worse one of the two (Info/SD). I think if you're a hands-on/applied person, SD's probably the better option for you. Informatics/SD overlaps quite a bit. Informatics focuses on data and systems, whereas SD is more the programming/development/networking type of subject.

Whatever you decide, you should be talking to your family, teachers and career counsellor as they know you and can provide accurate advice! Regardless of your decision, both the subjects will assist in preparation for a uni degree in IT.

[AJRogers25]

Yeah at the moment I'm doing units 1 and 2 of Informatics in Year 11, so i'll be doing units 3 and 4 of Informatics in Year 12

[Aaron]

Yeah at the moment I'm doing units 1 and 2 of Informatics in Year 11, so i'll be doing units 3 and 4 of Informatics in Year 12

Ok that makes sense then. If you genuinely have an interest and want to pursue IT post-school, i'd consider doing both Informatics and SD to get a broad coverage. The clear argument against this really is it's nice to have a different subject in a completely different discipline to keep you grounded. Doing all subjects in the same "branch" (e.g. you have the hums/english/arts sci/tech/eng etc) can be very draining so that escape subject can relieve you of that.

Like I said, I think it's important to speak to people at your school and your family about decisions like this.... your main priority is satisfying prerequisites for uni courses and sticking to your strengths/interest areas to maximise your chance of success.

It's also worth noting that Computing subjects scale down quite significantly (both Info and SD scale down around 3-5 depending on what study score you end up with), so if you're somebody who is after an upper 90 ATAR.... you'd have to do pretty darn well in them to cover the scaled drop... I highly advise students against picking subjects purely for scaling reasons, but it would be irresponsible of me not to mention it to you.

[AJRogers25]

ok thanks for your help

[Aaron]

You're welcome. Good luck with whatever you decide.