IT @ MELB..is it good?

[nadiaaa]

Okay i'm having doubts which im annoyed at myself for... but basically i'm doing IT at melb thru the design degree bc i enjoy the  design-focused more ... Anyways i feel like lost in terms of what i'm studying like i want a job after this degree without doing Masters.... is this general degree enough?

Like there's not much IT subjects i do each semester as compared to a specialized degree and so i'm stressing out that i'm like lacking knowledge compared to them??

Also i'm leaning towards business in IT but for some reason uni melb has discontinued the main ones i was interested in doing e.g Business Analytics... is there anything i can do to get that subject back or something??

sorry just writing down my thoughts so this may be all over the place.. Anyways can anyone share their opinion? I really really don't want to transfer to another uni but i just wanna know is what i'm doing enough...(i plan to try find work experience as well throughout my degree)
so it's degree+work experience
thanks ..

[brenden]

How come transferring isn't a consideration?

[Aaron]

The important thing you need to consider is that It is essentially a hands on discipline where experience pretty much overrules a qualification in a lot of aspects.

What I mean by experience is industry based learning, projects, internships. That sort of thing.

I know a fair few universities that offer these sorts of programs. For example I did my IT degree at Latrobe a few years ago now and they introduced a compulsory year long industry project which requires you to work as part of a team to design a real solution for a client. Stuff like this is super important.

Universities are academic institutions. I personally feel It is better served vocationally, but that's just me. I think you need to seriously consider transferring and reviewing the types of programs and hands on opportunities you can get.

[spectroscopy]

melbourne uni Design + IT is a MASSIVE hit for alot of consulting companies.
if you like design stuff but you want it to have a IT/technology focus then this is a really good combo.
 big consulting companies love hiring creative people with IT experience. Apply for streams that have names like "customer digital" or "customer technology" because alot of these technology companies do heaps of design work like app design, website design, etc. and they usually struggle because people are creative but dont have the software skills, or they have software skills but no design talent, so you are in a GREAT spot for this market.  get good grades and do extra curriculars and apply for these roles as internships at the end of second year and you will be in a very very good position.
some companies to apply for are: deloitte (any team with customer in front of the name), kpmg (technology digital consulting), pwc (customer team or digital team), ey (customer team and technology team), accenture (accenture digital), and more but im forgetting. also look at the big 4 banks (nab, anz, etc. and see if they have a digital team. most "digital" grad roles are alot of design and a little bit of tech work.
if this sort of stuff sounds appealing for you then shoot for the stars !!
alot of these roles are like 60% design 20% business analysis 20% more technical.

anyway good luck with whatever you do

[nadiaaa]

Im not sure, like socially and especially location-wise melbourne uni is really really good for me and i dont wanna drop that so fast.. i would consider transferring if i got many opinions telling me that with a general degree i'd have to do masters or that a general degree in IT isnt that good or something but i guess spectroscopy kinda reminded me why i chose this course (THANK YOU I REALLY NEEDED THAT!!) 95% of my doubt is like gone now. Ill make sure to try and get as much as industry experience as possible.. thanks all.

[Aaron]

Ill make sure to try and get as much as industry experience as possible.

Please do. I graduated at the end of 2015 with a large batch of IT graduates and the common theme is the difficulty of actually gaining a job without something else to back yourself up with. You must remember as well that the IT industry overall is very difficult to crack into due to outsourcing, 457 visas etc.. Often it is much cheaper to get someone else to do the work, than hiring someone locally. Get all the unpaid/paid experience you can. You will need it (+ the connections you gain as a result).

If you are happy at Melbourne, then stay at Melbourne. If you aren't happy with the course offering, switch to something else. Plenty of other universities have their own structure and offering. Melb Uni is great overall, but is it the best for that specific discipline? Questionable (depending on who you ask).

If you're serious about Business + IT, there are a few unis that offer Business Information Systems which incorporates both of these (just to name an alternative example). But user experience/front end design is a great area - I wish I had the opportunity to do more UX/UI design.

[nadiaaa]

@Aaron What are you doing right now? Do you have a job? ... Hm like i would say i'm more serious about UX Design but i don't wanna take Bus Info Systems out of the picture so ill have to think about that...

Also when should i start trying to gain experience? Do you think i'll have enough knowledge/capability to start looking at the start of 2018? before i go into 2nd year?

[Aaron]

@Aaron What are you doing right now? Do you have a job? ... Hm like i would say i'm more serious about UX Design but i don't wanna take Bus Info Systems out of the picture so ill have to think about that...

Also when should i start trying to gain experience? Do you think i'll have enough knowledge/capability to start looking at the start of 2018? before i go into 2nd year?

I chose not to go into the IT industry for a number of reasons - main one being that i've always had my sights on high school teaching and completed an IT degree first purely for the fact that I wanted base knowledge in computer science before going to teach (and the Bachelor was more a backup). I am about 3 weeks out from completing a masters

I think you should get experience as soon as you can. It will be something that you will need to organise and find yourself. Does your course have any industry based learning or projects that are part of your course requirements? I know when I did my degree at LTU, they offered industry based learning to 2nd year students and the project was for 3rd year/final year undergraduate. May be worth looking into similar programs at Melbourne (if any).

Another important point is what spec mentioned regarding extra curriculars. Make sure you do something valuable outside of uni as well. A "well rounded" person is very important these days.

[nadiaaa]

Oh Wow i didn't expect that! that's a really cool career path!! Well i'm planning to take this subject called Science & Technology internship in summer semester of 3rd year and also i think my capstone subject is an IT project haven't researched properly ..

i literally have no job and just go uni so like what extra curricular should i look into? (i'm on the look for a job but no experience so it's taking realllly long)

[brenden]

Oh Wow i didn't expect that! that's a really cool career path!! Well i'm planning to take this subject called Science & Technology internship in summer semester of 3rd year and also i think my capstone subject is an IT project haven't researched properly ..

i literally have no job and just go uni so like what extra curricular should i look into? (i'm on the look for a job but no experience so it's taking realllly long)

Have you applied to fast food? You should, and keep looking for the (far more important) IT internships/experience while you're there.

Having something is better than nothing. Because that counts as experience, and helps you get other jobs without it taking reallllly long haha. I can't really emphasise this enough - no one is too good for a 'shit' job haha.

Outside of getting something just look into IT based stuff I guess? You'd be surprised what you can get by asking. Ask every lecturer, tutor, senior student you ever meet. Ask people online, ask friends of friends. Just look to get into an IT office. After that, ask people to do minor stuff. Haha. Aaron might have better tips for you but like, you've just got to be active about this stuff. Proactivity will get rewarded