|
While Bristol may be highly rated for academics, that conversion degree looks rather weak. They're teaching you things that might not be so hard to teach yourself. The Bath program is rigorous, but it gives you theoretical background that you can apply beyond the specific technologies of the day. Neither university seems to put much detail online, so I'm just going on the information you provided.
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2017 02:19
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 17, 2024 22:02 |
|
|
You know, you don't have to get an MSc or even a degree to work in software development in the UK? There are lots of people I know, including myself, that have switched careers without formal training. However, if you are they type that needs the structure, then go with the more theoretical side of Bath. The stuff you learn there will help whatever direction you want to go into. The job market for developers in the UK is only getting stronger, and demand outstrips supply. I recently changed jobs and, even with just 2 years experience, my phone wouldn't stop ringing until I'd accepted a new position
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2017 16:16
|
|
|
Gazpacho posted:While Bristol may be highly rated for academics, that conversion degree looks rather weak. They're teaching you things that might not be so hard to teach yourself. The Bath program is rigorous, but it gives you theoretical background that you can apply beyond the specific technologies of the day. Most of the course websites seem really bad for actually finding detailed information, with a bit of digging I was able to get more info on module syllabus. Here's a linked list if that would help you interrogate it a bit? Option 1: Bristol University, ranked Programming in C (30 credits) Overview of Computer Architecture (20) Software Engineering with Group Project (20) Databases (10) Object Oriented Programming with Java (10) Web Technologies (10) Research Skills (20) Thesis (60) Option 2: Bath University, ranked Module content available here, press "unit descriptions" tab towards the bottom. There's also an Option 3, Warwick University (13th in UK for CS, 9th for all subjects) which is for CS and STEM undergrads only (rather than a broad conversion course like Bristol and Bath). However, it spends 15 credits teaching a "Foundations of Computing" module before letting you loose on a load of optional modules for advanced topics. Whereas the other MScs have 50-60 credits of teaching you coding and software engineering. Presumably the conversion approach would be better for me, or do you really just pick the practical stuff up when you start working anyway? lifg posted:Option 1 appears to be more practical, option 2 more theoretical. My experience says that theory will get you farther over the long term, and practice is something you can pick up on the job. But that doesn't account for college prestige, which will matter in getting your foot in the door for your first job. Thanks for the feedback! I must have made some weird mistake on the university rankings, but I've updated them now and there doesn't seem to be that big a difference between my options in the national rankings. The main difference is in international tables where Bath suffers for CS. Hopefully a UK goon can advise whether it even matters  Data science might be interesting but I'd rather keep my options open in a CS programme for now. Rattus posted:You know, you don't have to get an MSc or even a degree to work in software development in the UK? I take your point but iunno, I'd be worried about feeling like an impostor without some serious learning before changing jobs. I'm quite intellectual and it would probably stress me out not having a bank of knowledge from a degree to guide me. The stuff about the UK job market is music to my ears, thanks. Daviclond fucked around with this message at 17:47 on Feb 26, 2017 |
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2017 17:38
|
|
|
RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:Maybe, but I heard them say at my job that a lot of self-taught applicants have had no idea what they were doing so they're suspicious by default. I'm a bootcamp grad, and at my job they told me that people they've interviewed from my very bootcamp almost universally know nothing. "So why did you consider me? Do you still have concerns?" "We looked at your commits, decided you knew what you were doing, and if we still had suspicions we wouldn't have hired you." It's a good idea to be suspicious but it's also pretty easy to find out what people know.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2017 03:55
|
|
|
I'm graduating with a master's degree in Computer Science from a not very well known university in Scandinavia in a year. I'm fantasizing about moving to Toronto after graduating because none of the businesses where I live seem attractive to me in the long run, and I want to move to a bigger city. What I'm wondering is how easy it is to get a job as a software developer/engineer when I have a degree from a university that people abroad have probably never heard of? I've done some summer internships and I think my resume looks pretty good considering I haven't graduated yet, but my experience in the industry is still limited. Does this sound insane, or am I overrating how important the (lack of) prestige of my university is?
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2017 18:51
|
|
|
I don't think it matters at all as long as you're not trying to pass off a mail order degree as legitimate
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2017 18:54
|
|
|
Thanks. No, it's definitely real. I just know very little about the job market in other countries, and want to make sure.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2017 18:56
|
|
|
rt4 posted:I don't think it matters at all as long as you're not trying to pass off a mail order degree as legitimate Seconding this, doesn't matter
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2017 19:24
|
|
|
Yeah, it doesn't matter in my experience as someone that went to a small school (graduated as one of 17 csc students). Anyway, it really doesn't matter because you already attended the school you attended and you can't do anything about that now.  Apply to places you want to work at, not the places you think might take you. You don't want to work for someone that will only hire from 'schools they've heard of' or similar nonsense.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2017 19:41
|
|
|
If your degree goes by a different name than a Canadian one, probably find out what the equivalent is/translation. I doubt that many Canadian companies even know what universities are prestigious in Scandinavia, anyways. If you have projects or a portfolio, that'll probably do more for you than any amount of prestige.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2017 20:07
|
|
|
Alcatrash posted:I'm graduating with a master's degree in Computer Science from a not very well known university in Scandinavia in a year. I'm fantasizing about moving to Toronto after graduating because none of the businesses where I live seem attractive to me in the long run, and I want to move to a bigger city. What I'm wondering is how easy it is to get a job as a software developer/engineer when I have a degree from a university that people abroad have probably never heard of? I've done some summer internships and I think my resume looks pretty good considering I haven't graduated yet, but my experience in the industry is still limited. Does this sound insane, or am I overrating how important the (lack of) prestige of my university is? Can you write functional programs? That's what matters more than anything. Half of programmers don't have a computer science degree. Something like 10% of programmers never even went to college. At all. For anything. Moving internationally might be difficult in the short term as a new grad but my understanding is that once you get some experience you'll be in super high demand just everywhere.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 01:38
|
|
|
Has anyone done a combo video chat/coding interview before? Any suggestions?
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 03:22
|
|
|
huhu posted:Has anyone done a combo video chat/coding interview before? Any suggestions? I have, uh, know your stuff? Its like whiteboarding but better because you can type. Talk through what you're doing and why, ask clarifying questions, make lots of assumptions, but ask "I'm going to assume x" and let them challenge that assumption. If you don't know, its ok to say stuff like "I don't know" or even better "I don't remember the exact syntax to do this but in this language there's a ______ method that does ________, and I'm using it here because _______" Don't stress out. I'm happy to answer any specific questions you have, but general interview advice applies.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 03:27
|
|
|
ToxicSlurpee posted:Can you write functional programs? That's what matters more than anything. Half of programmers don't have a computer science degree. Something like 10% of programmers never even went to college. At all. For anything. Moving internationally might be difficult in the short term as a new grad but my understanding is that once you get some experience you'll be in super high demand just everywhere. Yeah, I never went to college for anything and I'm doing great. I won't be doing any super math related jobs like making software for graphics cards, but I'm doing great in my Java/JavaScript/python role. To push it further, I never even went to high school, that's always a fun topic in interviews.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 13:14
|
|
|
How do you get past the great "bachelors required" filter for an interview?
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 13:59
|
|
|
Kibbles n Shits posted:How do you get past the great "bachelors required" filter for an interview? You apply anyway. The "job requirements" is actually "wishlist." Some places won't call you back but there's such a shortage of programmers right now that if you can prove you can do the job somebody will snap you up. You might have to start as a CRUD monkey on an internal website but screw it, have to start somewhere and somebody has to do that job.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 15:13
|
|
|
Kibbles n Shits posted:How do you get past the great "bachelors required" filter for an interview? Chiming in as one without education other than a few failed months in med school, but you just apply and you explain how college wasn't for you. Now you enjoy yourself much more, check out that sweet github if you want examples.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 16:36
|
|
|
Vincent Valentine posted:Yeah, I never went to college for anything and I'm doing great. I won't be doing any super math related jobs like making software for graphics cards, but I'm doing great in my Java/JavaScript/python role. To push it further, I never even went to high school, that's always a fun topic in interviews. Never went to HS, or dropped out? I've known quite a few dropouts, but never anyone who never even attended.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 16:54
|
|
|
Kibbles n Shits posted:How do you get past the great "bachelors required" filter for an interview? Cross your fingers and hope someone other than HR sees your resume. Recruiters can be helpful here. Any reasonable employer will look past it if you have experience.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 17:39
|
|
|
Keetron posted:Now you enjoy yourself much more, check out that sweet github if you want examples. This reminds me of the time I applied to web dev company and included the link to my Github. And he replied "We’ve no idea what these are … there’s no online portfolio." and "You’re not presenting your skills". These are real quotes I just grabbed from the email. I replied that I wanted to rescind my application and that I didn't really want to work for a condescending gently caress.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 18:55
|
|
|
Bob Morales posted:Cross your fingers and hope someone other than HR sees your resume. Recruiters can be helpful here. Any reasonable employer will look past it if you have experience. Do personal projects and open source contributions count as experience though? Seems like a huge catch 22. ToxicSlurpee posted:You apply anyway. The "job requirements" is actually "wishlist." Some places won't call you back but there's such a shortage of programmers right now that if you can prove you can do the job somebody will snap you up. You might have to start as a CRUD monkey on an internal website but screw it, have to start somewhere and somebody has to do that job. CRUD monkey sounds good to me. I get that at the end of the day they just want someone who can do the job, though.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 20:14
|
|
|
Grump posted:This reminds me of the time I applied to web dev company and included the link to my Github. And he replied "We’ve no idea what these are … there’s no online portfolio." and "You’re not presenting your skills". How is this possible? Are there places where Git is not industry standard?
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 20:33
|
|
|
Grump posted:This reminds me of the time I applied to web dev company and included the link to my Github. And he replied "We’ve no idea what these are … there’s no online portfolio." and "You’re not presenting your skills". lol, what an in-touch company.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 20:34
|
|
|
Fergus Mac Roich posted:How is this possible? Are there places where Git is not industry standard? No idea. I gave them a link to my CodePen account too, just so they could see some actual live stuff, but they said they didn't know what that was either. It was p loving bizarre.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 20:46
|
|
|
Grump posted:This reminds me of the time I applied to web dev company and included the link to my Github. And he replied "We’ve no idea what these are … there’s no online portfolio." and "You’re not presenting your skills". I assume this means the boss is an artsy type so you probably dodged an incompetence bullet
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 20:48
|
|
|
Fergus Mac Roich posted:How is this possible? Are there places where Git is not industry standard? Yes, absolutely. Many organizations do not use Git, and I frequently make the argument that there's no reason for them to switch if the developers are comfortable and productive with their current VCS. There are plenty of organizations that don't need the advanced features of Git, and thus taking on the additional day-to-day complexity makes no sense.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 20:53
|
|
|
Fergus Mac Roich posted:How is this possible? Are there places where Git is not industry standard? Fergus, there are big banks controlling lots of money using CVS for source control (or in some cases, no source control).
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 20:55
|
|
|
Well, it's one thing to use CVS internally. I don't see any problem there. It's another to be linked to a Github repo and have to respond "I don't even know what this is."
Fergus Mac Roich fucked around with this message at 23:04 on Feb 28, 2017 |
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 21:02
|
|
|
My last job didn't use any source control. There was code on the dev server and then they just worked directly on the code on the production server after it went live. That's two versions right there. Also there were large blocks of commented out code in every file in case you needed to see what the code used to look like.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 21:08
|
|
|
I mean do you really want to work at a place that says "What the gently caress is a Github"?
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 21:31
|
|
|
Fergus Mac Roich posted:How is this possible? Are there places where Git is not industry standard? Yes. One of my university lecturers doesn't use any VCS at all, and recommends people make dated copies of project folders. Which I suppose is VCS in itself... Whereas one of my other lecturers recently dedicated ~1hr of lab time to teaching students about Git & using bitbucket/gitlab for university assignments. It's a total crapshoot.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 21:57
|
|
|
Fergus Mac Roich posted:How is this possible? Are there places where Git is not industry standard? Many. But that's not an excuse for a technical person in webdev to not even know what Git is. In any industry it's expected that you'll be an expert in zero-to-one things, know a few things, and be vaguely aware of everything else.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 22:46
|
|
|
lifg posted:Many. But that's not an excuse for a technical person in webdev to not even know what Git is. Sounds like designers incorrectly worded their job posting and got into contact with developers.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2017 22:50
|
|
|
Will somebody qualified review my CV for me?
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2017 00:08
|
|
|
toadoftoadhall posted:Will somebody qualified review my CV for me? 
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2017 00:10
|
|
|
Kibbles n Shits posted:Do personal projects and open source contributions count as experience though? Seems like a huge catch 22. Sort of. They don't count as actual, on the job, literally being paid to write code experience but you should absolutely put it on a resume. Having meaningful contributions to an open source project is practically a foot in the door already and you can probably ask people who have also worked on the same projects if they know anybody looking (hint: they probably do). Don't be afraid to ask around. Plus like was said if somebody other than HR (as in, the actual programmers) see a resume with "I implemented *feature* in *open source project they've heard of*" you already have an in in a lot of places. But yeah that's a universal catch 22 in the whole job market right now. There are still piles of places that just refuse to consider a noob or a fresh grad and if you look at job openings it can be very discouraging. Every company in existence seems to have an endless supply of open positions for senior devs with over a decade of experience but shuffle their feet and look around nervously when somebody points out how stupid it is that they won't develop new talent. However they also know that if they have cranky, overburdened programmers that could use some help that said programmers may very well leave if they don't expand the team. Similarly if they just plain need a dozen more nerds but only get one or two resumes from senior devs they're going to look further down the pile. I'm a CRUD monkey in the end, as it were. It actually isn't so bad. Kind of boring but they don't expect me to work 5,000 hours a week. To be honest I wanted to learn more web dev anyway and now I'm getting paid to learn more about web dev! Hurray! If CRUD monkey sounds find then make a little toy website that interacts with a database in some meaningful way and slap it on your resume. Doesn't need to be super impressive especially if you're new. If you can point to something functional and say "I made this thing. I can make things for you in exchange for a paycheck" it helps a lot.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2017 00:32
|
|
|
Just had a phone interview where the employer said they were transitioning to working with React on a database project that's 15 years old. Caught me off guard because I didn't know this going into the call, but definitely peaked my interest since I've been learning React for the past month. Are we at the point where employers expect candidates to be well versed in new Javascript libraries or is that not going to be an expectation until 5 years from now
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2017 01:10
|
|
|
Piqued.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2017 01:15
|
|
|
Grump posted:Are we at the point where employers expect candidates to be well versed in new Javascript libraries or is that not going to be an expectation until 5 years from now That isn't new. If you look back you can always find people expecting more years of experience in X technology than X has been around for. You'll right now have an easy time finding job adverts from people looking for somebody with a decade of experience with Go.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2017 01:19
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 17, 2024 22:02 |
|
|
Fergus Mac Roich posted:How is this possible? Are there places where Git is not industry standard? Haha I worked at one of the big defense companies for six months and literally not a single developer or manager had ever heard of an ORM. There are plenty of places that are stuck in time.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2017 01:23
|
|