Exam results

[den]

Passed User Interface Design
Failed Java (again)
Have to resit the Online Multimedia exam in August. (Marginal fail)

I can't believe I got an AE on Online Multimedia! I thought I did okay in that, apart from not being able to work out the MB size of a video given the time and sample-rate. A 30 minute video at 250bps... My answer, "Too large for on-line multimedia. Put it on a CD", was the wrong answer.

It appears that this degree in Information Technology doesn't have a lot of stuff that applies to Real World IT. Their basic assumption in Online Multimedia is that every home has a fibre optic pipe into it, and all my effors to create small-MB web pages* and graphics leads to a lowering of my marks. In one assignment I had to write a paragraph about the hardware required. My system was going to require a keyboard, mouse, monitor and printer. I had to write a paragraph for each device.

Write a 50+ word paragraph about a standard mouse. Make it interesting. I lost marks on that.

At a recent job interview (which I can't talk about due to the nature of the company) the boss asked me "Are they teaching you anything relevent to the IT industry as it stands now?"

I had to answer "No."

In the past every employer didn't care that I've worked with computers since 1985. They were concerned that I didn't have that bloody peice of paper called a "degree." So I'm going for the degree and it is irrelevent to the industry that wants me to get it.


*www.fleetwash.com.au has a total HDD footprint of 1.7MB

Comments

[bobbain.livejournal.com]

A degree won't necessarily get you a job in the IT industry. There are people with Master's degrees in Information Technology writing in the Australian Computer Society "New South Wales" mailing list asking if undertaking a "Microsoft Certified" course will help them find employment !

The Australian Computer Society magazine notes that many members - many of whom have advanced degrees in Information Technology are now long term customers of Centrelink, and are offering courses at a discount to such members.

In a recent Australian Computer Society "Making Experience Count" seminar there were several hundred unemployed "IT Professionals" with credentials that would make your eyes water.

The presenter noted that these days "computers are ubiquitous" and that computer literacy has risen to a point where computers, and the people who claim expertise with computers, are simply seen as tools to get a job done (often expendable). Secretaries (sorry "Personal Assistants") in offices design web pages. Many managers are computer literate to the point that they don't require sophisticated IT expertise. To "make it" in the industry you have to have some specific quality or skill.

It's also true that if you exhibit expertise beyond the norm jobs in IT won't require a degree.

It's also worth noting that in *any* job interview those who make negative comments "lose out" - however friendly the interviewer may appear. I was taught interview techniques by the people at "worklife" http://www.worklife.com.au/ where "mock interviews" were arranged.

Whenever I made any comment or uttered any word that contained negativity - even as simple as uttering the word "no" it was pointed out that this a stumbling block to employment. Only positive words. Only positive comments.

The answer to the question shouldn't have been "no".

It should have been along the lines of "They are teaching me a variety of IT related material much of which is extremely relevant to the position I'm applying for".

Good luck with Java. From memory it's a version of "C++" but without the need to "manage memory". It's also constantly changing. I did a very short course in Java but features were constantly being "deprecated".

Have you considered a "career change" ?

It seems to me you like working with animals. How about "Veterinary Science" ?