Anyone studying or going to some form of Access to Computing course?
Which IT course specifically and what are you planning to do at Uni? I'm a little confused with the choices at Newham College of FE, they have about 5 computing courses yet don't provide much description.
Choices are;
Access to HE Computing (Business & Information Technology)
Access to HE Computing (Computing & Mathematics)
Access to HE Computing (Information Technology)
Access to HE Diploma - Computer Games Design & 3D Animation
Access to Higher Education Computing (Computer Engineering)
I thought I wanted to study Computer Science but I'm not all that sure now after finding out that alot of Maths is apart of it. Which of the above courses would lead to a broader choice at Uni?
Choices are;
Access to HE Computing (Business & Information Technology)
Access to HE Computing (Computing & Mathematics)
Access to HE Computing (Information Technology)
Access to HE Diploma - Computer Games Design & 3D Animation
Access to Higher Education Computing (Computer Engineering)
I thought I wanted to study Computer Science but I'm not all that sure now after finding out that alot of Maths is apart of it. Which of the above courses would lead to a broader choice at Uni?
(edited 12 years ago)
argh! I just wrote a really long reply and then accidentally deleted it. Take two:
Access to Computing & Mathematics or Computer Engineering, will keep your options open to study a more technical/theoretical/scientificy degree such as Computer Science, Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, etc, as all of those types of courses will have at least one maths module.
Example of the type of degree you might do from this type of Access (see module lists):
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/ugstudy/courses/computerscience/bsc-computer-science.aspx
or http://www.lut.ac.uk/departments/co/undergrad/compsci_AI.html .
In general, you will notice that these type of courses have a lot of mathematics, programming and system development (making/designing/creating software) and usually require A-level maths or equivalent.
Personally I wouldn't bother with Access to Games developement because it sounds a bit gimmicky and I hear that similar courses at university level are not well regarded.
Access to Business & Information Technology or Information Technology sounds ok, but will obviously lead you to a degree which is more focused on how to use IT in a business context, rather than how to create it. (if that makes sense).
If you did this type of Access course you could almost certainly take on any IT degree which doesn't require a lot of prior maths or programming knowledge.
Something like this maybe: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/co/undergrad/itmb.html
or this: http://www.cs.le.ac.uk/admissions/BSc/programmes/ComputingWithManagement
I did Access to Computing last year and my original plan was to do Computer Science as I heard that was more 'respected' and had better career potential. However, the access course gave me an introduction to programming, systems analysis and mathematics, which by the end of the course enabled me to understand what all the technical jargon in the university prospectus actually meant in real life. This is when I realised that Computer Science at many universities is all about programming, progamming, more programming and mathematics.
So at the last moment I decided to switch course and do a slightly broader Computing & Information Management degree. Some would say it is a cop out and a computer science degree is more 'academically rigorous'.... personally I think you have to be a total geek and possibly socially retarded to want to spend 3 years writing java code....... being able to code and understand linear algebra is not the be all and end all.
Access to Computing & Mathematics or Computer Engineering, will keep your options open to study a more technical/theoretical/scientificy degree such as Computer Science, Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, etc, as all of those types of courses will have at least one maths module.
Example of the type of degree you might do from this type of Access (see module lists):
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/ugstudy/courses/computerscience/bsc-computer-science.aspx
or http://www.lut.ac.uk/departments/co/undergrad/compsci_AI.html .
In general, you will notice that these type of courses have a lot of mathematics, programming and system development (making/designing/creating software) and usually require A-level maths or equivalent.
Personally I wouldn't bother with Access to Games developement because it sounds a bit gimmicky and I hear that similar courses at university level are not well regarded.
Access to Business & Information Technology or Information Technology sounds ok, but will obviously lead you to a degree which is more focused on how to use IT in a business context, rather than how to create it. (if that makes sense).
If you did this type of Access course you could almost certainly take on any IT degree which doesn't require a lot of prior maths or programming knowledge.
Something like this maybe: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/co/undergrad/itmb.html
or this: http://www.cs.le.ac.uk/admissions/BSc/programmes/ComputingWithManagement
I did Access to Computing last year and my original plan was to do Computer Science as I heard that was more 'respected' and had better career potential. However, the access course gave me an introduction to programming, systems analysis and mathematics, which by the end of the course enabled me to understand what all the technical jargon in the university prospectus actually meant in real life. This is when I realised that Computer Science at many universities is all about programming, progamming, more programming and mathematics.
So at the last moment I decided to switch course and do a slightly broader Computing & Information Management degree. Some would say it is a cop out and a computer science degree is more 'academically rigorous'.... personally I think you have to be a total geek and possibly socially retarded to want to spend 3 years writing java code....... being able to code and understand linear algebra is not the be all and end all.
You know BigV you are a huge help, there is no doubt in my mind that you know what you want and what you're doing and that also you'll make it successful.
Original post by PraxxtorCruel
You know BigV you are a huge help, there is no doubt in my mind that you know what you want and what you're doing and that also you'll make it successful.
Was that sarcastic?
Original post by BigV
Was that sarcastic?
Not at all, did it sound like it?
So career wise will you be looking for programming careers or a whole different area?Original post by PraxxtorCruel
Not at all, did it sound like it? So career wise will you be looking for programming careers or a whole different area?
So career wise will you be looking for programming careers or a whole different area?I wasn't sure, sorry!
No, career wise I want anything other than programming after I graduate. The access course showed me that I didn't really enjoy programming that much, which is why I changed degree choice.
I think you have to be a particular kind of person to enjoy and be good at programming..... I would say out of 20 people on my access course last year, only 4 of them actually enjoyed the programming module. For the rest of us it was just something to get through.
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