Computer Science student seeking advice
Hi All,
I've read a lot of advice threads on this forum and thought it's about time I gave my own problem a shot. It's a little hard to know where to start so maybe I should give some background info on my uni experience first.
I found the first year, particularly the first term, incredibly hard. I did enough work on programming and even the maths modules (with some help from accommodation friends) to be able to understand it to a decent level where I finished the year with a 2:2 grade, but my interest in the computer science field had completely subsided
Rather than doing anything about it (which now I wish I did) I carried on with the 2nd year which again was incredibly hard (also now very boring) and again I finished with a high 2:2 (58.5%). This was without much (if any in some cases) revision put into the 8 exams I had in may due to some problems at home. I even got a year in industry for 2010-11 and completed that, gaining a decent review from my boss and handing in a half shot essay I wrote a week before the deadline. The work wasn't challenging or interesting but to say I hated it would be very harsh.
I'm now in my final year
and whilst not struggling (yet), I'm finding things incredibly boring course wise which I expect will eventually lead to me struggling again. In an ideal world I'd take a third to leave tomorrow but I am seriously considering dropping out even at this late stage, not worrying too much about the 4 year write off. I should just point out that living away from home/family is not a factor and I've made some great friends here, particularly my current house mates who I've known since I started, so I don't think there are problems there.
Seeming as my current grades point toward a 2:2, I wondered what a 2:2 in computer science with a year in industry will do for me, excluding anything computer science related because I'm not interested in any of that. I can't hide the fact my maths is still really poor, so one of my plans whenever I leave is to improve this, for myself more than anything. I haven't, and don't intend to apply for any graduate roles currently as I really don't know what I want to do. I'm just hoping some people in here can throw some suggestions or comparisons of their own stories around in here, as you can probably tell I haven't given much consideration to anything positive or constructive over the span of my whole time at uni so anything positive is appreciated
So, anyone want to help a disillusioned undergrad out?
I've read a lot of advice threads on this forum and thought it's about time I gave my own problem a shot. It's a little hard to know where to start so maybe I should give some background info on my uni experience first.
I found the first year, particularly the first term, incredibly hard. I did enough work on programming and even the maths modules (with some help from accommodation friends) to be able to understand it to a decent level where I finished the year with a 2:2 grade, but my interest in the computer science field had completely subsided
Rather than doing anything about it (which now I wish I did) I carried on with the 2nd year which again was incredibly hard (also now very boring) and again I finished with a high 2:2 (58.5%). This was without much (if any in some cases) revision put into the 8 exams I had in may due to some problems at home. I even got a year in industry for 2010-11 and completed that, gaining a decent review from my boss and handing in a half shot essay I wrote a week before the deadline. The work wasn't challenging or interesting but to say I hated it would be very harsh. I'm now in my final year
and whilst not struggling (yet), I'm finding things incredibly boring course wise which I expect will eventually lead to me struggling again. In an ideal world I'd take a third to leave tomorrow but I am seriously considering dropping out even at this late stage, not worrying too much about the 4 year write off. I should just point out that living away from home/family is not a factor and I've made some great friends here, particularly my current house mates who I've known since I started, so I don't think there are problems there.Seeming as my current grades point toward a 2:2, I wondered what a 2:2 in computer science with a year in industry will do for me, excluding anything computer science related because I'm not interested in any of that. I can't hide the fact my maths is still really poor, so one of my plans whenever I leave is to improve this, for myself more than anything. I haven't, and don't intend to apply for any graduate roles currently as I really don't know what I want to do. I'm just hoping some people in here can throw some suggestions or comparisons of their own stories around in here, as you can probably tell I haven't given much consideration to anything positive or constructive over the span of my whole time at uni so anything positive is appreciated
So, anyone want to help a disillusioned undergrad out?
Original post by Totem
Hi All....
No idea what advise to give here really........ the best thing would appear to be 'stick it out' for another year and get your degree done and dusted. Many graduate programmes do not require a specific degere, so you could apply for many things after you graduate. Computer Science will have helped you develop problem solving skills as well as a lot of other practical knowledge, so you should be in a good position with a high 2:2/ low 2.1.
I sympathise really, I'm in my first year of a course which is approx 70% Computing...... currently attemping my first programming assignment and failing miserably. The help isn't really available and I've spent hours trying to get supposedly 'easy' bits of code to work. I like the uni but hate the course (6 weeks in and I never want to code javascript again for as long as I live), so I'm not sure what to do; I certainly don't want to end up in my final year and still find myself hating my studies.
(edited 12 years ago)
Since you're pretty much almost done I'd recommend you stick it out too. There's plenty of scope of opportunities for one with a numeric degree such as CS, even as a 2:2. Your Year in Industry will probably help a shedload as work experience is all the rage these days.
Speaking of which, I wasn't aware it was possible to get a Year in Industry with less than a 2:1...where do you study if you don't mind me asking?
Speaking of which, I wasn't aware it was possible to get a Year in Industry with less than a 2:1...where do you study if you don't mind me asking?
am in my 2nd yr and struggling like anything, their teaching methods are a joke, their slides in lectures are useless....i want my money back
Original post by britishgoose01
am in my 2nd yr and struggling like anything, their teaching methods are a joke, their slides in lectures are useless....i want my money back
I have spoken to a few people (online) about CS courses and the complaints all seem similar. - A lack of 'teaching', explaination and practical demonstration of quite difficult content.
I wonder if CS (especially programming) is just one of those things you either *get* or don't ?
My course is approx 70% computing so I get some relief with the comparatively *easy* management type modules. One of the CS modules is just about managable and the other one is totally dire..... probably 65% of people taking it have no freaking clue what we are supposed to be learning as neither lectures or practicals make any sense. (unix command line, pipe lines and scripting anyone?
- I'm sure it is supposed to be easy content but the way it is taught is terrible )I did very well at college, so before I started uni I was all about getting a 1st... now only 6 weeks in I reckon a 2.1 would be an achievement. The amount of work takes the p**s when you compare to the 'ology' students who have half a dozen contact hours and a couple of chapters of directed reading a week.
Original post by BigV
I have spoken to a few people (online) about CS courses and the complaints all seem similar. - A lack of 'teaching', explaination and practical demonstration of quite difficult content.
with programing it isn't you either get or you don't, anyone can learn it....Just their approach is really really really bad. Especially for the school leavers. Me personally I left college and went travelling round the world,came back for the education so can work and live abroad, the math side of computing is all new,everything you see is new, and their approach is......lecture slides they have found on the net and tell you to read a book. I mean yeah of course you gotta read books but you dnt just say read a book. The modules split are bad, we have AI with a german or something like that,like a nutty professor,talks really fast,explains everything like a mad scientist lol,
crazy, we have databases with a chinese guy,he knows his stuff but in my mind hes not v good, his way of teaching and we do have tutorials is through comedy,taking the piss out of students and his own accent, we get a worksheet of say 20 questions and are expected to buy or get the book from library and work from it for 10 mins and 50min tutorial,i cant afford the book like many and theres few in the library, and they want us to get a specific book, i then downloaded and put on to phone and laptop, he doesnt like us using them, he will ask say 8 ppl to answer a mixture of questions and they have to stand and do it infront of everyone, and if you get it wrong its poorly explained....
we have the programing and in foundation yr when we 1st started it the way we were taught half the time was 90% math way.....which is to be honest the Worst way to show programing...then after we complained we started again and me and infact most scraped a pass, yr 1 i failed the programing, and many others did too. I resat yr 1 and out of i think 200 of us 12 of us passed, the resit lot not that many passed and to fil our course up they got the college students...is it hnd? just so we have a reasonable sized class. The language we learn is Java, OOP language, the technique this year we have been given is week by week tasks, sounds good, nope, were given alot of information we do not understand,were told if we dnt know search google lol,or the oracle site which isnt easy, I think there making courses harder to learn and understand because if every1 knew,noone would do the **** jobs, but thats what we pay for...were not getting our moneys worth!!
Original post by BigV
I have spoken to a few people (online) about CS courses and the complaints all seem similar. - A lack of 'teaching', explaination and practical demonstration of quite difficult content.
I wonder if CS (especially programming) is just one of those things you either *get* or don't ?
I wonder if CS (especially programming) is just one of those things you either *get* or don't ?
The problem is one of expectations. Students (and the general public) have an expectation of CS being a relatively easy ride.
It's not a lack of teaching - there no reason whatsoever to believe CS teaching is organised any worse than most other subjects. What it is is students finding that
1) they actually have to think rather than just copy & paste techniques like in A levels.
2) They are not going to be spoon fed.
And when it comes to programming, it seems to me that there is a separation of those who can and those who can't.
Original post by Dirac Delta Function
The problem is one of expectations. Students (and the general public) have an expectation of CS being a relatively easy ride.
It's not a lack of teaching - there no reason whatsoever to believe CS teaching is organised any worse than most other subjects. What it is is students finding that
1) they actually have to think rather than just copy & paste techniques like in A levels.
2) They are not going to be spoon fed.
And when it comes to programming, it seems to me that there is a separation of those who can and those who can't.
It's not a lack of teaching - there no reason whatsoever to believe CS teaching is organised any worse than most other subjects. What it is is students finding that
1) they actually have to think rather than just copy & paste techniques like in A levels.
2) They are not going to be spoon fed.
And when it comes to programming, it seems to me that there is a separation of those who can and those who can't.
Im afraid with the cs your wrong, totally wrong,
In university their methods and so called given information teaches fcuk all,
However im getting help from a friend who has been programing all his life and ....paying for what? end of the day a piece of paper, my friend who does many languages agrees with me and what most say,
Original post by Dirac Delta Function
The problem is one of expectations. Students (and the general public) have an expectation of CS being a relatively easy ride.
what? I definitely didn't expect it to be easy, and none of my friends think my course is. And the most common reaction I get when i tell people about my course (other than them thinking "geeeeek" lol) is "that must be tough" or something similar
Also my uni is mostly pretty good at teaching CS, other than the odd lecturer, but that is true of every course
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by britishgoose01
Im afraid with the cs your wrong, totally wrong,
In university their methods and so called given information teaches fcuk all,
However im getting help from a friend who has been programing all his life and ....paying for what? end of the day a piece of paper, my friend who does many languages agrees with me and what most say,
In university their methods and so called given information teaches fcuk all,
However im getting help from a friend who has been programing all his life and ....paying for what? end of the day a piece of paper, my friend who does many languages agrees with me and what most say,
How exactly can you say that all CS departments all teach badly. My department had excellent teaching. I've seen some that teach badly, and others that teach well.
which uni
Original post by Dirac Delta Function
The problem is one of expectations. Students (and the general public) have an expectation of CS being a relatively easy ride.
It's not a lack of teaching - there no reason whatsoever to believe CS teaching is organised any worse than most other subjects. What it is is students finding that
1) they actually have to think rather than just copy & paste techniques like in A levels.
2) They are not going to be spoon fed.
And when it comes to programming, it seems to me that there is a separation of those who can and those who can't.
It's not a lack of teaching - there no reason whatsoever to believe CS teaching is organised any worse than most other subjects. What it is is students finding that
1) they actually have to think rather than just copy & paste techniques like in A levels.
2) They are not going to be spoon fed.
And when it comes to programming, it seems to me that there is a separation of those who can and those who can't.
I never felt Computer Science was going to be easy and I was never expecting CS to be advanced microsoft word skills. Most people I have spoken to were expecting a challenge but are shocked at just how much you have to figure out yourself.
As for the programming.... well yeah I probably agree there. Obviously the programming itself is easy once you have learned the syntax, but figuring out how to solve the problem is the tricky bit.
Original post by Totem
Hi All,
I've read a lot of advice threads on this forum and thought it's about time I gave my own problem a shot. It's a little hard to know where to start so maybe I should give some background info on my uni experience first.
I found the first year, particularly the first term, incredibly hard. I did enough work on programming and even the maths modules (with some help from accommodation friends) to be able to understand it to a decent level where I finished the year with a 2:2 grade, but my interest in the computer science field had completely subsided Rather than doing anything about it (which now I wish I did) I carried on with the 2nd year which again was incredibly hard (also now very boring) and again I finished with a high 2:2 (58.5%). This was without much (if any in some cases) revision put into the 8 exams I had in may due to some problems at home. I even got a year in industry for 2010-11 and completed that, gaining a decent review from my boss and handing in a half shot essay I wrote a week before the deadline. The work wasn't challenging or interesting but to say I hated it would be very harsh.
I'm now in my final year and whilst not struggling (yet), I'm finding things incredibly boring course wise which I expect will eventually lead to me struggling again. In an ideal world I'd take a third to leave tomorrow but I am seriously considering dropping out even at this late stage, not worrying too much about the 4 year write off. I should just point out that living away from home/family is not a factor and I've made some great friends here, particularly my current house mates who I've known since I started, so I don't think there are problems there.
Seeming as my current grades point toward a 2:2, I wondered what a 2:2 in computer science with a year in industry will do for me, excluding anything computer science related because I'm not interested in any of that. I can't hide the fact my maths is still really poor, so one of my plans whenever I leave is to improve this, for myself more than anything. I haven't, and don't intend to apply for any graduate roles currently as I really don't know what I want to do. I'm just hoping some people in here can throw some suggestions or comparisons of their own stories around in here, as you can probably tell I haven't given much consideration to anything positive or constructive over the span of my whole time at uni so anything positive is appreciated
So, anyone want to help a disillusioned undergrad out?
I've read a lot of advice threads on this forum and thought it's about time I gave my own problem a shot. It's a little hard to know where to start so maybe I should give some background info on my uni experience first.
I found the first year, particularly the first term, incredibly hard. I did enough work on programming and even the maths modules (with some help from accommodation friends) to be able to understand it to a decent level where I finished the year with a 2:2 grade, but my interest in the computer science field had completely subsided
Rather than doing anything about it (which now I wish I did) I carried on with the 2nd year which again was incredibly hard (also now very boring) and again I finished with a high 2:2 (58.5%). This was without much (if any in some cases) revision put into the 8 exams I had in may due to some problems at home. I even got a year in industry for 2010-11 and completed that, gaining a decent review from my boss and handing in a half shot essay I wrote a week before the deadline. The work wasn't challenging or interesting but to say I hated it would be very harsh. I'm now in my final year
and whilst not struggling (yet), I'm finding things incredibly boring course wise which I expect will eventually lead to me struggling again. In an ideal world I'd take a third to leave tomorrow but I am seriously considering dropping out even at this late stage, not worrying too much about the 4 year write off. I should just point out that living away from home/family is not a factor and I've made some great friends here, particularly my current house mates who I've known since I started, so I don't think there are problems there.Seeming as my current grades point toward a 2:2, I wondered what a 2:2 in computer science with a year in industry will do for me, excluding anything computer science related because I'm not interested in any of that. I can't hide the fact my maths is still really poor, so one of my plans whenever I leave is to improve this, for myself more than anything. I haven't, and don't intend to apply for any graduate roles currently as I really don't know what I want to do. I'm just hoping some people in here can throw some suggestions or comparisons of their own stories around in here, as you can probably tell I haven't given much consideration to anything positive or constructive over the span of my whole time at uni so anything positive is appreciated
So, anyone want to help a disillusioned undergrad out?
iam in a similar situation as you..i am in first year, where did you do your placement, and what did you do in it...???
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