12 DIGITALIRELAND INSIGHT Thursday 10 February 2011 College education


only provide you with the skills for the job, but it can also give you time to develop a specialisation and can provide a huge range of contacts for breaking into the industry. “The usual undergraduate and


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postgraduate programmes, comput- ing science and software engineer- ing in general, are still there and are very attractive,” said Dr Waseem Akhtar, head of the Faculty of Com- puting Science in Griffi th College. “Even in this diffi cult time, there


are jobs for good programmers and good software engineers.” The virtue of having such a quali-


fi cation proves to the employer that you have the necessary skills to do the job, according to Mark Deegan, industrial placement coordinator at DIT School of Computing. “While employers are looking for computer science graduates, they accept that if a student is a gradu- ate of a known institution from a known degree programme, they have the basic skills. The rest they will learn on the job,” he said.


Course options Numerous colleges across the coun- try offer several core courses in computer science, engineering and software development, providing students with the essential skills needed to break into the industry. Choosing your path within your


chosen course is a big step, one that will not only shape your next four years, but also your future. Deegan maintains that often a


mature student’s perspective can help them plot out their career path, particularly when choosing an area to specialise in. “It can be diffi cult for school leav-


ers to see what their job might be in fi ve or 10 years’ time. It’s easier


NE of the best weap- ons you can have when hunting for an IT job is a strong, relevant quali- fi cation. Attending a college course can not


Tech


Laura O’Brien takes a look at what qualifi cations and skills colleges can offer to help future IT professionals get their foot in the door


for mature students to see what it might be because they may have worked there or they may have fam- ily, friends or colleagues with practi- cal experience of working in the IT industry. “There can be an advantage in choosing areas where they want to specialise in, whereas you need to give school leavers a fl avour of dif- ferent aspects of the IT industry be- fore you can enable them to make the decision as to where they’re go- ing to specialise.” Most computer science courses provide different fl avours of the IT-


‘While employers are looking for computer science graduates, they accept that if a student is a graduate of a known institution from a known degree programme, they have the basic skills. The rest they will learn on the job’


world. Dr Akhtar emphasises that, along with core computer science courses, there are also inter-disci- plinary degrees that provide an al- ternative route. “In Griffi th College, we have an


MSC in Applied Digital Media Tech- nologies,” he said. “People with a different educational background can join these degrees and when you fi nish them you have more op- portunities and a variety of skills. Within those, you can select what you want to do.”


Finishing college Once you hit fi nal year, deciding on what happens next becomes essen- tial, be it continuing on with further study, taking some time out or fi nd- ing a job. Choosing to look for a career can


be intimidating fresh out of college, however, Deegan believes that com- panies are aware that new gradu- ates will not be complete experts on all things IT. “They’re looking at the raw ma-


terials of an engineer or IT profes- sional working with them in fi ve years’ time. That’s what they’re get- ting from graduation. They’re not getting a fi nished product,” he ex- plained. A company is also aware that a


student may not have honed in on a specialism straight out of college, continued Deegan, and that they know that there’s a level of mobility within the organisation until this is discovered. If you do have a specialism in


mind, Dr Ahktar recommends do- ing a certifi cate around this area, in order to show an employer a com- mitment to it.


Applying for jobs Having worked with many IT em- ployers across the country, Deegan knows of the most effective ways to secure a job. He stresses the impor- tance of getting a CV in at the right desk, rather than thoughtlessly sending hundreds into HR depart- ments. A good way of doing this is to attend graduation fairs or events where colleges invite companies to talk with students. By networking with individu-


als from these companies, you can make a solid contact who may know of an opening within the company and would happily recommend you.


Deegan also said that students shouldn’t wait until graduation to start handing out CVs and they should do so either before or early in the second term. “An employer is not sitting on tenterhooks waiting to see what your fi nal degree grade is. In the majority of cases that’s not what’s most important to them. What’s im- portant to them are your commu- nication skills, your interests and involvement while in college and the subjects you took. That’s what’s important to them.” Regardless of which institution


you choose to educate yourself in IT, the most important thing is to make the most out of it. You will have access to a huge amount of resources, such as com- puter facilities, lecturers’ advice and the careers department. Utilising these support models will help you achieve your goal in making your mark in the tech world.


SOME OF THE IT COURSES COLLEGES HAVE TO OFFER


Trinity College Dublin • BAI Degree in Computer Engineering • BA Degree in Computer Science • Diploma in Information Systems • BAI Degree in Electronic and Computer Engineering Dublin City University


• BEng Degree in Information & Communications Engineering


• BSc Degree in Computer Applications University College Dublin • BSc Degree in Computer Science • BSc Degree in Engineering Science • MSc in Advanced Software Engineering Griffi th College Dublin


• BSc Degree in Computing Science • BSc in Computing


• MSc in Computing Science • MSc in Applied Digital Media • Higher Diploma in Computing Dublin Institute of Technology • BSc Degree in Computer Science • BSc Degree in Computing • MSc in Computing (Information Technology) • MSc in Computing (Knowledge Management) • MSc in Computing (Data Analytics) NUI Galway


• BSc Degree in Computer Science and Information Technology


University College Cork


• BSc Degree in Computer Science • BSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering


www.siliconrepublic.com/careers-centre


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