Atomic.edu - Bachelor of Computer Science

What do the students think?

The best measure of the worth the Bachelor of Computer Science is, of course, the opinions of current and former students. Quite a few people on the Atomic forums happen to fall into this category, so over the past month we asked around and came up with some interesting feedback.

Something you should be aware of, according to forum user Sneddo, is that you’ll have to do a number of ‘non-technical subjects aimed at improving the communication skills of your average Computer Science geek.’ Myra`Jai mentioned this too. She felt such things were ‘a waste of time,’ although her comment was directed more at the culture and history subjects that her university required her to do.

Myra`Jai also notes that when selecting a course, you should ensure that it has an accreditation from the Australian Computer Society. ‘This allows the student to join a professional body without jumping through hoops after they graduate, she says. ‘Also, don’t be afraid to change your mind about what you are studying. I enjoyed writing code and making the machine do clever things, but I discovered I much preferred designing and engineering the software to meet the requirements. This means working at a more abstracted level than a code hacker. Be aware that working in this field means being able to write reports, manuals and user documentation as well. There are some people skills involved.’

As for the value of the course, opinions vary. Most of the students, both past and present, commented that the Bachelor is heavy in theory, but low on real world experience. ‘Our sample group really enjoyed learning new things, but some felt as if the worth of what was taught was minimal.’ Sneddo had the most extreme reaction. ‘In my opinion it’s the arts degree of IT -- while it has some really interesting subjects and you can somewhat choose a direction, at the end of it all it’s largely pointless.’

Others were more positive. khendar said that the shortage of practical work was fine, as the background knowledge that the Bachelor focuses on giving you is enough to ‘allow you to easily step into’ a real world situation.



Where will it get me?

Perhaps coincidentally, those we surveyed are either still studying or working in unrelated fields. justo316, who was disappointed by the Bachelor’s shortage of hardware-focused subjects, is now working as an IT tech. He says this has ‘nothing to do with me getting a Computer Science degree.’

Universities promise the world when it comes to discussing what sort of jobs a degree will get you. Certainly, if you choose your units correctly, plan ahead, chat with the university’s support officer and pay attention to sites like seek.com.au to see what employers actually want you can find yourself qualified for all sorts of exciting jobs, from games programming to web security work.