Carl,
Nah, OU degree in 3 years and working 45 hours a week is how to do it. No social life to talk of, but plenty of time for that latter.

As for interview, why not ditch the standard sit on a chair while three people ask you stupid questions and go for the "Set up a mini-LAN, break something and get them to fix it" or "Give them a compiler and see how long it takes them to write a 'Hello World' program". Much better test if you ask me.

Cheers

Ian

 

All I'm saying is - if you get a good bsc then the chances are you'll get a good msc or phd.

Its a personal thing - do some more study or start getting some real worl experience. Either way when I look for someone it doesnt matter to me if they have one degree or two (when both are in a similar subject).

When I finished uni I really wanted to to a Phd in computer science - but didnt as I wanted to live in the real world.

The bottom line is if you good it shouldnt (and probably wont) matter.

T.

 

The "start work earlier and earn more" argument is pure rubbish. If that was the case, people wouldn't bother with degrees.

After spending 3 years pissing it up at Uni, I walked straight into a job earning more than the average national salary - and we were near the bottom of a recession at the time.

In 2 years I'd had several rises and had gained enough experience to go freelance. I now earn a large number of multiples of what I started on, but that's got nothing to do with length of service, it's about what my skills are worth and the location I'm in. I know people who skipped Uni and went straight into work and despite being very talented they're earning less than a quarter of what I do.

So to say that it's more sensible to skip Uni and get out to work if you want to earn more is just plain wrong. People pay top money for skills, not length-of-service!

 

Skills are not only gained at uni....

T.

 

There is a world of "networking" outside Unix/NT boxes you know. Cisco/Juniper/Foundry/Extreme kit which requires knowledge of OSPF, EIGRP, BGP4 (route dampening is fun) etc. None of this stuff is MCSE/CCNA level.

 

You wish.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/edu...00/2068094.stm

 

OK, I'm full of sh*t

 

I didn't say it was fair.

 

can i have a job please, someone, anyone.... cant drive though!

can sweep floors and make tea... and i learn quick.. i know dos..

http://www.wallis2000.co.uk/dw03122001.pdf

David

 

Erm. Yes. That is why it was in quotes.

No really - I thought that the entire internet is run of the back of NT boxes...

 

True, but what you learn is the theoretical basics which act as the building blocks, upon which it becomes very simple to add new knowledge.

I've met numerous people who've gone straight into work and are very good at what they do, but put a new technology (particularly anything innovative) in front of them and they won't grasp it because they lack the fundemental underlying knowledge which would help them understand how or why it works.

For example, I've had arguments with people who've claimed that it's possible to write a sort algorithm for n randomly-placed data items with a greater efficiency than order n log n. I know, however, from my uni course on algorithms, that it's simply not possible without some previous knowledge of the state or contents of the data. It's a technical example, but you see what I mean...?

 

Exactly. Also stuff like if you try to subtract noise from noise you end up with root 2 more noise

 

Yeah. And like the fact that it's worth moving into your second year house a week early so you can blag your way into FAFY (Fu** A First Year) week.