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herman
Member
Member # 12
Posted May 21, 2002 08:25 PM
Hey everyone, I have recently been accepted for a MSc in Computer Science at the University of Newcastle, and I would like to hear from other IT guys from overseas who did a course of study in the UK. Was it easier finding jobs after your course of study? I am interested on hearing experience, as I'm debating on whether to pursue this course in the UK [where I want to live] or the US. [Where I'm at now]. Thanks.
swengg
Member
Member # 686
Posted May 21, 2002 09:04 PM
I think it is very difficult to find decent paying IT jobs around Newcastle or in north England generally speaking. The south east is supposedly much better for IT jobs -- Cambridge, Thames Valley & London.
Prince1
Member
Member # 2997
Posted May 21, 2002 09:38 PM
I am about completing a Masters degree in the UK.

I think it all depends on whether you are a visa national or NoT and your past work experience.

If you are a Visa national and you have less than 2years work experience, I will advice you to really think twice...

It is quite difficult getting a job these days.... I think US is still better.

It is your decision....best of luck!

herman
Member
Member # 12
Posted May 21, 2002 09:38 PM
swengg:
Thanks for the reply. I should have said that I do not plan to stay in Newcastle, in fact, London or the Home Counties would be my preferred destination. I was wondering if studying in the UK helped to open doors for people seeking to settle in the UK, as one is in the country, and is better able to search for employment...

Prince1:
Well, I am a US national, and I have four years of C++ development experience, so I don't know if that helps some. I have heard that both the US and Europe are undergoing a slow recovery at the moment, with the keyword being slow. It's certainly not the .com boom days, but many feel the worst is over. However, if I start this September, I will not be reentering the job market until my studies are complete, which is next August. Hopefully a full recovery will be in place by then...

[ May 21, 2002: Message edited by: herman ]

mystikal
Member
Member # 2457
Posted May 21, 2002 11:46 PM
Aim higher Herman.I have nothing against the University of Newcastle but I would suggest you aim higher.If you are seeking just a way in then just about any university would do but if you are really looking to educate and improve then you owe it to your future to seek the best afterall nothing for the best but the best aye?!
WorldCitizen
Member
Member # 1527
Posted May 22, 2002 01:01 AM
Herman,

Wow! I was just about to post the same question! I have just been accepted for my MSc at the University of Westminster, in Central London. My impressions about the economy are the same as yours and while Atlanta may have some opportunities Vancouver's IT market is literally dead... I should have stayed in Toronto (hindsight is 20-20 isn't it). So the prospects for employment here are very grim. Heck, I am even doing landscaping work to supplement my IT consulting to make ends meet. I always wanted to get my Masters Degree and now, with the current economic climate, it seems like a good time as any. I too hope that by the time I am finished, things will be better off all around.

Does anyone have any comments about the University of Westminster?

Cheers,

WC

mystikal
Member
Member # 2457
Posted May 22, 2002 02:13 AM
You can use the times guide as an indicator http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,716,00.html
But keep in mind some universities chose not to take part e.g Cranfield and many Masters programmes are not graded or cannot be correctly graded.
A rough guide would be to keep an eye out on a particular industry sector and to note the universities involved(if possible) often times a department maybe very good but its university reputation is crap and some times a department may be excellent one year and then crap the next i.e. Research staff have gone onto earn zillions more privately.
As for westminster it sadly does not as a whole qualify as a good uni but the department(which you did not mention)might be a world leader.
goodluck
herman
Member
Member # 12
Posted May 22, 2002 04:32 AM
Hey WorldCitizen, congratulations on the acceptance. Mystikal, I've applied to other schools, just that Newcastle is the first one to send an acceptance letter. According to the Times list you provided, Bristol is the best university on it that I've sent an application to. Another school I haven't heard much but saw a high ranking is Bath. Of course I expected Oxford and Cambridge to be at the top, but I thought Manchester would be higher, and the BBC called UMIST "one of England's top universities" in a story, but it's ranked at #31 at the list. As for Westminster, they may have a strong IT department, like Mystikal said, a university can have a well thought of IT department and a lower overall reputation that another school. (Same reason that in the US, Carnegie-Mellon is generally thought of as the nation's premier computer science university, ahead of Harvard or Yale in that field) In principle, of course I would like to aim for the best, but conversely, I bet admissions for Cambridge's postgraduate computer science programmes are rather competitive...

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