What did you study at undergraduate level and when did you graduate? What are you studying now? Are you studying and working at the same time?
I studied Bachelor of Information Technology back home and took up a Master of Information Technology, majoring in Software Development/ Business Information Systems at the University of Technology, Sydney. I am now a Technical consultant in North Sydney.
What have been the most important stages of your life?
Each of the stages of life has been crucial. In essence, if I connect the dots from school to experience abroad, I see that I was an average student in school and all the life experiences stages and phases (good or bad) have prepared me to be at the place I am working as a technical consultant.
How did you get to your current (or most recent) job position and how long have you been working there?
I found it through the university job board and have been working for 9 months now.
What made you decide to progress with further study?
I was developing Android applications back home after completing my Bachelor of Information Technology, then I realised the importance of studying more subjects related to information systems and software development. As technologies are rapidly evolving, I wanted to learn more about every aspect of software development and information systems. Further, the course provided me an opportunity to select the subjects of my choice and I decided to study further.
How did you choose your particular further study course (compared to others)? / Were you weighing up any alternative degrees or career pathways before choosing this qualification?
I have been always passionate about software development. Although there was more to it I realised while working as Android application developer. The backend web services, web applications, all these excited me along with learning about project management, Innovation management, and information systems. Thus, I wanted to study further and more subjects.
What was the process to get accepted into your course? What were the prerequisites?
The prerequisites were at least a 3-year degree in Information Technology and since I had a 4-year Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science Engineering it helped. Further work experience was also considered. The process was not very much complicated, it required me to lodge EOI for the university with all academic and relevant documents.
What does your study involve? Can you describe a typical day? (if it’s difficult to describe a typical day, tell us about the last thing you worked on?)
A typical day would involve, studying the slides and preparing for activities that will happen in class. Finding different people in class with the same motivation of performing well in the subject. Attending lectures and then going through case study with a group. Answering case study answer with discussion in group and then confirming with a tutor.
Will this course be beneficial in your career? Where could you or others in your position go from here? Please explain your answer.
Yes, this course was very beneficial. I learnt a lot from the subjects. I also got experience of working with a diversity of people from different cultures around the globe. I learnt all the subjects required at the Master's level for software development. These also included management and requirements engineering subject to provide students with great understanding. There are three pathways from here, software developer, business analyst, web developer.
What do you love the most about your course?
The freedom to select subjects. Group assignments and meeting different students in every subject. Lectures and activities were very innovative and creative using the latest technology. The assignment were challenging and there were frequent presentations for assignments. Also the feedback and availability of tutors for one-to-one sessions. Free events and workshops.
What are the limitations of your course?
Some of the subjects have become outdated and need revision. The number of weeks is also 12 and the assignments take a lot of time investment. It gets very challenging for full-time students especially if all four subjects are having only assignments. Also, tutor's slides are outdated along with knowledge.
Which three pieces of advice would you give to a current undergraduate student? They don’t necessarily have to be related to your studies, or even to one’s professional life.