Belfast Met or Lisburn SERC?

raptorman

My daughter is wanting to study Java programming and I was wondering which is the better college at which to study, Belfast Met or Lisburn SERC?

If anyone has studied at either I would greatly appreciate
your thoughts/experiences.

Thanks

Golden_Anemone

When my son toyed with wanting to study motor mechanics he was told he didn't have the choice of Belfast Met - he had to go to Lisburn. Because we live in Downpatrick he would have had to get a bus to Belfast then another one to Lisburn so I rang and queried this and was told it was correct.

Ring and check whether she has a choice. It may well be different for part time courses.

raptorman

Golden_Anemone wrote: »

When my son toyed with wanting to study motor mechanics he was told he didn't have the choice of Belfast Met - he had to go to Lisburn. Because we live in Downpatrick he would have had to get a bus to Belfast then another one to Lisburn so I rang and queried this and was told it was correct.

Ring and check whether she has a choice. It may well be different for part time courses.

Interesting, I shall check.

D.A.

I could be completely wrong here, but is the market for Java programmers really that big nowadays?

redped

There are a lot of programming jobs available in Belfast at the minute, many of which are for Java people. I currently write Java (although with a strong background in both C & C++ as well), and when I changed jobs at the end of last year I was surprised at how many were available. I assume this applies to recent graduates as well as more experienced people, but in general I'd say IT is probably one of the few (the only?) sector that is recruiting here at the minute.

The one thing I would say is that the vast majority of companies are looking for people with computer-related degrees; I'm not sure what qualifications either Belfast Met or Lisburn offer, but I'd strongly recommend the OP's daughter to be aiming for a university position at some stage after college, otherwise she'd be severely limiting which companies would even give her an interview.

Indo77

I agree with the previous poster, the OP's daughter would be better enroling on a 3rd level Computer Science course but obviously if they are post A-level age. There are also post 16 Computer Science courses like National Diplomas. I am a C# programmer that can see that Java is making a huge comeback with the advent of mobile phone OSs such as Android that kicks both Apple and Microsoft out of the market share. There is now even a C# engine to develop Android apps. This is where the industry is going and eventually the workforce. I would just be cautious of any short-term course that promise much, in my experience often they don't promise what they deliver.

D.A.

Indo77 wrote: »

in my experience often they don't promise what they deliver.

Oops :rotfl:

raptorman

Thanks for all the replies.

My daughter would ideally like to write games but in
all honesty I think she is way ahead of herself. One part of
me wants to tell her that she is living in cloud cuckoo land
and the other wants her to do better than I did at school.

All I can do really is try and point her in the right direction
with honest information, wether she listen's or not
is another matter entirely.

Thanks again for all your replies.

cooki2222

Are there not tailored courses now for computer game design??
I could swear one of the colleges do it!! try the southern regional college too if going to portadown isnt a trouble!!

pamperedprincess

Belfast Met offer a variety of programming courses inc computer gaming. Information day is today (Thurs) 12 - 7pm in new Titanic Quarter campus.

weeclick

I would say to phone up both and see firstly what the options are and which offers better courses all round. When I was deciding where to study it was between Belfast and Bangor (even though Im from Lisburn it was never an option for me due to courses) As both offered the course I wanted and both were offering me a place on the course it was up to me which I went for. In the end I chose Belfast MET even though Bangor had a better reputation, choice was based solely on the equipment offered for the course and through my walk round at the open day.

Find out when each has their open day and get your daughter to go to each and spend some time talking to the tutors, where I could reccomend MET for all its facilites within the campus I was at your daughter may find that Lisburn is better suited to her needs or vice versa