Choosing a university

[jexley]

Even though it was back in the US (and part of it in Texas, no less... *shudder*) I wouldn't trade my Uni days for anything. Much like Kay said, there's so much more to it, and education is more than what resides in books and lectures.

A lot of it depends on what you're looking to do and what kind of person you are. If your path looks to be one of solitude and freelancing in your underwear at 3 AM, where you call the shots and bow to no one, then maybe Uni's not for you. If you're looking to move into the professional world where your networking skills and collaborative abilities will bring you success, then Uni is a great place to get that sorted.

Personally, I would recommend it if for no other reason than the relationships that I made and all the mistakes I got to make that only got me a bad grade and never cost me a job.

Good luck, whichever path you choose.

PS - To-ga... To-ga... TO-GA... TO-GA...

[madpilot]

Originally Posted by jexley

A lot of it depends on what you're looking to do and what kind of person you are. If your path looks to be one of solitude and freelancing in your underwear at 3 AM, where you call the shots and bow to no one, then maybe Uni's not for you. If you're looking to move into the professional world where your networking skills and collaborative abilities will bring you success, then Uni is a great place to get that sorted.

I reckon it's the other way around. As a freelancer, most of your work will come through networking and friends and people you met, so networking skills are MORE important. Don't forget that the peeps you go to uni with will become managers and owners of companies, who need stuff done - Just last week, one of my old uni buddies called me up for some work (and I left 5 years ago).

Also, going to uni, doesn't preclude you from doing work - I was freelancing all through my Uni days.

Originally Posted by jexley

PS - To-ga... To-ga... TO-GA... TO-GA...

Listen to the man. He knows his stuff.

[WorldFamousWebdeveloper]

Never can have TOO MUCH education.
I have 3 TAFE Certificates, Bachelor Degree in Electronic Engineering and Currently doing 2nd degree plus 25+ Years of self-education in web, programming and multimedia.

This industry is always changing and you need to not only have experience in a lot of areas, but be always keeping up with latest trends.

Brisbane is great place and has good vibes for UNI or TAFE learning.

[natgimm]

I started a tech degree in early '90s (part time, mature age) & left halfway through because technology they were teaching was so old (their curriculum approval processes take some time). I learned more on the job than anywhere and never had a problem finding work without a degree. I have an assoc dip in Library Science (so I know how to research) = helps.

I agree Uni teaches you more than just industry knowhow, although it's an expensive way to get a life degree.

I think it's not what you learn, but the willingness to learn that gets you a job

[Yaheed]

I did TAFE in WA for two years and wish I had've gone to Uni to experience a different way of learning and, as Kay said, being a uni student .

But in saying that I don't regret going to TAFE. I met some cool people and learned a fair amount about the web and multimedia. I think that either way the information you will be getting will most likely be outdated (TAFE certainly was, not sure about Uni) especially when it comes to the web.

Go Uni imo.

[Dorian Gray]

I did IT (not majoring in web though) at QUT. QUT's an interesting place. It's not shit-hot on the hardware but it's not a third world radio station either. Tutors can be hit and miss, but since they amalgamated IT with Science I think they've weeded out some of the not-so-good people. It's got a decent program, and enough faculties you can mix a few different disciplines in if you wanted to.

A plus of going to Uni (at least QUT, I'm sure other places must offer something similar) is co-op programs. At QUT, you can enter the Co-op program after a while, where you're given a job for a year (full time, paid) with a large client, and earn credit while you're doing it. It's a nice blend of getting experience, getting money, and completing your degree. Something to be said for QUT over other universities, I believe (from what I've experienced and been told) that it's more practical than other universities, in that it'll teach you what you need to know in order to survive out in the real world rather than waffling with lots of theoretical stuff as other unis (cough*UQ*cough) can. Then there's a couple units at QUT that can get you in touch with actual clients as well, which could potentially lead to something later on.

I'd suggest doing a double degree if you wanted to go to Uni anyway, but if you really want to focus on web, you could look at one of the many combinations QUT offers. I'm thinking IT / Creative Industries about now. Possibly IT / Business (Marketing) would be suitable as well. I'm doing IT / Law, and doing something else does make you see both worlds in a different light compared to people that do things 'straight', which I think is an advantage.

Another advantage of Uni that I just thought of is you get to pick a range of things (from memory, it's two majors?). This lets you experience other things; if you get learning web and decide later on it's not for you, you might find instead you quite enjoy network administration and can rely on your degree to head into that area instead.

In the end, though, people are right in that you don't have to go to Uni to learn and be successful. But you do miss out on the 'experience', and it can look good in the early days to have that bit of paper saying you went to Uni rather than relying on being able to pick up enough work to make up for it. It also teaches you skills you mightn't think about - QUT, at least, does units in analysis, design, and management, which you might find harder to pick up later on when faced with it. Plus, as someone said, you get more general skills like being able to pick up new languages or ideas easily, as you're exposed to a wider variety of them compared to if you started out working.

[Zen]

Think I've conclusively decided on a course/uni. (thanks everyone who contributed, especially Oscar Wilde who gave me the idea of the double degree.)

any thoughts/criticisms?

Double Degree: Bachelor of Creative Industries/Bachelor of Information Technology, Major in Web Technologies.


http://www.courses.qut.edu.au/cgi-bi...&courseID=9697

[kay]

Originally Posted by Zen

Double Degree: Bachelor of Creative Industries/Bachelor of Information Technology, Major in Web Technologies.

Double degree and you're going to freelance?

I'm not saying a double degree plus freelancing is a bad idea, but it's a lot of hard work. Personally I loved studying so if you're ok with that then it's probably fine. But be careful you don't take on too much

[Zen]

Originally Posted by kay

Double degree and you're going to freelance?

I'm not saying a double degree plus freelancing is a bad idea, but it's a lot of hard work. Personally I loved studying so if you're ok with that then it's probably fine. But be careful you don't take on too much

Yeah, I'm perfectly happy to sacrifice money for 4 years to get a better education

[tuna]

Originally Posted by Zen

Double Degree: Bachelor of Creative Industries/Bachelor of Information Technology, Major in Web Technologies.

Double Majors are hard work, I did one. Like Kay said freelancing too maybe little hard core..

One thing you don't want to get is a rep for sloppy work from your uni freelancing days. Most web communities are small, everyone knows everyone else.. Word of Mouth reputation can be very important, especially when starting out.

If the studies get heavy, let the freelancing slide and reduce your projects.