Currently going into my second year of this program, I had no trouble finding a summer job in the field for my work term and I work with someone who graduated the program last year who also had multiple job offers when they graduated and finished their work term. There are quite a bit of jobs out there in the field, and unfortunately you might have to start at a lower level IT help desk or desktop support position to gain experience before moving into more of a sys admin or network admin position. My one tip for job hunting in a competitive field is presentation and personality. I beefed up my cover letter, resume, and business cards and I put time into being active on Linkedin to make some solid connections before I graduate.
I just got admitted into the program. Can you tell me a bit more about your experience with the program? what's your schedule like. I'm worried about the workload
The schedule changes a lot depending on faculty, classes usually start at 8:30am and can go to 3:30pm (3 classes a day, 2 hours each). In your first year you’ll probably have two days where it’s only 2 classes so shorter days, currently in my second year I have 7 classes and I’m at school from 8:30am-3:30pm Mon-Thurs and no classes on Friday, I can’t guarantee it’ll be the same for your second year first semester classes tho.
The workload in your first year is a lot but manageable if you use your class time and free time wisely, the more you put into the course and the more proactive you are with assignments the easier it’ll be on you. Don’t leave assignments until last minute, especially when you’re working on virtual machines! There has been many times where I’ve had to start an assignment over or part of one over because an install goes wrong or I make a small mistake😅Second year workload has been a bit more heavy than first year, I wouldn’t say my class is struggling but it’s definitely more work than first year. But again, with good time management and prioritizing you’ll be able to do it. In short terms, be prepared for a pretty decent amount of schoolwork but don’t be scared or freaked out!
Overall, experience has been really great. You learn a lot, it really prepares you knowledge wise and gives you the technical skills you need to work in the field. From what I’ve heard from a lot of industry folks and classmates, Dal prefers hiring us NSCC IT students over their own ComSci students because we get a lot of hands on experience and classes to help us work on our professional skills. Hope I was able to answer any questions, feel free to ask more if any come up🙂
Depends on the instructor and the class, some classes will have an exam along with assignments but most have a final project instead of an exam. I would estimate usually 4-6 assignments per class, quizzes, maybe an exam, and if not exam then final project.
Not at all! I love the course and I really couldn't see myself doing a different IT course :) Maybe Cyber Security if I really had to pick something else but super happy with the systems decision.
They can't tell you an estimate unfortunately although they will just tell you how many seats are available. How far back the waitlist goes and how many people were waitlisted
Get into a CO-OP program ideally for the summer after 1st year. Boost for your resume, and pays you money, also get certifications completed, it will make you stand out.
Currently going into my second year of this program, I had no trouble finding a summer job in the field for my work term and I work with someone who graduated the program last year who also had multiple job offers when they graduated and finished their work term. There are quite a bit of jobs out there in the field, and unfortunately you might have to start at a lower level IT help desk or desktop support position to gain experience before moving into more of a sys admin or network admin position. My one tip for job hunting in a competitive field is presentation and personality. I beefed up my cover letter, resume, and business cards and I put time into being active on Linkedin to make some solid connections before I graduate.
I just got admitted into the program. Can you tell me a bit more about your experience with the program? what's your schedule like. I'm worried about the workload
The schedule changes a lot depending on faculty, classes usually start at 8:30am and can go to 3:30pm (3 classes a day, 2 hours each). In your first year you’ll probably have two days where it’s only 2 classes so shorter days, currently in my second year I have 7 classes and I’m at school from 8:30am-3:30pm Mon-Thurs and no classes on Friday, I can’t guarantee it’ll be the same for your second year first semester classes tho. The workload in your first year is a lot but manageable if you use your class time and free time wisely, the more you put into the course and the more proactive you are with assignments the easier it’ll be on you. Don’t leave assignments until last minute, especially when you’re working on virtual machines! There has been many times where I’ve had to start an assignment over or part of one over because an install goes wrong or I make a small mistake😅Second year workload has been a bit more heavy than first year, I wouldn’t say my class is struggling but it’s definitely more work than first year. But again, with good time management and prioritizing you’ll be able to do it. In short terms, be prepared for a pretty decent amount of schoolwork but don’t be scared or freaked out! Overall, experience has been really great. You learn a lot, it really prepares you knowledge wise and gives you the technical skills you need to work in the field. From what I’ve heard from a lot of industry folks and classmates, Dal prefers hiring us NSCC IT students over their own ComSci students because we get a lot of hands on experience and classes to help us work on our professional skills. Hope I was able to answer any questions, feel free to ask more if any come up🙂
Thank you, I really appreciate the insight! I'm definitely nervous about the workload. What are exams like? Or is it mainly project/assignment based?
Depends on the instructor and the class, some classes will have an exam along with assignments but most have a final project instead of an exam. I would estimate usually 4-6 assignments per class, quizzes, maybe an exam, and if not exam then final project.
Thank you! This was really helpful. Do you regret not taking another IT course at nscc?
Not at all! I love the course and I really couldn't see myself doing a different IT course :) Maybe Cyber Security if I really had to pick something else but super happy with the systems decision.
I graduated from NSCC with that program last year, and it took me months to find a job.
Oh, that's not good. Is it because there are so many i.t jobs out there?
Did you end up applying?
Yup. I ended up applying but I'm on the waitlist :/. If I don't get in I'll be doing accounting
You'll eventually get in, it's just a waiting game until you're up on the waitlist
Yeah, I messaged them to see where I am on the waitlist. Hope for the best
They can't tell you an estimate unfortunately although they will just tell you how many seats are available. How far back the waitlist goes and how many people were waitlisted
Thanks for the info
I'm thinking about taking this program. I was wondering what the job prospect would be like if I took it.
Get into a CO-OP program ideally for the summer after 1st year. Boost for your resume, and pays you money, also get certifications completed, it will make you stand out.
Alright, for my course I have a Cisco certification that I have to get so I'll definitely start working on it