Image source here

Disclaimer: The room that I'm staying while studying at Taylor's does not look like this at all. This is just a random nice picture of a college student's room to make my blog post look great.

A common question that I got from the people around me is this: Why do you want to study software engineering?

*Pause and stares into thin air for 976 seconds*

A some sort noble and glamorous answer would be this: I want to help people using technology, be it apps or games. I want to be able to solve current issues faced by the community through the knowledge that I can gain from this degree.

As cliche as this may sound, this really is my true intention of studying this course. However, if you ask me how will I be able to achieve this, I have yet to find an answer.

Another reason would be an indirect answer to the question: I do not like any other courses that I could think of besides software engineering and computer science.

I sometimes still wonder whether I'm choosing the right course or not. Until now, I still suck at coding (I had zero knowledge before enrolling in my degree) , I still don't know how to use Photoshop, I still can't draw a perfect circle on Paint and I even struggle using Microsoft Word. Wifi connectivity issues? Don't come looking for me. There are so many things that I'm clueless about that made the people around me question "Are you an IT student?"

Well, all these things that I've mentioned (except c programming) weren't taught in class sooooo blek =p.

But since I've already decided to take this course, I will give my all to it. I will preserve and I will survive. TT

"Is it hard studying IT courses without taking foundation in IT before?"

A simple answer would be no.

I came from a zero coding/programming/IT background. I took science stream in both high school and my pre-U. I'm able to cope with the things that are thought in the first semester.

I would really recommend anyone who wants to pursue any of the degree under the school of computing and IT (SoCIT) at Taylor's to first learn c programming through youtube videos before the date of commencement. The reason being programming, in my opinion, is something you can learn fast and better through practical means (testing out the codes yourself) rather than listening to lectures. I'm glad I learnt it beforehand because I wasn't totally clueless during the first few classes.

The program structure and the subjects that were taught for all 4 courses under SoCIT for the first semester are all the same. Everyone will be attending the same lecture but there'll be different time slots for practical and lab classes.

"Which course should I choose out of the 4 options?"

If you're wondering which course should you choose between the 4 courses that are offered under SoCIT, I think it's best for you to consult seniors or if not, ask the counsellors. I myself can't differentiate these 4 courses because we've been learning the same thing up till now.

I heard from my friend that if you want to switch to another course within SoCIT after the first semester, they'll allow you to do so since our subjects are all the same. But whether they'll charge additional fees for the change, I'm not sure.

Make more friends and get to know more seniors for the first 3 months while you're here to help you decide on which of the 4 courses really suits you. Ask the seniors how is it like studying this course and how was their intern and stuffs like that.

It's very interesting and fun to get to meet people with similar interests as mine. Before deciding on taking this course at Taylor's, I thought of going for the double degree for business and IT at Monash University. Surprisingly, a few of them thought of the same thing. I have interest in business related stuffs and always wanted to know how to startup a business and such. I was surprised by how many of my course mates, again, thought of the same thing too hahah xD

There's a few of my friends who joined the course wanting to create games. Being able to share your thoughts and knowledge on gaming is pretty cool too.

There are many competitions for you to enter throughout the year. But you'll have to take the initiative and search it up on Google most of the time. Our lecturers will occasionally let us know of competitions that they know of. We were told about a competition for startups during the first competition. Although it's not fully related to IT, but it's a good shot for entrepreneurs wannabes. The lecturers are all willing to help you so feel free to contact them if you need their help. If you're serious about your idea, you can even propose it to the dean of SoCIT and ask for sponsors.

I'm currently starting up a healthy food delivery service with my course mate Duncan. Head over here to know more on what is it, how, when and why did it got started. :)

Another common question: How many girls are there in SoCIT?

The number of girls compared to guys are still very little especially in the computing and engineering schools. In software engineering, there are only 4 girls including me. In the whole SoCIT for March 2016 intake, I would say there are less than 20 girls out of 100 students.

I do pity the guys for having to face the same old boring me for the next 3 years hahaha xD But there are plenty of pretty girls at Taylor's so it's fine. Girls shouldn't be discouraged from taking computing and engineering just because of you going against the norm. The norm isn't always right, and so does the saying that goes like this "computing and engineering courses are for guys".

Do what you want, you're the ruler of your life.

"Which pre-U program should I choose before joining pursuing an IT degree?"

If you've just completed your SPM or other equivalent qualifications and currently looking for a pre-U program before joining SoCIT, honestly, you can just choose whichever you like. Just not A-levels because it's much much harder and it takes a much longer time compared to foundation, SAM, AUSMAT, CPU and so on.

From what I've heard from my foundation friends, some of the things that they learn in foundation are pretty useless hahahah. The plus point of joining foundation is that you get to pick up a programming language and understand the basics of programming and such earlier than the rest.

Also, it's apparently compulsory for foundation students to join IT competitions and I think this exposure is quite nice. Good thing about foundations is that if you manage to score well, you'll be entitled to more scholarship amount compared to students who are coming from other uni.

However, choose foundation ONLY when you're 100% sure you're gonna study a degree in SoCIT and when you're sure you'll be studying at Taylor's. If you end up wanting to go for an engineering degree, you'll have to take the foundation for engineering and spend another year on it. If you want to pursue your degree at other universities other than the uni where you took your foundation, you'll be able to do so, but I think it'll be a lil troublesome.


"How did SAM help me for my degree?"

Even though I took pure science for SAM, I wouldn't say my pre-U was totally useless. Unlike foundation, I'll still be able to choose other degree from other schools from other Universities, which is what made me want to try out software engineering. I was afraid that I couldn't cope up with my studies and that I'll realise my passion wasn't in the IT field. Thus the idea of still being able to drop out and choose other courses like business or even law and medic made me felt a lil bit secured. Ofc you'll be wasting a lot of money by doing so.

Many of my course mates actually took SAM (SACE) before joining degree at Taylor's. Some took arts stream, some took a mixture of science and arts stream. Regardless of the subject, everyone were able to cope just well.

I would say the coursework component in SAM helped me quite a lot. I was able to do research, paraphrasing, referencing like it was second nature to me. All these are quite important when doing your assignments and stuffs.

The concept of CPU should be more or less the same, just that you'll be taught by lecturers from overseas. You can also take A-levels if you want to but it'll be more time consuming than the rest of the pre-U. Most of them would be one year ahead of you when you join degree. Not that it's wrong, just giving you a heads up. ;D

There are many other universities that offer IT-related courses around Malaysia. I don't know which uni offers better IT courses than the other though. You'll have to look it up yourself hahah.

All the best in your future endeavours aaaand thanks for reading! <3

xoxo