Computing and AI degree - 4 offers, what would be best from a career perspective?

[SJaneS49]

To be completely upfront, I will have limited say in this as my DD is 26 and obviously an adult! I do think she would listen and give consideration to a good argument though!

Currently she is taking a one year Uni Access course in Computing and AI down in Brighton. She’s doing well with mainly distinctions. She has offers from Sussex, Brighton, Keele & Aberystwyth.

Obviously she will need to meet each offers requirement but I wondered if anyone could comment on which from a career perspective would be the best regarded (at this point I think she is more attracted to the AI side)? In terms of what her preferences are, Sussex is top of the list. She lives there now, has many friends and is involved in the art, music & LGBT scene all of which is important to her. I think she likes the idea of being second generation Sussex too - it’s where I went. I was a Humanities student though and have absolutely no idea if it’s well regarded on the Computing front! Overall it’s a pretty middle ranking Uni.

If anyone has any suggestions on the above or indeed any Universities that would be better to consider (& I assume at this point for any new Uni it would have to be a Clearing application) that would be fantastic! I’m not sure Aberystwyth would suit her -my eldest nephew did a degree there and from a lifestyle point of view (hers) I’m not sure she’d like it. Similarly I have ? about Brighton University which are probably completely unfounded and based on being an ex Sussex Student in which Brighton (then Poly) was seen as inferior.

TBH if she's got those offers in hand already that suggests to me that she's aiming too low in her aspirations and could punch higher.

Of the ones you mention are all generally equivalent and being somewhere she is comfortable and happy is important for being in a positive frame of mind for study so I wouldn't worry about which she chooses. However, it might be worth also looking at whether she can get a place at somewhere more prestigious. There are various websites which will rank universities for a specific course because there's rarely a university that is in the top rankings for all subjects.

Would she consider Manchester? That has an excellent reputation, a few options for AI courses and certainly won't be lacking in the LGBTQ scene.

Of those, Aber and Keele are so different to Brighton!!! If she likes Brighton I cannot imagine she would like the others!

I don’t know about the courses but she’s not chosen a single RG university. So she hadn’t aimed very high. I think Sheffield and Manchester would be worth a big shout.

The issue might be friends. Does she really want to move? Two universities are where she is living now. That rather says she wants to stay with friends. Career wise, might this not be the same issue? Certainly Manchester or Sheffield have employment possibilities but does she want to be there? I would have thought she would have applied to them already if she was career minded.

There is a huge digital community in Brighton with conferences, meet ups and work experience opportunities.

So I'd go for either Brighton or Sussex. Which one would depend on what sort of computing shes into. If she likes AI then I'd go with Sussex over Brighton. If she's more creative and into front end development then I'd say Brighton.

Thank you both - v helpful and does really confirm what I’d been thinking. As she is an adult, I have been involved in a very different way (mainly financial!) in this process than if she was 18 - to be honest I’ve been in the main just delighted that after years of making digital art, cartoons and music and doing crappy waitressing jobs that she is doing this all off her own steam.

She seems to be genuinely fascinated by AI and I would imagine that this is a highly competitive area with the most interesting work going to (and please excuse my phraseology!) boffins.

I’ve just done a ranking by subject search and Aberystwyth comes out the top of her current offers at No 16 (the second closest is Sussex at no 30 odd!). I just cannot see her being happy there for exactly the same reasons my nephew was happy there. Yes I do think friends & lifestyle are an issue - to be fair to her she is very outgoing and would make new ones wherever but ‘scene’ is important. She has worked hard this year but would not be a happy soul without like minded people, music and art. Manchester looks an excellent shout - top 10 ranking and with a thriving alternative scene (I think! What do I know, I’m 50!). I’m going to gently discuss this with her.

Posted before reading your message @zzzebra. Yes it is the AI side she is interested in. Thanks for your feedback - both courses do involve a year in industry and she does reckon she could pick up the right kind of work experience in Brighton so I really appreciate your input!

I believe Sussex would be a good option. Not necessarily high in the standard Uni rankings but has a good reputation for some of the more niche or vocational courses and if she is happy in her surroundings that's half the battle. Manchester is clearly at the other end of the spectrum in terms of ranking, accessibility or location. As a middle ground it might be worth looking at somewhere like Surrey or Royal Holloway.

Royal Holloway is Esher and not much of any scene for an adult nearby. Surrey is very safe but obviously Guildford is a bit bigger. But neither are Brighton. I think an adult will want a life away from 18 year olds on a campus. So Sussex snd Brighton would sort that aspect out. Whether employers really look at university vs what you can actually do is a moot point. As she’s had a working life and choosing a course with work experience, this could trump other courses elsewhere.

Does she have Maths A level? Somewhere like Manchester may well want an A in Maths A level to go with an access course / BTEC.

The course at Sussex looks interesting, she likes the location etc and at the end of the day, she will have a degree and if the worst comes to the worst, can go and apply for one of those grad schemes that have nothing at all to do with three years spent studying e.g. history or English Lit, either.

While Surrey & Royal Holloway are obviously decent Universities, I cannot see her being enthused about any blue rinsed commuter town - she stayed with us in Sevenoaks fo a couple of months while between rentals 18 months ago & you’d have thought I’d buried her alive!

Good point re entrance requirements re Manchester and no, no Maths A’level (just Art, Psychology & English and those decidedly below what she was predicted thanks to a bloody awful & manipulative relationship with her first girlfriend which really wiped out 4 years). Maths is part of her current course though. In the main she is achieving Distinctions with the odd Merit so whether that would be good enough....

Manchester AI undergrad appears to want A* maths A level plus access course. So that would be a non starter even with computing I suspect. Plus she hasn’t applied. Go with Sussex or Brighton - she’s going to be happy staying where she is I suspect.

Her only option would be the clearing route really and I agree if Maths is a requirement (thank you for looking this up) a probable complete non starter unless for some reason the course happened to be very under subscribed!

Thanks all for your suggestions and advice. She is an adult so limited what input I’d have anyway but something that has been playing on my mind in terms of right choices. Even when they are 26 they don’t stop being your child!

The A level requirements for that course are very high at Manchester. They do have a “contact us” re people doing an access course but then say they want maths A level at A* as well. So it’s either applying for 2022 or staying with her offers.

I quite agree! I think my 25 year old would listen to advice - not sure about my 28 year old!

:-) but how much would we have listened & heeded our own mothers mid twenties?!

Mine didn’t have any opinions! I was married by then. I did lots of part time courses in my 20s and 30s. Sponsored by my employer. Not much mum input into that.

Hi OP. I studied Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence at Sussex and for the AI part, Sussex is one of the top in this country. There are not actually that many universities that do such discrete AI in as much depth. Sussex was one of the first to offer it as a degree in the late 90s. It is more rigorous than the equivalent Brighton course but also means that there is more work as a result. You definitely get your money’s worth at Sussex with more contact time, lab work and tutorials. My friends on the equivalent course at Brighton had much less contact time and fewer assignments and fewer AI modules to choose from (which to be fair, your DD may prefer!) .

In terms of career prospects, it doesn’t really matter that much as your daughter has chosen a field where there isn’t a huge amount of snobbery in where you studied. Plenty of students were nabbed by places such as Goldman Sachs in their final year, for example at Sussex although maybe not as much as Imperial

Get her to compare what modules are offered at the different institutions and see which ones she prefers. The equipment and research towards AI is pretty fabulous at Sussex though, I must say!

Ah brilliant! Thank you so much for commenting @ChloeDecker. It’s definitely the AI side she has a real enthusiasm for & Sussex is where she seems keenest (I know she’s looked at the modules) on so that sounds spot on. Very reassuring to hear about the lack of snobbery in the field as well regarding where you studied & career opportunities. As above, it has been playing on my mind how much research she’d done and whether lifestyle was driving her preferences rather than pragmatism but it doesn’t sound at that way. Again, really appreciated!

@PresentingPercy, at DD1’s age of 26 I was a single parent living in London with DD1 working full time in my first management role. My Mother had plenty of opinions about that (mostly on throwing in the towel & coming to live with them in Sheepshire). Mother’s and daughters - quite often the tightest but toughest relationship in my experience. And I think I’ve just completely gone off tangent on my own thread here so on that note, enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Thank you. And good luck to DD.