Computer Science at uni. Is it worth it?

[Blurryeyed123]

DC will be in Y12 in Sept and wants to do computer science at uni. With the advent of how quickly AI is developing and taking off in all sectors plus how competitive a course it is, I am wondering if it is the right decision.

Any thoughts from parents with recent graduates or those of you already in the sector would be most welcome.

So at the other end of the spectrum my son has had offers from City London and Reading for computer science. Thoughts? Would hopefully do a year in industry.

Yes! He should go for it. Gen AI has been here for a short time but I've already seen so many stupid applications.
I believe CS is the best degree out there, outside of traditional, regulated professions like doctor and lawyer.

I'd suggest he focuses on working on his leadership/communications skills through clubs and volunteering.

I like the idea of a year in industry. Do you have a sense of whether it is easier to find a placement at one uni or the other? Usually yhe student must find their own placement so a good Careers Service can be important for this. The School may also have resources, contacts, etc. DS could perhaps enquire about this.

The standard offer both places is ABB. if DS has identical offers from each there seems little point strategising about which to Firm unless, to go by historical data, one is more likely to go into Clearing. DS could look into that.

I generally think of City as a solid, reputable, workman-like university with some good people in my discipline. Good vibes. It’s ranked a few places above Reading for CS in the CUG and is notably higher for student satisfaction. Both have good employment statistics. I just don’t know much about Reading. There isn’t any reason to read that negatively, but I can’t compare them

Getting a good placement is looking important to me! Best wishes to DS

Do you think either are ok or should he try to up his grades for next year? Is there much book point?

I looked at the City programme and it seems solid on paper. With the good student satisfaction and employability numbers, I would recommend my own DC to go for it if we were rrasonably confident that the Placement Year would work well (there is never a guarantee).

As it’s ranked more highly than Reading both overall and in two key metrics for undergraduates, the only thing that would incline me to Reading would be significantly better placement opportunities

I am sorry but I don’t understand your ladt sentence. Generally for STEM I think it’s better to get on with uni rather than self study A level material for resits.

A Foundation Year might be an option worth considering. Usually if you do well enough you are guaranteed admission to the degree programme of your choice. If DS is a Home student Student Finance will make the loan for one year beyond the length of his degree programme, so an FY will be covered (if all else goes smoothly)

Best wishes to him

@PencilP0int Mine got accepted at Reading although we didn't look round it and he went for a different course at a higher rated Uni. Even so the "better" Uni has plenty of negatives and there is no way of telling how he would have have got on making a different choice.
All I can say is that DS us now heading for his 3rd year. The concerns we had when we were in your boat have now been replaced by others and life after Uni. Essentially I don't think you can second guess which path will prove more successful.

There are many industries that a CS degree could be used in outside of computing. A year in industry sounds great whichever he chooses.

Thankyou so much for the advice and info. Leeds and Nottingham type unis would be the alternative. I’m wondering if it’s worth doing retakes/ Access to get into those or if just getting on with his life this year and doing it at Reading or City would be better.

We visited Cambridge and Southampton this week. If your DCs are likely to get A*AA then have a look. It seems to have a feel of “Robot Wars” about it and it’s certainly less intense than Cambridge!

Leeds and Nottingham are stronger Schools, and employers know this. But good, proactive students from City (and presumably Reading) will have a future and dull, passive ones from Leeds or Notts may struggle.

What does DS want?

He wants to go to Reading as keen to crack on and liked it when he visited friends on other courses. He has good extenuating circumstances and some good evidence of interest and experience in the field in his personal statement but his grades aren’t the As he should have had. There is a risk if he did an Access this year that he’d end up at Reading etc anyway. He is proactive.

@PencilP0int I wouldn't do retakes. If he can get on to a degree with a year in industry or where he can get work experience he should go for it.

Also City has the advantage it is in London where there are lots of companies that you can get to on public transport/cycling though London rents are expensive.

I am related to people who did a year in industry on different courses at different universities and that experience got them their graduate jobs. (Doesn't mean they didn't do more studying after starting.) I've also worked in companies where there were undergraduates in CS and other disciplines doing their year in industry. Some, particularly those from London universities, were more proactive than others and I only realised they were doing a year in industry when a colleague pointed it out.

I think the main point is that YP need to do their reasonable best to get a good start in life. To do that it helps immeasurably if you are reasonably happy, thriving, and feel in charge of your own destiny.

It sounds like DS will do that best at Reading. I should emphasise that I have absolutely nothing against it; I just don’t know it at all.

I take @Reugny ’s point that City is in fact in London, but Reading is close enough that I hope my concerns about reasonable support for a placement year will be answered

I wouldn't think there's much to be gained by re sits etc. The exception would be if he had his heart set on somewhere he was desperate for or he seriously mucked up A levels. My experience of the few that re took A levels was them being bored by the end of the year and then not wanting to go to Uni (sample of 2 so admitted small).

I thought Reading was pretty well thought off. If he wants Leeds or Nottingham I'd maybe look at different course with lower grade expectations? Nottingham has this one at ABB https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/studywithus/ugstudy/courses/UG/Electronic-and-Computer-Engineering-with-a-Year-in-Industry-BEng-Hons-U6UECENGY1.html

Surrey may rank higher in terms of the percentage employed but that doesn't tell you anything about the average starting salary, where Oxbridge and Imperial come up on top.

I'd guess that some of the latter may be going into the financial field in some form which can significantly skew the numbers. And they will inevitably have more of the few who can do insanely difficult stuff in their cohort.

I went to Imperial and had quite a few friends/acquaintances in CS. Yes, many in high paying finance-related jobs (quant firms) but also, Imperial is 1st, 2nd or 3rd in uni representation for software engineering jobs in big tech e.g. Meta, Google...

I would just make sure the unis have placements for all who want them. Often students have to apply and it’s competitive. So good if you get a placement. Worrying if you don’t.

Full disclosure, I work with some of the folk at City and they are lovely. The ones I work with would be good at dealing with any ongoing extenuating circumstances too. Having said that, I have not worked with the wider CS group at City.

Even with my personal fondness for my colleagues, I would say that if your son wants to go to Reading, he should go there. We learn better when we feel comfortable!