Prologue
There are several articles such as , or . All of them have one drawback: the authors shared early learning experience or training experience. This is certainly useful, but leaves room for imagination.
I will talk about how getting a master's degree in Software Engineering at the University of Liverpool (UoL) is going on, how useful it is and whether it is worth studying when you are 30 and everything seems to be not bad at all professionally.
This article can be useful both for young guys who are just starting their way in the industry, and for seasoned developers who for some reason missed a degree or have a degree in an educational institution that is not sufficiently quoted in the world.
Distance learning
Choosing a university
Rating
Rating is, of course, a very manipulative concept, but the numbers say that the university is not so bad (). Also, this university is listed in the UAE, and these guys can be picky about diplomas. If you are thinking about relocating to one of the countries where your experience does not translate into the necessary points for obtaining a residence permit, UoL may be a good option.
Price
The price is subjective, but for me, Stanford prices are unaffordable. UoL allows you to get a degree for ~20 thousand euros, divided into three payments: before training, in the first third and before the dissertation. You may be able to bring down the price.
Language
This may not be relevant to you, but I have a soft spot for British English. This is most likely due to fond memories of .
Time
Based on the reviews, I could not understand how much time I would need to study. Some people said that they lost contact with their families and studied from morning to night, some announced a sane load. In the end, I believed the information on the university website. At the time of writing, I could not find that landing page, but it was said about 12-20 hours a week.
University Application
The admission process was surprisingly simple. I got on the phone with a UoL representative, we discussed my interest and agreed to continue communication via email.
The university did not ask for confirmation of language proficiency, the commission was quite satisfied with my level of spoken and written English. This was nice because it saved me time on the courses I had already started and didn't have to validate an apparently 6.5-7 IELTS score.
Next, I was asked for a description of all my work experience and a letter of recommendation from the supervisor. There were no problems with this either - I have been doing software for more than ten years.
An important factor was that I have a degree in management (management), which the commission recognized as a BSc, so my experience and the available bachelor's degree allowed me to qualify for the MSc.
Training
objects
Everything is quite logical: eight modules, a dissertation, receiving a diploma and throwing a hat.
Information on modules and training materials can be viewed . In my case it is:
- The Global Technology Environment;
- Software Engineering and Systems Architecture;
- Software Testing and Quality Assurance;
- Professional Issues in Computing;
- Advanced Database Systems;
- Software Modeling and Design;
- Managing Software Projects;
- .
As you can see, nothing supernatural or not related to software development. Since for the last five years I have been organizing development more than writing code (although not without it), each of the modules was relevant to me. If you feel that Managing has not given up on you, then an alternative to Software Engineering can be .
Prepare
There is no need to purchase physical books. I've had a Kindle Paperwite since the days when the ruble was fine. If necessary, I dump there downloaded from or another article or book hub. Fortunately, student status allows you to authenticate in most foreign portals related to scientific articles.
In fact, this indulges, because you no longer want to read subjective experience on the Internet about, for example, the usefulness of certain practices , but I want a full-fledged study conducted using the described methodology.
Process
On the day the module starts, its structure becomes available. Training in UoL consists of the following cycle:
- Thursday: module starts
- Sunday: discussion post deadline
- Between the discussion post and Wednesday, you need to write at least three comments on the posts of your classmates or instructor. You can't write all three in one day.
- Wednesday: deadline for individual or group work
You get an instructor, PhD, ready to answer any questions, training materials (videos, articles, chapters from books), requirements for individual work and posts.
The discussions are actually extremely interesting and the academic requirements for them are the same as for the papers: the use of citation, critical analysis and respectful communication. In general, the principles of academic integrity are respected.
If you transform this into words, it turns out like this: 750-1000 for individual work, 500 for a post and 350 for each answer. In total, at least a week you will write about two thousand words. At first, it was difficult to generate such volumes, but I got used to the second module. It will not be possible to pour water, the evaluation criteria are quite strict and in some tasks it can be difficult not to gain volume, but to fit into it.
On the Sunday following Wednesday, grades are available according to .
Strength
I spend about 10-12 hours a week studying. This is a catastrophically low figure, because I know for sure that many of my classmates, the same guys with great experience, take much longer. I think it's very subjective. Perhaps you will spend more time and get tired less, or maybe much less time and not get tired at all. I am a quick thinker by nature, but I need a significant amount of rest time.
Assistants
I use which is free for students and also pay for ΠΈ . Quote management can also be done in RefWorks, but it seemed to me too complicated and inconvenient. I use Proofreading by inertia, it helps less and less. I'm not sure if these guys are the cheapest on the market, but I haven't found a better price/speed/quality ratio.
Topicality
I can definitely say that even though I try to follow the trends in the industry, UoL gave me a great kick in the ass. Firstly, I was forced to remember / learn the basic things needed to manage development and development itself. The requirements for individual work do not allow outdated materials and welcome the latest validated research, and instructors love to ask the tricky question in discussions.
So from the point of view of whether knowledge is given from the forefront, yes, it is.
Interestingness
I don't think I'd be happy to study at UoL if it looked like a typical Coursera course where you're basically on your own. Group work that unites students from different parts of the world in front of a common goal is really cool to enliven the process. As are the discussions. Needless to say, with one classmate from Canada, who works in the banking sector, we got into a big argument about the concept of anti-patterns and where Singleton should be attributed.
It was a lot of fun to write 1000 words on the topic "Analysis of benefits and limitations of distributed systems", as it was with my partners in the "Enterprise Database System Architecture" group project in the previous module on databases. In it, we played a little with Hadoop and even analyzed something. Of course, at work I have Clickhouse, but I changed my attitude towards Hadoop after I was forced to defend it and analyze it from all sides.
Some tasks included, for example, the week about "Transaction analysis, evaluation and comparison" included simple tasks on the 2PL protocol.
Is it worth it
Yes! I don't think I would dive so deep into the IEEE standards or modern approaches to risk management in IT. Now I have a system of reference points and I know where I can turn, in which case and what such and such exist.
Definitely, the program, as well as the need for knowledge outside of it (taken into account in the assessment), makes the boundaries expand and throws out of the comfort zone.
indirect plus
The need to write and read a lot of text in English ultimately allows:
- Write in English
- Think in English
- Write and speak almost without errors
Of course, there are many English courses for less than 20 thousand euros, but you are unlikely to refuse this as a lingualeo at a discount.
Finale
I am sure that investments in knowledge always bring the greatest income. I saw many times at the interview of developers who once slowed down at their comfort point and became of no use to anyone.
When you are 30 and you have been helping a business develop technology projects for more than a year, there is a big risk of stopping development. I am sure that there is some law or paradox to describe this.
I try to supplement my training with Coursera and the literature I read as needed at work, but I still feel like I wish I could do more. Hope my experience helps someone. Ask questions - I will answer with pleasure.
Source: habr.com