If I played and then won the lotto. I would leave my job, go back and be a full time student all over again and just keep going up through the academic ranks.
Same here, it's going to be a hard couple of years and I'm having to take it a mere module per semester at the moment because work is so crazy! I definitely echo your sentiments about better appreciating the opportunity. It's amazing what a few years does to your perspective
Second year electronic and computer engineering student here. I much prefer the electronics side of it myself, C/JAVA programming is just not my thing. Where I study, 8 months work experience is part of the degree, and I can't wait to start mine. Employers in the region gave us all interviews in the last few weeks, and offer us places at their companies. Paid places. As for the social side, being Ireland, there is always something on. I try and go out every second or third week, but I know some people who go out every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. How they can afford that, I will never know. Enjoy university. It goes by way too fast.
You'll be fine. On my PgCE course last year I wasn't the youngest on my course at 22 but there was a huge range of different people doing it. There wasn't any divide between any of us because we all would have the same problems at the same time and supported each other. The oldest member of the cohort actually got the best position at a school in Beirut. I did the equivalent course at University of Cumbria but on interview would often be against students from Edge Hill and they had nothing but praise for the support they got during their course. Having come through the other side I can honestly say it was the most challenging but rewarding thing I have done so far in my short life. Currently completing my NQT year which so far hasn't been as bad as it was made out to be by other people.
A little update from me. Basically I'm loving it, the societies, the buildings, London, the girls, the culture, the music ahh it's amazing atm!
Glad you're enjoying it. I made the mistake of commuting to my university, so I would waste 2 hours of my day just to go for a 1 or 2 hour class. To top it off, I didn't get particularly involved and only made a handful of friends (to be fair though, my university was VERY ethnic and I felt like the minority; there were a lot of ethnic groups that even if I wanted to befriend, I didn't know their language or have anything in common with them) so I just slugged my classes out with the few people who I got along with. I missed out on all the pub nights and all the social gatherings. Another thing I didn't make use of is the gym, our tuition included a gym membership. For a student having a gym that's super close can be a god-send for when you have a 2-3 hour break between classes, or just having a gym within walking distance can help motivate you to go, especially if you're one of those regular gym-goers to begin with.
You'll have to let me know what sort of stuff you do; my brother is applying this year for Computer Science at various places but I think he might enjoy something more along the lines of Electronics.
The syllabus is right here... http://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/undergraduate/syllabus# If he's interested in Computer science there's a course at UCL that is Electronics with Computer science. The Electronic Syllabus is basically all the same at all Unis apart from Cambridge (Beng takes 4 years not 3). http://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/undergraduate
3rd year of product design engineering over here, still confused how I got here and that I will be in the real world not long from now.
