Career and Higher education options in IT

Anuradha FernandoAnuradha FernandoSenior Deployment Engineer

Aepona International Lanka (Pvt) Limited

Seminar organized by studentlanka.com on 7 Septmeber2010 @ National Museum Auditorium, Sri Lanka

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Who you want to be after 5 years of time?

Doctor? Engineer?..... Politician ????

You have already made your decision

And just completed your A/L

Uncertain !!!!

Free in mind

OutlineHistory and the current situation of the

computing, computer education, careers

Computing and non computing professions

Study Programs

Summary

Q&A

History and backgroundAs usual very few number of students are

selected to the university

The majority will select some alternative

i.e. Typing, Management, External degree

Computing came as an feasible alternative

in early 1990s and established around 1995

Rapid growth of the Internet and ICT leads

to an infinity possibilities

Professions

Computing

The profession will be based on the

computer directly

Need to have a proper knowledge

about computing disciplines

Relatively high opportunities and

considerably good prospects

Non-Computing

Not necessarily to be direct

involvement of computing

Using the computer as a tool

Opportunities and the prospectus can

be vary depending on the profession

Professions contd...,

Professions contd...,

Computing Professions

Software Engineer

Systems Engineer

Software QA Engineer

Networks Administrator

IT Manager

UI Engineer

Why? When? Where?

Computing is a broad domain

Acts as a hub in almost all the fields

Opportunities

Higher Salaries

Why? Why we should study about computing?

As a learning aid As a facilitating tool The Internet

What we should Study? Certificate? Diploma or a Degree? Software Engineering or Desktop

Publishing?How much money I should invest?

When?

After A/L?

While continuing the university studies

While doing a job

Full time

Computer courses

Degree Programs

Diploma Programs

Certificate courses

Professional Certifications

Degree ProgramsInternal Degrees

Students are attending to the class room lectures

More chance to learn interactively with the lecturer

External Degrees Student should self study and prepare for

the examination Less interaction with the lecturer Student may attend to private tuition

Distance Learning Students are learning in remotely Virtual class rooms Study materials Day Schools and CAT Tests

Degree Programs Contd...,Offered by National and Private Universities

Students need to fulfill the basic

requirements + Additional requirements to

enroll

Most of the time B. Sc, BE, B.Tech degree

Government university programs are free of

charge

Need to pay the examination fee and the

tuition fee if you select a private university

Degree Programs Contd...,National universities

Almost all the national universities

are offering IT related degree

programs

Need to get through the A/L

Examination with necessary marks

Needs to fulfill some more

requirements depending on the

university and the course

National Universities

University of Colombo School of

Computing (UCSC)

Offers 3 Degree programs 2 of them

are internal and 1 external

B. Sc. Computer Science – 3 Years

B. Sc. Information and

Communication Technology – 3 Years

BIT (External) – 3 Years

National UniversitiesUniversity of Moratuwa – Faculty of IT

B. Sc IT/IT(Honors) – 4 years

University of Moratuwa – Faculty of Engineering

B. Sc Engineering (Honors) Degree – 5 Years

University of Peradeniya – Faculty of Engineering

B. Sc Engineering (Honors) Degree – 5 Years

University of Ruhuna – Faculty of Engineering

B. Sc Engineering (Honors) Degree – 5 Years

National UniversitiesComputer Science as a subject

Most of the universities provides computer science as a subject with 2 other major subjects

University of Colombo

University of Peradeniya

University of Ruhuna

University of Sri Jayewardenapura

University of Kelaniya

Private UniversitiesSri Lanka Institute of Information Technology -

SLIIT

Provides various levels of options to obtain

a degree from a number of reputed

universities

Can start the studies with A/L

Qualifications

Study on demand

SLIIT

Informatics Institute of Technology IIT

B. Eng (Honors)

B. Sc (Honors) in Business Information

Systems

Also available entry level study programs

Industrial training and scholarship schemes

are available

National Institute of Business Management - NIBM

Can start with the A/L Results

Relatively high demand

Offers degree and diploma courses, but the

IT related courses are Diploma level courses

Asia Pacific Institute of IT - APIIT

B. Sc in Information Technology with

specialization in

Software Engineering

Multimedia

Web Development

Scholarship schemes are available

External Degree programs

BIT – University of Colombo (UCSC)

3 Years and 6 semesters

Students will be provided the syllabus and

initial guidelines and some AV aids

Distance learning and LMS technologies

A lot of institutes are there to study a

better tuition

Distance Learning Open University is the best place to do

a distance learning degree

Study materials

Continues assessment tests

Day schools

Lab Sessions

Need to be more matured and

proactive

The Open UniversityProvides

B. Tech Computer Engineering

B. Sc – Physical Science (computer as a

subject)

Open to study on demand courses

No entry level requirement is needed

Course duration may be take long

time

Certificate CoursesThese are general or computer literacy

courses

Short term courses

Recommend for a beginner

The institute and the certificate will be

important

Professional CertificationsMost of reputed computer hardware and

software vendors are conducting product

specific training and examinations

Online Examinations

Need to pay the exam fee and the tuition fee

if you go for private tuition

Can even self study for some courses

Professional Certifications

Professional Certification courses

CISCO Certifications

Conducted by CISCO Inc USA

Can start from the beginner level and

go up to the Architect level

Highly demand in Computer and

Telecommunication fields

CISCO

Associate, Professional and Expert level

certifications

A lot of tuition available

Also authorized CISCO networking academy

program available at SLIIT

JAVASun Certified Java Programmer (SCJP)

Highly demanded

Relatively low in course and tuition

fees

MCQ type questions

Programming knowledge is not a

must

Microsoft

Very High Demand

Relatively high examination and course fees

Need to renew the certification when the

product renews

MCSE – Microsoft Certified Systems

Engineer

MCSD – Microsoft Certified Solutions

Developer

Linux

RHCT – Redhat Certified Linux

Technician

RHCE – Redhat Certified Linux

Engineer

Other Courses

There are some other but very valuable

qualifications. And some times they are equal to

the degree certificate.

Local and foreign institutes are offering these

programs

Computer Society Sri LankaNot providing examinations

As a student its better to become a member

and get involved with the events

Summary Anyone should have a basic and general

knowledge about the IT and after A/Ls anyone can

complete a short term course in IT and get a

general knowledge. And if you wish to become an IT

professional you should follow a proper Diploma,

Degree level or any other professional course. And

for further knowledge and in the job hunting

process a professional course in a specific

technology will be a very good contribution.

Queries?

References

References and the useful links will be available on the http://studentlanka.com website