Can i do Actuarial Study & a Engineering Course? (1 Viewer)

[AXorCan'tStudy]

sorry to say it just happens to me to like $$ maths physics computing


i was wondering is it possible to Actuarial Study(commerce) and another major software engineering together in NSW??

like would the timetable fits ?
how can i apply for them?

anyone that can help me would be great
thx

 

[SoFTuaRiaL]

a BE/BCom degree is not available at present ....... it'll be available from next yr.
for the present, it is advised that u do the single degree in software engg and take a commerce core subject as ur first yr elective. when the double degree program becomes available, u can talk to mr. ken robinson (software engg program director) about making chanes

cheers

 

[dvse]

Alternatively you can start with com / comp sci and later transfer to com / seng

That way you can do more commerce subjects in the first year and catch up with
seng workshops later.

Also I would think twice about actl at unsw unless you are on the co-op scholarship (for example try to find out how many people in the last couple of years ended up in the profession after graduation.. quite disheartening).

 

[SoFTuaRiaL]

Originally posted by dvse
Alternatively you can start with com / comp sci and later transfer to com / seng

that can be done too, but the only prob u might face is ur average. transfer into software is very demanding so u need a distinction av (75%) to transfer from comp.sci to seng

 

[dvse]

SENG demanding ? With something like 91 UAI cut-off I think not !

In fact, now that they've increased the size of yearly intake to over 200 (correct me if I'm wrong) it has lost its main advantage of being a fairly closely knit group.

If you want a challenging and broad technical degree where you obtain some practical skills I would suggest elec eng, perhaps combined with comp sci (of course there's the problem of elec eng courses being of relatively poor quality at unsw and anywhere in Australia in general).

By the way, the finance major isn't so great (except for the honours year) as you keep repeating the same basic theories ad nauseum (just look at the relevant course outlines on the school's website). Reading a good textbook such as Luenberger's 'Investment Science' can get you three quarters of the way to where you would find yourself at the end of 3 years.

Hey, sorry for the rant... Hope it might give something to think about.

 

[SoFTuaRiaL]

this is the first yr seng's cut off has dropped below 95 ....... its still a good course, but the downfall in the market made the cut off come down. this yr has not 200 members (i have no idea who told u that!!!) it has abt 60 members .......
true, some book can get u knowledge on the finance stuff, but does it give u formal recognition??? if u go to ur employer and tell him "i read so n so" he's not gonna believe u .... but a finance major in bcom does !!!

 

[dvse]

That's interesting. It used to be 150 a couple of years back.

As for finance, you're certainly right that it gives you a degree of recognition but not something that counts for much on its own.

Ideally you want to be a member of a profession which restricts membership depending on those qualifications. For example you need to complete certain courses to be a CPA, not so for the jobs in finance.

 

[yoshi]

Originally posted by dvse
SENG demanding ? With something like 91 UAI cut-off I think not !

UAI doesn't correlate to the demand of a course, it just says how many people wanted to get in there and how many places they had for them. It's more to do with popularity.

Originally posted by dvse
If you want a challenging and broad technical degree where you obtain some practical skills I would suggest elec eng, perhaps combined with comp sci (of course there's the problem of elec eng courses being of relatively poor quality at unsw and anywhere in Australia in general).

Well, if the toss-up is between elec eng and soft eng, then you'd have to wonder what kind of career you want after you graduate. Either one, you could become a programmer, but with soft eng you learn how to program effectively with a team and within a corporation (using things like UML and design patterns). Elec eng won't teach you the same things, though I guess after four years you will get out of both with a peice of paper that essentially says you can stand four years of voluntary, hard, boring work.

Software eng is a new enough degree that companies don't seem to give preference to it over an elec eng-equivalent degree yet, but that might change if all the other unis start laying out the degree like UNSW does (as opposed to mixing elec eng and comp classes together).

 

[dvse]

I was refering to how hard it will be to transfer to seng,
not how hard the material is (see the previous post).

What I want to say is that with elec eng you get a reasonable grounding in maths, physics, circuit design AND computing.

In seng, however, you mostly learn comp sci stuff, and not much else.

Now, things like UML and design patterns are useful but
not something that would differentiate between two graduates,
in fact you can take a course on that as elec eng elective or learn yourself in a few nights.

The only advantage seng has is the workshop component where
you can get some idea of what it's like to work on a software project, but not much else.

And of course you don't get to do any actual 'software engineering' (don't tell me about formal methods ; )

 

[SoFTuaRiaL]

dvse, what degree do u do?

 

[dvse]

I transfered from seng to (eventually) finance/maths.

Anyway.. don't worry about yr degree choice right now, see for yourself. You can always change after a year, just be critical of what faculty members tell you.

 

[SoFTuaRiaL]

Originally posted by dvse
I transfered from seng to (eventually) finance/maths.

Anyway.. don't worry about yr degree choice right now, see for yourself. You can always change after a year, just be critical of what faculty members tell you.

WAIT A SEC !! what makes u think i wanna change ... i luv my course .....

 

[dvse]

What I want to say that it's not the best choice for ANY career
that you might consider.

Give it some time, your perspective may change.