UTS BIT Co-op VS UNSW CS (1 Viewer)

[SMH WinterBlues]

Hello, I have been recently accepted into the BIT Co-op and have received an email of confirmation. I was wondering of any past students who can share their insights and experiences about the course and their experiences while taking their industry placements. This includes how useful the subjects are, the quality of teaching and whether you were offered a job at your industry placement.
I am intending to pursue cybersecurity in the future and have trouble determining whether UNSW CS or UTS BIT gives me the best opportunity. While UNSW offers Security Engineering as its major but no internships or work placements are offered. Also does prestigious universities (UNSW) offer any significance to employers. Which university offer me a better opportunity to pursue cybersecurity or is there any difference? I appreciate any information given and thank you for your time

 

[quickoats]

co op >>>

 

[rsgmelon]

Heya, I am a third year BIT student that could probably share some thoughts. Overall, the BIT course is great. I don't know much regarding cyber security/security engineering as a major but there are some sponsoring companies that could most definitely offer a role in that field. It's also great that in BIT there's a small cohort you can be familiar with

You may want to consider the following things:

• how academically challenged do I want to be?
• what field/role do I want possibly want to land in? Is the role technical?

I guess whether something is 'academically challenging' is a bit subjective. But talking with students from UNSW, subjects across all departments in general do seem more rigorous. Taking CS at UNSW will definitely provide you with a strong technical foundation.

BIT on the other hand will provide you the opportunities to learn and practice those skills/knowledge through your placements.

Just some context, the BIT course until 2020 was quite business-oriented and I would say in some aspects it still is. Besides that there's a variety of sub-majors that encourage you to take on different interests (software dev, cyber security, data analytics). I can't really say how all the subjects are but I think they are fine.

If you do see yourself more inclined to the technical side of things you may want to consider the CS degree.

But really at the end of the day internships/placements and side projects outside of uni still prevail as the best way to learn!

I do think that 'prestigious' universities or GO8 universities like UNSW/USYD are possibly seen as more attractive to employers and that's probably because the universities themselves tend to attract many talented students. But being a BIT student would definitely distinguish you amongst the competition!

In my opinion, I don't think it matters which university you go to as long you show your passion for the field of interest

I kind of just dumped everything I thought I wanted to say so take what you can from this and I don't think there are any wrong answers! wishing all the best )

 

[Katsumi]

The sponsors are what matter. In your situation, I would be basing my decision off this. Your two placement companies could lead to 2nd year temporary work or a reference from the correct place with graduate program applications.

This doesn't just mean what is listed on the website. It also means the amount of placement spots which each sponsor offers every year comparative to demand. UTS co-op has more sponsors but UNSW co-op has less students. If the course is anything like before, @rsgmelon could probably give you some insight on the competitiveness of key sponsors in BIT.

You could also ask your program manager how likely it is that you would get a placement spot with your sponsors of choice.

 

[SMH WinterBlues]

Heya, I am a third year BIT student that could probably share some thoughts. Overall, the BIT course is great. I don't know much regarding cyber security/security engineering as a major but there are some sponsoring companies that could most definitely offer a role in that field. It's also great that in BIT there's a small cohort you can be familiar with

You may want to consider the following things:

• how academically challenged do I want to be?
• what field/role do I want possibly want to land in? Is the role technical?

I guess whether something is 'academically challenging' is a bit subjective. But talking with students from UNSW, subjects across all departments in general do seem more rigorous. Taking CS at UNSW will definitely provide you with a strong technical foundation.

BIT on the other hand will provide you the opportunities to learn and practice those skills/knowledge through your placements.

Just some context, the BIT course until 2020 was quite business-oriented and I would say in some aspects it still is. Besides that there's a variety of sub-majors that encourage you to take on different interests (software dev, cyber security, data analytics). I can't really say how all the subjects are but I think they are fine.

If you do see yourself more inclined to the technical side of things you may want to consider the CS degree.

But really at the end of the day internships/placements and side projects outside of uni still prevail as the best way to learn!

I do think that 'prestigious' universities or GO8 universities like UNSW/USYD are possibly seen as more attractive to employers and that's probably because the universities themselves tend to attract many talented students. But being a BIT student would definitely distinguish you amongst the competition!

In my opinion, I don't think it matters which university you go to as long you show your passion for the field of interest

I kind of just dumped everything I thought I wanted to say so take what you can from this and I don't think there are any wrong answers! wishing all the best )

Thank You very much for this detailed response. Since cybersecurity is a technical course rather than business oriented, I am likely to pursue Computer Science at UNSW.