University Advice

Hello,

I am currently in the process of making a decision which university to choose. I've been made offers from 4 universities in the UK - University of Surrey, University of Greenwich, Liverpool John Moores University, and Glasgow Caledonian University. In all of them except for the University of Greenwich, where the course is Wireless Mobile Communications, the course is Telecommunications Engineering. The reason I prefer this course over courses like computer networks or computer science is that I will definitely work in the networking field, but want to broaden my knowledge in other areas so that Telecoms are also an option. The computer networks course is really "tight" to me and there's a lot of programming there I am not really interested in.

Anyway, let me get to the point. Greenwich is off the list as I read some very bad reviews about it. So I've narrowed it down to Surrey in London, Liverpool, and Glasgow. I have hard time making a decision and would appreciate some advice about these universities or cities.

The reason I'm making this post is because I'm unaware of the job opportunities in these cities. I know London is best when it comes down to job prospects, but honestly I think the other two universities have more to offer in regards to education, facilities, accommodation, etc, no? I would like to find a part-time job as I will be allowed only 20 hours a week as a student. However, searching some of the job websites for Glasgow and Liverpool for keywords like "cisco" or "network engineer" return 0 results. That's kind of daunting. I wouldn't want to go and study somewhere and not work at all.

Pavel

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mikej412

Have you checked the Cisco Partner Locator?

I'm sure there's probably a Cisco Business partner or two out there that might be able to find a spot for you.

Just don't let work get in the way of your university studies!

PStefanov

That's my next step. It's kind of hard now with the world economic crisis and considering the fact that I'm looking for a job starting in September. Will be sending out CVs very soon to see if something interesting comes up.

Turgon

PStefanov wrote: »

Hello,

I am currently in the process of making a decision which university to choose. I've been made offers from 4 universities in the UK - University of Surrey, University of Greenwich, Liverpool John Moores University, and Glasgow Caledonian University. In all of them except for the University of Greenwich, where the course is Wireless Mobile Communications, the course is Telecommunications Engineering. The reason I prefer this course over courses like computer networks or computer science is that I will definitely work in the networking field, but want to broaden my knowledge in other areas so that Telecoms are also an option. The computer networks course is really "tight" to me and there's a lot of programming there I am not really interested in.

Anyway, let me get to the point. Greenwich is off the list as I read some very bad reviews about it. So I've narrowed it down to Surrey in London, Liverpool, and Glasgow. I have hard time making a decision and would appreciate some advice about these universities or cities.

The reason I'm making this post is because I'm unaware of the job opportunities in these cities. I know London is best when it comes down to job prospects, but honestly I think the other two universities have more to offer in regards to education, facilities, accommodation, etc, no? I would like to find a part-time job as I will be allowed only 20 hours a week as a student. However, searching some of the job websites for Glasgow and Liverpool for keywords like "cisco" or "network engineer" return 0 results. That's kind of daunting. I wouldn't want to go and study somewhere and not work at all.

Pavel

Parttime work is going to be difficult in UK. In the US there seems to be more of a culture of working through college with options to work during the day and catch up on classes in the evenings. In the UK most shops want you fulltime and it's unlikely that the UK Universities will do repeat classes in the evenings if you miss a daytime class because you are working all day.

That's just the way it is. But it isn't impossible for you to obtain some parttime work, it really depends on what you can offer and what you are prepared to do. You might for example be able to assist the University IT department is some parttime capacity. Just dont expect it to pay very well. Field work is probably out of the question for you as you would most probably need your own vehicle, the hours can be very unsocial and sooner or later that will conflict with your University timetable. You might find some NOC work in the evening window. Do a search on all the colocation and hosting facilities in all three locations and send a cover letter to the IT Manager there to see if there are flexible openings that don't clash with University classes.

In terms of work in the field I think you have two *best* options. First of all as Mike suggested contact the Cisco Partners in each area and see if you can work out some pay as you go flexible working. Secondly, throw up a website of your own and do some marketing offering yourself as an advisory consultant who can contribute on a parttime basis on network projects. This second option is probably the least desirable as you will have to do a lot of research to build up a useful mailing list of companies to mailshot to and advertising can be very timeconsuming and costly.

An alternative is to look at the training space. I understand you are a Cisco Instructor. Why not feel out training shops in all three cities to see if they would consider offering you some parttime hours? As well as instructing if the shop is small you may find work as a technical reviewer or even author of content for their classes. Just don't go sky high on rates for starters to see if people are interested. Another avenue worth considering is seeing if the Universities themselves offer Cisco training. That's certainly something you should look into because as a student you will already have the door ajar there. You might very well find that you can do something that is flexible that way without impairing your study timetable. Add to which the students you teach may be keen to extend your services into their workplaces on a parttime basis.

Just some ideas there and I hope you get a break! As for location...London is miles better for jobs in terms of the number of companies operating there and the number of roles. That said there are more people based there looking and the work can be..let's say more aggressive. You will be competitive on rates I imagine and can offer a CCIE as well as some experience so all that together should help you. So far as the North of Britain is concerned i.e Liverpool and Glasgow, while there are less jobs up there, your CCIE may go further as there are fewer people qualified to that level and available. So you may get a really good niche up there. Just don't come to Sheffield as that's my stomping ground

mikej412

The Career Opportunities - Careers - Cisco Systems web site is probably worth a look -- but you might want to leave the unpaid Internships for the students without a CCIE

Also see if you can find any Cisco offices located near the Universities you're looking at.

Have you visited the Universities? If you get to meet with some of the people in the academic departments (rather than just admissions) they might be able to offer some insight into local opportunities. And try to work the fact you have a CCIE into the conversations

PStefanov

Amazing! Thanks a million both for the great advice! That's definitely a lot of options I will explore. From the reviews I read about universities in the UK I realize that a lot of hard work must be done to get a degree and I think I'm ready for that.

I am not worrying too much about salary. I just want to continue to gain experience in the field. If nothing happens with the partners, then I think trainings are the way to go. Especially in Glasgow, where the university has its own networking academy. NOC/NSE is my backup option because it's boring or you can go crazy, respectively. I actually just had an interview here in Sofia for TAC for SMB clients (Cisco's creating a TAC centre, actually a company is outsourcing the TAC) and really got the picture in detail of what this job is like. I have also an offer for CCIE rental, and the money is not bad, but don't really want to do this.

Turgon

PStefanov wrote: »

Amazing! Thanks a million both for the great advice! That's definitely a lot of options I will explore. From the reviews I read about universities in the UK I realize that a lot of hard work must be done to get a degree and I think I'm ready for that.

I am not worrying too much about salary. I just want to continue to gain experience in the field. If nothing happens with the partners, then I think trainings are the way to go. Especially in Glasgow, where the university has its own networking academy. NOC/NSE is my backup option because it's boring or you can go crazy, respectively. I actually just had an interview here in Sofia for TAC for SMB clients (Cisco's creating a TAC centre, actually a company is outsourcing the TAC) and really got the picture in detail of what this job is like. I have also an offer for CCIE rental, and the money is not bad, but don't really want to do this.

No problem Pavel. I'm sure you will do fine on the job front. Just make sure you knuckle down very hard on that Telecoms Degree if you want a First, I'm sure the assignments and reading will keep you very busy on that front!