As I take my seat in the Ron Cooke Hub lecture hall, I sink into my chair and feel relieved that January exams are over. This term we are starting new modules that to me, sound very interesting and I’m quite excited to start them, including one on artificial intelligence.
Even though exams are over for now…there’s still coursework to be done. The current piece of coursework I’m working on is a group project in a module called Software Engineering Project or SEPR for short. It’s pretty much what it says, its a software engineering project, but if you read my previous post (of course you have…) you would know that in my group, we are making a duck game, yes you read that right, a game about a duck (or to be specific, a smew). We are currently making a 2D type of game and each of the allocated roles within the group is like a real job if you were to work in this type of field, so that’s really cool and helpful if you’re interested in this area of computer science. While this is a lot of work, it’s a really interesting and fun module and I’m glad I do it.
When you get to second year, one thing does dawn on you – you are going to have to leave and get a job…so this means internships and if you’re lucky enough, a year in industry. These are opportunities for you to go and showcase yourself to companies that you want to work for in the hope that they hire you after uni, so how do you get to these opportunities you ask?
Applications, interviews and assessment centres. Once you start your first application, the excitement of the possibility of working at your favoured company is quite nice, until you realise that one application can take you hours and you’ve written down 10 companies you want to work for. The Department of Computer Science at York have a really nice way to help you with this, if you want to do a year in industry that is. Fast track – this is the process of the university taking your CV and handing it out to a selection of companies it works with to help you get a year in industry and hopefully that job. These companies range from investment banks to software companies to medical research, it’s amazing what they offer you. The interview can either be on the phone or in person, but, to be honest, doing my first phone interview proved to be harder than any face-to-face interview – I started to get to casual when speaking about important topics. An assessment centre is a place where you take tests, maybe another interview and take part in job-like scenarios so they can see what you’ll be like working there.
Now starting the new year, I think to myself that I want to start cooking food from fresh. So, that was my new years resolution (yes laugh, I still do make a resolution). I’ve been ordering less takeouts and buying more fresh foods and spices so I can experiment. I give myself more time to prepare food and eat, and I feel better. I have also been preparing Indian foods such a roti’s, that I made from flour, and making curries from scratch too. Whilst its healthier eating, it is also nice break from the work and I guess a good stress reliever.
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