Back at uni

I’m still very busy doing university work at the moment, but I’m at the very tail end of the work. I’ve done 90% of my final year project now, the artefact is complete and the overall conclusion and evaluation of the project is that it’s a success. I’m happy with what I’ve done but still there a bit more writing for the report needed. Some last assignments left and 1 exam. But I’m nearly finished with all of my university assignments now! Around 3-4 weeks until I’m officially finished the workload and exams. 

Here is a link to my final year project for those who are interested.

http://it-ca.net/blogsean/?page_id=1244

I’ve applied for a university scholarship too, although I’ve planned to apply to some internships for the summer. It’s a great time to update my portfolio and CV. I’ve been in touch with lecturers and trying to get references complete for the application process of the universities I’ve applied for. Although this time, I’ve only applied for 1 program. Mostly because at this level funding is really available for students who want to study a master degree/PhD. Otherwise I’ll be looking for jobs in the field or internships in the near future if my application process isn’t successful.

We have poster day next on the 8^th of May, I will get some pictures and blog about how that went. I personally have no idea what’s involved with such an event, so hopefully I can inform others what to expect. 

Decision to go to university

In my last year at sixth form I decided I wanted to go to university. I was unsure on the application process and had a few other questions I wanted answering. This was rather tricky for me as I don’t have any direct contacts with anyone who went to university so personally I had a lot of questions but no one really to ask. For example…

•           Funding
•           Qualifications
•           Is it worth it?
•           Is it too difficult?

The reason I thought I would blog about this topic is because I’m in a similar situation now - I need to decide what I want to do after I’ve got my degree.

In sixth form you have a quite a few different paths to take: college, university, internships and jobs. All of these paths can lead to a successful career but I decided to go to university. This was after a lot of online research into the subject area. Generally going to university will give you a better start in your career and this is why I decided to go. At the moment, I’m debating whether or not to do my master’s degree. I know that it will cost a lot of money and I’m not sure if it’s actually necessary for the time being. I could do my masters in the future if my career needs it. My plan at the moment is to either get an internship or a job in the field and then, in a few decades, get a master degree and do some lecturing.

Me working on a biped rig for an advert aged around 14

If you think of a plan while in sixth form it will definitely help. I’ve always liked computer animation but only started thinking about it as a career while in my last year at sixth form. I think what aided this choice is I had a job in my first year of sixth form. I realized how hard and tedious it is to work at a retail company. This gave me inspiration not to do a similar job for the rest of my life. You should enjoy working, even if it means working hard to get that opportunity. I noticed my own talent around this age and understood that computer animation could be a viable career path. I decided to go to university to improve my understanding of the field and educate myself further.