So, you’ve got all the info down but what do people really have to say about the Information Technology degree at Monash?
Let’s hear it from Lalitha, who’s just finishing her final year in the Bachelor of IT/Bachelor of Arts degree at Monash University! She’s down to share her personal opinions on the highs and lows of being an Information Technology student at Monash.
So, let’s get started!
Why should you study an Information Technology degree at Monash?
Top 3 Pros of an Information Technology Degree
Top 3 Cons of an Information Technology Degree
Mistakes You Shouldn’t Make
Things to Know Before Starting Monash Information Technology
What Makes this Degree Different
Motivations for Studying Monash Information Technology
Potential Career Paths
Why should you study an Information Technology degree at Monash?
A basic IT degree grants you the essential theory and skills you need to design, use and maintain technology systems to meet your client’s needs.
But what’s special about the Bachelor of Information Technology at Monash is that it comes with world ranking resources, opportunities and also special attention from your lecturers! This is because Monash University has its very own IT faculty compared to other Go8 universities so you know you’ll be well taken care of here.
What’s more is that Monash’s IT degree offers 13 majors and minors to choose from! With majors such as business information systems, games development, interactive media and more, this degree opens up a variety of IT fields you can explore to find what you really like and pursue it.
Moreover, if you’d like to branch out to an extremely different discipline such as Arts, Business or Sciences, Monash’s IT degree can be paired as a double degree too!
The Industry-Based Learning program (IBL) is also sure to set your foot in the door for your future career, as you’ll be working with big companies like ANZ, Google, Deloitte and more to truly show what you’re capable of!
Top 3 Pros of an Information Technology degree
#1: Valuable industry experience
Monash’s Industry-Based Learning program provides a special sneak peek into the real working world of IT! For 6 months, you’ll be working full-time to build an IT project for influential companies such as ANZ, Deloitte, Google, Australia Post and more.
Lalitha happily shares her own experiences with the Industry Learning Program at Origin Energy, “It’s really my first exposure to the corporate world to get that real life experience and apply everything that I’ve learnt in my cybersecurity units into the field so that’s a really cool perk for doing this degree.”
Learn more about Monash’s Industry-Based Learning program here!
#2: Many mentoring opportunities
If you’re ever struggling with IT at Monash, there are a great number of mentoring opportunities you can participate in to rise through the ranks! Your grades are not the only thing that’s going to be upgraded, as these mentoring opportunities can also help up-skill your professional competence to give you a head start in building your career.
“In your first year, you get to be paired with more experienced university students who are academically well performing or later on, you can also pair with industry professionals and build connections,” Lalitha says. “So, it’s almost like taking a step into industry and building connections even before you finish your degree and I think that’s great pro.”
Lalitha explains, “As an example, there is a Women in IT Mentoring program that they run every year where they invite all female identifying queer and non-binary students who are doing an IT degree. Monash knows quite a few well-performing alumni who are currently in the industry, so they come into the university, have a networking event and are paired one-on-one with a student and that goes on for a few months to work through some personal and professional goals.”
Lalitha says that after you graduate, you can also reconnect with your industry mentors to find a job fresh out of university — doesn’t that sound amazing?
Find out more about Monash’s mentoring opportunities here and read more about the Women in Technology Alumni Mentoring here!
#3: Strong diversity
Acknowledging that IT is a traditionally male dominated field, Monash University strives to include all students of any gender, sexual orientation and cultural background. So, you know that you’ll never be alone doing this degree.
“I, myself, am part of diversIT,” Lalitha says. “It is a student-run initiative and essentially, what we are trying to do is to support underrepresented people in the IT community. So, we’re talking about the women in IT or the members of the LGBT community and the international students.”
It’s not only the students but also the IT faculty that’s really hyped about inclusivity! As Lalitha reveals, “The faculty is very supportive of us trying to bring these resources to the students and ensure that they may never feel left out. So, diversity is quite pervasive in what the IT faculty at Monash stands for.”
Top 3 Cons of an Information Technology degree
#1: Majors may be limiting
While IT at Monash offers 5 majors that you can pick from, it doesn’t offer you a lot of flexibility especially if you are looking to specialise in a niche area of IT. As Lalitha says, “The list of majors may not seem very extensive. For example, if you’re interested in something very niche like technology and medicine, there isn’t a major for it.”
That being said, Monash does provide a variety of minors and majors you can choose from to further narrow your focus in an area of IT that you’re interested in. “If you take a look at the list and you think it is a little too short, just keep in mind that there are many minors and interesting electives as well,” Lalitha adds.
#2: Challenging curriculum
Information Technology at Monash can get quite difficult, especially in the later years of the degree. Lalitha explains that this is because “some units can get very technical and challenging”. She says, “This usually comes in the second or third year of university.”
“So, if you’re not switched on and following content from week to week, or if you don’t seek help from tutors, you will find it hard to get through,” Lalitha says.
On a more positive note, Lalitha assures that this is all a normal part of university life. She advises future students that “having the right attitude will take you a long way but some units may require a lot more effort which is something that comes up in my IT degree quite often”.
#3: Overwhelming transition in first year
If you’ve never touched IT before entering this degree, you may have to do some homework to catch up with your cohort and this may create an overwhelming amount of work to do.
“It can be quite challenging for first years, especially for those with a non-coding background,” Lalitha says. “If you’ve never done coding, or seen these applications, you will have to put in a lot more effort to not fall behind and ensure that you are following the content. Otherwise, there is a possibility that you will fall behind and find it a little overwhelming.”
However, Lalitha encourages students to persevere through the first few semesters as this drastic increase in workload is only jarring at first, but you will soon find your own way around it.
“It’s more salient in the first year but once you get into the rhythm of using that technology and learning how to code, it gets better later on,” Lalitha assures.
Any regrets?
“My one regret is not being on the get-go on networking and extra-curricular activities during my first year of university. My first year was mostly to get to class, do the work, do the assignments and get out kinda thing,” recalls Lalitha.
“So, I never had the opportunity to go to networking events or join committees, to go to events and meet new people just because in first year, I was under the assumption that you only go to university to study. I guess, this is a bit of a regret because the degree did allow me to do all that, but I just didn’t take it myself,” Lalitha adds.
What do you wish you had known before starting Monash Information Technology?
If you’re someone who’s never done anything IT related before, you may be thinking to yourself, “Oh dear, I’m not fit to do this degree!”
But don’t worry! While you may need to put in a bit more effort than everyone else, Lalitha assures that “it’s okay not to be tech savvy or a coding genius!”
Lalitha says that you are not alone as she too had her own insecurities when she was starting her degree. “I found that when I came into the degree, I was really stressed about not having that technical background which meant that I spent a lot more time on stressing out rather than seeking help.”
“The workload can be challenging for non-coders but with the right mindset, you can learn so much more than the people who already know how to code,” Lalitha advises. “Just knowing that it’s okay not to have that background and not to let it get in my way is definitely something I’ll tell myself at the start!”
If you’d like to know where you can seek help from, Monash’s IT faculty holds tons of student resources that are designed specifically to help you! Monash’s Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) is one of the programs available to assist students who are struggling with some of the harder IT units.
You can also join some IT societies that help students with coding and technical skills. Societies such as Monash Association of Coding (MAC) and WIRED hold coding tutorials and IT development workshops for all IT students.
So, the resources are already available for you at Monash — it’s up to you to make full use of them!
What makes this degree different from the ones offered at other universities?
#1: A dedicated IT faculty
As mentioned before, Monash is the only university with its very own IT faculty out of all of the Go8 universities such as USYD, UNSW, Melbourne University and more.
“The quality of teaching does come through,” Lalitha says. “A lot of the Go8 universities have it under science as in computer science and that does not capture the broad areas of IT but Monash out of these 8 universities has its own IT faculty so that’s great to see.”
#2: A thriving community
Because Monash has its very own IT faculty, there is a strong sense of community between the students, faculty members and professionals! “Overall, I would say the community is very altruistic,” Lalitha describes, “and very committed to the students’ learning and growth as a cohort.”
Lalitha explains that this is because the faculty staff really pay attention to your opinions and needs as a student so you’ll feel very supported and heard. “Whenever you have an opinion about the degree, your voice will be listened to and you will not get anything less than pure passion from the tutors!” she shares.
This two way communication between student and staff is treated as highly valuable to Monash.
Lalitha says, “This connection between the faculty and student is well-maintained and sought after as well. You can tell that the IT faculty really wants to know what the students think and what they need in their careers. So, I think that’s what really makes IT at Monash stand out!”
What inspired you to choose Monash Information Technology?
“I heard a lot of great things about Monash in terms of academic standing among other universities and I loved the idea about a double degree because I wanted to do humanities and languages and Monash lets me do another degree, so I thought — why not?” Lalitha says.
“And I really love the Monash clique on campus!” Lalitha adds. “There’s not one day has passed when I haven’t had fun on campus, met someone new and the community is really good and that’s why I chose this degree at this university.”
“Coming back to why I chose IT, I am a bit biased but I wanted to earn my skills in a rapidly expanding and evolving degree and to me, this was synonymous with IT. You can’t just go wrong with this degree!” Lalitha concludes.
What are the possible career paths?
With an IT degree from Monash, you can pursue a wide array of employment opportunities in the IT field. Lalitha tells us that she found out that an IT graduate from Monash earns an “average starting salary of about $65,000 per annum, which is pretty good looking at industry standards”.
Here are some ideas of some career pathways you can take on once you’ve graduated from the Bachelor of IT from Monash:
- Applications developer
- Business analyst
- Cybersecurity specialist
- Cloud architect
- Data analyst
- Data scientist
- Game developer
- UI/UX designer
- Web developer
And more!
Learn about other careers you may find yourself in with an Information Technology degree here!
Kate Lynn Law graduated in 2017 with an all rounders HSC award and an ATAR of 97.65. Passionate about mentoring, she enjoys working with high school students to improve their academic, work and life skills in preparation for the HSC and what comes next. An avid blogger, Kate had administered a creative writing page for over 2000 people since 2013, writing to an international audience since her early teenage years.
