My Experience Studying a Diploma in Technology in Australia: Challenges and Achievements

As I studied computer science, without knowing anything…….

That's how it is!!!!!! Diploma and Advanced Diploma in technology, who would say, it all started when I was studying the diploma in hospitality, there came a time when my brain said I don't want it anymore, this is not for me, I need something that is new, interesting and that one day It gave me the freedom to work from anywhere in the world, so I said I would study computer science.

After analyzing schools and courses, I decided on Diploma of Information Technology (Advanced Networking). I didn't know much about what it was about, but I told myself why not, it's time to make my brain work.

As I told you in the previous post about the hospitality diploma, these are not cheap, but among the range of alternatives to study in Australia, for me it was the cheapest I could opt for. I wanted to do a Master's degree in business, but since it was time of COVID, I thought I'd rather do something cheaper in case I don't have a job for a few months and can survive without putting my stay in the country at risk.

For this diploma you would have to pay about 11,000 Australian dollars for one year (approx. $7,000,000)

I started to graduate and to my surprise the school had coaches from Latin America, Colombians and Brazilians, so my class was more than half Latin students, the only one Chilean, Asian countries, I think we had an Australian classmate, I don't know if I'm quitting because I don't like him. I liked the course or because the vast majority of us were Latino.

I'm not lying to you, listening to those classes was for me learning Mandarin, I didn't understand what they were talking about , why? There were two types of students, some with university studies in computer science and others like me, who hopefully knew how to turn on the computer hahahah.

Without lying to you about the first term (term would be 2 months of classes and then vacation for 2 weeks) I had to pay all possible attention to be able to adapt to the terms and especially to the tests that are knowledge and practice. My first teacher from Colombia was dry, he had a passion for teaching so he was always worried about us, plus he helped and motivated us a lot.

Learn to study…

For the first time I had to study, previously I paid attention in classes and passed the classes, but now everything was different. I had to learn patience and dedication, hours of reading and videos to understand.

How the Diploma evolved

Our first teacher taught us the fundamentals to start with the Diploma, however, each term, we had different units so the second unit was heavy and complicated for someone who had no prior knowledge, Networking, this was OH MY GOD !!! What was I thinking when I agreed to get into this, computer science is not my thing (two months of torture for me) that unit was my worst nightmare because it was very difficult for me to follow the class, especially because it had a lot of numbers (I like numbers when you have to see with investment not with IP addresses), definitions that I had never heard in my life, in addition to not having the logic to understand the connection between networks and configurations, I needed additional help, hours and hours on LinkedIn, they helped me to understand a little more, however it is still difficult for me.

Networking

My nightmare, damn I suffered with this class, but I passed it, that was my win!!!

How do you evaluate the classes?

Like the Diploma in Hospitality, to pass the classes you needed to obtain Satisfactory and all the units, when you enroll, the schools give you access to the study platform where you can follow your tests, when are they going to be?, what type of proof is? In addition, they give you study material, and you can also see the payment dates for your classes. For me, my greatest joy was seeing an S on my tests, that was priceless.

Evidence

Knowledge and skills tests.

So I spent a year immersed in networks, virtual machines, basic computer concepts, as well as units that have to do with leadership and customer service.

This diploma was quite an adventure for someone without computer skills, however, I realized that, if I can do everything I set my mind to, study something totally far from my comfort zone in another language.

The important thing is to focus and perfect the language, since everything is in English one has to adopt the mindset to think in English.

What I liked about the Diploma?

I think it was that it took me completely out of my comfort zone, I never thought about studying something like that, at one point I thought I wouldn't finish it, however, while I passed everything I even received some recognition for being a good student, it motivated me to continue with the second diploma (Advanced Diploma of Information Technology (Telecommunications Network Engineering).

What I DID NOT like about the Diploma?

I think that for units as dense as Networking, more hours are needed to understand and study it in depth. At one point, I felt that they were rushing us in such a way that there was no time to digest the material.

The school changed schedules every term, which means that every two and a half months it had different school days, so it became difficult to have work routines during the week.

Recommendations.

Check if the school has fixed schedules for the entire year or they are going to change it every term, this allows you to negotiate your work schedules within the week with your boss.

Get out of your comfort zone, you will realize that you can do that and much more, as they always say The Sky is the limit!!!!