Dinh Doan Van Bien
06/04/10 13:18
Dinh Doan Van Bien
Software Engineer at Renaissance Re
After reviewing the other degrees of the same type on offer in Ireland, I settled for UCD's MSc ASE because of the balanced mix of bleeding edge academic research and pragmatic software engineering disciplines. The format of short and intensive modules was also extremely convenient and helped me sell the course to my manager. Of course in reality most of the work happens between the lectures but it has a lower impact on a day job than a full-time course.
What I liked the most were the lectures and the interaction with the lecturers and the other students. It was a real change from the daily work routine and it was great to meet motivated and smart people from different horizons and countries. I can't say that I liked the projects, the exams and the dissertation work as much because they were truly challenging to carry out in parallel with a full-time job and a family life. However I appreciate the fact that this difficulty was what has made the degree valuable.
Returning to college to do this masters has been one of my smartest career moves. It has boosted my self confidence, motivated me to improve my writing skills (English is not my first language), and helped me land a new job at a top company in a tough economical environment (first quarter of 2009). Personally, the achievement I value the most was getting two academic papers published in 2009 and getting to go to a conference to present my work. These papers were based on my masters' dissertation work. This was something I did not imagine I could do. I believe the masters' structure and scope have really enabled me to exceed my own expectations and become a better software engineer.
Software Engineer at Renaissance Re
After reviewing the other degrees of the same type on offer in Ireland, I settled for UCD's MSc ASE because of the balanced mix of bleeding edge academic research and pragmatic software engineering disciplines. The format of short and intensive modules was also extremely convenient and helped me sell the course to my manager. Of course in reality most of the work happens between the lectures but it has a lower impact on a day job than a full-time course.
What I liked the most were the lectures and the interaction with the lecturers and the other students. It was a real change from the daily work routine and it was great to meet motivated and smart people from different horizons and countries. I can't say that I liked the projects, the exams and the dissertation work as much because they were truly challenging to carry out in parallel with a full-time job and a family life. However I appreciate the fact that this difficulty was what has made the degree valuable.
Returning to college to do this masters has been one of my smartest career moves. It has boosted my self confidence, motivated me to improve my writing skills (English is not my first language), and helped me land a new job at a top company in a tough economical environment (first quarter of 2009). Personally, the achievement I value the most was getting two academic papers published in 2009 and getting to go to a conference to present my work. These papers were based on my masters' dissertation work. This was something I did not imagine I could do. I believe the masters' structure and scope have really enabled me to exceed my own expectations and become a better software engineer.