Oh well, I'll take that as a nod to nudes.

Ooo, very nice Mr Acadmic. I am a Geography and Statistics major and I turned down a GIS job the other day because I'm currently already working and studying Software Development, I believe it would have been a research role as well which is something I'm very interested in too. I'll have to pay off some of my hefty loan before I do my masters though, I'm planning to do that in Statistics.

I would say you'd be a great stay and home hubby for now. :D

How's the software development course going for you? I did an interview for a masters course in applied software engineering a couple of weeks ago and I'm anxiously waiting on an offer. I'm currently working for a small technology company mostly writing C code for microcontrollers with some Java and iOS development as well. It's not quite where I want to be and sometimes I have very little to do. I'm hoping to get a more Java-based role in a bigger company if I get my masters degree.

It's been going fantastically, grades wise I'm doing well. But the topic on basic programming concepts has set me back so many hours and I'm really finding it hard to finish. I have to write a really complicated algorithm and there was not enough explanation in the last section of my book about how to create menu's and set up pathways. I'm going to class on Wednesday to get my tutors to baby walk me through it.

I am so excited for you! Good luck, I hope you get accepted. You obviously have worked really hard for your degree so masters will give you some great experience. Do people normally have to apply for Masters where you are? Here you can just apply and unless your grades are below B+ you can do it. That's weird that there's not much to do at your job, is there any reason why? Did you learn a lot from the job?

I am really anxious about getting a programming role, I'm actually more likely to apply for a Data Analyst role as that's what I want to do most of all. You only need to know the SQL Query language to get a job in it (my degree gives me the research and working with numbers experience). I'm afraid that at the end when I get a job that I'm not going to be able to handle it/be good at it.

For my diploma, I am still deciding whether I major in Java or .Net, but I think I'll also go with Java. Why did you choose Java?

It took me a couple of years to really get my head around programming concepts, but by the time I was in the 3rd year of my course I learned a lot from doing various projects and didn't have much difficulty then. The final year of my honours degree was a one-year add-on course and people came into the course with different backgrounds and even no experience in programming. They went on to software testing and data analyst roles so there's a lot more to working in software than just being a programmer. I wasn't really given much of a choice with Java as it was part of my course from 1st year. But I'm glad I learned it as it's a very flexible language and can be used in anything from Android app development to web development to retail systems. We covered SQL as well.

Thanks, I really hope I do. Some masters courses you can just go straight into if you have a good enough degree. The one I applied for is sponsored by a well-known company and if my grades at the end are satisfactory I could be guaranteed a role with them. But there's a ton of work involved in it apparently. My current company relies on other companies and universities outsourcing research projects to us. There's very few projects coming in as a lot of bigger companies prefer to do their own research. I've learned a lot from working here though, such as learning new technologies and working as part of a team.

Well it's nice to hear there are a lot of different type of roles I could take in software development. I am feeling better now about my decision being taking Java as a major subject. Apparently the study and work that goes with it is really tough but it would be worth having the skill to apply it in a future position.

Did you do well in your degree? If so I doubt you won't get accepted but do make sure you be prepared for potentially being rejected. I don't think you will from the sounds of it though.

Why is there so few projects coming in? Aren't we in an internet age where there are tons of apps to make, websites to build and databases to set up? I think that's another job that would be interesting is building databases for small to medium companies. I know I would be really keen to make an Android app!

Do you know much about coding to create computer games? I've always thought how cool it would be to be a coder for the next Diablo for example. If I was involved with Fallout 4 I would die SO happy.

I'm going to the zoo with my man friend and nephew :).

Last day of jobless haven. :(

There was more emphasis on communication skills and teamwork skills more so than technical skills during the interview so I'm hoping I didn't stumble there. The course I applied for is meant to be a very intense course that leaves you with very little free time, but I'm prepared for it. Even during the final year of my degree I was bogged down with tons of work such as assignments and my final year project. I got a 1.1 first-class honours degree so I think I did well enough :)

Not quite sure why we get so few projects, the company is a little bit of a mess to be honest. They're not purely software projects either as there's a lot of hardware like microcontrollers, electronics and sensors involved as well. I don't know much about coding for computer games as I've never done much in that area, apart from a Pong game I made in college! There's a few dedicated degree courses here for games development.

@ Hermione

I just noticed that you new avatar can be construed as endorsing slavery. Bitchin'.

So, Friday I got a call from the singer from K|S|P Project (one of the bands I'm in), who had asked me to come over to meet her estranged boyfriend (they've been apart for quite a few years, but have since gotten back together), as he had heard my tunes and was very interested in doing a "Project" with me. I was like "Who the **** is THIS guy, and what in the hell do I need another project for. I'm already in 5 bands... wtf!" So, since I felt like playing, I went on over with my PRS, HD500, and my small Crate amp in hand. We did a few of our standards, and then I did a little 20 minute solo action, trying out some new techniques I was working on. The dude was quite impressed, as it turns out he was a producer for Sony for 15 years, or so he says. He's chomping at the bit to work with me, but I needed to see some concrete proof of his accomplishments. He showed me some of his tunes he's tech'd and although they were nothing I'd run out and buy they were very well done. He threw out a few obscure guitarists names that were featured on them (I'd never heard of any of em), and I was a little relieved. So, I'm gonna throw out a test tune for him and see where it goes from there. Personally, I don't like working with other people on my own stuff, but it can't hurt to get some production pointers at least.

Things are heating up in land of the Od.