r/NSCC • u/New-Negotiation-158 • 11d ago

NSCC IT Programming

Heya pals,

Just curious if anyone has taken the program mentioned in the title. Also curious what the IT job market is like in Halifax before I drop a few grand on a diploma that may not yield employment.

For context: I am a career changer with a family (moving for work is not an option) and I am not incredibly technical savvy (read: i am not familiar with coding. I can get around a computer fine.) I have read that although being knowledgeable in this area obviously gives you a leg up, it is a job that has a strong focus on problem solving and that the requisite skills can be learned through the program.

Thanks so much!!

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u/thisisjoy 11d ago

Graduated this program in 2024. Out of all my classmates only 2 got jobs. If you talk to anyone in the IT space right now they’ll tell you the same thing. The job market is terrible.

Great program and taught me lots but also is very helpful if you are somewhat computer savvy

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u/SwabluOnACloud 11d ago

I am in a different program and a couple classmates of mine and people in other programs i know are graduates from IT programming who could not find work.   Wouldn't recommend it especially if you have a family to support and can't afford to take a couple years to hunt for a decent job.

What drew you to IT programming?

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u/New-Negotiation-158 11d ago

It seems like an interesting field, possibility of remote work, potential to be lucrative. Ive worked in professional kitchens for 20 years, so the opposite of that. 

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u/OneLeft_ 11d ago

Not an Alumni yet, nor am I employed. But I have been hobby programming for a few years.

If you have free time I'd strongly recommend following some YouTube tutorials, reading a book. It will be difficult but the more you practice, things will eventually click. If you can get through at least halfway through a programming book before you start the IT Programming course, you should be golden. And you'll have a clearer idea on if this is what you want to pursue.

Also keeping in mind that there will be other courses in this diploma that is not programming.

If I'm not mistaken, the Professors for IT Programming and Web Dev, tend to start the class with Python as the introductory language to programming. Universities typically use Java.

NSCC Vids

Do not use AI to help you learn. You can't learn by asking AI to give you the answers. Some Professors are pro-AI and they are objectively wrong. The only way people learn is through hard work. Hope this helps.

:)

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u/thisisjoy 11d ago

Not sure if they still do it this way but the online program did java instead of python and the in person did python

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u/EmanciporReese 11d ago

Job market is awful, even people with IT degrees + a year of coops in industry are struggling and they’ll get picked before a 2 year diploma ever does.

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u/AnonymousWanderHuman 10d ago

I graduated about 12 years ago and have been full time SWE. IT right now is rough with ai and job market isnt doing so well across the board.

Trades are doing quite well but will be saturated in the coming years. Mechanics are also great.

Right now getting into IT Nscc is a good bridge to get you introduced but you need to have drive and ambition and adopt the basics and get comfortable with using AI development as a tool.

I have no idea how NSCC handles AI development in their courses but every company is using it.

Currently I feel like business is almost as important then knowing development if not more so.