Graduate Testimonial

A: My title is Senior Network\System Analyst. Myself and another Network\Systems Analyst take care of approximately 40 Network devices and 60 Servers. As the senior staff member I am also in charge of projects and future planning.

A: Not really, as you can see from my job title and the course name I do work in a related role. My goal in completing the course was to show on my CV that I have not only the on job experience but also the technical knowledge and theory behind it. This was not to further my career but to ensure if I do change roles or look for advancement that my CV was more complete.

A: Time, this was by far the hardest part of studying and working full-time. Finding the time to complete the hours of study required. The time is always there, but there are so many things fighting for your time, and many of them are far more attractive that sitting down to study, you need to be strict with yourself and designate dedicated study time if you want to achieve good results.

A: I have found as a mature aged student I was more driven than when I last studied, it had been more than a decade since I completed study at school and Uni and I really didn't know what to expect from myself at the start. Some good results in the first couple of subjects did help set the bar a bit higher than I might have expected, and so I was striving to keep it there, managing to even improve as the course went on.

A: I found ITC-597 "Digital Forensics" to be the most rewarding subject, mainly due to the fact that it was far removed from my day to day work and that it shed some light on some of the ways used to recover and find data.

A: I am currently employed with Geoscience Australia as a Senior Project Manager. Geoscience is a fascinating place to work - one thing that I really enjoy is being able to clearly see the direct impact that the projects I manage have on ensuring better outcomes for Australia and Australians, for example managing the establishment of systems that facilitate convergence of multiple data sets to an internationally compliant standard that can then be delivered to users (industry, academics, public) through web services. In many cases this provides the end user with a much richer visual/spatial interpretation of the data and an overall better user experience. Data that in some cases would otherwise be disparate and inconsistent is now consolidated and can be more efficiently and effectively interpreted, analysed and relied upon as an authoritative source that can better inform Government and other stakeholders in decision/policy making; for example around hazard/risk management, environmental assessments or mining exploration. As a Senior Project Manager at Geoscience Australia I am responsible for establishing the tactical plan for delivery of projects including the transition in to 'business as usual' operation once they are completed. This involves stakeholder management, risk management, scheduling, budget management, reporting and generally just ensuring that the outputs are delivered to an agreed scope and quality standard. A large part of this involves 'people management' and managing teams.

A: Absolutely, I am much more self aware in my communication. I am also confident in the 'hard' skills that I now posses in project management, for example: earned value, critical path analysis, probability, cause and effect, improvement curve, NPV, IRR, Payback, advanced scheduling and network analysis, resource levelling etc. I now feel that I am much better placed to advance my career (if/when I choose to do so). At the present time I am very happy doing what I do at Geoscience but it is always nice to know that with the additional skills and knowledge (and qualification) that I now have, I would be better positioned for opportunities and/or to take on new challenges in the future.

A: It wasn't easy. I was balancing full-time work, family (when I started the degree we had just had our first child and 18 months later had a second). I really had to be disciplined and there was virtually no time for recreational activities such as family, gym and music - the three things I am most passionate about. I found a couple of the units quite difficult as I was completely unfamiliar with the concepts so went in cold - for example Managerial Finance to me was the hardest unit - my advice to people doing that unit - don't cram, you may get away with that for other units but for finance (if you have never done it before) it is better to build your knowledge over time and practice the exercises over and over! I must say I was very relieved when I passed that unit, although at the time it was very stressful for me.

A: My Masters unit ''Project Management Communications" was really valuable in providing me with additional knowledge, tools and techniques. The tutor (Brenton Burchmore) for this unit was exceptionally good in his delivery of the course, a lot of his quotes are tattooed in my memory, for example: "Deliver information that creates understanding that inspires action" I am now very conscious of the above when I communicate. For example if I send an email, I ask myself is it consistent with the above? Have I delivered information that creates understanding that inspires action? Whilst something as simple as the above quote may seem obvious, it is surprising how often these principles are not followed in everyday communication. This is just one quote of many and a tiny part of the overall unit, but it definitely has stuck with me. Since applying the principles of what I learned in this unit at work, I have noticed a boost in my career; the relationships I have and my overall communication effectiveness to the point where last month my Division Chief presented me with the ''Performer of the month award" in at our end of year Divisional briefing. I attribute this partially to some of the skills I learned in communication/stakeholder management from the subject. Whilst I was quite confident in my communication ability prior to the subject, I felt that the subject nicely consolidated what I already knew and gave me new and different perspectives that took my communication capability to the next level. This is now paying dividends in both my professional and personal life. I have a side business writing and producing music for recreational and commercial purposes. I often find that some musicians can be 'unique' to communicate and/or establish productive relationships with. The communications skills I learned in this subject are quite transferable to this situation.

A: Senior Network Support Officer - Aquinas College, Ringwood, Victoria Started in June 2006 Responsible for Design, implement and maintain Institute’s data network (LAN and WAN)

A: Prior to the course I was only Cisco certified and now I’m Microsoft certified as well. I’m competent both in Networking and System Administration paths. This is a solid foundation for job security and opens more career opportunities.

A: Time was the biggest challenge. As a full-time employee and a family person, I have very little time left during the day for my studies. So I overcame this issue by waking up every day at 3 o’clock in the morning

A: Dedication is the key to achieving my outstanding results. I thoroughly believe that if someone dedicates to what they do, they can achieve any target within the required time frame

A: “IT Ethics” is the most rewarding subject for me. It goes beyond technical skills. This subject taught me to work as a real professional.

A: “I had just graduated from my undergraduate degree and was looking for new challenges. The course profile contained subjects that seemed very relevant to the work I was doing as a Regional Network Administrator so I took the plunge and applied.”

A: “The Microsoft certification subjects were extremely relevant to my work, as was the Cisco component and they have helped me to do my job better. I’ve also developed better time management and self-motivation skills.”

A: “One of the most important factors in choosing a CSU course was that it had to work around my schedule. I remember rushing to finish an assignment from a hotel room in San Diego. When I finally did send it to my lecturer, two days late, he was more than understanding and told me to take some time off and visit the zoo. If you ever get to San Diego, I highly recommend you go!”

A: “Prior to the course I was in a position of having heaps of industry experience but few formal qualifications; I am now in a position that I have to hire staff and I will be targeting CSU graduates for their relevant and uncommon knowledge. “

A: “Receiving my graduation certificate in the mail. Having spent two hard years studying, it often felt like there was no end in sight. I would often study in the middle of the night when my baby daughter would wake up and demand to be changed or fed. She would sit on my knee and stare up at me as I would discuss encryption protocols or risk management theories with her. Graduating from the CSU course required a great deal of effort and, as a result, was hugely rewarding.” Paul’s final thought on the Masters? Quite simply, “best thing I ever did.”

A: “Delivering a presentation of my research proposal to lecturers and other postgraduate students. Presenting my first published paper to the ICITA 2007 conference in Harbin China.”

A: “Pursuing postgraduate study via distance education with CSU is a pleasure… the course has been structured to ensure success and the lecturers and supervisors are more than willing and able to help with any problems you may encounter.”

A: I am an IT Consultant and trainer in the Microsoft Client and Server space. I specialise in rapid, large scale deployments and have been behind the scenes somewhere at most of the large scale Microsoft events around the world.

A: The course made me look more at the way that I was running the business and how to ensure that the available resources (time and money) were best used. The nature of the course meant that not only did I learn from the content but also I needed to change my habits to ensure that I could complete the required courseware.

A: Time – a lot of my role involves traveling (both domestically and internationally) and this means that I am on the road a lot – which means that in between engagements I had to try and work in keeping up with the course. During the time that I was completing the course, we also welcomed to the world 2 children – I remember completing a final assignment while in a chair next to my wife after the birth of our first child – wrangling my role as father, husband and business owner into the available time was the biggest challenge! On the flip side – my family have also been my biggest supporters as well – the cheer from my 3 year old daughter when I graduated was enough to make the Chancellor pause!

A: Determination to finish and not to have wasted the time that I had away from my family. I also wanted to prove something to myself – that a mature aged student, with a family and a business could complete the course! The support from the university and from the IT Masters staff helped me through some of the hard yards!

A: I would say all the subjects were rewarding in their own way – the marketing subject gave me some great insights into the way that I was putting my company out into the world and made me rethink some of the strategies. However the subject that I was the most pleased with to pass was the business financials subject – I am not a natural with numbers and therefore had to really apply to get through it. I surprised myself recently when my wife was doing a similar subject in a course she is completing and I was able to help her to understand PV, FV and NPV!