Richard Nguyen is in his final year of the Bachelor of Business, Bachelor of Science in IT and thinks his course choice was a pretty smart move. In Year 12 Richard liked the sound of both business and IT and then talked to some older friends working in the IT industry, asking them about their jobs.
"I found out that it is essential to understand the way a business operates when you work in IT - so it just made sense to have an understanding of both fields. Business and IT are absolutely dependent on each other nowadays."
"Studying both business and IT opens up a wide range of career paths for me. Also, it was a safe decision because I had something to fall back on in case I found I did not enjoy one area or the other."
Richard definitely liked the idea of being able to get two degrees in only 4 years. He was also attracted to the very practical hands-on nature of the course with its strong focus on communication and teamwork skills, as well as the theory.
"My course equips me with the skills I need to enter a company and make an instant contribution. I can demonstrate to employers that I am work-ready and will be a good personality fit for the company."
It was during his first year that Richard realised he had a burning passion for applications development.
"Having never typed a single line of code before then, I suddenly found myself making websites and applications just for fun, while aceing all of my programming subjects. I have since focused my studies in that area and want to keep improving my skill set."
Richard secured a summer internship at the end of his third year and worked for the Macquarie Group in their Information Technology Group (ITG) doing Java programming.
"The ITG assists the operations of the business by developing systems for employees and clients to use. I was assigned to the Treasury and Commodities team who heavily rely on IT systems. They would not be able to function without the systems in place, so it is a very important aspect of the business."
But uni is not all about work. Richard has made the most of his opportunities to get involved in student life. He has been: vice-president of the Computing Society; president of the Vietnamese Students' Association; a yellow shirt and peer networker organising and running the IT Orientation Camp and helping new students at uni-wide orientations; and a promotional representative of UTS.
"I am so glad I got involved in lots of activities at uni. It has really helped me to develop my leadership, teamwork and communication skills and I had so much fun and made many long-lasting friendships. I now have the confidence to just approach a complete stranger and strike up a conversation - a very important life skill!"
