Hello
My name is Mustafa and I am studying Computer Science at the University of Warwick. Having finished my second year at the number 3 ranked university in the country (National Student Survey) as well as keeping busy with internships and other experience, I hope to provide some insight for everyone!
MY STORY
Like many intelligent young children, I wanted to go to a grammar school and landed a place at Wilson’s School- the number 1 school in the country for GCSE’s (The times). Submerging myself in countless activities: Amassing 100 sports appearances in cricket and football before I turned 15, I made the most out of the extracurricular opportunities available to me. Yet I lost sight of my priority – my education- and started falling behind at school. Luckily, through hard work and determination, I managed to obtain respectable GCSE grades- 9 9s/8s and 2 7s.
However there was big room for improvement. In Year 12, I stayed well ahead of school work, tutored GCSE maths students in our school. I was clueless about what I wanted to do but knew I had to do something so started reading books about computer science and AI (even though I didn’t study it at A level), and tried programming for the first time. With A*A*A*A achieved in my A levels- in Further Mathematics, Mathematics, Economics and Geography, I managed to meet the offer at the university my dad and I fell in love with earlier that year- Computer Science at the University of Warwick.
Flash forward a year from the boy who had never studied Computer Science at school, I have a vast portfolio of projects using over 7 languages. Two of my highlight projects would be my Event Ticketing Website and my program to guide a robot buggy along a line using light sensors. I finished in the top 15% of the year with a 1 st (70.0+) but aside from that, I’m the president of Warwick Pakistani Society, secured a 4 week internship at Deloitte LLP as a Technology Consultant, and have landed a job as a web developer part-time. Alhamdulillah.
My story shows that all it takes is some hard work to get to the top of your field, no matter how inexperienced you are at the start. And always thank Allah!
Why Choose Data Science as a Student
Let me give you 2 compelling reasons why you need to choose Computer Science at uni. Everyone knows that Computer Science is the most employable degree since you can go into any field after: Banking, Software Development, Civil service, anything you can imagine,
but these 2 are things that are often understated.
1. Computer Science is the most broad course because you do absolutely everything.Programming/coding- that’s only part of the picture. You cover a lot of mathematics-discrete maths (e.g. set theory, graph theory, probability)and pure mathematics (linear algebra, matrices). You also cover the hardware side with computer architecture, which will be a treat if this interests you. If the data science side tickles your fancy, you cover all of that if you so wish with modules like Data Organisations. WARWICK EXCLUSIVE: At Warwick, you can pick optional modules on the side like Business modules (E.g. Intro to Finance), Languages (E.g. Arabic). This is all in FIRST YEAR! Long story short, you will always find at least one thing you love.
2. It’s fun. Not like essays where you have to write 2500 words on a random topic after doing hours of reading. Computer Science has a lot of coursework, where the descriptions are brief, and you’re assessed on how creative a solution you can come up with. Every other course you’ll find people cramming everything at the end, pulling all nighters the day of a deadline. With coursework,, you sit down whenever you want and look forward to making your website look nicer, or add something to your algorithm to make your game quicker etc.
Navigating Your Sixth Form Years for Data Science Success
A lot rests on your personal statement. I have outlined a step-by-step guide for you all to be in good stead to apply to universities.
1. Read at least one book about anything computer science related. Reading shows initiative as well as interest in the subject, universities aren’t looking for the smartest students, they’re looking for the most passionate. Write a book review on it, or note down what you’ve learnt, as this will be a key thing for your personal statement
2. Try to program and make something. Whether it be a website or a small game, it will show recruiters that you have the drive to learn a new language so won’t struggle at university.
3. Do something maths related. Mathematics is a big part of computer science and you should show that not only are you passionate about computer science but maths too! Research something (e.g. why the sum of all numbers is -1/12). Or you could do what I did which is read another book! I read mine on probability.
4. Personal Statement sorted! Now, sort out which universities you want to apply to. Look at the modules covered in first year and see if they cover things you are interested in. For me, maths was important so I only applied to universities that had 2 maths modules in first year. Also, go and see the university. University apart from work needs to be enjoyable and so you need to see whether you actually like the place. Lastly, whether your predicted grades are better or equal to their requirements.
5. Lastly, smash your A levels. Once you get your offer it might be a good idea to become familiar with the programming language they cover in your university.
Networking and Community Building
1. Attend Careers fairs at your university. This is a good place to find employers who are offering out spring week/internship opportunities.
2. Set up your Linkedin. Lots of people reach out through here (Employers/companies etc.) and so keeping this updated lets people know you’re fit for their jobs.
3. Keep updated with big firms (E.g. PwC, Bloomberg, Deutsche bank) and see if they have insight days that you can register for. You can do this by signing up to their mailing lists, following them on Linkedin etc.
4. Keep alert to offers your universities send out via mail. I secured a 4 week internship at Deloitte by doing a TeamWork program run by my university, and if I was more pro active I could’ve secured opportunities in the spring and winter too.
5. One big thing is your university’s ISOC. If you become friends with second and third years who do your course or similar courses, then you can follow their career paths and they can guide you to do the things they did!
I hope these tips serve useful! If you haven’t applied to university and if you are still unsure about computer science, then you have me as a connection to reach out to, or other people at universities who you may know through family. It is always worth speaking to someone no
matter how awkward it might be!
Securing Internships and Summer Placements
This will very much depend on the network and community you build, however they are easily accessible even if you don’t know lots of people that work at the big firms. These will be focused on what you should do in your first year, so not really towards summer placements in second year (of course if you want to do one in your first year, these steps will help)
1. Read your university emails. Often your university will send out opportunities and while it may look like spam mail, they can hold some very exciting opportunities. At Warwick, I secured one with Deloitte, and I have friends who secured places at Clifford Chance, Cisco and other fantastic firms just through the university.
2. Be proactive, get work experience. This doesn’t have to be computer science related, but get jobs, tutor, become involved in society committees, and become an experienced worker. Yes, when you start applying for summer internships second year, working a 9-5 will be less important for your CV than a work experience at Barclays, but in the early stages the proactivity can help you land that FIRST internship.
3. Start doing projects in your free time as well as the university ones you receive. I have a whole section on my CV just talking about projects and it really shows your adaptability if you have a diverse portfolio.
4. Have a CV ready by end of October to apply.
5. Ask around about internships. Or search on google. Do this early as deadlines close sooner than you think. For spring weeks, search which firms have spring weeks open to first years and in what field. In my opinion, the firm matters more than the role that you are doing so target the well known companies. It may be daunting that everyone around you is getting all these internships and you don’t know where to start, but all it takes is a little bit of proactivity to secure that one.
Contact
Please don't hesitate to reach out to me for assistance or if you have any questions. I'm here to help!