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A day in the life of an IT student


Juggling part-time work with full-time study is never easy, but Bachelor of Information Technology student Emma Flanagan has managed to stay on top of both. Here’s how she plans her day.

6am – 2pm

"I’m the manager of a supermarket, so I have a very early start if I’m on the morning shift. I don’t mind really. It’s much harder to manage my work schedule when I have a lecture in the middle of the day. If I can go to my job in the morning and then come to uni in the late afternoon, it suits me perfectly."

3 – 4pm

"I normally drive to uni if I have an afternoon lecture. If I have a class earlier in the day, I’ll get the train to campus and do some reading or listen to a lecture on the way."

4 – 6pm

"In IT, our lectures and tutorials are usually held together in one block. It’s similar to a workshop and it’s very interactive. Our classes are mostly held in a computer lab, though sometimes we use our own laptops during class time. We might just listen to a talk from the lecturer for the full two hours, or we all work together at the same time, moving through a task step by step. It can also be a mix of both, with an hour-long lecture followed by a discussion and hands-on work."

 

6 – 7pm

"If it’s a busy time of the semester or we have a big group project, I’ll walk to the library with my classmates and we’ll work in a private study room together. My degree has always involved a lot of group work, which I don’t mind. It’s set up this way because our lecturers want us to get into the rhythm of working with other people and it gives us that real-world experience. Once we finish our degree and start our careers, it’s not like many of us will be just sitting on our own working solo, so this is why learning to collaborate starts from the very beginning in IT."

7 – 9pm

"I’ll drive home from uni and have dinner and try to relax for a bit. But if it’s exam time or I have a lot going on, I’ll do another couple of hours of study on my own. I’ve had to learn to manage my time better and rushing to complete an assignment the night before is never a good idea."

Discover your own path in information technology at ACU

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Impact brings you compelling stories, inspiring research, and big ideas from ACU. It's about the impact we’re having on our communities, and our Mission in action. It’s a practical resource for career, life and study.

At ACU it’s education, but not as you know it. We stand up for people in need, and causes that matter.

If you have a story idea or just want to say hello, do contact us.

Copyright@ Australian Catholic University 1998-2024 | ABN 15 050 192 660 CRICOS registered provider: 00004G | PRV12008