USYD or Torrens? (1 Viewer)

[nuvardex]

Before you read, just know that you don't have to know anything about my preferred degree to answer it. I'll be very general to make it easier.

If you laughed at that question, I completely get it. However, I'm in a little bit of a dilemma as I can't determine which university would be 'better' (I'll define what makes a university better in my perspective) for me.

For some context, I want to study user experience (UX) design to ultimately become a project manager. USYD offer a course called the "Bachelor of Design (Interaction Design [https://www.sydney.edu.au/courses/c...r-of-advanced-studies-interaction-design.html] and Torrens offer a course called "Bachelor of UX and Web Design" [https://www.torrens.edu.au/courses/design/bachelor-of-ux-and-web-design]. Both courses look very appealing, but my status-oriented family are extremely against going with Torrens. Most of them are in highly regarded industries (law, medicine and finance) and believe that going to a prestigious university will land you a six-figure salary.

UX design jobs very rarely require a degree and rather focus on experience and a quality portfolio. From what I've seen with Torrens (less with USYD), they seem to really emphasise that connection with industry and the importance of a portfolio. I've brought this up before with my family, but they divert to ranking (yes, I agree that Torrens has a really shit rank in Australia) and ignore anything else. Additionally, since design is such a dynamic industry, I want all of the support I can get in a collaborative, bright environment with supportive lecturers. My friend is studying commerce at USYD and my teacher studied maths at USYD (different faculties, but hear me out). They said that due to the class sizes, they were never able to seek support and the quality of education was questionable (I prefer hands-on and practical approaches as opposed to making notes from a textbook). Finally, I absolutely hate the Wilkinson building of Design. It has some of the most uninspiring, cluttered classrooms I've ever seen in a university.

So, if Torrens is clearly in favour, why is my family so adamant about USYD? I'm learning the same stuff, I'll be on the same salary when I graduate, the facilities are better, the classrooms are smaller... but no; there is this stigma they fail to alleviate that USYD will get me a six-figure salary and the best education.

What are your thoughts? Being brought up in this status-oriented family, I am a little reluctant to label myself as someone who goes to an open, non-ATAR university; it would be nice being called a USYD student. However, at the end of the day, the university which fulfils my education needs should prevail... I guess?

 

[Katsumi]

My focus would be on doing all the due-dilligence i could do around the USYD degree. Research specific aspects of the coursework, call the university to ask questions, see if you know existing people in that degree and ask about their experience in that particular course etc.

If you can reasonably say that you have done all the due diligence you can and the USYD degree seems unappealing then you can make the decision to attend Torrens while being respectful to your parents.

USYD is definitely a safer bet if you decide to pivot your career interests which does happen. It is recognisable and looks good on your resume. There's also the line of thinking that you'll be successful irrespective of what university you attend if you are really motivated and put in the work (not qualified to comment on if that's true or not, but definitely a way to think about it).

 

[idkkdi]

Before you read, just know that you don't have to know anything about my preferred degree to answer it. I'll be very general to make it easier.

If you laughed at that question, I completely get it. However, I'm in a little bit of a dilemma as I can't determine which university would be 'better' (I'll define what makes a university better in my perspective) for me.

For some context, I want to study user experience (UX) design to ultimately become a project manager. USYD offer a course called the "Bachelor of Design (Interaction Design [https://www.sydney.edu.au/courses/c...r-of-advanced-studies-interaction-design.html] and Torrens offer a course called "Bachelor of UX and Web Design" [https://www.torrens.edu.au/courses/design/bachelor-of-ux-and-web-design]. Both courses look very appealing, but my status-oriented family are extremely against going with Torrens. Most of them are in highly regarded industries (law, medicine and finance) and believe that going to a prestigious university will land you a six-figure salary.

UX design jobs very rarely require a degree and rather focus on experience and a quality portfolio. From what I've seen with Torrens (less with USYD), they seem to really emphasise that connection with industry and the importance of a portfolio. I've brought this up before with my family, but they divert to ranking (yes, I agree that Torrens has a really shit rank in Australia) and ignore anything else. Additionally, since design is such a dynamic industry, I want all of the support I can get in a collaborative, bright environment with supportive lecturers. My friend is studying commerce at USYD and my teacher studied maths at USYD (different faculties, but hear me out). They said that due to the class sizes, they were never able to seek support and the quality of education was questionable (I prefer hands-on and practical approaches as opposed to making notes from a textbook). Finally, I absolutely hate the Wilkinson building of Design. It has some of the most uninspiring, cluttered classrooms I've ever seen in a university.

So, if Torrens is clearly in favour, why is my family so adamant about USYD? I'm learning the same stuff, I'll be on the same salary when I graduate, the facilities are better, the classrooms are smaller... but no; there is this stigma they fail to alleviate that USYD will get me a six-figure salary and the best education.

What are your thoughts? Being brought up in this status-oriented family, I am a little reluctant to label myself as someone who goes to an open, non-ATAR university; it would be nice being called a USYD student. However, at the end of the day, the university which fulfils my education needs should prevail... I guess?

i doubt torrens has a better connection to industry.

as for learning the same stuff, perhaps.

 

[dasfas]

Honestly yeah, there's a large gap in terms of "reputation" between USYD and Torrens, which sounds wanky, but is unfortunately true. However, you may find that you have a more tight knit experience at Torrens compared to USYD.

Perhaps ask on the usyd subreddit as to whether they do use the shitty old building - typically classes end up in the nicer buildings.

I think that if you're strong and you have a good portfolio, the uni you go to is less important. But you don't want the fact that you got your uni at Torrens to get you overlooked in future promotions, as even if you don't care about uni reputation, some people do, and they may be your managers later down the track.

Perhaps start at USYD and if it really does suck for you, transfer to Torrens after a year? Or vice versa.

Regardless, you'll be doing most of your learning by yourself, so at the end of the day, the degree really just is a piece of paper.