Southampton’s Ranking is going up!

Guys, grab a Times Higher Education Supplement copy. It is hot, interesting and it tells you something very good. Yeah, the University of Southampton is going up. Last year it was ranked 141. Now it is 80! It has taken a huge jump. And that’s a solid proof that the University is doing well.

You may not be fond of ranking but I really count on them. Among the many unbiased opinions regarding the prestige of an institute, the ranking is a very good option. That’s why you might have seen many brochures which tell how good the University is in terms of rankings.

I would like to give you my personal opinion regarding rankings. You guys may be familiar with an old but handy technique of keeping in touch with seniors or alumni students, to know how the market is going (especially for software/web engineering guys it’s like a life-line), what skills are in (what? BASIC and Pascal!), and most interesting who gets what!

One another advantage is their opinion regarding universities. A couple of years ago, when I was short-listing universities, I requested an alumni student to help me out. She asked me if I had considered rankings. I replied in the negative and when she advised me to do so, my obvious question was why. I still remember her advice. ‘You will know later, in your professional career.’

Later on, she explained that universities play a significant role in your professional career. People may hear a lot about Oxford, Cambridge and other big names, but shrewd employers know where to get ‘a good techie’ from. One university might have a good overall ranking but, on the other hand, it may not be the best in a particular field. Vice versa is quite possible. So, the best thing is to find if your university is good in YOUR area of interest. Don’t opt for an engineering degree in a university because ‘It was top in XY ranking’ since it may be second to none to teach psychology, humanities or social science but not your degree. I guess you’ve got the idea.

A last comment for someone. I am a software developer and I develop software; I don’t ‘work with computers’. Thanks.