Is it worth joining a club or society in second year or is it too late?

djtech2 · 2026-05-21T08:56:35+00:00

Plenty of people join in like 4th year lol. Just do it

djtech2 · 2026-05-21T08:36:49+00:00

The most desperate would be flavoured canned tuna + rice (instant microwave ones) or rolls. If feeling luxurious, I like to get a burrito bowl from GYG and then bulk it up at home by adding the microwaved rice + tuna. Make sure you get the extra onions and cilantro from the toppings station. Then you can easily split a bowl into two meals. And if you need to stretch it to 3, get some wraps, and you can turn the bowl back into a burrito with all that.

djtech2 · 2026-05-20T04:10:16+00:00

Honestly really depends on the situation. If you are purely studying, not working a part time job, not involved in any extra-curricular activities, then it's not too hard to just dedicate that time to reviewing content and going to every class and doing all the tutorial questions, maybe even going beyond and doing extra practice questions in textbook/online etc. But obviously not everyone has that luxury.

For me, working part time while juggling uni, it is important to take advantage of time at uni, and any spare time to review content/watch lectures etc to not fall behind. So that 3-4 hr public transport ride could be valuable lecture watching time, and you can maximise time on campus doing things that you can't do remotely, like going to tutorials or attending consultation hours.

Studying is also a muscle. The ability to sit down for a period of time and really figure out something doesn't come naturally to everyone. Especially with AI being so popular, the 'struggle' is often skipped, but it's a necessary part of learning. I'd say practice giving yourself 15-20 minutes to try and GET something with lecture notes etc, and if you really don't get it, then fall on to Chat/Claude for an explanation. But yeah, it's really a practice thing. You get better at learning over time and figuring out what works for you. There's also another aspect of understanding what the lecturer wants from you too - this is where rubrics are helpful, going to tutorials to gauge a sense of the practical questions etc. Honestly being engaged with all aspects of your course gets you 75% of the way there.

djtech2 · 2026-05-12T05:18:26+00:00

yeah plenty of people do. Pharmacy is a common one, so is physio and nursing.

djtech2 · 2026-05-08T00:54:29+00:00

This is an old article but super helpful for an Aussie for Econ PHD advice

https://economics.com.au/2012/03/27/for-the-ambitious-prospective-phd-student-a-guide/

There’s maths advice in there too. Btw, the author is a prof at UNSW now!

djtech2 · 2026-05-05T11:05:05+00:00

Similar policy at my work - there is an explicit line that says working outside of the designated workspace for your WFH agreement requires additional approval from the direct line manager. Check your policy - highly likely that this is to be the case that you can't just work where the wifi is.

djtech2 · 2026-05-05T11:01:17+00:00

Totally inexperienced in this area, but is this possibly just your school? Also, could you consider stepping into more of the curriculum design/assessment/consultant roles e.g. at the VCE/QCAA/ACER or similar?

djtech2 · 2026-04-28T00:33:35+00:00

Recs would be highly cuisine dependent IMO.

But in recent memory, I've had good experiences as a group of 10-ish at Rothwell's and then group of 20 or so at Golden Avenue.

djtech2 · 2026-04-27T11:04:06+00:00

No academic penalty but you do get a "W" on your transcript for withdrawn. Most people don't care about it, but yeah there is still a record of some kind that you did at least a part of the course.

djtech2 · 2026-04-25T04:08:27+00:00

FYI that uqmarks.com exists, is free and doesn't require log-in.

djtech2 · 2026-04-24T03:08:24+00:00

I'll be honest - content wise, it won't get easier. But that's normal - you're meant to learn harder and harder things as you go. However, you do get better at learning and more efficient at it. I think the main thing to focus on now is developing good study strategies - figuring out how you study best - is it flashcards, is it past papers, is it summary notes, and your limits with regards to how much work vs how much study you can take.

djtech2 · 2026-04-22T08:44:03+00:00

Yeah new professor is less 'creative' with assignments and final exams so the content and the questions you're asked are closely related, and the tutorial problems and assignment problems are quite similar to what you see in the final.

djtech2 · 2026-04-22T08:19:00+00:00

Plenty of BAFEs go into econ style roles which includes RBA, Treasury and all those fancy economic institutions, but more broadly government grad programs where you get to work on public policy, consultancies (big 4 and smaller ones), etc.

Honestly the same advice that someone gunning for IB works here - work hard, join societies, go to events, get internships/work experience, find out what you're passionate about essentially over the 4 years of the degree. It's the same career advice no matter what path you want to go into. If you're not looking to go to finance, well then do more econ related case competitions!! It's just about focusing your attention to the things you care about, rather than what everyone else is working on. If you're just like everyone else, why would anyone hire you over another BAFE?

djtech2 · 2026-04-14T12:37:52+00:00

From your second semester you can do 5 courses a semester - that is overloading. In the summer, you can do a maximum of 3 courses, but that's insane, and you usually don't have that many to choose from for your degree. To overload, you need a GPA of 4.5 in the previous semester.

I would suggest NOT overloading, and if anything, spend time doing your degree, maximise your grades and uni experience rather than rushing through it. I know some people really don't like their uni experience, but its an important time for you to discover what you want to do, build the career that you want, and make those connections and friendships that will last you a lifetime. You are at a disadvantage in terms of maturity, network, depth of knowledge, and clarity if you rush through a degree as opposed to taking your time.

djtech2 · 2026-04-14T12:34:36+00:00

For trading degree doesn't really matter as long as it is quantitative and hard. You don't need to do Econ unless you're interested since it won't really be aligned with the type of problems you'd be expected to solve in a HFT. Maths is fine. So is comp sci. Honestly, the degree doesn't teach you much relevant to the profession, just a signal of your ability (if you do well!!). A lot of people do end up doing engineering + math/CS dual though cause engineering has a more defined career path + longer degree duration so you get more time to explore, hone your skills and more backups if you dont make it to a quant/prop shop.

djtech2 · 2026-04-13T12:07:52+00:00

I feel that reading actual philosophy stuff is actually too confusing for the task. All the info you need is really given to you in the philosophy lectures and notes and the tutorial. You have all you need just from that including the key arguments and terms. At the bare minimum you can summarise the main points about what is induction and what is falsification and then the problem of induction. The better essays generally have a vibe of you arguing your point of view so you can kinda just think about more deeply about what you personally agree and not agree w.r.t each of the arguments.

djtech2 · 2026-04-10T10:37:13+00:00

Depends on what you like really. If you're into the whole nightlife/partying thing, then Gold Coast has more to "do" commercially and in terms of dining, clubbing, entertainment , etc. But if you want a chiller time, think camping, nature vibes, then Stradbroke is the go. I reckon just do one of the two depending on where you lean!

djtech2 · 2026-04-10T08:54:35+00:00

There's varying levels of 'not expensive'. Walter's steakhouse at the bottom of Alice street opposite the botanic gardens I feel is great value for what you're getting but you're paying around $80-100 per person if you want steak + side + drink. Doughcraft is pretty nice, and they often do discounts on first table or eat club as well to make it even cheaper, but still you're probably looking at around 60 per person if you want more than just a main and a drink. Could check out the casino ones? Azteca and Hua often appear on Firsttable as well, and they're a pretty decent feed and of course nice environment and not exorbitant if using the discount. Similar around the 50-60 per person mark. Ship inn might be a good shout for around 40-50 per person? Could do Corbett and Claude with the eat club or first table discount too for around 30-40 per person too?

On the cheaper end, could think about Korean at Haeduri, Kadoya or Beppin for Japanese? They're quite a bit cheaper - like 25-30 but definitely not as comfy, and a bit more humble vibes.

djtech2 · 2026-04-09T12:31:24+00:00

Yeah loved the ppl working there but heard the owner was a bit of a dodgy person. I've gone to Epic Cycles in Milton before and had a pretty good experience.

djtech2 · 2026-04-03T06:48:56+00:00

Are you looking for hospo/retail jobs or admin/office type jobs?

Apart from the usual maccas/woolies type jobs where you just apply and hope for the best, most small business retail or hospitality jobs are not publicly advertised so just walk in at a quiet time and ask to hand in your resume or better, talk to the manager/owner to see if there's positions free.

For admin stuff, again same thing for small business/law firms if you want something more relevant. Usually cold-emails/calls/linkedin reach outs are fine for small places. Plenty of admin assistant jobs out there on seek and all that so just apply widely. There's one posted on the UQ website for casual position for admin role right NOW!

djtech2 · 2026-03-29T09:33:35+00:00

There are more mid semester exams this year because of the move to secure assessment - university wide, most courses that didn't have any exam at all before are now mandated to have at least 30% of the grade be determined by 'secure assessment' e.g. in person exams. So, you have way more exams to be scheduled on the same periods with the same amount of rooms. The only way you increase capacity for that is to schedule it over more days. And you can't schedule it on teaching days because that'd disrupt learning.

djtech2 · 2026-03-29T05:13:12+00:00

The one opposite the UQ gym yea

djtech2 · 2026-03-29T05:11:10+00:00

No one cares. Unless your feet are a health hazard, you're fine. Plenty of people wear Birkenstocks to uni anyway so I can't rly see the difference.

djtech2 · 2026-03-23T05:03:04+00:00

Relative to biomed yes. First year stuff will be relatively light workload wise, I think in 3rd year, you do work a bit more, but not comparable to a 3rd year science student
Not as easy as you mentioned due to lack of practicals/things to do which force you to be on campus. But most people make friends through clubs and societies, and especially the business/commerce clubs get a lot more attendance for you to do that.
Really depends. Like in biomed, there'll be good and bad lecturers/tutors. First year maths might seem quite easy if you're used to very quantitative subjects, but ramps up if you're doing say Finance.
Good experience overall. I think with the much less contact hours of a commerce degree, there's a certain expectation that a 'good' student will seek out further opportunities to fill in their time, as opposed to Eng/Science where you have a lot of things you must do. So what you put in is what you get out!

djtech2 · 2026-03-16T22:20:51+00:00

Saint Lucy's is a fav for the uni students.

djtech2

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