Which is best to pursue MS Computer Science or MS Information Systems?

Unknown

In a year or so I am looking to enroll in New Jersey Institute of Technology for a Masters in Computer Science or Information Services. Thats the only place in the state that offers an online MS in those subjects. I looked at the course content and the options from both interest me. As of right now I have no interest being in management but 10 yrs down the line I might have a change of heart.

My question is which would look better on a Resume and have a better long term ROI?

ajs1976

CS is almost always considered to be more valuable then IS, but I would look at courses and requirements of each an see which one lines up better with your goals and interests.

iBrokeIT

Are you getting a MS just to get a MS or you getting it to advance your career and gain knowledge that you current don't have?

You need to identify what you want to do for a career first then evaluate how those degrees will help you accomplish that goal.

What do you want to do for a career and what do you want your next job description to look like? Which one those degrees teaches skills that are more aligned to that job description?

The ROI isn't going to be very good if you don't end using the knowledge you gained by getting a MS.

So... how do you plan to use the knowledge you have gained in your career if you got either of those degrees?

GAngel

I didn't know there were any CS programs that accepted non-cs undergrads (without heavy pre-reqs). It's a different spectrum from all other parts of IT. math and and stats to an engineer level are necessary to do the theory work necessary for any half decent thesis.

Legacy User

@GAngel yes all non CS graduates have to take about 8 bridge courses before starting the program. I was orignally enrolled in a cs program before I transferred over to IT so I have most them completed. I just need discrete math, CALC 2 and Stats which I will take at a comm college.

@iBrokIT I have to take some time before fully responding.

To answer the first part:
No I am not taking it just to have a MS if that was the case I'd do the MS at WGU and pay a fraction for tuition but the coursework there does not interest me. I want to learn knew things. Whether or not it will help me advance in my a career I'm not sure. In reality I don't see many jobs looking for either. But then again I tend to look for the Network side of things.

srj

I'm going CS for a few reason:

1. I'm not ruling out a career in software development in the future.
2. Few IT professionals have CS degrees and it makes you stand out.
3. I enjoy programming and want to continue to pursue topics that I otherwise might not devote the time to.
4. Having a knowledge of underlying concepts of software/networking cannot hurt your troubleshooting ability for specific products.
5. The school that I am taking classes at offers a more IT relevant CS degree. The initial bridge courses are C++/Java, data structures, discrete math, computer architecture, etc. The classes for the MS program include a broad range of topics: programming, algorithms, security, and networking. In other programs, it seems to revolve mostly around software development. While I do want to take a few additional programming classes, I'd like to dig deeper into some of the forensic and network architecture classes.

At the end of the day, I decided that the MSCS was worth the extra bridge courses and the likely more difficult coursework. Your mileage may vary depending on what is important to you.