Information Technology, Systems, Management, or Science Degrees?

sensitivestoic

Quick background: I have two bachelors of art degrees in psychology and philosophy and am looking to transfer my career into the field of Information Technology. I've been working professionally in IT for quite a few years and am attempting to take the next step into an IT related Master's Degree. My background is not in programming and doesn't align with a typical Computer Science/Engineering (mathematics focused) degree. As a result I've been researching Systems or Management related degrees.

Question: Every graduate school seems to name their IT degree in a different format: Informatics, Information Technology, Information Systems, Information Management, Information Science, etc...

What is the best way to compare- what seems like apples to oranges- graduate schools and understand how it affects your future career? Is course syllabi the only way? Any resources or advice is greatly appreciated!

TheFORCE

Need to look at the course syllabus and see what courses are offered. Depending on the school, some might have better courses than others or focus more on certain topics of IT.

sensitivestoic

TheFORCE wrote: »

Need to look at the course syllabus and see what courses are offered. Depending on the school, some might have better courses than others or focus more on certain topics of IT.

The only major distinction I've noticed is Computer Science focuses on programming, mathematics, or the logic behind computing devices. Information Technology tends to focus on system operations, design, support, and social ethics. Information Systems or Science appear to be branches of this field which focus more abstractly on the philosophy behind technology design.

So is the more important factor to obtain a degree that offers the courses you are interested in taking? How does this influence what future employers see? And, how then do you critique a school's offerings? I've heard some rant against Information Systems and still do not see a concrete reason as to why this is.

soccarplayer29

My advice would be to check out actual job postings (from potential employers, similar entry-level positions, etc.). What I usually see is a requirement for "Bachelors Degree" or "Bachelors Degree in Computer Science or related field". As long as your skills match the job requirements and you hold a bachelors degree (if required) then you'll be fine.

Like you said, focus on the course content which will give you the necessary skills vs. the degree name. College degree curriculum's vary and change often so I doubt employers will put much weight into the title of the degree since they themselves don't know what courses make up that curriculum.

TLDR: Get the skills (courses/experience/internships) -> earn degree -> get job