To major or minor in CS

Turgon

I came across this opinion on a board and thought some of you considering College options might find it interesting. No opinions myself about this either way..



"The things you need to do computer science research and the things you need to be an IT monkey or coder are very different. If your aspiration is to be an IT monkey, skip the CS major and major in something you enjoy; it won’t hurt you, and you’ll enjoy college more. If your aspiration is to be a coder, anything you learn after the second year is likely to be useless; get a CS minor and major in something you enjoy, preferably something you enjoy that gives you people and communications skills.

Also, schools vary considerably. I was a computer science major at a good school, where the computer science department had just spun off from the math department. What I learned there was mostly theory, with a little bit of practical stuff; but it meant that I could pick up any language quickly and be productive with it. This didn’t look useful to other students (though I was just taking it because it was interesting), but I fared (and am faring) much better in the long run against fellow-workers who had been vocationally trained in “industry relevant” Java but had no theory or deeper understanding to back things up with.

And when I got to graduate school (in music), for fun I took a graduate-level compilers course—and found that what my graduate school considered PhD-level computer science was easier than what I had done my junior year in college, and that I knew practical C and computation theory stuff better than the teaching assistant who was grading my homework."

dynamik

Turgon wrote: »

If your aspiration is to be an IT monkey, skip the CS major and major in something you enjoy; it won’t hurt you, and you’ll enjoy college more.

That's how I feel. Most places just prefer that you have a degree. If you have the skills for the job, what you studied in college will usually be irrelevant.

murdatapes

Good post, cause I was thinking about completing my A.A.S degree in CIS, but getting a bachelors in Psychology which I have a high interest in. But then again, I also thought about a bachelors in Business Administration in CIS.

Do you think that the A.A.S degree in CIS w / certs is good enough for the tech route?

dynamik

A bachelors will do much more for you than an associates. I'd try to finish it up while you can. It's significantly more difficult to finish later in life.

I'm also working on a psych degree

murdatapes

dynamik wrote: »

A bachelors will do much more for you than an associates. I'd try to finish it up while you can. It's significantly more difficult to finish later in life.

I'm also working on a psych degree

I hear you man. I will be done with A.A.S in Jan. 2011, or a little before. So ok, makes me want to hurry and finish that so I can move onto the psych degree.

urbanempire

Thanks a lot for posting this, Turgon. This has been one of my main dilemmas for over the past 6 months. I keep going back and forth.

The reason it's such a dilemma for me is that I'm jumping into the IT field late in college. I'm currently a senior majoring in Political Science, which has been my main passion, but I always enjoyed computers as kind of a side hobby. I built my own computer and routinely fix friends computers with issues (virus infection, data backup, hardware upgrade, OS re-install, etc.). It wasn't until this past Spring that I realized that the bad economy had essentially wiped out the few decent paying jobs that were usually available for Poli Sci students and had converted them into unpaid internships and that was just something I couldn't afford to do, at least in the short term.

So, I decided that I might as well try and delve more deeply into the IT field and see if I'd be able to break in somehow and I am glad I did. It's so much more diverse and fun than I actually imagined. There's so many avenues to travel down too (networking, server, sys admin, security, Linux/Unix etc.) But the main issue was whether I should pursue the minor or get a major. I had already been leaning towards th minor just because I have two semesters left and if I work really hard, I could finish the minor by next Spring. Yet, if I tried to stay and get a major, that would be at least another year or two. Way too much school for me, since I've already been here for 4 years.

My main worry was that a minor just wouldn't be enough to give myself a competitive advantage when I went to interviews against someone who has an actual bachelors in CS. But I figure I can get a minor, get a couple entry level certs and try to spend that extra year or two getting actual experience.

dynamik

urbanempire wrote: »

But I figure I can get a minor, get a couple entry level certs and try to spend that extra year or two getting actual experience.

Keep in mind that a lot of CSci programs may not prepare you for a career in IT. How is a program that's heavy in math and programming going to help you configure a router or administer a server? I'm not knocking CSci programs in general; I'm just saying they're a waste to someone who's not going to use what they learn. Make sure you're not getting one simply because it has "computer" in the name.

tpatt100

Looking back I agree with this but the only problem I see is if you go to college for four years sometimes the only experience you have is your studies so you are going to list the IT classes you took on your resume that are relevant to the job you are applying for.

I think when my son gets into high school some day I hopefully can steer him clear of the mistakes I made. The one thing I hope I can do is convince him of the importance of internships in college.

shednik

dynamik wrote: »

Keep in mind that a lot of CSci programs may not prepare you for a career in IT. How is a program that's heavy in math and programming going to help you configure a router or administer a server? I'm not knocking CSci programs in general; I'm just saying they're a waste to someone who's not going to use what they learn. Make sure you're not getting one simply because it has "computer" in the name.

The CS Degree benefits aren't directly related to technical training in my opinion. You learn a lot of the back end theory and how the computer actually computes the instructions you give it. Which can be helpful in more than just being a coder. The classes also teach a lot of abstract and critical thinking courses that help you think outside the box, which I've seen be very helpful when looking at different issues.

dynamik

shednik wrote: »

The CS Degree benefits aren't directly related to technical training in my opinion. You learn a lot of the back end theory and how the computer actually computes the instructions you give it. Which can be helpful in more than just being a coder. The classes also teach a lot of abstract and critical thinking courses that help you think outside the box, which I've seen be very helpful when looking at different issues.

Like I said, it depends on the program. I wouldn't go into one just assuming that. Plus, you can always get that information elsewhere, take some of those courses as electives, etc. I'm not ragging on CSci programs, so there's no need to get all defensive If you find a CSci program that seems interesting and applicable, go for it. I'm just saying I don't think CSci is mandatory for an IT career.

shednik

dynamik wrote: »

Like I said, it depends on the program. I wouldn't go into one just assuming that. Plus, you can always get that information elsewhere, take some of those courses as electives, etc. I'm not ragging on CSci programs, so there's no need to get all defensive If you find a CSci program that seems interesting and applicable, go for it. I'm just saying I don't think CSci is mandatory for an IT career.

Never said it was mandatory, just fun to disagree with you . There are a lot of topics in CS I find almost useless in some areas thought so I can see where some people are coming from.

skrpune

shednik wrote: »

Never said it was mandatory, just fun to disagree with you . There are a lot of topics in CS I find almost useless in some areas thought so I can see where some people are coming from.

I hear you - one of the classes I'm taking now is unfortunately falling into the "useless" category (I'm so wishing I picked a different elective), but the rest are pretty interesting. Even if they're not all directly applicable, I'm having a blast and am really enjoying being a CS student.

I'm fortunate in that I already had a BS (unrelated, in Geology) so I just took a few prereq's and hopped into a masters program. The program I'm in is covering SQL, programming, software engineering, project management, web design...it's not an incredibly prestigious program, but it really covers the bases and looks like it will help me build a nice spectrum of skills.

hypnotoad

The author is right -- especially about picking the right CS program. They either spin them off of the math program or the business program. So you either learn to write C to solve problems for discrete math, or you end up doing systems analysis. Either way, it's not going to teach you exactly what you want. CS Programs are very diverse, and CS as a major is still in its infancy compared to some other majors. So do your homework.

CChN

dynamik wrote: »

Keep in mind that a lot of CSci programs may not prepare you for a career in IT. How is a program that's heavy in math and programming going to help you configure a router or administer a server? I'm not knocking CSci programs in general; I'm just saying they're a waste to someone who's not going to use what they learn. Make sure you're not getting one simply because it has "computer" in the name.

A degree proves you can put up with 4 to 5 years of bull without killing yourself. If you can get through it, you'll have given yourself a solid foundation for whatever career path you choose.

dynamik

CChN wrote: »

A degree proves you can put up with 4 to 5 years of bull without killing yourself. If you can get through it, you'll have given yourself a solid foundation for whatever career path you choose.

I'm actually going to take eight or nine years total since I've worked full-time since I graduated from HS; I'm practically immune to bs at this point

I can teach myself damn near anything (I would have been a doctor, but I couldn't find enough volunteers), so I'm not too big on the whole college concept. I feel like I could have grown more (not just in terms of knowledge) had I spent my time and money on other things. Unfortunately, a degree has almost become mandatory. They used to nearly guarantee great things; now they just get your foot in the door.