Is it worth it for an IS major to pick up a CS minor

davidboy

I still dont know which route I want to go yet in IT (programming/networking/dba) but systems analysis and project management does interest me. If I want to pick up a CS minor, I will have to complete an extra 18-24 units which includes a variety of CS courses and calc II & III. Im good at math so that wont be a problem. My issue is whether my time will be well spent. Getting certifications would be another possibility.

Or would it just be better for me to get my foot in the door and try to get as much experience in the real world as possible?

Slowhand

If you don't mind spending the extra time, it may be worth it. If you decide you want to do the software development route, a CS background will help you immensely. If you decide you want to do something else entirely, the extra math and hard science courses probably won't hurt you one bit, (the one drawback with getting an IT-specific degree, you're very much specialized.)

On the other hand, if you're not invested in spending more time in school, or you know for a fact that you're going to stay in the realm of IT or only venture outside that realm into coding, then staying the course is a good choice. You don't "need" the extra classes, you could in theory get the background you need in coding with a data structures & algorithms class along with some hands-on experience writing some hobby projects. This is, of course, given that you're interested in doing more business-oriented stuff, and not wanting to get quite so deep into things that'll require all that extra high-level math, logic, and physics.

So, the tl;dr version is that if you want to keep your options open, pick up the CS minor. If you're sure you're hopping more into networking or systems and not really getting to fancy in the coding-department, stick with just your current major.

RPMar52

If you think that there's even a small possibility that you will need that CS coursework in the future for a) some portion of your job or a field you're considering or b) a graduate degree program, then do it. Even if you don't end up needing it, what is the opportunity cost of being better educated and having a broader understanding of computing, computing theory, data structures, etc? You're already spending the time and money for a college education (which based on your fields of study is still a good investment, despite much clamoring against it) In relative terms, it'll be easier to knock out some certifications while working than dedicate yourself to 4 month discrete math or linear algebra courses while working full time. If you know for an absolute fact that you want to focus on the business applications of IT, I would say just take a few CS courses in areas to round out the holes in the IS curriculum.

Learn from me, when I was in college, I had an ROTC scholarship so I wasn't too concerned with what I was going to do when I graduated because I was going to do be all I could be. I considered majoring in CS but was too lazy to do so. The Army worked out great and I don't regret it one bit...it got me the job I have today. The flip side of the coin is that I'm about halfway through the 18 months of prerequisites to apply for a masters program since a history degree doesn't prepare you for a technical graduate program (go figure...). The GI Bill is saving my bacon and my pocket book, so all it's costing me is the time, but if I didn't have the GI Bill, my history major would have been an expensive decision I didn't get quite right.