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Don't Bother Earning These Degrees...

the_Grinch

Don't Bother Earning These Five Degrees - Yahoo! Education

#5 is Information Systems? I'll preach the virtues of Computer Science, but that doesn't somehow make IS useless or a degree to avoid...

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Comments

Patel128

I guess they took down the article? I have used your link, and the link on the homepage. IS has its place, and to me is a different degree than CS. I know at my school that our IS is called MIS, and it is really a business degree. It may be different at other schools though. I thought about switching to MIS because a friend told me it was just like CS, but looking over the classes there was not many CS classes so I stayed CS. I would not think that it would be a degree to avoid though.

higherho

I would get a 4 year degree in Information Systems and then a Masters in Computer Science. The individual doesn't know how important it is to have business skills and IT skills together and not just a pure computer science degree.

Patel128

Yeah, that is what I am thinking. I am thinking later on to go back and do a MIS, just for the management skills.

networker050184

I like how it says to do Criminal Justice instead of Archaeology. Those sure do fit together well.

it_consultant

I agree with Yahoo, earn a CS degree instead. If you don't want to code, get your business degree. I have really not seen IS degrees do much for people career wise. There are a lot of business degrees that concentrate on project management and IT, judging by what I have seen people study when they are doing IS, business is a better idea. Maybe someone here who has earned their IS degree can comment further.

FloOz

I have a CSIT (Computer Science Information Technology) degree, and I'd say I am doing better than most of the people that I graduated with (all degrees). I had 4-5 programming classes and the rest were IT related stuff such as working with server 2008, computer hardware, etc...I graduated this past May

higherho

it_consultant wrote: »

I agree with Yahoo, earn a CS degree instead. If you don't want to code, get your business degree. I have really not seen IS degrees do much for people career wise. There are a lot of business degrees that concentrate on project management and IT, judging by what I have seen people study when they are doing IS, business is a better idea. Maybe someone here who has earned their IS degree can comment further.

This is true, my degree with Information Technology (though some people label it as Information Systems) and it has a great comibination of Buisness and IT and open electives. I have a minor in BA and took a decent amount of buisness / marketing classes for my open electives.

Information Technology Network Specialist Concentration Bachelor of Science Degree (B.S.) - Pennsylvania College of Technology

As you mentioned if your going to code than get a CS degree, otherwise it would be a waste. Has my education helped? Yes but I had to make sure I had a focus and not be to broad which is one reason why I took the cisco networking academy on top of my other classes.

boredgamelad

Admitting ignorance here, but I'm not really familiar with IS degrees. Are they largely the same as (or identical) to IT degrees?

SteveLord

I was wondering the same. Thought it was just a different label. Like so many job titles in IT. Computer Science though, is obviously known by most to be heavy on programming.

higherho

boredgamelad wrote: »

Admitting ignorance here, but I'm not really familiar with IS degrees. Are they largely the same as (or identical) to IT degrees?

To my knowledge they are degree's focused on Technology management, buisness administration, Organizational behaviour all focused on computers / technology. Limited amount of computer classes, but according to this article it sounds more like an IT degree which is what I linked above.

jmritenour

networker050184 wrote: »

I like how it says to do Criminal Justice instead of Archaeology. Those sure do fit together well.

What, haven't you ever watched Law & Order: Special Dinosaurs Unit before?

tpatt100

Some of them are not similar and some are. I guess the most important thing is to get something that is more general rather than focused. Choose classes/projects that fit into the general degree requirements that are aligned with what you really want to do. I think now a days if you only learn what a college requires you to learn you are going to be at a disadvantage anyways, especially if employers ask you what you learned in school and how does it apply to the job you are interviewing for.

boredgamelad

If you follow the "5 best online degree programs" link at the bottom of the page, guess what's #3 on the list?

Information Technology & Information Systems

Thanks for the consistency, Yahoo!

eansdad

Rule 1 when reading an article like this .... LOOK AT THE SOURCE .... In this case Georgetown University. Funny how each of those degrees Georgetown does not offer but the consider this option they do. Studies are nothing more then data twisted to verify ones own personal opinion.

If you want to be an archeologist I doubt a criminal justice degree will help or a business degree if you want to be an architect or an elementry ed degree if you are going into the seminary.

broli720

Yeah I don't agree with this article what so ever lol. I graduated with an IS degree this past May and my friends and I were all able to secure great jobs out of college (56-68k annually). I add internship experience and a one cert after graduation but even those without that got good jobs. I feel we did just as much programming as the computer science kids (java & html) as well as focusing on business and development portion. This doesn't even include the obnoxious number of networking & database classes we had to take. You can go into software engineering if you want; don’t really need a degree to learn that.

For those wondering, I attended UMBC btw

Zartanasaurus

They say get Business Administration but not Information Systems, which is a Business Administration degree with an IT focus. I guess they are saying don't get CIS instead of CS if you want to go pure tech.

the_Grinch

My degree is like an IT/IS degree and I didn't have too many issues finding a job. Most places the degree is just a checkbox and I've interviewed at a lot of places that were just happy to have someone with an IT related degree. Drexel actually offers a degree in IT and in IS, with the difference being on the IS side you would be able to take business related courses as well as IT related ones. On the IT side, you would concentrate in an area of technology instead.

JustFred

I find these articles often pointless, An education is a good thing. Most people are doing different things than the degree they received at university, What am trying to say is in an ever changing world, an educated person will always be able to adjust to the wind and survive, providing they are able to utilize their ability to think and adapt.

MentholMoose

At the university I attended, there was a Computer Info Systems degree offered by the business department, with various tracks. I considered changing majors to do the networking track, but I lost interest because of the many irrelevant prerequisites (web design, database programming, MS Access, etc.) and few actual networking-focuses courses. Basically, it didn't seem very useful for the jobs I was interested in getting at the time (network security, or systems or network admin).

I ended up getting a BS in economics, though at the same time I worked on and obtained an AS in CIS (network security track) from a nearby community college. Interestingly, when I took the Cisco networking class required for that AS, nearly half the class had a BS in CIS from the university I attended! I think that says something about the networking track they had at the time. That said, everyone I know who obtained a CIS degree now has a good job. Web design and programming, and IT auditing seem to be what most people went into. Almost everyone I know had an internship or part-time job while a student, which certainly helped them get the job they wanted after graduation.

QHalo

the_Grinch wrote: »

My degree is like an IT/IS degree and I didn't have too many issues finding a job. Most places the degree is just a checkbox and I've interviewed at a lot of places that were just happy to have someone with an IT related degree.

Bingo...

it_consultant

MentholMoose wrote: »

At the university I attended, there was a Computer Info Systems degree offered by the business department, with various tracks. I considered changing majors to do the networking track, but I lost interest because of the many irrelevant prerequisites (web design, database programming, MS Access, etc.) and few actual networking-focuses courses. Basically, it didn't seem very useful for the jobs I was interested in getting at the time (network security, or systems or network admin).

I ended up getting a BS in economics, though at the same time I worked on and obtained an AS in CIS (network security track) from a nearby community college. Interestingly, when I took the Cisco networking class required for that AS, nearly half the class had a BS in CIS from the university I attended! I think that says something about the networking track they had at the time. That said, everyone I know who obtained a CIS degree now has a good job. Web design and programming, and IT auditing seem to be what most people went into. Almost everyone I know had an internship or part-time job while a student, which certainly helped them get the job they wanted after graduation.

This more closely mirrors what I have seen in the industry. If you already have a bunch of experience, then perhaps the checkbox needs to be checked, but if you are breaking in I see it has a huge debtload for extremely varied results. There is a huge variation of CIS type degrees, some which are quite useful, others which bear not resemblance to real life.

ptilsen

I think it's a bit exaggerated, but I'm inclined to agree with IT_consultant and Yahoo!. I don't think CIS/IS/IT/etc. is horrible, but getting CSEE or a business degree really does make more sense. The IT degree won't come with much of anything a mixture of business and technical studies/training don't come with and have less marketability.

I'll still say it's an okay alternative for people who want something tech-heavy and hate calculus, but it's not the best value for the money. Ultimately, I will agree that it doesn't matter that much -- it's related, and it fills the check box.

Of course the actual degrees will vary tremendously between schools. Where CS curricula don't deviate too much, CIS can be all over the place.

WafflesAndRootbeer

boredgamelad wrote: »

Admitting ignorance here, but I'm not really familiar with IS degrees. Are they largely the same as (or identical) to IT degrees?

Yes. They are one and the same when you get right down to it though quite a few programs have different ideas of what one or other is. From what I've seen, IS focuses (not always but in many cases) on hardware, usually telecom/networking/infrastructure stuff with a sprinkling of software courses about software relating to those areas of technology and IT is more software oriented with a bit of hardware but you also have many programs that just mix and match from whatever they want to offer a degree. It's really a crapshoot and many programs do not offer anything of use in terms of preparing you for real world work environments and the latest tech.

neo9006

It depends on your degree, I would CIS would get you in the door with a good background and a couple of certifications and some experience. My degree is going to be in Web and Media Design, but right now I am taking quite a few networking classes, so it works out in the end besides my background in other programs, I wouldn't mind getting a masters, but for now that is another story.

GAngel

IS doesn't hold a candle to comp sci some of you need to give your heads a shake. IS is a VERY watered down version of computer science and salaries reflect that as well if you'd actually bother to do proper research.

There is a huge difference learning from the guy who wrote the program as opposed to the one who uses it.

paul78

Click the the link on the bottom of the article - the 5 useful online degrees - lol

These types of articles are always good for a laugh.

zrockstar

Yeah this article is BS. Sure, a CS degree is probably a little more lucrative than a CIS degree, but they are very, very different programs. You can't just tell someone to get a CS degree...they require 3 terms of calculus, 3 terms of calculus based physics, linear algebra, discrete mathematics, AND THEN programming classes. Sorry, but no matter how hard some people try (me for example) they aren't cut out for that kind of math load. This article is basically like saying "don't become a cab driver, be a commercial airline pilot instead". Garbage.

Iristheangel

I have a B.S - IT degree and have never had an issue with getting a job. My resume is still sitting on Dice, Indeed, and Monster and I'm constantly being contacted by recruiters. I'm very happy with my current job so I don't bother but it's still nice to see the inquiries. I think what makes me marketable isn't just one thing. It's a combination of factors: certifications, experience, degree, etc.

tom_dub

That page is a joke,

Business Administration as a preferred Degree when IT is exactly that

Criminal Justice and Psychology as preferred degrees, seriously?

Then the link below to the 5 most useful online programs lists IT as #3, holy crap there should be laws against this type of BS

broli720

GAngel wrote: »

IS doesn't hold a candle to comp sci some of you need to give your heads a shake. IS is a VERY watered down version of computer science and salaries reflect that as well if you'd actually bother to do proper research.

There is a huge difference learning from the guy who wrote the program as opposed to the one who uses it.

You don't need a comp sci degree to be a programmer. Some IS curriculums have an ample amount of programming in them. I think what we are all trying to say is that this article is not an accurate depiction of what's going on in the industry. So many factors to take into account other than what you majored in (school, experience, under grad research)