Business Degree?

I have been searching around on the forums as to what college degree is recommended for working in IT, and have found a lot of people have business degrees. I was thinking about studying something technical (CS/EE), but I am starting to consider majoring in a business field and just getting certifications on the side. The schools in my area don't offer IT/IS degrees, they only offer 100% business or 100% technical degrees. Would studying business be a good decision as far as keeping my options open, or should I seek the harder, more technical degree? BTW I am a commo (25B) solider in training for the Army National Guard, so I have to stay in my area as far as school goes to get the most out of my benefits from the NG.

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Comments

ptilsen

It really depends on what your goals are. If you simply want "better" as in "more lucrative", I would argue CS/EE is better all day. If you want "more applicable to what you're actually going to do," business can be the better call. A lot of people get into IT infrastructure just to become managers. They may manage technology or IT professionals, but they are not doing actual tech work all day. If you see that as an end point, business might not be a bad call. If you would rather be a high-level systems, network, or software engineer, CS is going to be more pertinent. Nether degree area really imparts any IT infrastructure job skills, but CS at least provides a foundation of how computers work.

JoJoCal19

I myself am finishing up my BS in Business Administration at UF this May. I went this route because I wanted to be more well rounded and open up other possibilities (non IT) in case I decide to do something different. I also want to get into management one day. Most mid or upper level IT jobs I have seen that interest me also call for a bachelors degree in IT or business or just a bachelors period. So having it is what matters most.

LarryDaMan

You could always go IT related for an undergraduate degree and follow that with an MBA. If you have any aspirations of breaking into a CIO, CISO, or even a senior program or project manager role; it wouldn't hurt to have both. But in terms of an undergraduate degree, you probably can't go wrong either way.

GAngel

If you want to get into IT you get an IT degree. It's your foundation it doesn't matter what else you use to build upon it. Most IT managers have an IT background they come up through the ranks it's not an exec level job by any means. You don't need a degree in accounting to be able to balance a small to medium sized budget.

If your specific goal is to manage and you like IT then maybe a career in operations is what you're looking for and a business degree would be ideal for that.

crnoller1

I would study an IT or IS degree, but the state universities that I am looking to attend don't offer anything like that. They offer just plain CS or they offer MIS, which I've heard is different than an IT degree. I was thinking maybe majoring in Business Administration and minoring in CS, that way I have some sort of business knowledge and technical knowledge, just like what the IT and IS degrees offer. Also some people just said to get a degree in anything, since having a degree is what counts the most. Is this accurate?

ptilsen

MIS is sort of IT. It definitely isn't uncommon to see IT pros with MIS. Either MIS or business can hold weight, and yes, any degree can hold weight. However, if you want the best foundation, CS is the way to go. Minoring in CS and majoring in Business is probably more work (at least, more credits) than just majoring in CS.

Realistically, you're probably not going to find a true "IT" degree if you're restricted to local schools. IT skills largely come from applying vendor technology, which is just not something most traditional schools are doing. WGU, which is big on these forums, offers IT degrees that actually involve skills, and is online, so it might be something to consider. It is one of the fastest methods to get both a degree and practical skills for an IT infrastructure career. Otherwise, if you want the better foundation and resume value, CS is still far and away the best choice. If you just want something that will meet the degree requirement many employers ask for, MIS or Business are fine.

goldenlight

Having a BS Degree just meets the Human Resource Requirements. Nothing More

If you really like technology, I would try to find a degree program that prepares you to take some Certs ..

Technology changes so fast. NOt even sure if Universities are keeping up.

Hatch1921

I'm in a program which (for my goals) offers technical and managerial or business courses. I'm working towards a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies through Northern Arizona University. They have a 90/30 program where NAU will accept up to 90 hours from the community college and you complete the remaining 30 with them. The last 30 hours are all business/management focused courses. So, I get the technical training I was looking for and business courses as a bonus is the way I'm approaching it. The technical course work helped me prepare for the CCNA going through the Net Academy and I'm finishing up my last Linux classes now. Hopefully I'll test for my Red Hat cert before the end of the year. I should finish with all my studies in about a year. When the time comes a number of years later on in my career... with experience... the business side of the degree should be beneficial when and if I were to seek out a leadership position.

Check with the schools around your area. I'm assuming you have the G.I. Bill? Check with the VA to see how your benefits play out if you were to attend WGU. A lot of people on here speak highly of the school. This might be a good option? I'm not sure $ wise they would pay full benefits since the school is online? I know it's a constant juggle with my classes to make sure I'm enrolled in a minimum of 12 hrs to qualify for full BAH. Again, something you would have to speak to a VA rep about.

Best of luck with everything.
Frank

NetworkVeteran

goldenlight wrote: »

Having a BS Degree just meets the Human Resource Requirements. Nothing More

That's sometimes true, but I can vouch that many employers do care about the quality of one's degree, at least for certain roles. It's like a Russian doll. Some are okay w/ no education, some want a diploma, some want a degree, some want a good degree, and some want a great degree. The more picky an employer is about an item, the more he generally must offer.

I also wouldn't undersell the knowledge that a good education can impart upon graduates.

NOt even sure if Universities are keeping up.

First, universities tend to focus on a foundation of skills and knowledge that won't so quickly become obsolete. I wonder when learning to give public presentations will go the way of the dodo! Second, while new technologies are added everyday, many core technologies linger. Consider the BGPv4 RFC was written in 1995, and the OSPFv2 RFC was written in 1998.