College major trouble :(

Nicolle969

Hi everyone! So I'm in my second year of college now. And I really am thinking about majoring in Computer information Systems rather than Computer Science because I heard it is extremely difficult. But my biggest concern is will CIS get me a good job in the future? I'm planning to get my bachelor of science degree in CIS. No one has been helping me understand any of this. But I'm not sure if I should do CIS in business or technology related. If there is a difference because I heard there was ? Lol. I also don't want to graduate college and not find a job. I did hear CIS offers no jobs and that it's a dead major to get a degree in. That is the one thing I am deeply terrified of. I hope I don't confuse anyone because lately I've been so confused myself. Hope to hear from someone soon.

TechGuru80

CS is by nature more about programming where CIS is more about management of systems. You can also look at the class requirements for your school to get more of an idea. People have all kinds of degrees or even no degrees so if you don't get a job it won't be because you have a CIS degree. Specializations are gaining ground so it is possible that's what they were referring to.

Not sure what you mean in business or technology? MIS? Generally a lot of the CIS/MIS programs sit in the school of business. There might be some business classes so you can communicate with other departments for the business related?

ptilsen

Depending on your school, sometimes the only difference is calculus. Usually it will be calculus and upper-division CS classes, but it can vary. In any event, what I would recommend is that you look at any common prerequisites or major courses and take those first. Depending on how those go, maybe you'll find your cut out for it. CS is harder than CIS, unequivocally, but I wouldn't let that scare you away.

CIS is not necessarily a dead major. And it can indeed vary quite a bit, ranging from being CS minus higher-level software engineering and math to just being slightly-techier MIS. In any event, the credential is not bad, especially if you want to work in IT. Make no mistake; CS is better for anything, but CIS is not the end of the world.

Really, give it a shot. Unless you just can't make it through calculus or more advanced theory courses, CS might just be fine for you.

TechGuru80

CS is better for anything? Sigh...harder in general because of the programming demands but there are several jobs that might list programming that have absolutely nothing to do with it.

If you have no interest in doing programming, don't do CS. It's best to evaluate what kind of job you might want to have and then decide. If you want a network/sys job then CIS is more suitable, if you want to do programming CS is good.

ptilsen

It's a better credential, period. However, I agree that it makes no sense for anyone that doesn't want to program.