Which degree is more valuable for Info Security field?

I'm currently in school and finished with all the required general education requirements. I'm thinking about going for Information systems, but I heard that Computer science is a more marketable degree. Which degree might return a better chance of landing a good info security job?

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Comments

puertorico1985

I will start off by saying that it depends on which school and what they consider IS vs CS. For example, what classes would you take going for one degree versus going for the other. I myself have a CS degree, and I do not currently know if that is what got me my job now, but it does broaden your views. I knew that I didn't want to be a programmer after my first programming course lol, but those courses have helped me become a better scripter (batch, VBS, python, powershell, etc) among other things, and those are necessary skills for anyone in security, IMO. If I had to choose for you, I would recommend the CS degree, simply because you get a taste of just about everything in IT, and can choose what you want from there. My 2 cents.

da_vato

Because Infosec is a specialty I don't think either degree is preferred over the other but I could be wrong. My undergrad is in CS and I found the skills I learned in my degree really helped me understand Infosec concepts a lot better. The Software Development Security domain of the CISSP was an absolute breeze and scripting for Pentesting was super easy to grasp as well.

Personally I feel that CS is the foundational science in IT and teaches at a deeper level then most other IT degrees. There are two of us where I work with a CS degree and we are the most versatile when it comes to new projects but that could also be a personality thing too.

sratakhin

Computer Science all the way. Information Systems is just a fancy name for a business degree where you have a mix of business and some IT-related classes. Since they can also be taken by non-technical students, these classes tend to be a lot easier.

redz

sratakhin wrote: »

Information Systems is just a fancy name for a business degree where you have a mix of business and some IT-related classes.

You do realize that you just described a large portion of the information security field, right?

EDIT: The answer to your question is, as per usual, it depends.

If you want to go into offensive security, red team, things like that, you'll want a CS degree because you'll need the more technical background.

If you want to do GRC, you will want the business background of the IS degree.

If you want to work in a SOC, they probably both have similar benefit (but in very different ways). I'm leaning toward CS on this.

If you want to do ISSE/ISSO/IAM (FedRAMP, FISMA, DIACAP, NIACAP, etc) work, then the IS degree.

If you want to do defensive security, blue team, things like that, you'll probably want the CS degree. Again, I see the benefits of business knowledge here, though.

This comes down to you deciding what you want to do within information security.
If you want to be a super cool hacker or anti-hacker, go CS.
If you want to look at the security posture of an organization as a whole, go IS.

2nd EDIT: By the way, I'm just talking about the benefits of the knowledge learned in one vs the other; I doubt you will be overlooked for a job you are otherwise qualified for due to CS vs IS.

alexander77

I'm most likely going to focus on more the policy/management side of things as I know my current job they mention a lot about FedRAMP, I just want to get some technical knowledge as well. I'm attending UMUC, which of the following degree programs do you think would be more marketable and I would learn more for IT security?

Online Bachelor's Degree in Computer Networks & Security | UMUC

Online Bachelor's Degree in Computer & Information Science | UMUC

Online Bachelor's Degree in Cybersecurity | UMUC

Online Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science | UMUC

redz

I'd do Computer Networks & Security with a minor in Business Administration, personally.