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Old 07-29-2011, 02:11 PM
 
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Anybody have any thoughts about this as a degree choice ( Computer Information Systems) does any here have it? Did it help you land your job? If so what job?
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Old 07-31-2011, 08:21 PM
 
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Anybody.....
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Old 07-31-2011, 10:21 PM
 
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My son was looking at colleges with this major and most of them told us that the employment outlook was very good.

Computer Network, Systems, and Database Administrators

Quote:
Job Outlook About this section

Employment is expected to grow much faster than the average, and job prospects should be excellent.

Employment change. Overall employment of computer network, systems, and database administrators is projected to increase by 30 percent from 2008 to 2018, much faster than the average for all occupations. In addition, this occupation will add 286,600 new jobs over that period. Growth, however, will vary by specialty.
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Old 07-31-2011, 11:15 PM
 
Location: League City
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I have a computer science degree. I worked in aerospace (NASA contractor in Houston) for 10 years, and now work at a college. Lots of people at my previous job had CIS degrees. We also had 2 interns that were enrolled in graduate CIS degrees. So from what I have seen, it is a great degree to have. You are marketable in all kinds of industries.
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Old 08-01-2011, 08:57 AM
 
Location: Away
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hwy phantom View Post
Anybody have any thoughts about this as a degree choice ( Computer Information Systems) does any here have it? Did it help you land your job? If so what job?
I have a CIS degree, it's a somewhat generic degree that teaches you about networking, programming, PC hardware/software, databases, and some system administration. From your post, I have to assume that you are thinking about working towards a CIS degree, if that's the case, you should make sure that you are doing it because of your interest, not because you specifically think you will get a job with it.

I say that because I see a lot of IT people who got in because they "like" computers and they think they want to work on them. The problem is that they don't like to constantly learn new software and OSes, to constantly deal with new products and new ways of doing things. Make sure that you are getting in for the right reasons, don't get sold by some college recruiter telling you how great the outlook is.
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Old 08-01-2011, 11:57 AM
 
876 posts, read 1,791,356 times
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Originally Posted by ComputerGuy View Post
I have a CIS degree, it's a somewhat generic degree that teaches you about networking, programming, PC hardware/software, databases, and some system administration. From your post, I have to assume that you are thinking about working towards a CIS degree, if that's the case, you should make sure that you are doing it because of your interest, not because you specifically think you will get a job with it.

I say that because I see a lot of IT people who got in because they "like" computers and they think they want to work on them. The problem is that they don't like to constantly learn new software and OSes, to constantly deal with new products and new ways of doing things. Make sure that you are getting in for the right reasons, don't get sold by some college recruiter telling you how great the outlook is.
Yes generic sounds like a accurate term for the degree. I also noticed that it's not really on par with a computer science degree. From looking at the courses of the CIS program it looks a bit less challenging than a computer science degree, however this will also equate to a less valuable degree, and that' what I'm trying to determine, how valuable it is.
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Old 08-01-2011, 12:05 PM
 
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This blog was very helpful for me to understand the difference between CS and IS
Saint Michael's College - CS vs. IS: A Comparison

Quote:
There is a close relationship between information systems and computer science. In some schools, students in both areas may take common courses. However, information systems is unique in that its context is an organization and its information systems. This leads to important differences with computer science in the context of the work to be performed, the types of problems to be solved, the types of systems to be designed and managed, and the way the technology is employed.
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Old 08-01-2011, 12:34 PM
 
881 posts, read 1,809,452 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hwy phantom View Post
Yes generic sounds like a accurate term for the degree. I also noticed that it's not really on par with a computer science degree. From looking at the courses of the CIS program it looks a bit less challenging than a computer science degree, however this will also equate to a less valuable degree, and that' what I'm trying to determine, how valuable it is.
In my opinion, if you want more options, go for a Computer Science degree. Base on the 13 or so years I worked as a Software Engineer, I have seen people with CS/EE degrees who started out as Software Engineers in R&D, and then moved easily to "IS" roles, but not CIS degrees to Software Engineers. I don't think one is necessarily more challenging then the other, but there is an unspoken hierarchy in "IT" related jobs, having a CIS will limit your options. Note - this hierarchy is not co-related to salary.

Both fields requires constant upgrading of knowledge, skills, technology. With "IS" or "IT" type roles, you will need whatever the latest certifications in your specialization.

Job prospect in "IS" / "IT" is good, but merely having a degree and/or certification in it will not be enough. Way too many people got the degree because these surveys say "IS"/"IT" is growing and in demand, and then the new grad can't find jobs. What they teach you in school is ideal cases, clean cut problems, that has a straight forward solutions. It's very different from the real world. The job prospect and demand is good for people with experience. So get as much relevant work experience as possible.

For new graduates, CS or CIS or whatever ... make sure you select a program that has good connections/programs to land you good internships (they are paid, done before graduation).
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Old 08-03-2011, 10:10 AM
 
Location: Kentucky
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My degree is in Information Technology and IMHO it was a mistake, I love the field and I'm very good at it but the guys in my department with no degrees at all make as much as me but with the lack of education along with much needed core knowledge in the field.

I'm currently working on a degree in a different field at the age of 32; The best advise I could give anyone is get a degree in a field that requires a degree or you will be like me and feel screwed. IT/CS is not a professional field in my opinion, if it where it would have educational requirements and not hire someone that is just good at working on PC's, or writing some code that they learned by messing around.

If you really want to get a get a degree in IT/CS more power to you and best of luck but just know ahead of time it will might not put you ahead of someone with no college at all.
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Old 08-03-2011, 10:37 AM
 
Location: Northern Virginia
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I got my degree in IS. It was probably the most employable degree I could have gotten. I graduated in '07 and had my pick of job offers from high paying consulting gigs to internal roles. In subsequent years, I did a lot of recruiting visits to my alma mater, and HR always briefed us to woo the IS majors (they had a quota they were trying to reach, and rarely were able to find enough IS students to fill the positions).

IS is not nearly as technical as computer science. The programming was minimal (we learned VB, ASP.net, and SQL), but the value came from combining technical with business. An IS/CIS/MIS (they're all pretty interchangeable) degree sets you up to be the "translator" in a business. You can translate customer requirements into technical formats, and then the super techie guys code it for you. I worked next to engineers and CS guys, so to some extent it's interchangeable...but an IS degree isn't going to set you up for a hardcore programming career, if that's what you want.

I really enjoyed it. Even though I'm no longer in the field (I teach math now), if I had to redo my undergrad I can't think of a better major to have chosen. It was interesting, relevant, difficult but not overly life consuming, and set me up with tons of job options.
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