   Advice on which degree to go for
  Here is my current situation.  The college I applied to has two different computer related degrees.  One is the standard computer science degree which relates mostly to programming.  The other is information systems and operations management which according to the book is "study of information technology and process analysis applied to business operations and management decision making."  I talked to one advisor on the phone today, she said I''m guaranteed acceptance if I go with the information systems then said I''ll have to do an interview if i want computer science, but most likely can get into that too, its just that she can''t say i''m guaranteed to get in on that one.My background is that I have an associate''s degree in computer technology, majored in programming.  However, my work experience is mostly in networking and pc repair.  I see a lot of jobs posted that want a computer science degree for all jobs, both programming and networking.Now I really don''t want to be a programmer for a job, rather keep it as a hobby and do the networking thing.  Should I just go for the CS degree and say yes I have a BS in CS even tho I won''t be programming or should I just do the Information Systems course and say I have a degree in information systems?Any advice will be appreciated.  Also I have an interview tomorrow with an advisor, so if there is anything you think I should ask feel free to post it. 
quote:Original post by Hitchhiker90  Now I really don''t want to be a programmer for a job, rather keep it as a hobby and do the networking thing.  Should I just go for the CS degree and say yes I have a BS in CS even tho I won''t be programming or should I just do the Information Systems course and say I have a degree in information systems?Well, just "Computer Science" doesn''t just involve programming. The CS classes at my local junior college involve not just programming, but classes like Windows 2000, Networking Essentials, PC Repair, etc. If you want to follow through with the network stuff, then you should go for the degree in Information Systems. But that''s just my opinion. It''s all up to you. I like to program, but I probably won''t do it full time. I''ll most likely push it aside to "hobby" status and go get Certified in A+, CCNA, and Security+ or something.Good luck in choosing.RapidArp ;  well, i am only basing this on my personal experiences, and on the people i have met in my life, but anything with "business" in it is bullshit focused on not learning anything useful, and not even realizing it. oh, and the people that took those classes suck ass too. ;quote:Original post by rapidarp  quote:Original post by Hitchhiker90   Now I really don''t want to be a programmer for a job, rather keep it as a hobby and do the networking thing.  Should I just go for the CS degree and say yes I have a BS in CS even tho I won''t be programming or should I just do the Information Systems course and say I have a degree in information systems?Well, just "Computer Science" doesn''t just involve programming. The CS classes at my local junior college involve not just programming, but classes like Windows 2000, Networking Essentials, PC Repair, etc. If you want to follow through with the network stuff, then you should go for the degree in Information Systems. But that''s just my opinion. It''s all up to you. I like to program, but I probably won''t do it full time. I''ll most likely push it aside to "hobby" status and go get Certified in A+, CCNA, and Security+ or something.Good luck in choosing.RapidArp   Computer Science will do you well, Information Systems is usually a pseudo technical degree that includes many business courses.  It depends on the school.  Either do business, or do CS, one or the other, but not both combined or you will end up with a watered down degree and a lot of surface knowledge.PS, if you get an engineering degree, you can always study business in graduate school, i.e. an MBA., but you will have to do well in any program if you want to take that path later on.;quote:Original post by rapidarp  quote:Original post by Hitchhiker90   Now I really don''t want to be a programmer for a job, rather keep it as a hobby and do the networking thing.  Should I just go for the CS degree and say yes I have a BS in CS even tho I won''t be programming or should I just do the Information Systems course and say I have a degree in information systems?Well, just "Computer Science" doesn''t just involve programming. The CS classes at my local junior college involve not just programming, but classes like Windows 2000, Networking Essentials, PC Repair, etc. If you want to follow through with the network stuff, then you should go for the degree in Information Systems. But that''s just my opinion. It''s all up to you. I like to program, but I probably won''t do it full time. I''ll most likely push it aside to "hobby" status and go get Certified in A+, CCNA, and Security+ or something.Good luck in choosing.RapidArp   One other thing, usually a CS curriculum will not include many of the courses you described above.  For an example of an actual CS program at a good school, try:http://www.cs.umd.edu/Ugrad/;  Thanks for the advice gang.The two that I''m still debating are below, take a look at the classes and tell me whatcha think.Computer ScienceandInformation Systems ManagementI''ll sleep on it tonight, see what the advisor says tomorrow, then make a decision later. ;  The computer science one looks good. The other seems like *yawn*.RapidArp ;  EDIT: Typically CIS programs are COBOL heavy, I can't tell from you link though.  I can show anyone reams of references to prove that COBOl isn't going anywhere and will still be with us 50 years from now.Well, I have some real world experience relavent to this topic:  I WAS in school pursuing a BS in Comp Sci; I had a previous BS in another field (non technical).  I interviewed for and got a job (with out completing my second BS in comp sci) as a computer programmer at a "massive financial/business software company noone has ever heard of".  WITHOUT A DEGREE (20 hrs of math and 15 hrs of comp sci).I was hired into a 5 month training program (with full pay and *good* benefits) to learn COBOL.  When I finished the program I recieved a 40% raise and went to work in a group with really cool people. At this company about 50% of the programmers (~1200 programmer work here) come this type of external boot-camp training program.So how does that effect your decision about what to Major in?  Well, I don't know but I bet your CIS degree includes at least two COBOL courses.  My company recruits heavily from schools that have COBOL in there CIS curriculum.  We have interns this summer who are being paid $17 and hour.  Remember I said only 50% of our programmers come from non technical backrounds; the other 50% come from CIS programs.  If you know C++ but no COBOL you WON'T even get a phone call from our HR department.So to sum up:  For CIS:  Good pay, (relatively) abundant jobs, bright future as the number of schools teaching COBOL and the number of CIS programs diminish as well as the increasing retirement rate of COBOL programmers.  We are becoming a scarce commodity (My company spent ALOT of money putting me thru 5 MONTHS of training!).  There is a guy in my group who says he made $110 an hour during the Y2K scare.Against CIS:  COBOL is the most hideous language ever created.  The programming you do is boring and repetitive.  There is no beauty in this code.  Creativity is frowned upon because it leads to "hard to maintain code".  You have to tell people "I'm a COBOL programmer" and watch them cringe, because yes, most all COBOL programmers don't know a linked list from pointer, or reverse polish notation from a polish suasage.  Its really shameful.So, if you just want a job that pays well then go for CIS, but if you really LOVE to code and learn new things, go for comp sci.  Be warned that there are ALOT of newly graduated Comp sci majors working at Best Buy and Circuit City.  But with your hardware support backround you should have more options.   [edited by - nonnus29 on August 4, 2003 9:05:24 PM];  I'd prefer CS with a business minor, over CIS. You should come to RPI with me, Troy buddy  CIS carries with it the same respectability as a communcations major or something, to me and at least a few other people.[My site|SGI STL|Bjarne FAQ|C++ FAQ Lite|MSDN|Jargon]Ripped off from various people [edited by - wild_pointer on August 4, 2003 11:12:23 PM];  Yeah don''t go for the IS thing...it''s weak and the dot com era ended a lil while ago, so things will be a lot harder most likely...I was in a program something like that and I dropped out because I realized that it was kinda useless...-=Lohrno 