Business Degree of Liberal Arts Degree?

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gamer22

Member
Aug 3, 2005
37
0
0
Originally posted by: Gibson486
Originally posted by: gamer22
what about having an liberal arts degree and being a Computer/IT analyst. It says on the CNN money site that "A bachelor's degree is enough to get started" Can't I just get certifications after I get my liberal arts degree?


A liberal arts degree will not let you become an analyst in IT.

even with certs? I'm not talking about instantly becoming an Computer/IT analyst, I'm talking about after some experience.

 

fitzov

Platinum Member
Jan 3, 2004
2,477
0
0
Originally posted by: gamer22
Originally posted by: Gibson486
Originally posted by: gamer22
what about having an liberal arts degree and being a Computer/IT analyst. It says on the CNN money site that "A bachelor's degree is enough to get started" Can't I just get certifications after I get my liberal arts degree?


A liberal arts degree will not let you become an analyst in IT.

even with certs? I'm not talking about instantly becoming an Computer/IT analyst, I'm talking about after some experience.

You should consider a CS degree. Why would you wan't to study something you're not interested in?
 

gamer22

Member
Aug 3, 2005
37
0
0
computer science has way too much programming. I'm not going to college to be a programer.
 

kstu

Golden Member
Feb 23, 2004
1,544
31
91
why not cis/mis/it degree, they are usually in the business school
 

Gibson486

Lifer
Aug 9, 2000
18,378
2
0
Originally posted by: gamer22
Originally posted by: Gibson486
Originally posted by: gamer22
what about having an liberal arts degree and being a Computer/IT analyst. It says on the CNN money site that "A bachelor's degree is enough to get started" Can't I just get certifications after I get my liberal arts degree?


A liberal arts degree will not let you become an analyst in IT.

even with certs? I'm not talking about instantly becoming an Computer/IT analyst, I'm talking about after some experience.

You become an analyst in the industry you get your degree in. Other than that, you just become a technician.
 

Jawo

Diamond Member
Jun 15, 2005
4,125
0
0
Originally posted by: aswedc
Helpdesk people fix simple computer problems. The pay is crap. Any other IT job is going to require significant experience or an IT degree.

In sales, again, too general. You could be selling a million different things. How is anyone supposed to help you with that?

And since you refuse to answer school, I'll just lay it out here for you.

Ivy League Liberal Arts = Top Job
Ivy League Specialized Degree = Top Job
Non Ivy Liberal Arts = No Job
Non Ivy Specialized = Good Job

There has been studies that show that post college pay is not higly dependant on where one went for their undergraduate education! Ivy League Schools are NOT work the outrageous amount...unless you like a esteemed name! I can't find the link now...(plus the Football programs are usually FTL;))

 

Wag

Diamond Member
Jul 21, 2000
8,288
8
81
Originally posted by: miri
Originally posted by: gamer22
I want to go for a Liberal Arts degree because I know I will get better grades, but how much more important is a Business Degree to companies?

Im still struggling to find a good job with my liberal arts degree, I graduated last December. The only jobs ive found are with a temp agency during the day and I still wait tables at night.
Teach baby! There are a few good jobs out there with a LA degree, but teaching should be one of the easier ones to get.

 

gamer22

Member
Aug 3, 2005
37
0
0
Originally posted by: Gibson486
Originally posted by: gamer22
Originally posted by: Gibson486
Originally posted by: gamer22
what about having an liberal arts degree and being a Computer/IT analyst. It says on the CNN money site that "A bachelor's degree is enough to get started" Can't I just get certifications after I get my liberal arts degree?


A liberal arts degree will not let you become an analyst in IT.

even with certs? I'm not talking about instantly becoming an Computer/IT analyst, I'm talking about after some experience.

You become an analyst in the industry you get your degree in. Other than that, you just become a technician.

So no matter how much expeience I ever obtain in the computer world I will never be able to be an IT analyst because I have a degree but it's not in computer science?
 

Gibson486

Lifer
Aug 9, 2000
18,378
2
0
Originally posted by: gamer22
Originally posted by: Gibson486
Originally posted by: gamer22
Originally posted by: Gibson486
Originally posted by: gamer22
what about having an liberal arts degree and being a Computer/IT analyst. It says on the CNN money site that "A bachelor's degree is enough to get started" Can't I just get certifications after I get my liberal arts degree?


A liberal arts degree will not let you become an analyst in IT.

even with certs? I'm not talking about instantly becoming an Computer/IT analyst, I'm talking about after some experience.

You become an analyst in the industry you get your degree in. Other than that, you just become a technician.

So no matter how much expeience I ever obtain in the computer world I will never be able to be an IT analyst because I have a degree but it's not in computer science?

Well, if you want to be an analyst in IT, you owuld not take Computer Science. You'd take something like MIS. Correct, to be an analyst, you need a degree in that field or else no one will take you seriously.
 

fitzov

Platinum Member
Jan 3, 2004
2,477
0
0
Originally posted by: gamer22
Originally posted by: Gibson486
Originally posted by: gamer22
Originally posted by: Gibson486
Originally posted by: gamer22
what about having an liberal arts degree and being a Computer/IT analyst. It says on the CNN money site that "A bachelor's degree is enough to get started" Can't I just get certifications after I get my liberal arts degree?


A liberal arts degree will not let you become an analyst in IT.

even with certs? I'm not talking about instantly becoming an Computer/IT analyst, I'm talking about after some experience.

You become an analyst in the industry you get your degree in. Other than that, you just become a technician.

So no matter how much expeience I ever obtain in the computer world I will never be able to be an IT analyst because I have a degree but it's not in computer science?

No. It's all up to the company hiring you, but you have to consider your competition. Imagine two identical interviewees applying for an analyst position--one with a degree in an IT-related field, and the other with a degree in English. They will most likely hire the person with the IT degree, unless the person responsible for hiring has some affinity for English (people have been hired for more stupid reasons).
 

skim milk

Diamond Member
Apr 8, 2003
5,784
1
0
Originally posted by: Wag
Originally posted by: miri
Originally posted by: gamer22
I want to go for a Liberal Arts degree because I know I will get better grades, but how much more important is a Business Degree to companies?

Im still struggling to find a good job with my liberal arts degree, I graduated last December. The only jobs ive found are with a temp agency during the day and I still wait tables at night.
Teach baby! There are a few good jobs out there with a LA degree, but teaching should be one of the easier ones to get.

yeah, go teach english in Asia if you have nothing to do with your degree
$20-$40 per hour or more starting out
 

mercanucaribe

Banned
Oct 20, 2004
9,763
1
0
Consider that you are concerned with what looks better to companies, major in business. There's plenty you can do with some liberal arts degrees though... Economics and geography are applicable in the real world. History or philosophy... better get that teaching certification.

There are information science degrees here, I don't know about your school.
 

Descartes

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
13,968
2
0
Originally posted by: Gibson486
Originally posted by: gamer22
Originally posted by: Gibson486
Originally posted by: gamer22
Originally posted by: Gibson486
Originally posted by: gamer22
what about having an liberal arts degree and being a Computer/IT analyst. It says on the CNN money site that "A bachelor's degree is enough to get started" Can't I just get certifications after I get my liberal arts degree?


A liberal arts degree will not let you become an analyst in IT.

even with certs? I'm not talking about instantly becoming an Computer/IT analyst, I'm talking about after some experience.

You become an analyst in the industry you get your degree in. Other than that, you just become a technician.

So no matter how much expeience I ever obtain in the computer world I will never be able to be an IT analyst because I have a degree but it's not in computer science?

Well, if you want to be an analyst in IT, you owuld not take Computer Science. You'd take something like MIS. Correct, to be an analyst, you need a degree in that field or else no one will take you seriously.

Everything you've said up until this point is BS. Your one-to-one correlation of degree to job is very naive and suggests that you haven't yet started your career. There are no artificial limits on what you can or can't do based on your degree. There are exceptions (law, medicine, etc.) of course.

You absolutely can be an analyst whether your degree is English or liberal arts. I've worked with hundreds of analysts over the past decade, and I honestly can't think of one that had an MIS, CS, or any similar degree. Many had philosophy, liberal arts, English, and other such degrees.

Don't try to tell people they can/can't do something, especially when so many out there are doing precisely what you suggest they can't.
 

aswedc

Diamond Member
Oct 25, 2000
3,543
0
76
Everything you've said up until this point is BS. Your one-to-one correlation of degree to job is very naive and suggests that you haven't yet started your career. There are no artificial limits on what you can or can't do based on your degree. There are exceptions (law, medicine, etc.) of course.

You absolutely can be an analyst whether your degree is English or liberal arts. I've worked with hundreds of analysts over the past decade, and I honestly can't think of one that had an MIS, CS, or any similar degree. Many had philosophy, liberal arts, English, and other such degrees.
As I said before in this thread, you need an IT degree OR significant experience to get any job past helpdesk. Getting advanced positions with a Liberal Arts plus certs, while possible, is definitely harder than just doing the IT degree in the first place.
 

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
Both will identify you as being useless, but the business degree will get you a job despite that.
 

Descartes

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
13,968
2
0
Originally posted by: aswedc
Everything you've said up until this point is BS. Your one-to-one correlation of degree to job is very naive and suggests that you haven't yet started your career. There are no artificial limits on what you can or can't do based on your degree. There are exceptions (law, medicine, etc.) of course.

You absolutely can be an analyst whether your degree is English or liberal arts. I've worked with hundreds of analysts over the past decade, and I honestly can't think of one that had an MIS, CS, or any similar degree. Many had philosophy, liberal arts, English, and other such degrees.
As I said before in this thread, you need an IT degree OR significant experience to get any job past helpdesk. Getting advanced positions with a Liberal Arts plus certs, while possible, is definitely harder than just doing the IT degree in the first place.

That's great, but my post wasn't directed to you. I read your first post and agree.
 

aswedc

Diamond Member
Oct 25, 2000
3,543
0
76
There has been studies that show that post college pay is not higly dependant on where one went for their undergraduate education! Ivy League Schools are NOT work the outrageous amount...unless you like a esteemed name! I can't find the link now...(plus the Football programs are usually FTL)
Read my post. If you major in a marketable area you will be able to get a good job coming from any school.

The distinction is that only Ivy liberal arts grads are employable at good salaries, while all other liberal arts grads must go to graduate school, work at McDonalds, or start in an industry at the bottom of the totem pole (the same as if they had never gone to college at all!)
 

Injury

Lifer
Jul 19, 2004
13,066
2
81
Here's the bottom line:

DON'T WASTE MONEY GOING TO COLLEGE IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU NEED OR WANT.

That's all you need to know for now.

If you insist on going to a school, I would think that a good technical school with graduate job placement would be better than a 4 year unrelated degree. While you are going, you could easily work on all sorts of certifications that you won't get at colleges. It's not what your degree is in that qualifies you for most jobs, it's your direct experience to the job being hired for. A guy with 5 college degrees could get turned down for a PC repair job if he didn't know a damn thing about computers, right?
 

aswedc

Diamond Member
Oct 25, 2000
3,543
0
76
Originally posted by: Injury
Here's the bottom line:

DON'T WASTE MONEY GOING TO COLLEGE IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU NEED OR WANT.

That's all you need to know for now.

If you insist on going to a school, I would think that a good technical school with graduate job placement would be better than a 4 year unrelated degree. While you are going, you could easily work on all sorts of certifications that you won't get at colleges. It's not what your degree is in that qualifies you for most jobs, it's your direct experience to the job being hired for. A guy with 5 college degrees could get turned down for a PC repair job if he didn't know a damn thing about computers, right?
For the type of work you are describing this seems like a good path. And if you ever feel your career is being held back by lack of a degree just get one online from a random state school.
 

gamer22

Member
Aug 3, 2005
37
0
0
Originally posted by: Descartes
Originally posted by: Gibson486
Originally posted by: gamer22
Originally posted by: Gibson486
Originally posted by: gamer22
Originally posted by: Gibson486
Originally posted by: gamer22
what about having an liberal arts degree and being a Computer/IT analyst. It says on the CNN money site that "A bachelor's degree is enough to get started" Can't I just get certifications after I get my liberal arts degree?


A liberal arts degree will not let you become an analyst in IT.

even with certs? I'm not talking about instantly becoming an Computer/IT analyst, I'm talking about after some experience.

You become an analyst in the industry you get your degree in. Other than that, you just become a technician.

So no matter how much expeience I ever obtain in the computer world I will never be able to be an IT analyst because I have a degree but it's not in computer science?

Well, if you want to be an analyst in IT, you owuld not take Computer Science. You'd take something like MIS. Correct, to be an analyst, you need a degree in that field or else no one will take you seriously.

Everything you've said up until this point is BS. Your one-to-one correlation of degree to job is very naive and suggests that you haven't yet started your career. There are no artificial limits on what you can or can't do based on your degree. There are exceptions (law, medicine, etc.) of course.

You absolutely can be an analyst whether your degree is English or liberal arts. I've worked with hundreds of analysts over the past decade, and I honestly can't think of one that had an MIS, CS, or any similar degree. Many had philosophy, liberal arts, English, and other such degrees.

Don't try to tell people they can/can't do something, especially when so many out there are doing precisely what you suggest they can't.

I appreciate those reassuring words. Thank you.
 

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
16,843
2
0
Originally posted by: gamer22
Originally posted by: Descartes
Everything you've said up until this point is BS. Your one-to-one correlation of degree to job is very naive and suggests that you haven't yet started your career. There are no artificial limits on what you can or can't do based on your degree. There are exceptions (law, medicine, etc.) of course.

You absolutely can be an analyst whether your degree is English or liberal arts. I've worked with hundreds of analysts over the past decade, and I honestly can't think of one that had an MIS, CS, or any similar degree. Many had philosophy, liberal arts, English, and other such degrees.

Don't try to tell people they can/can't do something, especially when so many out there are doing precisely what you suggest they can't.

I appreciate those reassuring words. Thank you.

Indeed.

As long as you have the APPTITUDE to learn and the DRIVE to learn in said field you can do it unless it is very specific like Medicine (even though you can do a bio/chem type degree and get on to Medicine that way before coming a Dr).

They just want people who are smart and willing to learn and want to learn in IT etc.

Koing