Is a "Information Systems" degree....

[imported_vr6]

Useless?? I have been hearing from a few friends of mine that my major is for people that are not smart enought for engineering/comp sci degrees? For those that are not familiar, here is a description from my schools catalogue Catalogue( .pdf )

I do enjoy the work that we do in class and i find certain stuff interesting. However, people say to me that people with my degree end up with crappy jobs? I just finished my sophmore year and i am doing pretty good, a 3.9 gpa.

What do you guys think?

 

[KEV1N]

I don't like how it's a B.A. I would go for the regular CS major with an Econ (or other business-related) minor or double major.

 

[wyvrn]

My advice is not to always listen to other people. From experience, I say stick with what you love and the rest will work out.

 

[m2kewl]

friends used to tell me it's for CS dropouts

 

[Jugernot]

Yep, pretty much.

I just got a 2 year AAS as a "Microcomputer Support Specialist" and it's a joke. It's not going to help me in any way in the realworld. The only reason I did it was because my Bachelors required a AAS at this University.

I will say that the classes, themselves have helped me much more than the degree itself. They prepared me for some realworld challenges that I've had at my job and introduced me to things (programs, hardware, etc.) that I wouldn't have otherwise used in my everyday life.

Jugs

EDIT: Apparently I didn't your question enough... I'd sick with what you are doing. Don't listen to your dumbass friends.

 

[StageLeft]

Listen to wyvrn. He's a hodge podge of good advice it seems today. You have a 3.9 - keep at it; you will rarely regret trying too hard for something.

 

[imported_vr6]

i am doing a BS major not the BA.

 

[trmiv]

If you're in the Silicon Valley it sure is. There was a time, during the dot com boom, where they were handing out jobs to MIS majors here in the valley. Now that that is over, and everyone and their momma has an MIS degree (myself included. but mine is business degree with a concentration in MIS, so the business part helps), you are competing with WAAAAY too many people.

BTW, with that degree I'm still doing the exact same job I did while in college (tech support egineer), only I do it full-time instead of part time now. And, yes, it sucks. But at least I have a job, unlike a lot of people around this area!

 

[imported_vr6]

i mean i have taken computer science course, up to the point where the "weeding out" class and i have done well in those, its not hard to me, but i find it quite boring to be prgramming in front of a computer for the rest of my career.

 

[imported_vr6]

anybody with a similar degree want to give their view point?

They way i was looking at it, yes, it is easier then a cs degree only because people could get this ifsm degree by memorizing their way thru exams, however, wouldn't the employers know if your truely capable?

 

[wyvrn]

Maybe look into getting an internship at your college career center. A few of my friends would work one semester, then go to college, then work and so on for 2 years. It delayed their graduation by one year, but they had a job offer waiting for them by the company they worked for and they got paid very well. Even if it doesn't work out with that company, you have a year's experience by the time you graduate which should put you ahead of the other graduates.

 

[LivinLaVivaPollo]

Just because you do CS doesn't mean you have to program for the rest of your life. If you want a challenge, try focusing on algorithms, graph theory, or any other more math oriented CS subset.

 

[imported_vr6]

well another reason i didn't pick CS is that i am a hands on kind of guy, sitting around doing research isn't my thing either.

i have been looking at the internship route too, as they all say, it doesn't matter if u have good grades, employers will hire people with experience.. I am not looking for much as a starting salary.. but 50,000 too high?

 

[wyvrn]

When my friends graduated with MIS degrees in 1997, the average starting salary was $40k. Two years later during the tech boom, it was $50k if you had a solid GPA (no experience needed). From what I am seeing the average is back down to $40k for MIS graduates in the Dallas and Houston area. It will fluctuate, but if you are good at what you do, then you will get raises and promotions.

Originally posted by: Kwan1
well another reason i didn't pick CS is that i am a hands on kind of guy, sitting around doing research isn't my thing either.

i have been looking at the internship route too, as they all say, it doesn't matter if u have good grades, employers will hire people with experience.. I am not looking for much as a starting salary.. but 50,000 too high?

 

[imported_vr6]

thanks to wyvrn for making me feel so much better, i was seriously consider switching majors.. too many stories that my friends told me. Considring i am almost done the core requirements, switching major would be a huge setback