Need some College Advice

[zokudu]

I'm at a bit of an impasse. I graduated High School in 2009. I was hugely interested in computers on my graduation and went to a state school to study Computer Science. While I enjoyed programming I felt that it was not something I wanted to do as a career. I left that school and now attend my local community college studying information systems. I was looking to transfer to a 4 year school to obtain a bachelors degree in Information Systems once I completed my Associates here.

Well my issue is that I'm thinking that I may be a bit over my head with this field. I understand the software side of things better but I feel just lost when I look at more advanced material or peruse local listings for possible work. I'm at the point that I'm considering changing majors. I don't really know what I want to do.

So I'm asking you ATOT, should I be worried that I feel lost when looking at more advanced classes or would that be something that I pick up as I go? I don't really know anything else that may interest me at this time and that worries me. I used to be interested in Civil Engineering or Environmental Science but I don't know anything about these fields either because I never considered them once I left high school.

I guess really my issue is that I feel lost. I'm sick of feeling like I've been stumbling around doing nothing after high school because that's what I've been doing if I am being truthful to myself. I want to get out in the workforce and move on from school but I'm beginning to doubt what I'm studying and don't want to have to start from square one. I guess this isn't really a question and more of a rant.

 

[Ns1]

figure out what you want to do and plan your education around it, not vice versa.



at least you got out of CS.

 

[jonks]

Your rant is correctly spelled and grammatically pleasing. I predict you shall be successful at whatever you attempt. Introspection is a terrific quality, keep looking around until you find something that fits. Good luck.

 

[Fern]

-snip-
I'm at the point that I'm considering changing majors. I don't really know what I want to do.

I suggest you consider taking classes in different fields/areas. You may find something you like and feel comfortable in, and it may be in some field you do not expect.

Fern

 

[IndyColtsFan]

OP, what kind of things do you enjoy? What was it about IS specifically that caused you to be concerned about the difficulty?

If I had it to do over again, I'd probably have done something in accounting or finance with maybe an IS minor or Master's.

 

[Ns1]

OP, what kind of things do you enjoy? What was it about IS specifically that caused you to be concerned about the difficulty?

If I had it to do over again, I'd probably have done something in accounting or finance with maybe an IS minor or Master's.

accounting info systems = accounting + enough IS to get by


<---- AIS =D

 

[uberman]

I'll offer just one imperative. Do not leave a community college without an AA Degree. The reason this is important is they will throw out many of your classes when transferring to a 4 yr college. A degree means they'll transfer credits.

I'm a retired fully credentialed teacher with three degrees and a masters plus 30 credits. It kills students when they have their classes thrown out. You don't want to move on without a degree.

 

[sunzt]

I feel lost when looking at more advanced classes or would that be something that I pick up as I go?

Why would you take a class in something you already know?

I don't know about your major, but for electrical engineering most classes are going to require lots of work and be pretty tough. Any decent ABET program should be similar.

 

[Ns1]

I'll offer just one imperative. Do not leave a community college without an AA Degree. The reason this is important is they will throw out many of your classes when transferring to a 4 yr college. A degree means they'll transfer credits.

I'm a retired fully credentialed teacher with three degrees and a masters plus 30 credits. It kills students when they have their classes thrown out. You don't want to move on without a degree.

i did not get an AA and none of my classes were thrown out.

planning + college counselor

 

[zokudu]

OP, what kind of things do you enjoy? What was it about IS specifically that caused you to be concerned about the difficulty?

If I had it to do over again, I'd probably have done something in accounting or finance with maybe an IS minor or Master's.

I didn't take many "out of the box" courses in my life which I feel is probably causing my current issues somewhat. I took and loved AP Physics and AP Environmental Science in high school.

I guess what really makes me nervous more than anything is Information Systems encompasses what seems like a large amount of for lack of a better word stuff that I feel like I can't possibly learn enough of it to effectively pursue a career. The more I read about it I keep hearing about a ton of certs and qualifying tests thorough Microsoft and Cisco and no one I've spoken to has mentioned them. I feel like I'm flying by the seat of my pants into something I didn't research enough.

 

[Oil]

Get an engineering degree

 

[Zen0]

I didn't take many "out of the box" courses in my life which I feel is probably causing my current issues somewhat. I took and loved AP Physics and AP Environmental Science in high school.

I guess what really makes me nervous more than anything is Information Systems encompasses what seems like a large amount of for lack of a better word stuff that I feel like I can't possibly learn enough of it to effectively pursue a career. The more I read about it I keep hearing about a ton of certs and qualifying tests thorough Microsoft and Cisco and no one I've spoken to has mentioned them. I feel like I'm flying by the seat of my pants into something I didn't research enough.

You shouldn't worry about those, everyone steps into a new job or position feeling overwhelmed and underqualified.

1) Keep your GPA sky high
2) Learn, not just memorize, and put them into practice
3) Diversify some of your activities, pursue internships etc

 

[Bignate603]

I wouldn't be too worried that you don't fully understand what the course descriptions of more advanced courses are or some of the more advanced job listings. That's why you're going to school, to learn those things. You definitely shouldn't drop out because you're 1 year into what will be a 4 year degree and don't understand the more advanced stuff. Think about it this way, if you already understood that stuff it means that your degree is really easy and wouldn't be worth much when you graduated.

Your program should have someone as an advisor. Go talk to them and determine the path of courses to get you there. They should have the curriculum set up so that the courses you take earlier set you up for the courses you take later. Also, see if you can find somebody that's just wrapping up the program you're interested in and ask them how things were for them.

 

[duragezic]

How are your grades?

You're not really expected to understand the more advanced stuff while still in your basic courses. Sure someone may have done some programming on their own and would have a bit of an advantage in a class on it, but most people are probably in the same situation as you.

I think as long as you enjoy it and would enjoy working in the IS/IT field, and are doing well enough so far, then keep at it.

 

[Rumpltzer]

You don't need to enjoy college to get through it. You also don't need to understand the advanced courses prior to taking them.

That said, I did a CS minor as an undergrad and it wasn't what I thought/hoped it would be. I liked programming. Most of what I saw in my CS minor was not programming, and I'm glad that I chose an engineering major.

Also, enjoying your college major has nothing to do with how things will go when you leave school. School and work are just not the same. Have an inkling of what you like and what you might want to do. Choose a target (a major), and go at it. Get it over with, and (hopefully) find a job doing what you like.

I think that it was helpful in my path to have had a lot of internships. I was working for two summer in an engineering/development lab while I was in high school. Those guys taught me to program, and they completely pointed me at EE. When I was in college, I had an internship every summer (because I could program and because I had some experience already).

Through internships, I got a glimpse of what engineers actually do in real life... and it wasn't too appealing. Thus, I went to grad school. Grad school (much better than undergrad) allows me to have more control over my career path.



You're 20 years-old. You can do anything that you want. Anything.

Choose.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I guess what really makes me nervous more than anything is Information Systems encompasses what seems like a large amount of for lack of a better word stuff that I feel like I can't possibly learn enough of it to effectively pursue a career. The more I read about it I keep hearing about a ton of certs and qualifying tests thorough Microsoft and Cisco and no one I've spoken to has mentioned them. I feel like I'm flying by the seat of my pants into something I didn't research enough.

I think you're worrying too much to be honest. Just be aware that while certs are nice, no one is going to start you at $60K or $70K because you have a cert. In IT, you're going to have to work your way up. Don't waste the time, either -- while you're working your way up, take advantage of all training opportunities and study for certs on your own. And make no mistake -- your degree IS the most important "certification" you will ever get. It doesn't have to be a degree in IS in order to work in the IT field, either.

 

[GregGreen]

You shouldn't worry about those, everyone steps into a new job or position feeling overwhelmed and underqualified.

1) Keep your GPA sky high
2) Learn, not just memorize, and put them into practice
3) Diversify some of your activities, pursue internships etc

THIS.

As long as its something you can see yourself doing for a while (even if you dont know the skills now), go for it.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

You shouldn't worry about those, everyone steps into a new job or position feeling overwhelmed and underqualified.

1) Keep your GPA sky high
2) Learn, not just memorize, and put them into practice
3) Diversify some of your activities, pursue internships etc

Yeah. Don't worry. You can get more on the job training. I felt like I stepped into some internships absolutely clueless... like my manufacturing engineer position. I had a materials engineering background and had absolutely no clue about process control, engineering statistics, etc. I bombed my interview too, but I at least showed I could think like an engineer so they took me in.

Those 3 points are key. #1 and #2 are really important. I did fine with #2, but #1 was a different issue. I could not get into a top 20 PhD program as a result. I'm paying for it with state school, but at least my MS GPA will rock and hopefully send me forward to somewhere better.