I'm getting a BSBA Computer Information Systems. Does anyone here have that degree? What type of job do you have or have had. Is this degree pointless compared to a CS degree?

I'd say it depends on the program. I personally went for the CS degree. I have worked with, and hired/not hired people from both types of programs. It always depended on the job. Some schools still call them MIS degrees (uhg). It really comes down to what you wish to do in your career: technical, or manager type (IMHO).

CS types tend to be more technical and mathematical in nature, CIS tends to push the business side of things. Our CIS people primarily do project management type jobs (MS project, paper work paper work paperwork). The CS types do all the 'real' work. (No offense intended to CIS/MIS types )

dale

I'm currently working on my CIS, in my last year. I chose CIS because the people from the school I talked with said it involved the most programming courses, which is all I wanted to do. Of course, after I started and found out how little math I'm required to take I asked them about it. I was answered with: "well, you're doing software programming, and math isn't a big part of that". That should've been my hint to switch, to another school.

Well personally im working on a BS in CIS with a minor in CS, at the school i go to they told me that more of the CIS grads end up with jobs as say system admin and db admin and stuff like that and the CS get more of the programming jobs but there are alot of each degree that do other stuff along the lines of IT so in all reality it doesnt really matter as most jobs for IT positions actually ask for a BS in CS or related field suchs as CIS or MIS so really i dont think it will matter all that much. personally im not sure what i will use my CIS major and CS minor for but as of now im working as a computer programmer. so that experience might end up getting me a programming job instead of sys admin or db admin

but as mentioned above in the CIS major they do alot more business side of IT such as system administration and Database Administration and even more into business. but CS will give you more Computer theory and math. so if you like theory and math i recommend the CS but if not i recommend the CIS

I m doing plain old BS in CS. I will be a sophomore after this semester. I have an ambition to transfer my credits to some other school where I can take graphics and games programming courses. In my country the hype is now all about Computer Engineering. Few cares about Computer Science. Most students want to do BS Computer Engineering and then want to do an MS in Electrical Engineering.

I got the practical degree but I wish I had gotten the more rigorous and theoretical one. Now I am studying it on my own.

Everybody will get a programming job who wants one. I suspect the ones with the more rigorous background will find more interesting work.

Name your poison, it works out for everybody, and you wouldn't belive how little some people know and still make a living doing it. I recall one programmer who did not know the difference between source and object code. But she just went through the prescribed steps without understanding them and met management's expectations as a rather lightweight programmer.

Then there was the programmer from the federal government who attended a seminar on syncsort and at the end of it angrily demanded to know that this 'byte' was that they kept talking about.

Not sure what country you are from asif_NSU, but if you are from United states... I know that West Virginia Univ. has graphics and game design courses in the computer science program. There are alot of people in computer engineering, and like you said... I am also dual majoring, Computer engineering and Electrical Engineering. There are also still alot of Computer science courses that are required with the computer engineering degree. (I think have to take 5 or 6 CS courses). For this reason, my school also offers the daul majors in EE and CS or CPE and CS or you can do all three.

Hey Castro,

To be honest, it will depend on what you really want to do. The best programmers I've ever worked with have the CS background (not just the degree), because programming is all structure, theory, and math. If your concentration is to work in a Fortune 100 company building enterprise-wide network applications, a CIS degree won't help you much. Also, CIS (IMHO) includes a plethora of languages and not enough about fundamentals. Languages just implement a solution, and the best architects understand how to implement something based on an environment, not dictate a language preference.

I also agree there will be a lot of 'programmers' in the field, but not many who understand truly what they're programming. If you get the CS degree, it will most likely set you apart from the everyday coders.

ej :mrgreen:

Are you serious???? ROTFLMAO ...or am I gullible? :o

ej

As far as getting hired now, I think companies will go for either and it isn't a huge difference. IS is more attractive than before because most of the lower level skills are heading offshore. I have BSIT and MMIS and am a programmer-analyst for a large corporation. I can't speak for all companies, but the one I work for doesn't value my programming skills as much as my higher level business skills, like the ability to communicate system requirements to people with questionable English speaking abilities.

I don't support offshoring and think Americans will produce a better product which is actually less costly in the long run, but onless this trend reverses I would go for the CIS program. You can always brush up on the lower level skills when needed. In fact, what you learn now in the CS program (except for higher level concepts) may not apply 10 years from now.

When I say "lower level" that isn't to suggest that they aren't good or respectable jobs. It means that the work is less abstract and more focused.

Good luck no matter what path you choose. I would hire either degree.