Undergrad Advice

[ChrisR]

First off, thanks to anyone who throws in their 2 cents, I really appreciate it.

I am currently entering my 5th year of a Honours CIS Co-op degree in Canada. I started off with CS Software Engineering but realized that I lacked the passion to program that would make me succeed in the program. I took a few Business classes and even though they wernt terribly exciting I did well in them (accountings etc).

So I switched to CIS. I am now 6 courses from graduation, and I can only take 5 courses a semester, so as I am now I graduate next April taking 3 classes a semester. I have been thinking a lot lately of what to do when I graduate as I have no clue.

So I was talking to a friend who told me about a Dual Major program my school offers. Its a Honours Business Administration and Computer Science. Seeing as I have all of the CS credits, and a majority of the business credits, I would need 11 courses to graduate from this Dual Major degree. Its not 2 degree's but a dual major which I have been thinking may open more doors than just a CIS degree.

If I switch I will have to take 10 business courses and 1 more CS course, 4 courses I have taken will have been for nothing as they wont contribute to my degree when I graduate. The courses are a Intermediate Finance, Quantitative Decision models, Economics etc etc. It would require 2 full semesters and 1 summer class to finish, but I would be done roughly around the same time or at worst by end of next summer. I was then planning on taking off to europe for 2 months backpacking in hopes to get some direction in my life.

So my question is, is a Dual Major in Business and Computer Science *tho it is a BA not a BSC*, considered better than a CIS degree? And does it warrant enouhg for me to add 5 more classes to graduate with it? This decision is racking my mind and im thinking long term the dual major will open more doors, but who knows?

Furthermore if I ever wanted a MBA in Canada, having a base business degree entitles me to a 1 year fast track MBA rather than the traditional 2 year. So I could PT a MBA after a few years of work and be done it faster.

Thanks in advance for any help given.

[clarinetalex]

I would think that a BA would open less "programming" type jobs. Is CIS basically an IT major?

[sendres]

I wouldn't worry about bachelor of arts vs. science. Most employers realize that one university will issue a BA and another will give a BSc for equivalent education.

I attended one university which issued my friend a BA in Computer Science. Many people thought that was wierd until I told them that at this school, the difference is that students who add a foreign language to their curriculum get BA's and those without get BSc's.

To my mind, the question is CIS vs. CS and Business. On paper I would say the CS and Business is superior. I know an IT recruiter for a Fortune 50 company who's always lamenting that she can hire people with tech skills all day but can never find people who combine technical skill with good communication ability and business sense. Combining CS and Business will likely put you on a management track in a few years.

Also, I think it positions you better for graduate study, whether MBA or MS in CS.

good luck!

[rohmell]

My company only hires BS degreed people. They feel that if you have a BA, then you spent too much time studying poetry, or sculpture, and not math & science.