Steve, I will acknowledge your point that MIS degrees vary quite a bit in their requirements from one university to the next, but I am involved in the hiring of our new programmers, and have been now for almost 30 years. The ones with MIS degrees do claim to have been exposed to many programming languages/environments, however, they tend to have had no grounding in any software engineering practices, operating systems design, or anything else that helps with being an over-all good programmer, and not just someone who took a cobol and a java class. oh and yes, my CS degree anyway had all the statistics and probability theory classes you mention.
It's because of these points that my previous boss ended up saying she would rather not hire any MIS majors as programmers. So, I appreciate your pointing out to Peter that this issue can be controversial, and not easily summarized; however, I still stand by my statement that unless you intend to try for being an I.T. manager only, and not a programmer, I would not major in MIS. Chip -----Original Message----- From: Stephen Clower [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Sunday, May 30, 2010 7:37 AM To: gw-info-gwmicro.com Subject: Re: Off topic - choosing a major in computers Just to throw in my two cents' worth. A computer science degree is a very good choice if you plan on working as an engineer or have a hankering for low-level embedded software design. Most degree programs also require an in depth knowledge and exposure to integrated circuit design construction, data structures, algorithm theory, and of course, lots of math. Computer Science is definitely one of the more difficult degrees to obtain, but it will give you great credibility if you can stick through it. I want to correct one point Chip made regarding the lack of technical know-how for business degrees. A lot has changed since 1983, and MIS specialists can't always rely on the computer science folks to program for them anymore. The university I attended required a surprising amount of programming for all of its technical business undergrads. Java, .net, COBOL, SQL of all sorts, and various server-side web languages. In addition, project management, accounting, statistical analysis, and other topics are covered which typically get ignored in computer science. I would suggest you look at the course requirements for both fields of study at your university and talk to as many people as you can reach about their careers. Regards, Steve typically covered > Hi Peter, > > I have a degree in computer science, which I obtained in 1983. > > I have worked as a general systems analyst/computer programmer, as > well as network administrator, and database administrator. > > It was a good time in 83 to get a computer degree, but even now I'd > recommend as one of the best choices you could make. I recommend > strongly against choosing a business degree which has only a small > amount of computer programming (such as Management Information Systems > (MIS)). they don't offer enough specialization, and a chance for you > to show you possess rare and unique skills, for someone to take the > chance and hire you with a degree based on a business degree. > > Just because some elements of programming are concerned with the > visual appearance of dialogs, etc., doesn't mean that all programmers > have to do that kind of programming. Many jobs still exist for > programming other parts of a complete system; the parts which are not the user interface portion. > > And of course, a lot of jobs right now wanted web designers and > programmers who really do understand what ADA accessibility means, and > can produce and test for, web sites which meet ADA guidelines. > > Programming is ultimately about problem solving, and patience, not > about pretty screens. having a 4 year degree such as computer science > demonstrates to a perspective employer that you're able to do that > kind of work, as well as being able to stick at a long-term difficult > task such as obtaining a degree. > > good luck, > > Chip > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Peter Wolfe [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Saturday, May 29, 2010 8:12 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Off topic - choosing a major in computers > > -- > Peter Q. Wolfe, A.S. > Webmaster > http://www.darkstruggle.com > Alternative Email: > [email protected] > > To list: > > > I'd like to hear from computer professions that just purely screen > readers like Window-Eyes with several years of experience. I'm having > serious reservations about staying with this current major in social > science/history education cause of the comminesss of which the nation > grasp onto it like a life raft and all. The visual elements concern me > the most about anything to do with computers in general. Technology > every minute is changing but the government could perhaps hire me as a > worker? I like programming when I have the time to learn it but it has > it's challenges like turning thins in a visual appealing way. I'm > thinking about e-mailing more people on the Mentors at AFB in the > future about them. Please describe your field, experience, degree, > difficulties and challenges both past, present and even in the future > trends on the market. Is this a major that you wouold suggest people > that are blind to go into and if so why? I just don't have confidense > I suppose in making my mind up about computers or education and I > chose education cause it seems so relible. Then, I see how many people have those degrees and then again out sourcing is a big dump on computers. > > > sincerely, > Peter > If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original > sender only. If your reply would benefit others on the list and your > message is related to GW Micro, then please consider sending your > message to [email protected] so the entire list will receive it. > > GW-Info messages are archived at http://www.gwmicro.com/gwinfo. You > can manage your list subscription at http://www.gwmicro.com/listserv. > If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original sender only. If your reply would benefit others on the list and your message is related to GW Micro, then please consider sending your message to [email protected] so the entire list will receive it. > > GW-Info messages are archived at http://www.gwmicro.com/gwinfo. You can manage your list subscription at http://www.gwmicro.com/listserv. If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original sender only. If your reply would benefit others on the list and your message is related to GW Micro, then please consider sending your message to [email protected] so the entire list will receive it. GW-Info messages are archived at http://www.gwmicro.com/gwinfo. You can manage your list subscription at http://www.gwmicro.com/listserv. If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original sender only. If your reply would benefit others on the list and your message is related to GW Micro, then please consider sending your message to [email protected] so the entire list will receive it. GW-Info messages are archived at http://www.gwmicro.com/gwinfo. You can manage your list subscription at http://www.gwmicro.com/listserv.
