<p>I am currently thinking about majoring in Computer Science(BA route). At my school you need 41 core credits for a BA in Computer Science and 73 core credits for a BS in Comp. Sci. The BS requires two extra math courses and four extra physics courses as well as two or three extra comp sci classes. People say that if you can handle the math, do the BS if not go the BA route. I am an okay math student; i can do the math if i really apply myself but it is not my bread and butter, therefore I will not be going the BS route. I was wondering what the job outlook is like for BA computer science graduates. I was also interested in the difference in salaries for the BA and BS in comp sci. A lot of sites I have gone on say that both degrees attract similar jobs and salaries which sounds great, but doesn't really make sense. I was just wondering about the job prospects and salaries for a BA in Computer Science.
Thanks</p>
<p>If you have a BS and BA program at the same school, the vast majority of technical employers will not interview the BS students. Does that mean you absolutely cannot get a technical position? No. Some people don’t know the difference and will interview you anyway. But most employers that want a computer scientist will know and will go for a BS grad.</p>
<p>The BA programs in science and engineering are designed for people who want exposure to science and engineering, but that don’t want to practice science or engineering. What sorts of jobs does that appeal to? A patent attorney, a manager, a business analyst, etc.</p>
<p>BS unless you have a compelling reason to do the BA, every time.</p>
<p>Employers will also be looking at your transcripts, if you get past the first round. How do <em>you</em> think it will look to employers that you had to take less technical coursework than somebody with a BS? If you were making hiring decisions, how would it affect the salaries <em>you</em> offered people? I think these are pretty common sense questions and, no offense, I think people ask them because they want somebody to give them the answer they want to hear.</p>
<p>You can probably handle the math for the BS. Most CS students aren’t great at math anyway.</p>
<p>As mentioned in another thread, over the last 10 years or so, computer science programs have been reducing the amount of math required. I know when I was at Michigan State years ago, the CS majors had to take Calc I, II, III, Diff-Eq, Linear Algebra and Prob/Stats for Engineers as a minimum.</p>
<p>Nowadays Diff-Eq has been removed and in some programs, Calc III has been removed.</p>
<p>***? My school offers BA and BS for CS, and there’s not a single employer recruiting on campus that rejects people just because they have a BA. In fact, back when my school still posted separate BA and BS salary information, the BA’s consistently received higher salaries (And no, they weren’t all bankers either). I fail to see how my lack of physics and chemistry courses hurts my programming or algorithm-design ability. Heck, my A&S courses in linguistics, behavioral economics and game theory is far more relevant to my AI concentration than 90% of courses required in an engineering curriculum.</p>
<p>Now, if there’s a substantial difference between the BS and BA versions of the major, there might be some concern, but just because there’s two of them doesn’t mean employers will only go for those who get BS.</p>
<p>“Now, if there’s a substantial difference between the BS and BA versions of the major, there might be some concern, but just because there’s two of them doesn’t mean employers will only go for those who get BS.”</p>
<p>I can agree with this. I was a Math major who took like 85-90% of the CS program also. I sure did declared my major as “math/computer science” and listed the courses on my resume. I was interviewing/getting hired for the same jobs at the same companies as the BSCS students. I also remembering BA in Math/CS students doing the same.</p>
<p>If you have the coursework, it will not matter much. If an employer is looking for a graduating student for database programming or operating systems programming, most of them will not care if the student did not take compiler design or automata theory.</p>
<p>^ The understanding is that the coursework will make a big difference once you have made it past the first round. However, there could be employers who see the BA designation and throw the resume away. I don’t think this is as common for computing as it would be for, say, engineering, but still.</p>
<p>Like I said, if there is a compelling reason for not doing the BS, go for the BA. If only the BA is offered where you are going, it’s probably just as good as the BS at other places. It’s just when the same place offers both, you have to ask what the difference is, and odds are there is some difference. If the difference is that the BA requires fewer technical coursework, and you use your free time to goof off, chase tail, drink, and take joke courses, then I wouldn’t expect too much. If you use the free time to take different technical courses related to computing but not part of the standard curriculum, and you apply for jobs where such knowledge might be helpful… I would call that a compelling reason for doing the BA.</p>
<p>Still, I think there are a few courses that you really should take if you want to call yourself a CS major… yeah, physics and calculus aren’t necessarily those kinds of courses, but I take issue with the idea that you can waltz into a department, take a few courses you like the look of, and declare yourself a major because the other stuff isn’t important. Most employers I have talked to seem to hold similar beliefs.</p>
<p>You have to take four semesters of physics for a BSCS? I’ve never seen this requirement for a CS degree before. My son’s school requires two semesters of physics and two additional semesters of lab science courses (Bio, Chem, Physics).</p>
<p>well, you have to take two semesters of calc based physics w/lab (Physics I: Mechanics, Physics II: Electromagnetism) and then you have to take two out of the three Physics electives (Physics III:Structure of Matter, Physics IV:Waves or Electronics). That is a lot more physics then I expected for CS.</p>
<p>What do you want to do with your CS degree? Do you want to be a programmer at a corporation (that’s what I do)? Do you want to go on into further education followed by research either in CS or in other fields using CS? Do you want to try to be a manager of a CS department? Do you want to teach high school CS? Do you want to continue on for a law or medical degree?</p>
<p>There’s also software engineer.</p>
<p>“Still, I think there are a few courses that you really should take if you want to call yourself a CS major… yeah, physics and calculus aren’t necessarily those kinds of courses, but I take issue with the idea that you can waltz into a department, take a few courses you like the look of, and declare yourself a major because the other stuff isn’t important. Most employers I have talked to seem to hold similar beliefs.”</p>
<p>I agree to an extent, but you have to be familiar with other programs at other schools (read: do curriculum research) before you can declare the major. For example, the declaration of yourself as a CS major compared to a Math/CS major will be interpreted differently in the industry. If you did a survey on the various Math/CS hybrid programs across the universities who actually offer that combo, you will see that most are missing computer architecture, compiler design and maybe automata theory. You might also notice that those Math/CS programs are missing real analysis and sometimes abstract algebra from the Math portion.</p>
<p>I said all of that to say this: Make sure you are taking the courses that are at least universally offered at most programs for the desired degree and/or hybrid degree. That will at least allow potential employers to consider you on an even-scale are far as credentials.</p>
<p>Note: I do know that some resumes can be thrown out because of the BA vs. BS lingo, but not that often because you have for account to good schools like Vanderbilt who only offers a BA in Math (but does offer a BS in CS).</p>