I am currently an Information Technology undergrad student, minoring in CS. However, as time went on I realized that engineering would give me a more stable life after college. I’ve always planned to go to Grad school but I never knew for exactly what. Would it be possible to obtain a CS major when I attend grad school a couple years down the road? Or is there really any point?
Here are some suggestions of course work to take as an undergraduate in a non-CS major considering graduate study in CS: http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Gradadm/Prerequisites.htm
Note: business-based IT courses typically would not be technical enough to be good preparation for graduate study in CS. CS is about designing computers and their software, while IT is about managing computers and their software.
But I’m minoring in CS in undergrad. That wouldn’t be enough experience for grad school?
But I’m minoring in CS in undergrad. That wouldn’t be enough experience for grad school?
A CS major involves a whole lot of courses that a CS minor does not include. A typical minor is roughly 18-20 hours of coursework, whereas a major is more like 40-60 hours of coursework.
No, a minor won’t be enough preparation for a grad degree later on - not in pure CS, anyway. But if you took enough CS and math classes, you might be able to get an MS in another highly-paid area - like data science, business analytics, or operations research.
But I take issue with the idea that engineering would give you a more stable life post-college. Information technology is also a relatively in-demand field; we need somebody to manage all of the technological systems that are being put in place to help us work. Now if you want to make huge bucks you’re more likely to do that with CS/engineering (at least now; who knows what the market will look like in 10-15 years). But if you just want to live a stable middle-class to upper-middle-class lifestyle, IT can probably take you there.
What CS courses will you be taking for your minor? Will they include the suggested courses or similar listed in the page linked from reply #1? Be aware that colleges’ definitions of minors vary much more than their definitions of majors, so simply saying that you are doing a minor in CS says little to those outside your school in terms of what course work you will take and what you will learn.
If you want to work in IT, taking the CS versions of courses in operating systems, networks, databases, and security/cryptography will be helpful on the technical side of IT work, since you will get stronger foundational knowledge and be better able to adapt to new technologies and solve difficult problems than those who just took the business versions.