Business Vs. Computer Science

College Majors Business Major
1

<p>Hey guys! I'm a senior in high school, and I'm having a hard time deciding on a major. My heart is divided between computer science and business. </p>

<p>I'm taking physics 3, Calculus AP, and I've already taken Computer Science AP. I love the problem-solving aspects of these classes and I actually enjoy math.
I scored a 2100 on my SAT without any real practice, and I've always done very well on my math classes. I want a career that always keeps my mind exercised, pays very well, and is not monotonous - I want to problem solve or just do something interesting in general!</p>

<p>Recently, I've been doing a lot of research on the top majors for 2013 and the future. Every list always puts a computer science degree in the top 5, which is the main reason why I started considering the major in the first place. These articles always say that computer science is interesting, flexible, and lucrative. The fact that computer science is so vital to our society right now, and will be even more important in the future draws me to it. In addition, the problem solving and math parts of the field also cause me to lean toward it.</p>

<p>However, when I hear people talk about computer science, I often hear, "You either get it, or you don't." I'm afraid I'm going to be one of the people who "doesn't get it." Whatever, I end up choosing, I want to be damn good at it. I'm scared that I don't have the "potential" to be among the best in the computer science field, since a big portion in this field have been doing it ever since they were little. Besides my computer science class, I don't have any real programming experience. I took a lot of AP tests last year and the only subject in which I got a 3 was computer science, but it could have been because of the quality of my teacher. I'm great at problem solving, however I'm not very creative in some areas, which might be a big disadvantage in the computer science field. Is computer science something that a person just has a knack for, or if I work hard enough, will I still be able to excel? I've also heard that computer scientists tend to be more socially awkward (I know it's a stereotype), and in whatever I do I also want to be able to have fun with my coworkers or classmates. I also don't want to spend 8 hours a day looking at uninteresting data bases or writing absolutely meaningless lines of code without any social interaction (I hope that's not the case).</p>

<p>I've also always seen myself as a business type of person. My dad is an owner of a entrepreneurial business chain, and he says if I'm interested I always have the option of taking over the company when I'm older (he wants me to choose). I've been interested in investing in the stock market ever since I was little, and I've read a couple of books on the subject. The lifestyle of a business person has always intrigued me, and before the era of college applications came I always had my heart set on business. I know business, specifically finance, requires a lot of math, but is it the problem solving type, or is it the type of effortless, monotonous math that I want to stay away from?</p>

<p>(I would either get a computer science degree with an MBA or a finance degree with an MBA)</p>

<p>The biggest deciding factors between which career path I choose will be in:
1. which one is more fun
2. that the job keeps my brain exercised, interested, passionate
3. the salary</p>

<p>So what are your opinions? c: Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>Other business majors that might appeal: economics, business management. High school teaching is as fun as you want to make it. </p>

<p>For problem solving, a maths degree is a great major, as is product design, Accounting -maybe looking into the fraud side could be good. Philosophy could be good minor for the critical thinking skills. Personally, I find learning languages like a puzzle to be cracked. </p>

<p>Remember that to have a cohesive class that works and studies together is rare. My experience is that its the people in your dorm and your clubs that you make good friends with but that makes for a nice mix of people and backgrounds.</p>

3

<p>If finances enable you to get two degrees, one of them being the most demanding degree in the job market, computer science, and the most demanding business degree, an MBA, then go for it. Don’t split your paths if you don’t need to.</p>

4

<p>This is pretty much the reason I switched from Engineering to Business. I also took C++ in HS. Your success in those fields is basically 66-75% genetically determined. Once you learn the basic concepts, that’s it. The rest is all about that creative spark aka your IQ level. </p>

<p>There are different types of intelligence. Think about Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Bill Gates would smoke SJ in terms of programing and scientific knowledge. But SJ would destroy BG in terms of leadership and direction. I’ve seen a lot of “smart” people go into engineering because they believe that’s where ALL smart people belong. When clearly their intelligence would best be suited with a business type education. Ask yourself what type of intelligence do you have and go from there. But ya if your dad is a businessman and you already find writing long chains of code boring then it’s kinda obvious.</p>

<p>For the record, you don’t even need a CS degree to work in IT. Plenty of jobs don’t require coding.</p>

5

<p>

Not really. Your IQ won’t do anything to help you sort through the infinite amount of knowledge in the world, unless you had an infinite IQ.</p>

<p>In fact intellect doesn’t even scale well. In a game of chess, there’s an exponential number of possible positions to evaluate as you increase the depth of how many moves in a row you want to consider. If someone were twice or even four times as intelligent as you were, they wouldn’t even be able to see a single move farther in depth than you (or at most, about one more move deep), so clearly intelligence doesn’t help significantly at all (and there’s an infinite number of choices in the real world unlike chess, which at least has a finite number of positions). It’s simply pattern recognition accompanied with intelligence, and not intelligence alone, that allows people to succeed in engineering fields.</p>

6

<p>Social wise, think WoW LAN party vs yacht club party. Haha. I have a CS minor and watched some industry speakers. The work sounds like grunt work and headaches. If you don’t do it in your free time, I wouldn’t plan on it as a career.</p>

7

<p>once upon a 25 years ago I faced the same decision. I am sure things have changed, but at the time you really didn’t have to choose right away. However, for CS you had to take a higher math tract than for business. I took the higher tract but then opted for Business, accounting major. </p>

<p>In your situation I would go with CS but I would use free electives for b-law and accounting classes just in case you decide not to get an MBA right away.</p>

8

<p>Check this out: [Lehigh</a> University: P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science: Computer Science and Business](<a href=“P.C. Rossin College of Engineering & Applied Science | Lehigh University”>Interdisciplinary Engineering Programs | P.C. Rossin College of Engineering & Applied Science)</p>

9

<p>Yes, I’m afraid computer science is a domain suited to those who are inclined to thinking on a systems level. It does not come naturally to me. If you have aptitude, computer science is a solid field with growth opportunities for years to come. To my dismay, computer science and business are becoming more and more intertwined. </p>

<p>But here’s the bottom line: Business majors have the highest opportunity to become self-sufficient. The risk:reward paradigm in business outstrips academia altogether. </p>

<p>See, working for a company, your pay will be less than the money you make for your employer. Seldom will you see a worker bee making more money than is being made off of him or her, in corporate America. Anyone who has provided the main labor input to a service that a company resells probably knows this firsthand. That said, business is not for everyone. I see business comprising four primary majors: accountancy, finance, marketing, MBA/MIS (somewhat interchangeable). </p>

<p>Accountancy: Accounting is the safest career choice. It provides, arguably, the best tuition/pay trade-off out of any major, and it’s a on a large scale (so don’t tell me about anesthesiology or any other niche profession). Accounting consists of a few main areas: public accounting, government/not-for-profit accounting, tax, advisory/consulting, and audit. Certified Public Accountants are accountants who’ve passed the CPA exam (almost all states require 150 credits to gain licensure) in a given state. They’re right up there with other professionals such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. They have a high degree of expertise (the CPA exam is no joke). They have accumulated years of education and technical know-how. They have high job security and often times will start their own practices/businesses. </p>

<p>Finance: Boy, if you enjoy math, be sure to major in finance. There are fat textbooks packed to the brim with formulas. What’s at the core? Interest. Let me make a loan to someone and regardless of how they fare, I’m going to get mine. It’s ruthless. Any scheme you can think of: some devious usurer has already conceived of it. High finance is “highly screwed up.” They pile assumptions, one on top of another, until it culminates in thrice removed financial instruments and other concoctions. </p>

<p>Don’t get me started on the stock market; just look up John Paulson – and, his hedge fund is only indicted because the abuse is so flagrant. That’s not even getting to money and banking and the role of central banks in capital markets. Hey, a lot of the real elite mathematicians end up in this toxic profession, because they see an easy way to outwit ordinary people and they don’t want to put their talents to any productive use. That sums up my thoughts on finance. If you’re elite (your number skills pass with magenta and indigo) and have general business acumen, it’s a lucrative major. If your ambition is grounded in reality, finance provides jobs in banking/insurance, financial advising, asset management, etc. The job security is nothing compared with a CPA. Although there are finance-related certifications, they are relatively trivial compared to the CPA distinction. I guess swindling people and/or smacking them around with service fees doesn’t really require substantive knowledge. Unless you have that uncanny combination of business shrewdness and pure math skills, it’s likely an all around waste. This field has dark clouds looming over it. The whole financial system could implode in the not too distant future. Then again, your sole source of solace might be that everyone else is also feeling the great depression 1.0. Steer clear. The role of finance is touted as facilitating the allocation of scarce resources through capital markets/price signals etc.
The real role of finance, especially how it’s practiced today with regulatory capture the norm, is advancing the interests of capital owners: making the wealthy wealthier and making the poor indigent, because the billionaire controls wealth, and so he deserves to control yet more wealth. </p>

<p>Marketing: I don’t have too much firsthand knowledge about the nuts and bolts of this major. The way it’s practiced today is via Customer Relationship Management (CRM): gathering a trove of data about John Doe and enhancing his experience through personalization and customized offerings. Another idea, brand loyalty still encompasses a great deal of the marketing literature (The accountant puts a price tag on this and calls it goodwill). One can best picture this when thinking about various health and personal care products which have well recognized brand names but are owned by one or two consumer conglomerates. There’s business to business (B2B) marketing (vendors and suppliers) and internet marketing/e-commerce to a lesser extent (highly obtrusive and more malignant with each passing day). Marketing and sales often go hand in hand. That means commissions. In other words, it’s scrappy. Not a lot of theory behind it. What theory there is borrows from psychology and research into patterns of consumption and behaviors of the consumer. </p>

<p>MIS/MBA: This major deals with IT head on. Models, databases, business process re-engineering. These tools effect all manner of improvements, so to speak, driven by an understanding of operations management and managerial insight. The MBA is a big deal at big name schools. It gains some extra distinction as a result. Really, the Master’s in Business Administration is a people oriented business concentration. These are the mostly mid-level managers seeking to bolster their credentials and/or gain more knowledge and training around how to approach business decisions. Practical, collaborative training, designed to confer real world expertise re: the fundamental aspects of business joined with a specialization/concentration (MIS decision vantage points a common emphasis). A no name MBA degree has nominal value. MIS isn’t overpowering on its own merit, but a skilled practitioner can get a lot of bang for buck. </p>

<p>Business is all about entrepreneurship in the end. If you don’t gain functional knowledge majoring in it (opening your mind to the opportunities around you), then it loses much of its value.</p>

10

<p>I’m sorry but I think the answer here is pretty obvious - Computer Science! At least if you want to go anywhere with your life. I’m a CS major myself, and yes I’ve loved computers since I was a kid but I don’t feel that it’s one of those things that “you’ve either got or you don’t”. Yes, it is extremely challenging but that’s half the fun! </p>

<p>I would rather be coding then trying to find ways to improve my business (shoot, you could SELL your software and make that your business, too). And in my opinion, Business degrees are a cop out. It is one of the most generic degrees one can get (and did I mention one of the easiest?). And if you need any more convincing; the average annual salary for a recent CS undergrad is $60-80k and compare that to a business major’s $52-$58k.</p>

<p>I should mention that I currently work for a software company and if you do some research you will find that the work environments tend to be very relaxing and comfortable. They spoil you with food and snacks, you get to make your own schedule (that’s right I can work at midnight if I want or in between classes while at school). The best part is I can show up to the office in my sneakers, hoodie and jeans, and then listen to music while I get my work done.</p>

<p>It’s an awesome field if you ask me, one the harder degrees to earn but it pays for itself and then some!!</p>

11

<p>Getting your bachelor in computer science and then getting an MBA is a great combination. If you do well in your math courses you should do well in computer science. I wouldn’t worry much about getting a 3 in the AP class, you will get more and better training as you work through the CS degree. And being a good business/social person can benefit you with the CS degree. There is nothing that says YOU have to match the stereotype! Being the person who can work and interact between technical and business staff can be very valuable as well. </p>

12

<p>I completely agree with the last two comments. Bachelor in comp sci and MBA after is an invaluable combination. So many millionaires and billionaires today have taken this route (more than you would expect), I am too. I don’t understand why someone in this day and age would do business for undergrad. You’re not secured a job in any way, you don’t really know anything tangible. You need a technical degree first, and then from there study business so you can be an entrepreneur and play the game, while always have a fallback on a high paying job. With just business you can’t say that. (Also, computer science will allow you to understand and communicate so much better with your programmers and engineers once you become an entrepreneur, which again, is invaluable).</p>