I’m majoring in CIS and double minoring in CS and accounting. I want to work as an Oracle/SQL DBA or Systems Administrator. How difficult is it to do this with a degree in CIS rather than CS? I’m good at Python, Perl, and I’m learning SQL and Access. I plan to attain some certifications after I graduate college and start working. I’ve been looking at job postings for positions like DBA, Systems Analyst, and Systems/Network Administrator and it seems most companies want a BS in Computer Science rather than CIS/IT/etc., which means that I’ll be competing against CS majors. Is the CIS major just not as respected as the CS major to employers? I went for the CIS major over the CS because I wasn’t very interested in programming but was still interested in the theory, which was mainly the reason why I minored in it. What type of jobs could I pursue after college?
Being an Oracle DBA is more about getting training and work experience in Oracle than having a CIS degree. I was an Oracle DBA for a number of years and I was a math major.
@GLOBALTRAVELER If you were in my shoes, what steps would you take to becoming a DBA or Systems Administrator? What skills would you learn?
College courses to take: Database Systems, Operating Systems, Computer Networks
After that, actual training from Oracle (or Microsoft) in database development and database administration.
Haven’t seen your posts for a while, GLOBALTRAVELER. Granted I’m not too active here myself anymore.
I think this is a relevant follow up question: which (if any) IT certifications have you found useful in your career? And at what stage did you earn them?
Sorry for posting so late…
The I.T. certifications that has helped me were:
Oracle DBA
SQL Server DBA
Project Management Professional (PMP)
and most recently…
Red Hat Linux Systems Administrator
Cloudera Administrator
Data Science
Systems Administration as a specialty seems to be dying out.
At the company I work for, we have about 300 people who stare at computers all day, and only have one or two systems administrators on staff. Normally if the user needs to set up a computer, connect it to the network, or troubleshoot something, they do it themselves or get a more tech-savvy colleague to help them. That’s been fairly common at different companies I’ve worked for over the last 10 or 15 years.