I know there was already a thread on computer science in cuny but it was inactive for 3 years. I know how everyone said cs cuny program cant be compared to a suny like stony brook and how after graduation, you won’t get recruited like suny(s) and you have to do everything yourself. But in all honesty, is it really that hard? Anyone here graduated from a cs program in a cuny? How are you doing? Is it even possible to lookfor a cs job with a degree from cuny in nyc?
“cs cuny program cant be compared to a suny like stony brook”
That’s not true, City College of New York has excellent Computer Science, and engineering programs. If you are able to go to C.C.N.Y, you’ll be able to land an IT job at top ranked companies. That being said, college is a place for you as the individual to learn. College won’t guarantee you a job. Think of college as a place to learn theories, and internships as an opportunity to learn how to use your learned theories to practical use.
If you’re not able to attend CCNY, try City College of Technology. Why would you go to City Tech? City Tech is right next to the engineering department of New York University. Therefore, City Tech gets offers from companies all over NYC, and may collaborate with some of NYU students over the summer for internships. Both City Tech and NYU’s engineering department are located in what’s known as the “Brooklyn Tech Triangle”.
Here is a link :
http://brooklyntechtriangle.com/jobs/#s=1
If you are going to school in the city, make sure you use NYC’s massive resources to your advantage. Those internships in your undergraduate years can pay off big time!
Sorry for late reply. I was planning to go to Brooklyn College for computer science. I was actually accepted to City tech for comp sci but i never went…
Hi Jessicaaliane,
As a graduate of one of CUNY’s cs programs, I want to offer you some insight based on personal experience. Just putting it out, I’m just describing things in a general manner and there are definitely many exceptions to what I’m about to describe.
Given all else equal, my opinion is that CUNY’s cs programs are definitely not on par with Stony Brook’s (which should not be a surprise, as Stony Brook is a very good cs school). What I mean by this is that the courses you take and projects you do will probably not be as rigorous. CUNY’s courses will probably cover less material. And the academic environment you are in will probably be much more relaxed and not as competitive. To be more specific, you will probably be under-prepared for a job in the industry. This is based on my experience as a student there and from interaction with others in cs programs at other CUNY schools.
This is not to say that CUNY’s cs programs suck. They really don’t. As TheSphere mentioned, they’re a place for you to learn, and their cs programs will teach you computer science. If you put in your effort, you’ll learn a lot. If you add in some research experience while you’re there, you’ll probably be good enough academically to go on to PhD programs. Basically if you’re a good student and you put in due effort, you’ll probably end up where graduates from top cs programs go.
In regards to picking cs programs within CUNY, I’d have to disagree with TheSphere. The best cs programs in CUNY are definitely within the senior colleges: CCNY, Hunter, Brooklyn, and Queens (in no particular order). My advice, just take a brief tour through their cs sites, look at the faculty profiles and their research areas, then compare that to City Tech’s (btw, they only offer up to an A.S. in cs). And just because City Tech is close to NYU’s engineering school, it doesn’t mean they share the same internships and resources, and they definitely do not.
CUNY students can definitely get internships and jobs in NYC. What employers are looking for is your SKILL SET. Do you have the tool set to do the required work? And I think this is one of the biggest weaknesses in CUNY’s cs programs. While they teach you cs, they do not teach you skills you need to get a job in the industry (while this is generally true of many programs, I feel this is especially true within CUNY). I would say that in most programs in CUNY, you will probably learn and focus on one programming language, and that’s all you really need to complete most, if not all, of your degree requirements. While this is good enough to get your degree, this is often not good enough to get you a job after you graduate (and quite similarly for internships). On top of that, I find that there are very few courses that have big course projects, which is essential to help you get selected for interviews while you’re in school. To have a good shot at jobs after you graduate(or while in school), you should probably learn additional programming languages, frameworks, and do side projects to supplement school.
TL;DR: It is harder to get a (good) job with a cs degree from CUNY compared to if you went to a more renowned cs school in the area. But if you do well in school and take the time to build your skill set outside of school, you’ll do just as well as those graduates. It is definitely possible to get a good job in NYC as a CUNY cs graduate.