<p>I had no idea what I wanted to do when I started school. I was originally a MIS major but was talked into switching into accounting. The main reason for this was outsourcing of jobs in the IT field.</p>
<p>I have nothing against accounting. I just suck at it. I'm really good at math but accounting courses and me do not mix. I saw my gpa take a nose dive. Finance concentration was the same way. Oddly enough, all throughout college, I have worked under finance majors. I have the finance experience...I just won't have the degree. </p>
<p>So I'm back to MIS. I'm a senior and 21 hours away from completion. I go to a public state school and there is not much in the way of employment over here other than in the medical field. I'm looking to relocate. During my employment search, friends have said the following.</p>
<ol>
<li>No one takes a MIS graduate seriously.</li>
<li>A person with a degree in MIS is a person that couldn't cut the CS math, and a person that couldn't handle finance.</li>
<li>Businesses will prefer a CS grad.</li>
<li>Stay away from the world of IT entirely.</li>
</ol>
<p>So, I'm lost. It's a little too late to switch majors seeing as how my scholarship has run out. I also do not have a minor. My university does not allow a business major to minor in a business field. </p>
<p>Are there any certifications anyone would recommend I pick up? I just really need to market myself. Too late to pick up a CS minor as well.</p>
<p>Most of what your friends said aren’t true. Depending on your school, MIS graduates are taken seriously. In some cases, MIS majors gets more opportunities then CS/Engineering students because businesses recruit from business schools. Just because someone is majoring in MIS doesn’t mean they aren’t good in math and most definitely doesn’t mean they can’t handle Finance, we are required to take Finance classes. Business doesn’t always prefer CS grads over MIS grads. It really depends on the job. CS majors can do the hard-core programming but there are jobs where its more business oriented in the Tech field that MIS may have the advantage, for example, Project Management(you should have been required to take this class as well). </p>
<p>Your schools career services and your business school is the key. I don’t know how much a CS minor would help because taking a few courses in CS wouldn’t do much help since there is a lot of prerequisites and takes a lot of courses to get to the advance stuff.</p>
<p>May I ask what classes you have taken so far? What classes you are going to take for your senior year?</p>
<p>If you’re concerned about not being taken seriously, then instead of worrying about it, do something to show how bright you are. Take a few extra math and programming classes and show them that you aren’t the typical CS dropout (I agree that there does seem to be some stigma against MIS people from the people I’ve talked to working in IT) who took up MIS. Even taking some of the more quantitative econ classes, like econometrics can only help you.</p>
<p>Plus, I’m sure, while some companies are more techy, plenty need business savvy people who understand some of the tech stuff, which is the type of person MIS is marketed towards. So either look for those, take some classes to prove them wrong, or, do both.</p>
<p>From my own experience, I’ve seen MIS majors excel in Project Management, Business/Reports/Database Analysts, and other positions require tech skills and operational business knowledge.</p>
<p>I am in the process of finishing my MIS degree but I am now considering a dual major in Accounting for two reasons. First, I love the idea of having two concentrations/industries to fall back on. Second, I enjoy working with computers and the challenging aspects of accounting.</p>
<p>As far as what your friends have said, I think that they are wrong. MIS graduates have plenty of opportunities. Have you spoken with the career center on campus about employment prospects?</p>
<p>LMAO @ MIS grads not being able to handle finance math. A monkey could handle finance math. MIS is generally a more difficult major than finance.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. anw_08, so far I’ve taken the basic core for the BBA. The concentrations are separated by only a few courses. So, I’ve done the accounting and finance side of things. Right now, I’m in a couple of programming courses and designing systems using UML. I’m also taking a IS security course.</p>
<p>I also have a focus on system management and IS security. </p>
<p>As far as career services, there has not been much in the way of leads other than at a a couple of local employers. Last I checked, they are not currently hiring or looking for interns. I did meet the head of the MIS dept. who offered himself up to help the MIS students find leads. That gives me some hope as far as internships.</p>
<p>A large amount of jobs that an MIS major should be applying for, would not be a good fit for CS majors. Any type of database based job, networking based to some extent, e-commerce web development, business tech analyst, these jobs are tailored for someone with an MIS degree. You can branch into some development jobs with MIS, my program had a 16 credit specialization in CS in addition to my MIS courses, so getting in to development was easy, but trust me there are plenty of employers accross the country that either prefer or will take MIS majors. Every program has its strengths and weaknesses, find out your programs strengths and highlight them when applying for jobs.</p>