Hey all, I was looking for some other opinions on which of the options i should go with that I am currently presented with. This is not an urgent decision but something that I am beginning to think about, now being a Junior in College. I am currently a Business Administration and Information Technology Management Double Major. I am also currently doing a summer internship at a local credit union going through how a credit union works, as well as the departments in one work and then spending some time in their IT department. I am beginning to weigh my options as I have about a year and a half of school left and will need to begin studying for GRE if i decide to go master’s route soon. Master’s degree would either be a Master’s of Science in Computer Science or in Information Technology, open to an MBA as well but I know those can be iffy if not from a top business school.
So here are the options and things I am pondering:
Option 1: Continue to stay with a business Administration and ITM Double Major, Which I will have to take about 5 extra summer classes or stay a semester to complete. Then pursue a Master’s degree
Option 2: Drop Business Admin and replace it with a marketing minor, graduate on time without any summer classes or a semester early and then pursue my master’s degree
Option 3: Is the same as option either option 1 or 2 and then work part-time or full time and pursue an online Master’s degree
Option 4: Same as option either 1 or 2 and go straight to work to get experience and then later go for master’s if there is a need or if employer will pay for it.
So I guess what I am asking, is thoughts on my undergraduate major situation, and the best course of action in yall’s opinion after I graduate, I will of course be doing an internship next summer as well.
I don’t know what your track consists of but a MS in Comp Sci is out of the question. You will need prereqs of intro to advanced algorithms, data structures, exp with some OOD ideals. You may have a super intense IT major or have an undeclared minor in coding like, but comp sci is more about organization of pieces, the syntax is really a trivial part that comes with the territory. The extra semester is worth it for two degrees, you have already paid so much money so another semester is nothing. Most importantly you should seek out IT experience more than the business side. Learn networking because if you try to jump straight into management and people won’t respect your authority, you can troubleshoot systems/networks, and if you get put straight into management you’ll be in a rinky dink spot. I have no experience as a reference but it seems this way
There are masters programs in CS for people who have a non-CS bachelors degree. In those instances, the students admitted into the masters programs have to take a handful of prerequisite courses before starting the main masters program.
^ Those are more for people who have a bachelor’s in physics and want to transition to CS. They aren’t going to be worth it unless you want a job as a software developer.
You’ve set yourself up right now for a solid job in IT for which you don’t even really need a master’s. A marketing minor isn’t really going to mean much if you want a tech job so I wouldn’t go for it unless you’ve already done it.
Revisit the grad school/job question in about 6 months and in the mean time think about what kind of job/career you envision for yourself and then look into what you need to do to get there.
An MBA right out of undergrad is not going to be an option solely because all of the respectable programs require 2-5 years of work experience before you try for an MBA.
“The Master of Science (MS) in Computer Science program is intended for computer professionals and for people who wish to move into the computer field from other areas of study.”
It’s very common for MSCS programs to accept people without undergrad CS degrees, but they have to take some prerequisite courses. There are also masters programs in software engineering that do the same.
Why are you looking to get a master’s degree? What is your goal?
Don’t stay in school to get a master’s because all you know how to do is school. Don’t do it because you don’t want to look for a job. Don’t do it because “more school = better = more money.”
I have worked in corporate America. Businesses want skills. IT majors will often have practical skills that businesses can use, even more so than CS majors. Leverage your internships, paid work, corporate/business connections to get a job.
Then, if your employer thinks it’s a good idea and you agree, get a master’s degree and have the employer pay for it. It’s called “Tuition Reimbursement” and is a benefit at many companies. They will even pay for employee’s first bachelor’s degrees.
Employers don’t want pieces of paper. They want people with skills.