MIS ... really that great?

College Majors Business Major
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<p>Recently, I changed my major away from engineering to business for several reasons: partly because I don't want to design circuits in a windowless cubicle farm, partly because I don't want to have a hard time here at UB, and partly because I want to keep logic design, statistics, computer programming, etc. as 'my time' activities. (Really ... I like these things so much I don't want university to ruin them for me.)</p>

<p>And I know a BA in Business Admin. does not have as much value as does a BS in Electrical or Computer Engineering ... BUT it seems that it's a hell of a means to an end if I want to get into MIS, which seems to enjoy great advantages.</p>

<p>I made up my mind to go for an MS in MIS after I finish my BA. However, I am naturally skeptical that the opportunities could be so great as the numbers tell me, so there almost surely has to be something I'm missing. According</a> to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary of an information systems manager is $101,580, and the middle fifty percent have earnings on the interval $79,240 to $129,250. Furthermore, this field is apparently bound to grow 16% from 2006 to 2016. While that's not on the dental hygienist level of growth, it's quite healthy.</p>

<p>Since I haven't done any specialized MIS courses yet, I got curious and started to look at a fairly recent introductory MIS textbook. Something struck me funny ... I didn't notice anything I would consider conceptually difficult. For example, one of the discussion problems late in the book is about when, rather than how to apply an ANN. I'm sure we can agree that this very high-level approach is not quite as hard as the implementation of an ANN proper, which, according to the BLS data on relevant STEM fields (SW engineering/computer programming, possibly EE, etc.), pays less.</p>

<p>So how do people make boatloads of money in MIS? Is there some kind of je ne sais quoi that distinguishes a good information manager from a failed one? If so, what intangibles should I try to work on from now until graduation to make myself a good candidate for this field?</p>

<p>Also, a little OT: is minoring in Chinese a good idea to go along with my MIS concentration?</p>

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<p>You did some good research. I don't know much about MIS but I was looking at supply chain/operations management not too long ago and I thought it was pretty interesting. It sounds like supply chain will be HUGE if not already.</p>

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<p>Knowing when to implement something and the impacts that implementation will have on the business can be far more valuable than knowing how to implement it. You can get cheap labor from oversees to implement a product. However, if you implement a product in a way that it doesn't fully meet the needs of your customer, that could be a multi-million dollar mistake.</p>

<p>As for being a manager, it's not like you would be a manager overnight. Most managers will have a significant number of years of IT experience. If you really want to fast-track your career then IT consulting would be a good way to go.</p>

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<p>Hmm, yeah, makes sense. Well, I want to do a little of this and a little of that along the way, so that's not too bad.</p>

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<p>Boatloads of money in MIS? Most make solid middle class/upper middle in some places salaries. In the realm of what people with business degrees do, MIS managers are low paid. Starting salary out of college is good but you quickly hit the ceiling. DS loves this area but has a hard time making peace with what he'd make.</p>

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<p>Median salary of slightly over $101k (as per BLS data, which we can assume to be reasonably accurate) fits my definition of 'boatloads of money'. Of course, it requires some experience to reach that level and bla bla bla, but I could do with much less. There appears to be little variance, like you said, but that's not necessarily a bad thing: you know what you'll get, more or less.</p>

<p>(And who should have a hard time living comfortably on a six figure salary?)</p>

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<p>
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So how do people make boatloads of money in MIS?

[/quote]

open your own company</p>

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<p>
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really that great?

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</p>

<p>No. I graduated with MIS and can't code my way out of a paper bag or write any kind of software. We wasted a lot of time talking about gathering requirements and documenting things. Stuff like this would be better learned on the job than in the classroom imho. It hardly felt like a technical degree at all. By the end I felt like I was getting a BBA in secretarial studies.</p>

<p>Then again, I don't have a job yet (just graduated), so take that for what its worth. I just felt like I'd be much better equipped to enter the IT field had I needed to take more than one programming class to graduate, and not 5 classes about soft managerial IT stuff that does nothing for a 22 year old kid. Just my two cents.</p>

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<p>kmizzle: Good idea. I intend to do so.</p>

<p>haoleboy: I know how to program and stuff, so that's not too bad.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
In my mind, this is a much easier task than the actual implementation, and I've written a fair amount of software. It's one thing to say "we could sure benefit from x", but another thing to make it work ... whenever you sit down to write any kind of large software, there is almost always some kind of obscure constraint that you run into which tends to make the solution either intractable or somewhat ugly.

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</p>

<p>The coding itself can be more difficult, but that doesn't make it more valuable. Aside from that, most technology solutions have been implemented elsewhere. Even if the exact product hasn't been implemented elsewhere, the underlying technologies have in most instances. It's pretty easy to foresee and troubleshoot technical issues because most likely someone else has already figured out a fix.</p>

<p>The one variable is the business. Even across the same industry, businesses can be run in a vastly different way. Plus, the customers (users) inevitably change their mind. How would you like it if you are 90% finished with a coding project and the user tells you that the product won't work for them and they want to do it a completely different way? </p>

<p>90% of IT projects are completed late, 66% fail, and 30% are scrapped altogether. Think about the value that could be created if you can accurately anticipate customer needs and relate that to the technologies that can fulfill those needs.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
90% of IT projects are completed late, 66% fail, and 30% are scrapped altogether. Think about the value that could be created if you can accurately anticipate customer needs and relate that to the technologies that can fulfill those needs.

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</p>

<p>I don't think anyone disagrees, but the bottom line is an MIS cirriculum isn't what will enable a person to do this. I think its a pretty silly degree to get.</p>

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<p>
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I don't think anyone disagrees, but the bottom line is an MIS cirriculum isn't what will enable a person to do this. I think its a pretty silly degree to get.

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</p>

<p>That may well be the case. However, is it taken seriously as a credential? That's my major concern ... I'm mainly a self-learner.</p>

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<p>Well, as a recent grad, I'm finding that computer science and engineering seem to get you a lot more credibility in the eyes of employers for IT positions, and rightfully so. I don't think it'll help you to major in MIS vs. a real technical field. You say you know how to program and all that and enjoy learning these kinds of things on your own, but I'm not sure how well that will hold up when you're stacked up against guys who have degrees in CS and engineering. Maybe some of the more experienced members can chime in on this question. All I know is I didn't really learn anything studying MIS. I'm serious. Really.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Well, as a recent grad, I'm finding that computer science and engineering seem to get you a lot more credibility in the eyes of employers for IT positions, and rightfully so. I don't think it'll help you to major in MIS vs. a real technical field. You say you know how to program and all that and enjoy learning these kinds of things on your own, but I'm not sure how well that will hold up when you're stacked up against guys who have degrees in CS and engineering. Maybe some of the more experienced members can chime in on this question. All I know is I didn't really learn anything studying MIS. I'm serious. Really.

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<p>Um, what university did you go to, and did you pursue your studies to Bachelor's or Master's level?</p>

<p>UB's Master's in MIS has a fairly substantial technical component in its curriculum, and I may transfer elsewhere after I get my BA, if I can find a graduate MIS program which is more technical in nature.</p>

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<p>I don't know what school UB is, but I went to Loyola University in Chicago. I studied at the undergrad level. I looked at a lot of other MIS curriculum and they don't seem all that different. I can't comment on Masters programs in MIS, but from people I've talked to, a MS in MIS would be better coupled with a technical undergrad degree like computer science, not a BBA in MIS. That's about all I can really say.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
I don't know what school UB is, but I went to Loyola University in Chicago. I studied at the undergrad level. I looked at a lot of other MIS curriculum and they don't seem all that different. I can't comment on Masters programs in MIS, but from people I've talked to, a MS in MIS would be better coupled with a technical undergrad degree like computer science, not a BBA in MIS. That's about all I can really say.

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<p>The University of Arizona's program looks really good, actually.</p>

<p>In any case, I have a habit of proving myself outside my field of expertise. I landed my most recent job that way. I'm sure I can figure out a way to show people that I do have a good. and expanding technological and mathematical background.</p>

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From my understanding, they have the best ranked program. I can only imagine the competition though. I would be so much easier to transfer there through a local community college.</p>

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<p>I transferred to UB from a community college, actually. My mission here is to do really, really well so I can get into almost any grad program I want ... I just had my 'bad semester' due to getting lazy after I knew I was already accepted to UB (semester GPA 2.41), so I vowed never to repeat it. I want to do nothing less than 3.5 from now until I graduate from here.</p>

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<p>I'm actually going to University of Arizona next fall and I'm thinking about majoring in accounting and later getting my MBA. Do you think a MIS degree would get me a higher paying job if I get that instead? I just feel there's more room for advancement with an accounting major/finance minor than a MIS major/ ? minor.</p>

<p>Can anyone comment on this?</p>

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<p>Personally, I'd do accounting in a heartbeat cjones. Its the best business degree by a mile.</p>

<p>read my other posts about MIS not being very educational at all, or about the difficulties finding jobs against computer science and engineering grads.</p>