I need some advice. I’ve completed 56 credits at u of m, but now that it’s time to declare my major, I’m realizing that michigan doesn’t offer me anything that I would want to keep taking classes in and get a degree in. I initially thought about doing computer science or informatics, but they focus too heavily on programming. I want to deal with the networking and secuity side of technology, I absolutely hate programing. Eastern offers a information assurance degree which is exactly what I have been looking for at michigan. Should I transfer or should I pick another major at u of m to graduate with the notorious michigan degree. I kinda feel that transferring to eastern after doing 2-3 years at Michigan is a downgrade.
There’s a school of information at UM…Really i think transferring now would be kind of dumb unless you’re struggling to do the work. I doubt all your credits will transfer so that you can finish in 2 years flat without any 100-200 classes. Eastern is remedial enough that even if they do offer a major that’s more exact to your preferences, the work will likely be a joke. I’ve heard plenty stories about how a master’s degree at eastern is like a bachelor’s at michigan and a bachelor’s at eastern is like high school for michigan students. While i never went there, i did a year at western while in high school and yeah…
Well you can take 1-2 classes at eastern in the summer to see but full blown transfer…Just don’t do it. Find some classes here that are to your liking, find some on campus group or research, or just suck it up
Have you graduated from michigan? And if you have, what did you major in and what career are you in now? I have looked into a BSI and I plan to apply there since that is the only program that comes close to my interest. I’m just trying to weigh all my options before making a big decision.
Transferring to EMU would be a huge mistake. The quality of the student body does not compare with Michigan.
@TooOld4School what does the student body have to do with this decision? You goto college to learn, get a degree, and apply what you learned in your career. And if you haven’t personally attended eastern or know someone closely who has, then you shouldn’t judge.
TheeSAVAGE, you are talking about trade school. In other words, you are planning for a very specific and technical job, not a career. If that is the case, the program at EMU may be a good fit for you. On the other hand, you should know that most people these days change careers several times. You may be thinking of networking and security side of technology at this very moment, but there is a good chance you may one day wish to change tracks, either partially or totally. If that is the case, a degree from Michigan would be more versatile. And remember that like life, college will force you to do things you dislike; in your case, programming. Once you hit the workforce, you will also be asked to do tasks you dislike as well.
EMU has the premiere Information Security program with the state of Michigan’s CyberRange located there. The resources available to Information Security students are the best in the state. As an Information Security professional, if that is one of your interests, I’d suggest going for it. Recruiters are biting at the heels of Info Sec professionals constantly. The field is growing fast and the salaries are growing fast as demand increases. Companies can’t ignore the need for security any more.
Our family is very familiar with EMU and Umich, we live in the area, family members and friends have attended both schools and are employed there. You simply cannot compare the student quality between the schools. Yes, EMU has some good programs, especially in education, but overall your peers are far better at UMich. This affects class discussion, group projects, assignments, etc… The EMU grad in our family regrets NOT transferring to UMich when he had a chance. The UM grads never regret not transferring to EMU.
In addition, the Michigan network is far stronger than EMU. You will get additional consideration just because you graduated from a top school. Many firms only hire from the top 10-15 schools. Go to a CoE recruiting fair for a more concrete example.
As someone who has switched careers in techology several times, @Alexandre is dead on. If you are completely certain you want a career in IS, or you feel you are at the end of the line at UMich you should switch… You can also look at a custom major. If not, continue at UMich.
I don’t know much about network security and none about EMU. However, there are plenty of resources and opportunities at U of M. Have you looked at this? – https://www.cse.umich.edu/security/
They even have a Network and Security Research Group which I assume is the state-of-the-art (http://nsrg.eecs.umich.edu/people.html). You can participate doing undergraduate research … that is, if you are good at what you do.
If you are doing well at U-M and you like it then I would not transfer to Eastern over something like a major. A major may be a talking point for your first job but after that it just doesn’t matter that much. The educational experience at U-M is much stronger and will better prepare you for the unknown opportunities that will become available to you in the future. If the technical training is important, I like the idea of considering taking a class at Eastern that may be pertinent or to go for a graduate program at Eastern.