CS versus CIS degree

[knights68]

To those this may qualify or otherwise interest and may have an opinion....

Which is better to get.... a Computer Sciences Degree or a Computer Information Sciences Degree?
I understand that the CS degree is more programming and such whereas CIS dela smore from the business side including networking, maintenance and IT helpdesk type things.

I have heard from a few computer savvy people who are in IT positions and programming positions, and most do not have a degree but rather learned what they know on-the-job versus any degreed education.

I am a little confused/reserved and not sure if I wish to partake in a 2 or 4 year degree (not to mention the expenses) only for it to be on my wall for decoration purposes only. Would I be better off just taking a boatload of online courses through the local community college?

[OZZIE4DUKE]

To those this may qualify or otherwise interest and may have an opinion....

Which is better to get.... a Computer Sciences Degree or a Computer Information Sciences Degree?
I understand that the CS degree is more programming and such whereas CIS dela smore from the business side including networking, maintenance and IT helpdesk type things.

I have heard from a few computer savvy people who are in IT positions and programming positions, and most do not have a degree but rather learned what they know on-the-job versus any degreed education.

I am a little confused/reserved and not sure if I wish to partake in a 2 or 4 year degree (not to mention the expenses) only for it to be on my wall for decoration purposes only. Would I be better off just taking a boatload of online courses through the local community college?

I can't answer your first question, but I can tell you that my friend's son, who qualifies as a friggin computer genius, just got his networking degree from Wake Tech. He started at NCSU in Aerospace Engineering, switched to computer science, or something like that, and finally had to get his networking courses from Wake Tech because State didn't offer them. Changing majors it took him 5 1/2 years, much to my friend's chagrin. He is now working for an engineering firm in Raleigh, designing transportation optimization routines and is doing great. Maybe he'll come up with a teleportation device! THAT would optimize transportation, and how!

[DukeUsul]

It depends on what kind of job you are going for. I've interviewed people with all those kinds of backgrounds. Each would be good for a different kind of position.

Straight CS is good if you want to be Mr. Uber-coder. Good for real code monkeys (I mean that in the best possible way). The kind of people who can tell you the most efficient algorithm for doing something. A person who could explain to you the P versus NP problem.

Information systems degrees are good if you would like to be a network administrator, help desk support, systems analyst, technical project manager, systems integration specialist, etc. Do you want to be the guy who helps design a complete system? You've got to know how all the shit works and goes together.... but you don't really need to know the nitty-gritty of writing any of the code. Or do you want to manage a team of people integrating custom application code with an off-the-shelf product plus a bunch of stuff in a database? Then an IS degree might be the right way to go.

Regarding a 4yr versus 2yr degree vs just doing some certifications. It depends on the job. If I need an expert database admin, then I'm perfectly happy to find someone with this specific expertise. That could be a 2yr community college program or it could be a set of certifications or it could be great work experience and references. For a very particular skill set, I'm happy with a variety of "proof" of specific technical knowledge.

I've recently had some openings for general technical people on my staff. We're consultants. I need people who can figure out brand new problems in brand new situations, who can cobble together a solution from any number of products they've never used before. And maybe write some code. And maybe some DB scripting. For this kind of job, I need a very bright person who may have never done something before, but can pick it up and teach themself. For this kind of job, I'm not looking for someone with a certification or a 2yr degree in a specific technology. When I see 100 resumes, I immediately need to pick out the people I think are the brightest, regardless of what skills or knowledge they have. For this kind of job, I'm just pulling the people with the best 4yr degrees. It may be snooty, but when I need to quickly whittle a stack of resumes down, going back to that "education" line on the resume is the best proxy I have for determining how smart someone is, without interviewing every single one of them.

I'd recommend two things through your thought process: what do I need to do to learn the skills I would need to do the job and what do I need to have on my resume to get an interview and the job. Those could be two different things.

Hope that helps. If you have a particular career path you're thinking about, let me know and maybe I can give you some specifics.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I have a degree in Information Systems. I can't tell you the difference between the two, we did plenty of programming (some was electives) and plenty of fundamentals including hardware/software. I was really good at programming, but didn't enjoy it. I like figuring out why your computer doesn't work, and maintaining networks.

[DukeUsul]

I want to make sure no one misinterprets my above post. I absolutely do not believe that the only smart people out there are to be found with great four year degrees. I've worked with absolutely brilliant people without them. One guy I worked with was one of the top 5 smartest people I've known didn't have any degrees whatsoever. But the guy was fucking brilliant and taught himself everything he knew. But he had such a hard time getting a job. People saw high school on his resume and they wouldn't want to hire him for $100K+ IT security jobs he actually was perfect for. So the reality of the situation is that for certain kinds of jobs, it really pays to have something on the resume.

[windsor]

As an uber code monkey turned Project Manager....get either one. Look at the course requirements and see what interests you most. Once you have a degree you can make up for any shortfall with a certification. If your CS and decide you want to be a Proj. Manager take the test can get PMP after your name.

It is harder to get into a decent job without a four year degree. Unless you've written your own operating system (and can demo it) get either degree and use it at a starting point for your career. Certifications can be picked up along the way (often on someone elses dime) if you get a CIS and decide your love is networking there are plenty of certs you can work on. Just start with a degree in something.

[knights68]

It depends on what kind of job you are going for. I've interviewed people with all those kinds of backgrounds. Each would be good for a different kind of position.

I'd recommend two things through your thought process: what do I need to do to learn the skills I would need to do the job and what do I need to have on my resume to get an interview and the job. Those could be two different things.

Hope that helps. If you have a particular career path you're thinking about, let me know and maybe I can give you some specifics.

WOW, thanks for the aewsome insights!!!!!!!!!!!!! You gave me a few good things to consider!

[knights68]

Thanks Ozman, Windsor & CB&B! Good info too!!!

[Lavabe]

Back in the day at Duke, it used to be called a CPS degree.

[DukeUsul]

Back in the day at Duke, it used to be called a CPS degree.

Because the Classical Studies department already had "CS" as their course listing abbrev. So the Comp Sci classes were all listed as CPS. Lots of people called it CPS. But most people in the department still referred to the discipline as CS.

[CathyCA]

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought it was about graduating in CIS, aka Cameron Indoor Stadium.

[CameronBornAndBred]

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought it was about graduating in CIS, aka Cameron Indoor Stadium.

I did that!!

[lawgrad91]

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought it was about graduating in CIS, aka Cameron Indoor Stadium.

I did that!!

Must be nice. We started out in Wallace Wade and ended up at Baldwin Auditorium.

[CameronBornAndBred]

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought it was about graduating in CIS, aka Cameron Indoor Stadium.

I did that!!

Must be nice. We started out in Wallace Wade and ended up at Baldwin Auditorium.

It wasn't for college..lol. I graduated from Jordan in '88, our graduation was in Cameron. I went to the Corcoran School of Art for my bachelors.

[YmoBeThere]

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought it was about graduating in CIS, aka Cameron Indoor Stadium.

I did that!!

Must be nice. We started out in Wallace Wade and ended up at Baldwin Auditorium.

I got to finish in Duke Chapel.