College Major

[Chewy]

Ok, I'm a junior, becoming a senior in high school officially on wednesday(Go me^^)

So, I was looking into college and possible majors so I can make sure to choose a college which will meet my needs whenever comes time to choose a major. I was looking into several possible majors as I've always had an interest in computers. I had a few questions though.

 

1. What exactly is computer science? What types of careers would I expect from a major in Computer Science?

 

2. What exactly is software engineering and how is it different from computer science?

 

3. What exactly is information (systems) technology and what type of careers are availible from this?

 

That's all for right now, thanks ^^

[niviene]

Congratulations and good luck on your senior year. :hyper:

 

In many (if not most) cases, these terms are interchangeable. In some cases, Computer Science involves software engineering, programming, and/or microsoft certifications, A+ certs, networking, etc. You will not learn everything in any program... the point is to develop your problem solving skills, just like with any technical degree. Consider what you want to do, and the schools you have to choose from in your area (or wherever you plan on attending school) and look at what those schools include as a part of their computer technology curricula. If you want to go one further, look at where you would potentially like to live, and what kinds of companies are there that you would enjoy working for - what they specialize in, and then look at nearby programs to see where you could find something that matches up with the place you'd like to be.

 

The only advice I can give you is to try things out, you'd be amazed at how much impact extra-curricular activities will have on your collegiate pursuits as well as on your resume.

[UncleAl]

Google. Look them up.

Google Groups. Ask the folks who are doing it.

 

If you train to be a slave you will be a slave - oppressed and fungible. You want to be a parasite, an enforcer, or a clown - management, law, civil service; entertainment and sports - where your earnings and job security are not strongly contingent upon your performance. Medicine has been crushed by administration. Be an adminstrator not a doctor.

 

What are your passions? There is no rule that your vocation and avocation must be coincident. You don't need a license to think, but you do need money to buy things. Is there a university nearby? Does it have summer classes? Simply walk into the lectures and sit toward the back off to one side. Knowledge is free.

 

Best efforts will not substitute for knowledge.

Rather than foster brilliance, we allocate for its suppression.

Surf, don't swim.

[Biochemist]

...1. What exactly is computer science?...

2. What exactly is software engineering and how is it different from computer science?...

3. What exactly is information (systems) technology and what type of careers are availible from this?

 

Keen insight from UncleAL notwithstanding, you should think a bit about your preferences, and then map that to your skills.

 

If you regard yourself as a science sort (like a basic scientist-chemistry, physics, etc), computer science might be interesting, but not a very good fit for you.

 

If you regard yourself as structured and analytical, and enjoy paying a lot of attention to detail, and like project-oriented work, any of the computer sciences might be good. Information Technology as a degree tends to be more managerial, and theoretical. Software engineering will train you how to write good, tight, manageable code.

 

If you like computers in the theoretical sense, but want to know more about the guts of the machine than the specifics of code, pursue electrical engineering.

 

Lastly, despite the aspersions cast by UncleAl, management careers are really interesting as well, particular if you like being in charge of something (a project or an operation) and actually like accomplishing something big.

 

Do keep in mind that almost everything you learn about computer technology expires in about 5 years, with the exceptions of proramming methodololgy and management techniques.

 

I was with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) for 15 years and never took a computer class. The computer science majors were not particular advantaged in large systems development over other technical degrees. You can teach any smart individual to code. People that understand large systems are somewhat rarer.

[bumab]

Surf, don't swim.

 

Best thing you've ever said, Al :hyper:

[alexander]

aha, i knew chewbakas existed, now i have finally captured one on our forums, victory, (for the way i feel turn to biochemists avatar for a brief description :hyper:)

Just kidding, welcome to the forums Chewy :eek:

programming, and/or microsoft certifications, A+ certs, networking

Unfortunate as it is, I'd have to disagree here, as i dont beleive that certifications mean anything but the fact that someone can recite the material written in those prep exam books better then others, so they get a sheet of paper signifying that they are certified specialist in that field, trust me certifications dont mean squat (except for resumees and obviously pay), its how much you know that really does matter in real life computer science. I am strongly opposed to a lot of certifications, mainly A+ and Net+ as well as many Microsoft certifications, basically because i know way too many people who are A+ certified, but know squat about computers in real life, one of those A+ certified people i had to explain how to take apart and put together a computer system... so much for that, I have few friends who are net+ certified, and although a few of them did it to get out of finals for networking, a couple did it to be certified, well, they didnt know opti cable when i showed it to them, once again proving certifications are really nothing... i probably dont even need to mention microsoft office and windows certifications, i hope you understand my skepticism towards them...

 

Software engineering will train you how to write good, tight, manageable code.

lol, i had a good laugh out of this one, they definately should, but so many places dont, i've read code of some people in computer programming (actually 2 years after finishing their degree), its like reading Einsteins "Theory of Special Relativity" backwards in Berber or Gothic (well, that would be driver code)

[niviene]

Unfortunate as it is, I'd have to disagree here, as i dont beleive that certifications mean anything but the fact that someone can recite the material written in those prep exam books better then others....

 

I never said they meant anything, so what is it you disagree with? When I worked in IT I laughed at anyone who said they had an A+ cert or were studying for it. I should have been more supportive, regardless of what I personally thought of it. However, many programs still include stuff like that. When I went to school for CIS, they wanted to teach us Cobol. I thought they were nuts; but that was Pre- Y2K and when that rolled around suddenly I saw tons of ads looking for people who could do COBOL. So, what do I know? They also tend to throw in a lot of English and Math courses - and yet I see so many technical folks who are horrible with spelling and basic grammar. I guess it just doesn't matter what is involved in the program, as long as you do well in it. Many companies will hire you for something if you simply have a degree in anything. And, for that matter, most people don't end up working in the field they majored in. ;) So, pick something you enjoy, major in it, and do well.

[infamous]

So, pick something you enjoy, major in it, and do well.

 

Good advice niviene, BTW it's good to see you back enjoying the benefits of membership at Hypography. Have a good one.................infamous

[alexander]

they wanted to teach us Cobol

phew, i hope i'm spared from it, hopefully forever, dont get me wrong cobol might be ok for some people and certain applications, but i cant see myself ever learning it... anything that i need to do with math, i tend to use Python, its math libs are pretty cool...

[niviene]

phew, i hope i'm spared from it, hopefully forever, dont get me wrong cobol might be ok for some people and certain applications, but i cant see myself ever learning it... anything that i need to do with math, i tend to use Python, its math libs are pretty cool...

 

I agree ;) however, I would have liked to have cashed in on Cobol expertise during the Y2K chaos. Looking back I think it's kind of funny how big a deal they made out of that... selling survival kits for when the world ended... sigh ;) But, I guess that's change... things in the IT industry seem to change so quickly that it's hard to keep up and you are always learning something new or updating what you already learned. Well, I suppose that's true in most careers, anyway. The nice thing about it later on, though, is that usually your company or firm will pay for that updating ;D

[jasonchild]

its how much you know that really does matter in real life computer science

 

I loath computer science.

 

This was not always the case. At one point I was quite the little coder, flexing my C, C++, python skills whenever I could. These days? Forget it. If I could go the rest of my life without entering compiler options on a commandline I will die a happy man.

 

I just never understood why programmers were paid so much money. It is not the most challenging job. Any monkey can code. It doesnt have to look nice to compile. It doesnt have to be particularly small nor efficent anymore (with the average speed of a consumer-level PC topping the 2Ghz mark these days). The Golden Days of the codehack have come and gone. Sorry to say. They were a bit longer than the poor souls who where silly enough to get a degree in something as worthless as so-called "Information Technology".

 

Learning a progamming language is cake. Its ALL syntax if you can follow a clean, logical design scheme. Sure if you cut your teeth on Basic its a bit harder to jump into an OOP language like C++ (or the dreaded JAVA), or a functional language such as OCaml. Regardlless its just a matter of learning the do's and don'ts of that particular dialect. A good reference manual is all I ever needed to craft code in whatever language I had to use. More so I have no degree from any university in computer science. Its all gleaned from a book or two.

 

That is my private bias about computer science as it sits today. Dont get me wrong; you can make some good cash if you play your cards right and odds are you will not end up head bean counter at a bean counting plant (like my Uncle, poor bastard with a B.S in Chem and counts beans!). But if you really enjoy computers, code, networking and the like then by all means go for it! If you are not happy with what you do then you made a mistake.

 

jCc