Robert Lop
Anyone currently working in either of the 2 fields, please share your job experience as well as pros and cons, starting salary, location...
Also, am I correct in saying that Computer Information Systems is more of a programming side to networking, whereas Network security doesn't entail a lot of programming knowledge, if at all?
Thanks for your help guys and gals!
Answer
Here is the basic answer. I have a CIS degree and at my school it had very few math and programming classes. It was mainly general computer systems information to prepare someone to be a Systems Administrator or Computing Security staff. Programming training was available in the Computer Science major which also included heavy hitter advanced math courses.
To give you the background on majorsâ There are a number of viable IT majors. Just figure out what you would like to do. These are all good. You need a 4 year degree. If all you have time for is a 2 year degree then that is ok for starters but you will still need to complete years 3&4. Don't get a certificate type degree or a Devry or ITT Tech degree- not recognized by many employers and credits may not transfer in the future. There are several main Computer majors and their associated career categories and you need to know these just to get the lay of the land. These degree titles are often found in Associates, Bachelors and Masters degree programs. Generally most IT employers are looking for a 4 year Bachelors degree in an IT related major as a minimum requirement. For working people some of these majors are offered by schools in night classes and we are beginning to see online or hybrid online/classroom options available. Depending on the school, a Bachelors degree in an IT field may be a BA or a BS. There does not seem to be any problems for employers with a BA or BS as long as it is a bachelors degree. If you already have a degree in another major, if you have an Associates degree or if you have a bunch or college credits and no degree you can usually find a degree completion program that will allow you to take 14-16 months of classes and graduate with a Bachelors in a computer related major.
Now some of the titles colleges use may consist of different course curriculums. As an example one school may have more programming classes in the same major while another school has fewer. Schools may call their general IT program Computer Information Technology, Computer Information Systems or Computer Information Science. To really tell what the major is about you should look at the courses that a particular school offers in that major. Another point of confusion is job titles you will see. For example, I am called a Computer Systems Engineer but I don't do anything associated with Computer Engineering. One job I had I was Systems Programmer but I did not do any programming. So the titles for majors and for jobs in IT can be very confusing. Sometimes I will hear someone say they want to pursue Computer Science or Computer Engineering and once they find out what it involves they realize that is not what they want to do. If this is old info, that you already know, apologies. Here are the majors and some associated jobs:
Computer Science (CS) - A technical degree which usually has a Programming emphasis - people with this major usually are developing application software, web development, embedded code and robotics. Sometimes depending on the college the degree may cover some more general topics as listed under CIS below. CS is a difficult major and may include a number of advanced math courses. Many CS students find themselves not enjoying programming, not being gifted at it or not having the math and logic skills to be good at programming and they will switch out into CIS. CS majors that are able to graduate can also qualify for jobs listed below under CIS.
Computer Information Systems (CIS) - This may also be called a variety of other names like Information Technology (IT), Information Systems (IS), etc. This is a general technical degree and is the degree that I have. Holders of these degree work in a variety of technical jobs like these:
Computer Technician, Service Center Coordinator, Help Desk Staff, Storage Administrator, Network Administrator, Systems Administrator, Systems Engineer, Enterprise Administrator, Active Directory Administrator, Exchange and Messaging Administrator, Backup Administrator, Disaster Recovery Specialist, Database Administrator, Computing Security Specialist, Corporate IT Acquisition Specialist and Data Center Administrator, just to name a few.
So I think either of these - Network Security or Computer Information Systems - would be good but my personal favorite is CIS as it has allowed me to work in a more varied number of jobs including Computing Security.
Here is the basic answer. I have a CIS degree and at my school it had very few math and programming classes. It was mainly general computer systems information to prepare someone to be a Systems Administrator or Computing Security staff. Programming training was available in the Computer Science major which also included heavy hitter advanced math courses.
To give you the background on majorsâ There are a number of viable IT majors. Just figure out what you would like to do. These are all good. You need a 4 year degree. If all you have time for is a 2 year degree then that is ok for starters but you will still need to complete years 3&4. Don't get a certificate type degree or a Devry or ITT Tech degree- not recognized by many employers and credits may not transfer in the future. There are several main Computer majors and their associated career categories and you need to know these just to get the lay of the land. These degree titles are often found in Associates, Bachelors and Masters degree programs. Generally most IT employers are looking for a 4 year Bachelors degree in an IT related major as a minimum requirement. For working people some of these majors are offered by schools in night classes and we are beginning to see online or hybrid online/classroom options available. Depending on the school, a Bachelors degree in an IT field may be a BA or a BS. There does not seem to be any problems for employers with a BA or BS as long as it is a bachelors degree. If you already have a degree in another major, if you have an Associates degree or if you have a bunch or college credits and no degree you can usually find a degree completion program that will allow you to take 14-16 months of classes and graduate with a Bachelors in a computer related major.
Now some of the titles colleges use may consist of different course curriculums. As an example one school may have more programming classes in the same major while another school has fewer. Schools may call their general IT program Computer Information Technology, Computer Information Systems or Computer Information Science. To really tell what the major is about you should look at the courses that a particular school offers in that major. Another point of confusion is job titles you will see. For example, I am called a Computer Systems Engineer but I don't do anything associated with Computer Engineering. One job I had I was Systems Programmer but I did not do any programming. So the titles for majors and for jobs in IT can be very confusing. Sometimes I will hear someone say they want to pursue Computer Science or Computer Engineering and once they find out what it involves they realize that is not what they want to do. If this is old info, that you already know, apologies. Here are the majors and some associated jobs:
Computer Science (CS) - A technical degree which usually has a Programming emphasis - people with this major usually are developing application software, web development, embedded code and robotics. Sometimes depending on the college the degree may cover some more general topics as listed under CIS below. CS is a difficult major and may include a number of advanced math courses. Many CS students find themselves not enjoying programming, not being gifted at it or not having the math and logic skills to be good at programming and they will switch out into CIS. CS majors that are able to graduate can also qualify for jobs listed below under CIS.
Computer Information Systems (CIS) - This may also be called a variety of other names like Information Technology (IT), Information Systems (IS), etc. This is a general technical degree and is the degree that I have. Holders of these degree work in a variety of technical jobs like these:
Computer Technician, Service Center Coordinator, Help Desk Staff, Storage Administrator, Network Administrator, Systems Administrator, Systems Engineer, Enterprise Administrator, Active Directory Administrator, Exchange and Messaging Administrator, Backup Administrator, Disaster Recovery Specialist, Database Administrator, Computing Security Specialist, Corporate IT Acquisition Specialist and Data Center Administrator, just to name a few.
So I think either of these - Network Security or Computer Information Systems - would be good but my personal favorite is CIS as it has allowed me to work in a more varied number of jobs including Computing Security.
What is the least stressful and highly paid job you could get in cis( computer info systems) field??
John
Answer
Avoid these:
* Support: You may have to be on call (stressful) and will have to handle disgruntled customers (stressful)
* System administrator: Again, you may be on call. If the system requires 24/7 uptime, it is very stressful
* Security expert: You have to be on top of developments in security, and you may be held responsible if the system that you are responsible for is hacked or gets a virus.
* Web developer: Everyone wants to be a web developer on a high-visibility site. Your employer will leverage this to keep your salary down.
Try these:
* QA: You don't have to write very much code or be pressed to come up with new features. Learn testing tools and test. Also every software producer needs QA.
* Implementation, installation: This can be a little stressful because you are generally working very closely with the customer. However, you don't need to create new code, you just have to learn, troubleshoot and configure software. The schedule is a little more relaxed than is after the system goes into production and needs 24/7 uptime
Avoid these:
* Support: You may have to be on call (stressful) and will have to handle disgruntled customers (stressful)
* System administrator: Again, you may be on call. If the system requires 24/7 uptime, it is very stressful
* Security expert: You have to be on top of developments in security, and you may be held responsible if the system that you are responsible for is hacked or gets a virus.
* Web developer: Everyone wants to be a web developer on a high-visibility site. Your employer will leverage this to keep your salary down.
Try these:
* QA: You don't have to write very much code or be pressed to come up with new features. Learn testing tools and test. Also every software producer needs QA.
* Implementation, installation: This can be a little stressful because you are generally working very closely with the customer. However, you don't need to create new code, you just have to learn, troubleshoot and configure software. The schedule is a little more relaxed than is after the system goes into production and needs 24/7 uptime
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
Comments :
Post a Comment