Hmm..not sure what to do

[carnageX]

Well, I'm a Junior in HS, and I need to start thinking of a college to go to. I know what I want to major in (Computer Sciences), but not sure what I want to minor in. I can sort that out later on...but what I'm not sure of is if I should go to a full 4 year college, or a tech school? If I go to a tech school, I can save myself some money b/c I won't have to spend money to take the basics (math, english, etc), but I can't get as high of a degree if I were to go to a 4 year college. What have most of you done? Would you recommend I go to a full 4 year college rather than a 2 year tech school?

I'm gonna try to stay in-state, because if I graduate w/ the requirements from HS, I'll get a $1000 scholarship I believe it is, and a guaranteed acceptance into any college in the state.

[jaeusm]

but not sure what I want to minor in.

A minor is optional. That can be determined after you've already been in school for awhile.

If I go to a tech school, I can save myself some money b/c I won't have to spend money to take the basics (math, english, etc)

Not true.

Would you recommend I go to a full 4 year college rather than a 2 year tech school?

Yes.

[bla!!]

What I advise to anyone going into the CS area these days is go for something with a tech/business degree.

In order to stay competitive in the workplace these days you have to be able to translate your computer abilities into business goals.

When you say you want to go into computer science, do you mean you want to do programming, or more on the systems or network side of things? CS degrees are primarily coding. If you want the sys/net side look into programs like MIS or CIS.

I agree 100% with Jaesum on the 4-year schooling.

[carnageX]

Well thanks for the info guys.

[carnageX]

Originally Posted by bla!!

What I advise to anyone going into the CS area these days is go for something with a tech/business degree.

In order to stay competitive in the workplace these days you have to be able to translate your computer abilities into business goals.

When you say you want to go into computer science, do you mean you want to do programming, or more on the systems or network side of things? CS degrees are primarily coding. If you want the sys/net side look into programs like MIS or CIS.

I agree 100% with Jaesum on the 4-year schooling.

I wanted to go more into system/hardware side of it. Programming is kind of a secondary thing I'd like to learn to do, but systems are what I mostly want to do (repair, stuff like that). What're MIS and CIS, btw?

[jaeusm]

I wanted to go more into system/hardware side of it.

You have a few computer-related majors to choose from once you are enrolled at a university. Each school has its own specific names for each program, but they're usually similar between different institutions. For instance, some universities call their computer science major exactly that -- computer science. Other schools, like Ohio State (which I did not attend), call their computer science program "Computer and Information Science (CIS)". Unfortunately, many other schools also offer a CIS program that is NOT computer science, but rather a computer related program that has a strong business focus. In other words, they replace many of the technical classes with business classes instead.

So what are the different options and the differences between them? The following are my descriptions, which, of course, I think are accurate . To let you know where I'm coming from, I studied computer science in graduate school, and I studied engineering when I was an undergraduate.

Computer science - In a nutshell, computer science is more concerned with the software side of computer systems -- learning to write programs, analyze algorithms, study data structures, operating systems, computer architecture, and several other related areas like artificial intelligence.

Electrical engineering - This field is the most difficult out of all the ones I'm listing here. Of course, that's just my opinion, but I believe it very strongly. Electrical engineering is concerned with circuit analysis, electronics, control systems, signal processing, and several other related areas -- all of which require a strong math background. Math should be one of your best (and favorite) subjects for this field.

Computer Engineering - This field is half computer science and half electrical engineering. Some of the applications of computer engineering are robotics and embedded systems. In my opinion, this is the best of both worlds, unless you want to double major in computer science and electrical engineering.

Management/Computer Information Systems (MIS or CIS) - This is the least technically challenging field, but if you have a strong interest in business, this is the field for you. Typically, this program is offered out of the business school.

You mentioned that you wanted to do repair and things of that nature. You don't really need college for that because you'll learn none of it in any of the majors I've listed. You could probably work for the Geek Squad right now if you want to do repair work. The fields I've listed above are technically far more challenging, but you'll also be compensated far better than a geek squad tech.

[Trotter]

I wanted to go more toward Networking, but my college got my classes screwed up. Instead of an IT associates with a networking concentration I will end up with an IT associates, period. My next college doesn't really have exactly what I want, but I decided to do Information Systems Security. Every company needs it, so I know I will always have a job.

[carnageX]

Originally Posted by jaeusm

You have a few computer-related majors to choose from once you are enrolled at a university. Each school has its own specific names for each program, but they're usually similar between different institutions. For instance, some universities call their computer science major exactly that -- computer science. Other schools, like Ohio State (which I did not attend), call their computer science program "Computer and Information Science (CIS)". Unfortunately, many other schools also offer a CIS program that is NOT computer science, but rather a computer related program that has a strong business focus. In other words, they replace many of the technical classes with business classes instead.

So what are the different options and the differences between them? The following are my descriptions, which, of course, I think are accurate . To let you know where I'm coming from, I studied computer science in graduate school, and I studied engineering when I was an undergraduate.

Computer science - In a nutshell, computer science is more concerned with the software side of computer systems -- learning to write programs, analyze algorithms, study data structures, operating systems, computer architecture, and several other related areas like artificial intelligence.

Electrical engineering - This field is the most difficult out of all the ones I'm listing here. Of course, that's just my opinion, but I believe it very strongly. Electrical engineering is concerned with circuit analysis, electronics, control systems, signal processing, and several other related areas -- all of which require a strong math background. Math should be one of your best (and favorite) subjects for this field.

Computer Engineering - This field is half computer science and half electrical engineering. Some of the applications of computer engineering are robotics and embedded systems. In my opinion, this is the best of both worlds, unless you want to double major in computer science and electrical engineering.

Management/Computer Information Systems (MIS or CIS) - This is the least technically challenging field, but if you have a strong interest in business, this is the field for you. Typically, this program is offered out of the business school.

You mentioned that you wanted to do repair and things of that nature. You don't really need college for that because you'll learn none of it in any of the majors I've listed. You could probably work for the Geek Squad right now if you want to do repair work. The fields I've listed above are technically far more challenging, but you'll also be compensated far better than a geek squad tech.

Thanks a lot for the info.

I have heard that Electrical Engineering is quite tough, b/c that's what my friend's brother is majoring in, and he says it's fairly tough, but he's doing pretty well in it. Not really something I'm interested in. From what you've told me about the primary computer courses, it kinda still looks like I may still be leaning towards computer science as a major.

I'm already working at a locally-owned RadioShack, where I do computer repairs at, so I technically do sorta do PC repair already. I do this as well as a side job when somebody I know needs their comp fixed, I'll do it for a small fee.