Anyone have a degree in Computer Science?

[kojitsari]

Yessir!

 

I could before I moved, but it's the wrong number of wheels for me plus I'm to old for those kind of shenanigans ! I didn't know they didn't sell it here, you could probably import one as a 1500 mile a year limit showcar (Thank you Mr Leno!). Frankly over 200mph is scary, over 150 is bad enough. On Island there's nowhere safe to go fast, 120ish is about the max up to Kula but the popo know this and wait for you. Better and cheaper to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow

Well yeah its possible but super expensive(and I'm the type of person who gets a car with the intent to drive it more than 2500 miles a year). Not only do they not sell them but you can't import them or get them via the "kit car" method...the feds/DOT have a vendetta against Japanese's luxury cars it seems. I'd be all for a bike except I'm in an area where I'd be SOL half the year due to weather and the types of roads around here, all wheel drive is a life saver.

[uecker87]

The way I see it is that you at least need a bachelors nowadays (too many experienced older workers and people with higher level degrees these days taking all the jobs lol).

 

I ended up only getting an Associates degree for Web and Software development.  Graduated last spring (went after many (fun but wasteful) years off.  Was easy as hell to find a job in my area.  After 7 months at my first place of employment, I ended up getting an offer at the University of Wisconsin - Madison as a PeopleSoft developer. 

 

In my opinion (in IT, at this moment) an Associates is plenty to get yourself in the door at a reputable employer.  I may take advantage of the 100% tuition reimbursment to persue my Bachelors down the road (I started off at UW - Madison and have all of my gen eds done.  I just switched majors a ton and wanted to get the hands on experience of a Technical college to make sure it was something I could do for the next 30+ years.)

 

Bachelors of course will probably pay out more over your lifetime.  But, I have found numerous employers around here that prefer 2-year degrees because it is MUCH more hands on. 

[irwinshere]

I ended up only getting an Associates degree for Web and Software development. Graduated last spring (went after many (fun but wasteful) years off. Was easy as hell to find a job in my area. After 7 months at my first place of employment, I ended up getting an offer at the University of Wisconsin - Madison as a PeopleSoft developer.

 

In my opinion (in IT, at this moment) an Associates is plenty to get yourself in the door at a reputable employer. I may take advantage of the 100% tuition reimbursment to persue my Bachelors down the road (I started off at UW - Madison and have all of my gen eds done. I just switched majors a ton and wanted to get the hands on experience of a Technical college to make sure it was something I could do for the next 30+ years.)

 

Bachelors of course will probably pay out more over your lifetime. But, I have found numerous employers around here that prefer 2-year degrees because it is MUCH more hands on.

Plus once you get in the door you will probably go to numerous classes on the specific software you specialize in. Peoplesoft or Lawson or various other specific products have multitudes of extra classes that keep you up to date. That is true whether you choose to develope software or administer the product (ie payroll, sales, inventory, etc.).

 

Jim, Sent from my Photon 4G using Tapatalk 2

 

 

 

[jhtechservices]

Hi everyone,I've been debating tossing away a few scholarships to go after a degree in computer science. I was wondering if anyone who has this degree (or equivalent) would be willing to share the type of job they actually hold/what they do with it. The information about the programs offered at various colleges basically boil it down to IT/programming/other options. Yet I can't find the other options described anywhere :/. Just about any info you can give would be appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance

I have a degree in Helpdesk Technology and Support, and I love it.  I stayed away from programming because I am a people person, and programming is too shut in a corner kind of thing for me.

[irwinshere]

I have a degree in Helpdesk Technology and Support, and I love it. I stayed away from programming because I am a people person, and programming is too shut in a corner kind of thing for me.

Really depends on the shop and the structure. Getting developement requirements, training users and real time support can involve daily interaction with users as well as operators and tech people. Other shops may "lock" you in a room and feed you jobs to code.

 

Jim, Sent from my Photon 4G using Tapatalk 2

 

 

 

[kojitsari]

Well I went and looked at a few schools yesterday and today. One of them has sprint as their campus cell service sponsor. I held LTE at 90dbm or better throughout the whole campus (excluding their underground cave portion. I did hold onto LTE down to a 149dbm signal, still pulled 2.5mbs ddownload). I'm assuming the have a repeater system set up down there though because I had a ~75dbm signal even in the middle of the caverns, but no other carrier gets service (I'm thinking an older one due to no LTE boosting).

[radem]

I ended up only getting an Associates degree for Web and Software development. Graduated last spring (went after many (fun but wasteful) years off. Was easy as hell to find a job in my area. After 7 months at my first place of employment, I ended up getting an offer at the University of Wisconsin - Madison as a PeopleSoft developer.

 

In my opinion (in IT, at this moment) an Associates is plenty to get yourself in the door at a reputable employer. I may take advantage of the 100% tuition reimbursment to persue my Bachelors down the road (I started off at UW - Madison and have all of my gen eds done. I just switched majors a ton and wanted to get the hands on experience of a Technical college to make sure it was something I could do for the next 30+ years.)

 

Bachelors of course will probably pay out more over your lifetime. But, I have found numerous employers around here that prefer 2-year degrees because it is MUCH more hands on.

I wont hire anyone that doesn't have at least a bachelors degree and at least 5 years experience. My department does hire people that have military experience rather than a bachelors degree but they must also have non-military experience.

 

In my many years experience in the computer field, I have found that an associates degree counts about the same as a certificate for the higher level jobs, meaning you won't qualify. The HR department at most major corporations will throw away your resume if you don't have either the appropriate amount of education or the equivalent experience. Without a bachelors degree or equivalent experience you certainly won't be working for someone like me. My HR department checks on education and experience before any prospects ever make it to an interview and removes those who do not have the appropriate education and experience.

 

My advice: Get your bachelors degree as soon as possible to make the most of your career.

[iansltx]

Also for everyone advising real work experience over/in addition to extra schooling, three of the 4 schools I'm currently looking at offer what they call "ways to pay" for school. Essentially you work at campus facilities doing work applicable to the degree you're pursuing and they pay you around 15$ an hour in addition to gaining hands on experience. The examples they give are maintaining the campus network, website, and various computer systems(plus I'm a huge fan of internships, so I figured over the summer I would try to get In a few places. I'm really hoping for the Riot Games office in STL, I have one inside connection).

 

Ooh, Riot... (full disclosure: I spend too much time playing their game).

 

Anyway...

 

I got my BS in CompSci in December 2010. Got a Master's in what can best be described as an MBA for engineers a year later. Could've gone for the MS in CompSci but the areas of interest at my alma mater for higher level studies didn't match mine, and the business strategy/optimization modeling stuff was more fun.

 

Starting the summer before I got my MS, I worked with a small dev firm on a range of client projects. All web apps, mostly PHP (though the first one was in Prel...yuck). I'm currently working with that firm's successor: six or so people, all but one contractors (myself included), doing web application and website dev for a handful of clients ranging from small sites to startups that are headed for their third funding round. I can take off to see family/friends in a different state more or less whenever, but at this point my work goes with me and I'm generally on call in case something big breaks (though that's happening less lately). But I don't really mind that aspect, the work is generally interesting (I generally leave user experience work to others but sometimes I'll do that stuff too...I like making things run fast and return the right data better) and the pay is quite good, though if I wanted to trade in my hourly for a salary at a startup or established tech company I could probably make a bit more.

 

Now, what does all that have to do with school?

 

First, I'd throw work in the direction of someone who has already dabbled/done work in the systems that we work with before (or similar ones...a programming language is a programming language) I'd throw it at someone fresh out of school with a degree of any sort and little/no appropriate experience. A Master's may be useful but the market is hot enough that a Bachelor's is probably the sweet spot right now, at least from where I sit. But extracurricular coding, whether for coding contests, odd jobs or personal stuff, is going to be just as important as knowing object oriented principles, algorithms, and good software engineering practices from a textbook, even when you're just starting out.

 

As fair warning, keeping up with the tech world is basically running on an intellectual treadmill. You'll have to pick a specialty at some level or you'll fall behind knowledge-wise. Keep up with the treadmill and learn to write better code and you'll do well for yourself, though this tech bubble won't go on forever (though by the time it pops the folks who are good at what they do will probably still have jobs anyway).

 

At the end of the day, I like solving problems by writing code...or rewriting it...or setting up servers...or benchmarking applications...or collecting requirements from clients and building specifications. What I do certainly isn't building bridges or cars, but the engineering aspect is still there, and that's the run part. And it's why I spent the time I did (only 4.5 years) getting my BS and MS to put some more tools in my toolbox for solving these problems (and it does help!).

[S4GRU]

I wont hire anyone that doesn't have at least a bachelors degree and at least 5 years experience. My department does hire people that have military experience rather than a bachelors degree but they must also have non-military experience.

 

In my many years experience in the computer field, I have found that an associates degree counts about the same as a certificate for the higher level jobs, meaning you won't qualify. The HR department at most major corporations will throw away your resume if you don't have either the appropriate amount of education or the equivalent experience. Without a bachelors degree or equivalent experience you certainly won't be working for someone like me. My HR department checks on education and experience before any prospects ever make it to an interview and removes those who do not have the appropriate education and experience.

 

My advice: Get your bachelors degree as soon as possible to make the most of your career.

It's getting to the point that I don't care about a degree anymore in positions I hire for. Granted, I don't work in the computer sciences, but most of the positions I manage require a bachelor's degree. And I waive that requirement all the time for people who have proven useful experience and training. Especially if they have good work ethic. It can be hard to get HR to properly screen my candidates, though.

 

I just see so many people nowadays that have a bachelor's degree and have no practical knowledge or even concept of their career field. They never interned anywhere and expect not to start at an entry level position to get experience. I haven't hired someone with a degree and no experience in a long time. He didn't work out very well either.

 

For any of you working on degrees now, I highly recommend you start working in your career field before you graduate. Even part time or as an intern. Don't try to walk out of the classroom and into a job, unless you are ready to start at the bottom and work your way up.

 

The world is different now than it was 20 years ago when I was in school. There are people with experience you'll be competing with. Unless you do a very specialized and limited career field with more demand than qualified prospects.

 

However, even if your position is in high demand, still find a good internship. It will help you stand out and help you to negotiate a better compensation package! Plus, you will start work knowing what you're doing and will master and thrive in your position much sooner. This will allow for better evaluations, raises and bonuses. It will also open up future advancement and other career opportunities sooner.

 

It is better to come in and exceed everyone's expectations than to just meet them, or not quite meet them. First impressions are sometimes the only impressions that stay with some people.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro