Which Degree for Me?

“I want to work with computers.”

This statement is made hundreds of times every day by students when they think about career options. The related statement “you should work with computers” is said almost as often by parents who see computing careers as a path to a comfortable, professional life for their children. There are a lot of things that make a career in computing attractive, including the strong demand and number of available jobs, excellent salaries, job satisfaction, the potential for your work to make a difference, and more. While computer science is the first field of study that many people think of when they consider preparing for a computing career, and those of us in computer science benefit from the prominence of our field in many ways, computer science is not the only option for people wanting to work with computers. For many students it may in fact not be the best option. While my computer science Department benefits from high enrollments and student interest, it doesn’t benefit anyone (students or faculty) to have students enrolled in our program that are really more aligned with a different field or approach to computing. In this article I will explain various education or training options when it comes to preparing for a career in computing.

First, understand that there is a big difference between “working with computers” as tools and “working with computers” in the way that I am talking about. These days almost every area of endeavor uses computers as tools, from using office tools and web browsers to using graphics and design tools to doing data entry, but none of those are computing careers. The people who make those tools, from Microsoft Word to Adobe Photoshop to mobile apps and more, are typically computer scientists, but the use those tools has little to do with computer science. If you want to use computers to make digital art, you should be studying in the Art department — the “digital” part of that doesn’t make it computer science!

Furthermore, many computing-based careers are strongly interdisciplinary, and include a mix of computing and non-computing topics. The most popular example of this currently is computer game development. There are certainly some strong computing-based issues in game development, focused on high-performance graphics, algorithms, and data structures, but there are also components of game design that have more to do with art or storytelling than with technology. While many computer science students go on to develop games, and computer science gives a great background for the technology side of things, other students will prefer a program with a more conscious gaming focus, like the RIT’s bachelor’s program in Game Design and Development, or a computer science program with a track or certification in game development, like UNCC’s Undergraduate Certificate in Game Design.

Schools, universities, and degrees

For people who have completed high school, the range of learning options is broader than most people realize, and can be a little overwhelming when you’re looking for the best path for you. Someone fresh out of high school can consider a major in a computing field and really focus on computing and technology. Or if your interest is in another area but you want to use cutting-edge technology to do interesting things in that field, you can consider a minor in computer science. For example, if you are interested in genetics and want to look at technological innovations in that field, you could consider a biology major with a computer science minor. The best path for some people is an IT-focused associate’s degree from a community college. Some community colleges offer faster-paced and more intensive vocational programs such as the one-semester Web Development Certificate from GTCC. Finally, there are a lot of options for privately-run training or technology “boot camps” that have a scope similar to the one-semester community college program but offer more intensive one-on-one support (but charge significantly more for that benefit).

How do you choose? This is a tough question, and the answer depends not only on what you want to do afterwards but also on your personality and approach to learning. Do you want a fast-track to an IT career? Then the community college or private training program might be right for you. Do you have four years to devote to developing a depth of knowledge not only in your desired career field but also other areas of study or interest? Then you want a four year college. Still not sure? Then visit schools and see what you think — talk to faculty and talk to current students and see what the environment is like. If you’re looking at a four-year program rather than a fast track to career training, then consider the college experience as well as the knowledge you’ll gain.

Disciplines

Degrees and areas of study at colleges are generally divided into different fields, or disciplines. Below are the five most common computing-focused disciplines, with a brief description of each.

• computer science: The science of computing. The goal of Computer Science is to understand the fundamental nature of computing, and like any science there are both basic science and applied science components. The fundamental questions are not tied to any particular technology, and sometimes not even to technology at all. Understanding computing requires a lot of skill in analysis and logic, and so there is a strong mathematics component in computer science. People who study computer science are uniquely qualified to use their knowledge of computing to create new technologies, and are often the people who make the new inventions that are used in the other disciplines listed below. People skilled in computer science create and optimize the database systems that people in information systems use. They design the operating systems, programming languages, and software tools that computer engineers use when building new devices. They invent the technologies that people in information technology use and install. They use their computing knowledge to analyze and make sense out of data generated in many settings, from biology (bioinformatics) to humanities (digital humanities) to healthcare (health informatics) to business (business analytics). As the most fundamental of the computing fields, most colleges and universities will offer a major in computer science — for example, 15 of the 16 universities in the UNC system offer a bachelor’s degree in computer science (all but the UNC School of the Arts).

• Information Systems: Applying technology and information systems to support business operations for a company or other organization. Information systems sometimes goes by the name of Computer Information Systems (CIS) or Management Information Systems (MIS). The goal of Information Systems is to effectively use technology to support businesses and organizations. Because of the close ties to business objectives, university information systems programs are typically offered through a business school. An IS professional might work on managing the systems that keep track of a company’s customers or prospects, managing “enterprise systems” that track finances or personnel or purchasing, or working with reporting systems that extract data from databases for business executives to understand. A student studying information systems is going to take classes on basic business and finance topics in addition to some technology and simple programming classes. Due to their role in supporting a business, IS professionals usually work closely with management and must be able to communicate about technical issues clearly with non-technical people. Information systems programs are not as common or widespread as computer science programs, and only 6 of the 16 universities in the UNC system offer a bachelor’s degree in information systems.

• Computer Engineering: Design of computing devices and systems. The goal of computer engineering is to build computing-based systems, which might include everything from cellphones to the microprocessor-based controller in a microwave oven. Computer engineering students typically study a balanced combination of hardware (electronics) and software topics, looking particularly at low-level device functioning. For example, in a smartphone a computer engineer would likely develop the hardware and software to run the cellular radio or wifi radio, but generally would not develop higher-level apps (which would generally be done by someone with a computer science background). Computer engineering programs are offered by universities that have a college of engineering, and so a student who wants to pursue computer engineering must pick their school carefully. Only 3 of the 16 universities in the UNC system offer a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering.

• Information Technology: Installing and maintaining technology. The goal of information technology (IT) is to support the technology used throughout a business or organization. Traditionally, information technology has been taught at community colleges and vocational programs, and IT professionals often rely heavily on industry-based certifications. Some IT professionals are self-trained with credentials entirely through industry certifications. Within the past decade, some universities have started offering information technology degree programs, for students who want to pair an IT focus with a general four year college experience. Currently, 4 universities in the UNC system offer a bachelor’s degree in information technology.

• Software Engineering: Managing the process of software development. Software engineering focuses on operation and management of large software development projects, considering everything from technical tools to team and project management. Almost all undergraduate computer science programs will include at least one course in software engineering, but undergraduate programs focused on software engineering are rare. In fact, none of the universities in the UNC system offer a bachelor’s degree in software engineering. Software engineering is more often studied at the graduate level, typically following an undergraduate degree in computer science. One university in the UNC system (ECU) offers a master’s degree in software engineering, and NC State offers a software engineering track in their computer science master’s program.

Finally, let me add a few words on the philosophy behind the most popular two fields. At my university (like many others), computer science is situated in the College of Arts and Sciences, and information systems is in the School of Business. In a way those are just labels, but these two different units at the university really do have different ways of approaching their fields. In the College of Arts and Sciences, the approach is generally knowledge-driven, focused on developing and expanding understanding about fundamental issues. Obviously (or at least we hope), understanding underlying truths will help students tackle challenging problems in a work setting, but the career questions are not what drive the field. By contrast, the School of Business is one of the university’s professional schools, and professional programs are driven by needs of careers rather than fundamental questions and curiosity. Due to that focus, students in professional programs are typically well-prepared for the specific careers that are the focus of their studies. Students in science programs are prepared in a more general way and can apply that knowledge in a broader and more flexible way, but the cost of this is that they may require some additional work learning how to apply their broad knowledge to a specific career.

Further Reading and Information on Linked Resources

There’s a lot of information available for people interested in computing careers and computing education or training. An excellent starting point, which goes into more depth than I have here, is the Association for Computing Machinery’s Computing Degrees and Careers website.

In addition, there are several great resources that talk about how computer science and computing affects so much in the world around us, including a National Science Foundation video “Computer Science can change the world” and a Wired article “How Computers are Changing the Way We Explain the World.” Finally, if you want to really dive into how computing is adding value to scientific discovery, you can read the Computing Research Association’s paper “Accelerating Science: A Computing Research Agenda.”