Personally, I've been in the industry for more than 15 years and I don't have a BS at all. I have an AS in general studies and if/when I finish a Bachelors it will be in something like philosophy or psychology. I've been in the Navy (signals intelligence) and worked at the U and Private Sector doing any number of IT/Programing jobs here's the advice I have.
Basically the best advice I can give any person who wants to work with computers be it hardware or programming is take a degree field that makes you think logically and learn/adapt to arguments and problems on your feat. The Language you learn your freshman year will have changed by your senior year so learning Java now for a job 5 years from now does you no good. I find that the best coders I've met are not classically trained. It's a cliche but the education system is wrought with those that can do teach types of people so the coding they're educating is structurally sound but not practically applicable. I have a friend who will graduate shortly from the U with a CS degree and about 10 years experience in help desk related areas. They think they're going to get a high paying ($60,000+) job coding somewhere and they might, but looking at their code makes me fairly skeptical of that outcome for them if there is a coding test in the interview. >From a practical standpoint having assisted in the hiring of more than a dozen >people for the U and some private firms in the last few years. I have never >advised the hiring of a IT professional with a degree in CS or related field >those individuals who have thought themselves always seem to have that out of >the box problem solving ability that's sought. Classical training leads to >classical thinking unfortunately. That being said if you feel the need to get a CS degree and you want to do it as fast and as cheep as possible and still have a useful degree go with WGU. Their 6 month semester program allows you to complete as many courses as you can in that time frame. If you can manage your time well you could complete a typical two years corse load in 1 year. They regularly have individuals complete a program in 24 months and at $2700ish every six months it's the best tuition game in town. It turns a typical 4 year degree into a 2 year time commitment. But this is just my humble opinion. Sent from my iPhone > On Nov 2, 2015, at 23:08, Aaron Luman <[email protected]> wrote: > > Mac, can you explain what you mean by "They'll be pricy unless you have a > scholarship" (in reference to BYU)? > > This is the info that I see online: > > BYU: > 270 / credit OR > 9-11.5 credits is 2,447 > 12+ credits is $2,575 > > UofU: > ~560 + 200 / credit (Freshman/Sophomore) makes it > 9 credits = 2,360 > 12 credits = 2,960 > 15 credits = 3,565 > 18 credits = 4,165 > Junior/Senior is slightly more > >> On Mon, Nov 2, 2015 at 4:25 PM, Mac Newbold <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> If you're also considering school options, I'll give you a quick rundown of >> what I know: >> >> University of Utah: (full disclosure: my BS CS and MS CS are from here) >> Really solid program, I think generally considered the strongest in the >> state. They have some accredited specialty degrees as well focusing in >> particular areas, if that interests you, as well as a track system that can >> let you customize your degree program. If you want to consider a MS degree, >> they have a 5-year BS/MS program (non-thesis masters) or the traditional MS >> (with a thesis). I also loved working for one of the research groups while >> I was there, and learned a ton from that. They also have TA opportunities >> that can be very rewarding too. As a public school, the tuition is >> incredibly reasonable for the education you'll get. Any of my coworkers who >> did a CS degree at the UofU have uniformly been very high quality people >> and very skilled. >> >> BYU: >> I have a hard time keeping straight which programs are which, but I think >> CS is the one that makes the most sense here. They'll be pricy unless you >> have a scholarship. I've known some good/great devs who went here, but I >> can't say it's been as uniformly excellent as the U grads I've worked with. >> >> Neumont: (not on your list, but figured I'd chime in) >> Accredited university focused around CS (and now business). Very oriented >> toward the practical, but as a CS program they still do some theory and >> stuff too. Last year of the program is three 4-month Enterprise Projects >> where you'll work with a team of your peers for a company on something >> real. Definitely a strong way to build your resume fast. I think they're >> expensive too, compared to the U. Most of the candidates I've known from >> here are well qualified, and often the enterprise projects can lead you >> into a full time role in one of those companies. >> >> UVU: >> A strong contender, especially on the lower-cost end of the spectrum. >> Probably less than the UofU in cost, and more focused on vocational/career >> training than the theoretical side. They have I think a CS and some kind of >> WebDev program as well, and I'd probably stick with CS here too for better >> breadth. I've known a lot of really solid folks from here, and it's >> probably a lot more of a "small school" feel than your BYU or UofU >> experience, even though it probably competes with them in terms of actual >> enrollment numbers. >> >> Utah State University (USU): >> USU has had a strong engineering/CS program for a long time, and if you >> like a smaller college town this is a great option. I don't know how much >> CS they offer at their extension campuses either, but that may be a >> possibility. Public school, probably in the ball park of UVU and UofU for >> cost. Probably a close 2nd tier to UofU/BYU/UVU. >> >> Weber State University (WSU): >> They also have a CS program. Not the same caliber as the others. >> >> Westminster: >> Private university, and priced to match. CS program is small and close >> knit, and last I checked they had about 3-4 faculty and under 100 students >> in the program at any given time. If you want a small private liberal-arts >> college this may be for you. CS program is reasonable but definitely not a >> top-tier option in my book. >> >> Code boot camps: >> Dev Mountain, Coding Campus, etc. have some good options if you're looking >> to get started quickly, and reasonably priced. Not a 4 year degree, if that >> matters a lot to you. Very practical and hands on. >> >> Western Governors University (WGU): >> I know some folks going back to school by attending here (for BS or MS I >> think), and if you know your stuff already, you can pass an awful lot of >> final exams in one term to be able to skip a bunch of classes. Priced >> reasonably with a flat-rate per term model, and an all-you-can-eat course >> schedule. I don't know much at all about their CS specific offerings. >> >> Are there others missing from the list that I should know about? Anybody >> with more experience with one of the programs want to speak up to elaborate >> on (or refute) my statements? >> >> Thanks, >> Mac >> >> >> >>> On Mon, Nov 2, 2015 at 5:07 PM, Kevin Jensen <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> Right now I'm living in Price and am getting ready to either commute or >>> move up north. So I'm just trying to plan the next five years or so. >> Thanks >>> for the descriptions, Mac. That was pretty much what I was wondering >> about >>> the degree names. >>> >>>> On Mon, Nov 2, 2015 at 5:02 PM Kevin Jensen <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> No specific company. But as far as schools I was thinking the u, BYU or >>>> UVU. >>>> >>>> On Mon, Nov 2, 2015, 4:10 PM Jonathan Duncan < >>> [email protected]> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>>> On Mon, Nov 2, 2015 at 2:44 PM, Kyle Waters <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> On 11/02/2015 11:56 AM, Kevin Jensen wrote: >>>>>>> Which degree is preferred computer science or software >> engineering? >>>>>> >>>>>> When I was at USU there was computer science, and computer >>> engineering. >>>>>> Computer science was part of the College of Science and mostly >> focused >>>>>> on programming. While Computer Engineering was part of the College >> of >>>>>> Engineering and focused more on hardware. Since I left I understand >>> they >>>>>> moved Computer Science to the College of Engineering(where I believe >>> it >>>>>> belongs), but I don't think they rename it yet. Are you looking at >> a >>>>>> school that offers both degrees? >>>>> Additionally, are you looking at any particular company that smiles >> more >>>>> favorably upon a certain degree? >>>>> >>>>> In my experience, degrees are not as much of a selling point as they >>> have >>>>> been in the past. But if your chosen school has a good program and you >>> are >>>>> looking to improve your own skills, you would probably do well >> choosing >>>>> either degree. In other words, it depends on your goals and desires. >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> >>>>> UPHPU mailing list >>>>> [email protected] >>>>> http://uphpu.org/mailman/listinfo/uphpu >>>>> IRC: #uphpu on irc.freenode.net >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> >>> UPHPU mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> http://uphpu.org/mailman/listinfo/uphpu >>> IRC: #uphpu on irc.freenode.net >> >> >> >> -- >> Mac Newbold >> [email protected] >> 801-694-6334 >> <http://www.codegreene.com> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> UPHPU mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://uphpu.org/mailman/listinfo/uphpu >> IRC: #uphpu on irc.freenode.net > > _______________________________________________ > > UPHPU mailing list > [email protected] > http://uphpu.org/mailman/listinfo/uphpu > IRC: #uphpu on irc.freenode.net _______________________________________________ UPHPU mailing list [email protected] http://uphpu.org/mailman/listinfo/uphpu IRC: #uphpu on irc.freenode.net
