IT Major makes a difference in unemployment and salary

I was reading a Georgetown study study from 2009-2010 regarding unemployment and wages by college major and I found a interesting difference for IT.

Information Systems Degree/Major
Unemployment of new grads 11.7% (<- wow!)
Unemployment of experienced grads 5.4%
Unemployment of graduate degree holder 6.4%
Salary of new grads $43,000
Salary of experienced grads $68,000
Salary of graduate degree holder $80,000

Computer Science Degree/Major
Unemployment of new grads 7.8%
Unemployment of experienced grads 5.6%
Unemployment of graduate degree holder 3.8%
Salary of new grads $50,000
Salary of experienced grads $81,000
Salary of graduate degree holder $96,000


So think twice about that Info Sys degree from Strayer or Info Tech degree from Phoenix.
The Comp Sci degree from Thomas Edison looks to be the better choice for 1/4 the cost.


Here's the full report
http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/Unemployment.Final.update1.pdf

 

..though the CS degree from TESC is a Bachelor of Arts, not Science... so a BA in CS.. I am curious as to why they chose not to offer the CS degree in a BS...

 

I'm not sure why the Thomas Edison degree is a BA instead of a BS. It requires Calculus I, Calculus II and Discrete Math (or Linear Algebra). This is in addition to the 30 CS credits. Maybe a BS would require additional math or more CS classes.

Thomas Edison: Computer Science

 

It is not quite as simple as whether it is an IS/IT degree or a CS degree. A large part of the difference has to do with what people do with that degree. The Georgetown study actually states that those who invent technology have better prospects than those who simply use technology.

Here is a quote from page 4 of that report:

What does that have to do with CS vs IS/IT? Well, CS majors are much more likely than IS/IT majors to be software developers (inventors). Whereas IS/IT majors are more likely to hav system admin, systems analyst roles (users).

However, just because your degree is in IS/IT doesn't mean you can't do software development. The masters degree I am working on is in Information Technology, not Computer Science. However, my coursework and training is VERY developer-centric. The job market is outstanding for developers right now, even those who don't have pure computer science degrees.

 

Florida State also offers a BA CS, not BS CS. I know some people think BA means it is watered down but at FSU it means you need some more foreign language credits.

 

There are far more differences between the two degrees than that and the FSU site explicitly encourages students to pursue the BS if possible. For a list of all the differences, follow this link: FSU Computer Science -