Major in Information Systems or Information Technology?

Hi, I'm new to these forums. I would like to get some opinions on this and see if I'm heading in the right direction.

I'm looking to transfer to NJIT technical school after I've completed community college. They have two bachelor's degree majors I'm interested in: "Information Technology: (MIS course specialization)" or "Business and Information Systems". Both of these have Co-op programs I want to enroll in. I also plan on getting the standard IT certs for Windows Server, Comptia, and Cisco.

From what I've research, either degree could earn the same jobs I'm looking at. I'm learning towards the IT degree, since it seems more focused in the tech than the business. But would it look better to employers if my major was something more broad like IS and Business? I take job placement heavily into consideration.

 

What type of job are you hoping to get after graduation? My husband is a software engineer and my undergrad is IT. I can give you an idea of what we experienced after graduation and the types of things employers were looking for.

 

I'm still kinda exploring jobs (middle management or entry level) but so far I think I would be interested in: Systems Administration, Analyst, or management. Or any Customer/Tech Support job. I'm not looking to get into anything too math intensive like engineering or programming, but I am studying for different IT certifications.

The good thing about the MIS specialization in IT is when I look at the course route - it would also allow me to minor in either Business or Information Systems. So I think there's the most flexibility in that option too.

 

I think either program will achieve those goals - so picking the one with more flexibility sounds like a good idea. For me, my degree only required 3 higher level computer classes: a programming, a database, and an operating systems class. The rest were more business/communication/etc type classes. This opened up many doors after I graduated. I did land two internships though that helped: one was doing IT for one of the departments on campus and the other was serving as an analyst assistant intern (i.e. low level proof reading/data entry/run generic reports type job). I think those internships are really what opened up the doors. Are you looking at traditional or online? If you do online, you will definitely want to go out on your own and find an internship, even if the school doesnt require it. Many employers will be happy to have a quality person who they can pay chump change to do some lower level work - but it gets your foot in the door!

You really can't go wrong in the IT sector. Just make sure to learn your stuff, get the certs you need, and try to get some hands on experience - even if it means emailing random companies and convincing them why they should allow you to do an internship with them.

 

Thanks, that was insightful.
I'm doing the traditional way. Whatever internship I pick up is fine, because hopefully if I qualify for co-op I'll work for credit. My main concern is that going with one major over the other won't stop me from getting certain types of internships or jobs like the examples you gave, which sound up my ally. I'll speak with advisors along the way but getting an opinion helps.

 

Web development is becoming a more prosperous industry lately. Since the Internet and the computer wave in general are becoming quite lucrative, web development is becoming a booming industry in which everyone wants to be a part.

 

What about security? As the world becomes more interconnected, the need for IT Security is rising; as is the need for programmers / cryptographers. Getting industry certs may save you money and afford more opportunities... just a thought

 

Don't mean to bring this thread back from the dead.

When I'm picking out my electives I may take an e-commerce course or similar course, so I could do something of the sort on the side. But I don't want web-development/design (or software development for that matter) to be my focus. I DID consider it at one point but it's not my forte.

When I go for my certifications I believe I'm going to get some exposure to that, but I'm not really looking to get into security. If I had to change my mind though, I don't think it would be very hard to switch. Do I have the right mindset there?