Opinion on Degree change.

[Ctwizzy]

I have asked this question on a few forums and have yet to receive an intelligent responce. If anyone knows of a forum where I might get better advice please let me know.

On with the question!!

I am currently entering my final year of a Honours CIS Co-op degree, I started off with CS Software Engineering but realized that I lacked the passion for programming that is needed to succeed in the program. I took a few Business classes and even though they wernt terribly exciting I did well in them (accountings, marketting, mgmt science etc).

So I switched to CIS, which is pretty much a 70/30 Computer Science / Business Ratio. I am now 6 courses from graduation, and I can only take 5 courses a semester, so as I am now I graduate next April taking 3 classes a semester. The problem is though is that I do not want a programming or tech support job. A lot of entry positions for CS careers I see are based towards development and support. Neither of these fields pay off in the long run, and regardless of what other say, I have family members that find it difficult to find work close to home without having to be flown out to places for decent work (they are CS workers).

So I was talking to a friend who told me about a Dual Major(1 degree 2 subject areas) program my school offers. Its a Honours Business Administration and Computer Science. Seeing as I have all of the CS credits required for this major, and a half the business credits, I would only need 11 courses to graduate from this Dual Major degree, 5 more than I currently need. The ending degree is more of a 60:40 Business:Comuter Science, though it is a Business based Degree (BCOMM opposed to BSC),

If I switch I will have to take 10 business courses and 1 more CS course, 4 courses I have taken will have been for nothing as they wont contribute to my degree when I graduate so they will have been a waste of time. To graduate on time it would require 2 full semesters and summer class' to finish, but I would be done roughly around the same time or at worst by end of next summer. I was then planning on taking off to europe for 2 months backpacking in hopes to get some direction in my life.

Furthermore if I ever wanted a MBA in Canada--something almost required for the higher paying jobs, having a base business degree entitles me to a 1 year fast track MBA rather than the traditional 2 year. So I could PT a MBA after a few years of work and be done it faster, or just enroll next september and finish it by April 08.
If I dont switch a MBA would be 2 full years, or 4-5 part time.

So im basically looking for peoples opinions on the best course of action. Switch or not switch. Once ive made the decision there is no turning back unfortunatly. I just want to know which degree will give me more job opportunities and help me get hired faster and into a position I might actually enjoy. Some people say BCOMM are a dime a dozen and BSC are more rare, and that BSC requires more work, but my program is a dual major but business based so which degree looks better is a tricky one...

This decision is racking my mind and im thinking long term the dual major will open more doors, but who knows? My school gives garbage advise and has no real information on what employers are looking for and the careers people get from different jobs, business dept tells me switch, cs dept says stay so they are both biased.

Thanks in advance for any advice given.

[JYEKao]

A couple thoughts I have on this issue:

1. I don't think the dual major BCOMM degree will be worse than the BSC degree you're currently on track to getting. If am employer is specifically looking for a BSC degree, you may explain to them that you've satisfied all the requirements for a BSC anyway.

2. If you can finish the degree at the same time (two more terms), then I don't see much in terms of additional cost in obtaining the dual major BCOMM. It just comes down to perhaps a couple grand more in tuition -- insignificant in the long run. However, if you need to take one more term to finish, that may lose you valuable employment opportunities as a lot of employers fill their positions with people who graduate in April-May.


Hopefully people who know more can shed some light into this.

[Ctwizzy]

Thanks for your input JYEKao, I know the BCOMM is still valuable and being in 2 fields makes it even better, I just always hear BCOMM's are a dime a dozen "everyone's in business". The BSC has the advantage that its a science degree but then again I dont want to spend my entire career hoping to get a higher position that allows more money and more time off, so switching is probably the wisest choice.

The time to graduate would only be at most 1 semester longer, and that could be done in summer, the cost would be about 3000-4000 more, which now to me sounds like a ton, but im sure down the road it wont be that much.

I dont plan on job hunting as soon as graduation is done however. I do have a 2 month trip backpacking around europe planned for next August/September so my job hunting will wait till I am back. I wont have the opportunity to do this later in life so I want to do it now regardless of the "loss" in valuable employment opportunities.

Thanks for your help.