Change in streams

[Mervin2008]

I did my undergraduate in Electronics and communications and shortly after that I Joined a large scale computer consultancy company (Tata consultancy services) in India .I have been there in for more than 2 and a half years and I would like to do my masters in computer science .

The area's I have been working in my job :

1) Oracle
2) Unix
3) Data warehousing


I am yet to give my GRE and will be giving it shortly but Is there an scope for me to shift to MS in computer science .I understand there are some prerequisite computer courses which are mandatory to join but will my work experience compensate for that

My CGPA is about 7.62 out of 10

Any advice would be wonderful

[CalmLogic]

.I understand there are some prerequisite computer courses which are mandatory to join but will my work experience compensate for that

Not to my knowledge. The advice that graduate advisors give is to just take the prerequisite courses as a non-degree seeking student. Some schools do allow the GRECS exam to substitute for prerequisites, but it is hard to even get 50th percentile on that exam without having spent a lot of time in CS courses doing practice problems (midterms, exams, HW assignments, etc.)

UT Dallas is a notable exception since they have a more flexible admission policy and a later deadline of May 1 for international students. If you have taken 2 semesters of calculus and 1 semester of linear algebra, you may want to consider applying since they don't seem to require much upfront for admission.

[CalmLogic]

You may also want to consider getting an MIS degree instead since there are basically no prerequisites (at least compared to the CS degree) and it can be just as attractive for many IT jobs given the continued trend to focus more on the bottom line, e.g. "A technical success is a euphemism for a business failure."

For more info on the MIS:

site:urch.com MIS - Google Search
Edulix
The School of Management, Graduate Degree Programs, Degree Plan, Information Technology Management & Consulting (their deadline may be May 1, but I'm not sure since it's the business school)

[Mervin2008]

Thanks calmlogic,for the frank analysis,Its just that I am passionate about computers and wanted to continue in that field.

With reference to what you said regarding MIS,how are the job prospects for it ? What I am wondering is with a MIS degree am I eligible to apply to large scale companies like Microsoft ,HP and so on and so forth .

Another query I have is is the course more oriented towards Management or it is more oriented towards computer science.I would prefer a course that was more oriented towards computer science as management studies just does not seem to suit me too well

Another question I have is in matters of reputation how does a MIS degree match up with a CS degree ? Are they almost equal or there would more weightage given to the CS degree as it is more intensive

A final question - Do we need to give the GMAT for MIS or would the GRE and TOEF suffice ?

Thanks

Mervin

[CalmLogic]

What I am wondering is with a MIS degree am I eligible to apply to large scale companies like Microsoft ,HP and so on and so forth .

I don't know about HP, but you are right to prefer a CS degree for Microsoft. Oracle does seem to recruit MIS graduates:

KSU MIS Club
http://www.bus.ucf.edu/mis/public/do...ing_summer.pdf

but I'm sure they recruit a lot of CS graduates as well.

Another query I have is is the course more oriented towards Management or it is more oriented towards computer science.I would prefer a course that was more oriented towards computer science as management studies just does not seem to suit me too well

Some let you choose an IT focus or a management focus. From the MIS perspective, computer science theory is something for someone else to worry about.

Another question I have is in matters of reputation how does a MIS degree match up with a CS degree ? Are they almost equal or there would more weightage given to the CS degree as it is more intensive

The CS degree is certainly more intense for technical stuff like network protocols and machine learning algorithms.

I don't know what job placement is generally like for international students graduating with a CS vs. an MIS. They all seem to get jobs but the CS graduates, on avereage, seem to get at least a slightly higher starting salary. Over time, however, I think the MIS students (at least the American ones) do just as well if not better since they are more ready for management like Chief Technology Officer. Among American students, there is more interest in getting an MBA than a CS because the average CTO, for example, gets paid more than a senior software developer while possibly working at a less intense pace.

Anyway, there is some good info at Edulix in their MIS forum. For some jobs like being an in-house software developer in an IT department, it may not matter since each degree could confer different advantages, with a degree being just part of one's resume along with experience and certifications. To me, the MIS is about the strategic implementation of technology while the CS is more about creating new technology.

Do we need to give the GMAT for MIS or would the GRE and TOEF suffice ?

I think most schools take either, but I haven't researched MIS programs much. Some do require the GMAT, however.

[Mervin2008]

Thanks calmlogic for the detailed response.I was unable to reply for the last 3 days since I was preparing to give my GRE and I am glad that it went well (total 1520 - Quant -780,verbal -740) .I did check out the MIS programs and they seem very management oriented.Now I am wondering If I would be better off sticking to my subject that is electronics .I understand most computer and electronics departments are inter-related so I can try and construct a course with the requisite computer courses I would require.Do you have any idea how electronic and computer courses are ?

Thank you once again for your prompt reply as always and I apologize for not getting back to you earlier.

Thanks

Mervin

[moomber123]

Regarding an MIS alternative:

I would caution the idea of trying to enter MIS as a substitute for a CS degree just for an easier admission standard. This is based on the following reasonings:

1.) MIS as a field is not as coherent as CS. You really won't know exactly what you'd get yourself into. Some programs might list "expert system" or "enterprise programming" as some courses available, but once you get there, you'd find "expert system" to be more of a general business discussion with some toy programming exercise, and "enterprise programming" more like "introductory to Java programming." MIS as a research field is highly segmented. Some places do not even consider any programming within their scope, while some places (like Arizona) are probably as technical as their CS counterpart. Unless you really know the program, and find it a good match, the risk is very high that you will find the content much less technical than you want it to be.

2.) The issue of IT vs. software engineering is much more complicated than what most people might think. They are not as interchangeable as one might expect. IT professionals and engineering professionals, while sharing many common technical skills, operate under rather different conditions. Trying to become an R&D software engineer by going to MIS program is not going to lead you anywhere, whereas trying to become the next CIO of a company by trying to get into top MSCS program is simply silly. MIS program likes to talk about its discipline with that venn diagram, intersecting "people, organization, technology." While you might think that "technology" part could be taken as a substitute for a MSCS, it is usually addressed in a much general/shallow manner than would be satisfying, while leaving the "people/organization" part of it much more of a burden than value for your purposes.

With that being said, I would recommend Arizona and UT Dallas's MIS programs as they are much more into the technical materials than other places. I would strongly recommend against Santa Clara's young MIS master's program. It is a good program for managerially oriented IT professional, with a very strong part time MBA program at its side. However, my friends who attended there frequently complain that their technical courses are titled in a highly misleading way, and they ended up taking classes with people who never program before even though they already have extensive technical exposure. Imagine you have an undergraduate degree in CS, and yet you are sitting in class waiting for the guy next to you trying to understand the difference between a class and an object. (while paying a few thousand dollars for that class!) Simply put, not all MIS programs are created equally, and you need to know more than just the course description to make the right decision. (In the case of Santa Clara, my friend actually obtained past syllabus from the program, forwarded to me, and I found it highly technical, and then finding out the actual content to be far far less technical than the syllabus suggest. You need to see the actual CONTENT of the program, like the actual lecture notes, assignment, etc.)

[moomber123]

note: this is not in any way intended to put down Santa Clara. I found the management courses there well designed and delivered. My friend ended up taking this IT strategy class, and found it very insightful. The point is, MIS program might be very technical, or only pretend to be both technical and managerial to attract more students. You need to find out about their strength first before jumping in.

also, having exposure to management issue is not necessarily a "waste of time" for IT professional. You might think that you do not intend to become a manager, and want to focus on the most powerful Oracle tricks, or know the most advanced Data Warehousing techniques. But experience shows that IT professionals with insufficient management exposure often design powerful solution to the wrong problem because they do not fully understand the problem managers are faced. In that sense, having a technical background, and then attending a managerially oriented MIS program, is a powerful combination. But not having a strong technical background, and then attending a managerially oriented MIS program, would most likely not prepare one for a good IT career. I myself spent some time as an IT engineer, leveraging my applied math background, but after my MBA degree, I became so much more enlightened and realized how naive my pure technical solutions were. I would not write off the value of a managerially oriented program without really considering its benefits.

[CalmLogic]

Getting a degree in electronics or electrical engineering or whatever -- even if you take a lot of CS electives -- may not look as good on a resume for an IT job. I would go back to considering applying to UT Dallas for their MSCS program, but I don't know how many extra courses they would require you to take if admitted. You may want to call them.

Remember, for Fall 2008, UT Dallas has a deadline of May 1.

[Mervin2008]

Thats calmlogic thats pretty true but I will need to decide between whether I wish to go for a coding job or a more on the electronics line which is what my undergraduate degree is based.I have a pretty high paying job (about 60K per year) but the reason i wish to do my masters is to do something related to what I studied.I am working in the banking domain (as a software engineer) but I dont want to make my career here.Do you have any idea how the job prospects of electrical engineers are ?

Thank you for your help

I apologize for the late response ,i was not able to visit the forum for a few days