B.Sc or B.A...

**RealTime** · 09-28-2004

Hey Guys..

An Unusual question.

I already have a software associates degree (2 years) and am planning to go for either Comp science or Software engineering.

Now my options are as follows since in High school I played basketball instead of study.

I can go to a Open University for comp science a 3 year B.A Degree.

Or I can go to an academic college for software engineering a 4 year degree for B.Sc..

Btw I will have arround semeseter and a half less in each because I already did courses in the software associates.

What would be better?

Thanks

.

**vasanth** · 09-28-2004

i personally would prefer a B.Sc

**ober** · 09-28-2004

B.A. meaning Bachelor of Arts??? No. If that's what it stands for, companies are going to laugh at you when you try to apply for a programming job. Get the comp sci degree and don't screw around with the crappy "software engineering" degree. That's a bunch of garbage if you ask me. comp sci IS a programming degree. "Software engineering" is faking it.

**Fordy** · 09-28-2004

Originally Posted by ober

B.A. meaning Bachelor of Arts??? No. If that's what it stands for, companies are going to laugh at you when you try to apply for a programming job. Get the comp sci degree and don't screw around with the crappy "software engineering" degree. That's a bunch of garbage if you ask me. comp sci IS a programming degree. "Software engineering" is faking it.

My Degree is a Bachelor of Arts (Accounting and Finance).

It's more probable that the content of the degree and any experience held would outweigh 2-3 letters that sit behind your name.

**Salem** · 09-28-2004

Given an equal syllabus for a BA or a BSc, I'd go with the BSc.
Computer Science is a rigourous discipline, and the BA just makes it sound wooly.

> "Software engineering" is faking it.
From someone who has a Masters degree in "computer systems and software engineering", I think you're way off base here.

> comp sci IS a programming degree
Then you wasted your time, if that is all you ever learnt. It doesn't take 3 years to read a couple of books and call yourself a programmer.

The world is knee-deep in "hello world" programmers who are good at writing smaller programs, but writing large programs requires a whole bunch of skills not related to knowing where all the {} go.
If your course teaches some of this (aka software engineering), then I'd certainly put it on the short list.

**ober** · 09-28-2004

Well no offense Fordy, but a BA in Accounting and Finance and a BA in a comp sci field are 2 totally different things IMO. Granted, experience will get you a long way in the professional world, but coming out of school, I know I'd personally frown on a BA degree in programming. There is nothing "artsy" about programming, unless you're studying GUI design.

**ober** · 09-28-2004

>>From someone who has a Masters degree in "computer systems and software engineering", I think you're way off base here.
There is a lot of difference between a Masters and a Bachelor's degree in Software Engineering IMO. One is a stepping stone, the other is a fine tuning.

>>Then you wasted your time, if that is all you ever learnt. It doesn't take 3 years to read a couple of books and call yourself a programmer.
Agreed, but my degree isn't in Comp Sci. I'm Comp Engineering... more of a hardware aspect with programming thrown in for good measure. I didn't learn the majority of my programming knowledge in college. I learned it on my own. All I'm saying is, from what I've heard, software engineering isn't as hard or in-depth as comp sci, and you're basically cheating yourself.

>>The world is knee-deep in "hello world" programmers who are good at writing smaller programs, but writing large programs requires a whole bunch of skills not related to knowing where all the {} go.
Agreed.

**Terrance** · 09-28-2004

3 year degree, then you can get your masters in 1-1 1/2 years!

**Terrance** · 09-29-2004

Originally Posted by ober

I know I'd personally frown on a BA degree in programming. There is nothing "artsy" about programming, unless you're studying GUI design.

Bachelor of Arts doesn't imply anything artsy. Bachelor of Arts is a type of liberal arts degree, that teaches you liberal learning skills rather than just technical training.

This means that you would take more humanities and social science courses, and probably less math/technical courses.

I'd also like to note that a b.s. in comp science doesn't guarantee you a programming job (or even technical proficiency in programming) unless it's from a top tier tech school or its equivalent.

Find a school that will hook you up with an internship or allows students to complete a small real world project. No one will hand you a job just because of your degree, you need proof that you can program.

**~~R!ghtw!ng3r~~** · 10-03-2004

go with the B.Sc

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