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Comment by goodgoblin | Hacker News Reader

Ok - this question isn't really related - but I noticed he has a Masters in Information Technology.

Now, there is a local public program offering that near where i live that offers a similar degree- the course offerings look pretty good - there are 2 business classes in there but the rest are CS related - Operating systems, AI, etc. It costs about $12k to get the degree.

There is another place, private, that offers CS degrees, but it costs about $40k and additionally doesn't offer graphics or AI, two topics I would like to learn about.

So, my dilema is, getting one or the other is clearly cheaper, but in the long run, how much difference does a Masters in Information Technology with a concentration in CS differ from a Masters in Computer Science? Will I forever be locked out of high end software engineering jobs with the former?

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Maybe. I learned a long time ago that degrees mean nothing. One of my best hires had no degree at all. Another had one in education. However, all things being equal, I would go for the candidate with a masters in CS over one in IT. I probably would prefer a musician. I know this is unreasonable, but I tend to regard business sounding degrees as the triumph of form over substance.

Also, is there a difference in quality or reputation between the two schools?

One is Central Connecticut State, the other is RPI.

Many, many moons ago RPI was on my list of schools. I have never heard of CCS. Based on way out of date perceptions I would suggest RPI. If you can get into Yale or the like, it may be cheaper than RPI because liberal scholarships.

Education aside, degrees are useful for determining if someone went to college. If you went to college too, you have something to talk about - 4 years of shared similar experiences during a very formative period in your life.

This is very useful in business and life. Only some kind of sociopath would not see the value in this.

Most likely not. My employer (and me, by extension) gives preference to applicants with advanced technical degrees. The specifics of what courses you've taken are far less important than how well you understand the coursework or how you've managed to apply what you learned if you're not fresh out of school.

I expect you to be able to explain theory or practical concepts with the depth of someone with an MS as opposed to someone with a BS.

IOW, if you just cruised through the program to get a piece of paper that says Master of Science on it, but have no understanding of what you supposedly learned, you ain't workin' here :-)

I was hoping this mentality was out there - basically let me prove the worth of the degree rather than prejudging me for it.

Information Technology = A degree for people that can't cut Computer Science

So, it is basically a watered down CS, with some business classes/marketing, and policy. Perfect for corporate drones/politico types, that love powerpoint. Don't expect anything really innovating out of it.

Get an CS degree, and maybe a minor in business, and you will be set.

Yes, there is some watering down. But not too much. 2 Business classes are among the 'core'.

Honestly, unless you want to spend the rest of your professional life heads down coding (not that there's anything wrong with that), a degree like that sounds more useful than bare CS.

The overwhelming number of problems you'll encounter on most projects aren't technical: they're business and people related. And people skills are harder to pick up than technical skills if you don't already have them.

My MS is in Software Engineering and on a day-to-day basis I use more of the stuff I learned in Project Management and Quality Control than just about anything else I learned. Even as an embedded programmer, I've never needed the cool analysis techniquesI learned in the Real-time Systems courses.

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