Honours in Computer Science or Information Systems and Technology

G

Ghost02

Expert Member
Joined
May 16, 2008
Messages
3,749
Reaction score
125
Location
CPT
Hi guys,
I'm currently going for my second year in a Bsc Computer Science and Information Systems and Technology. I'm hoping to work for a bank one day, what would be best for me to study, I ideally want to go into the techobolgy department and work up to CIO or upper management even if not directly in the technology side. I plan on doing an MBA after a few years. What do you guys reccomend?

Thanks in advance
 
That's only a possibility though, the honors in one of the two is a definite
 
It depends.
Bluntly speaking, if you want to sit on a coding side, do the CS Honours.
If you want to be on a design and management side, do the Information Systems.
A MBA will supplement either though.

I'm final year in my BSc Information Systems and have been looking at doing my Honours in IS too.
 
I also did a bsc it in cs and is. I'd say for what you want to do definitely do honours in is.
 
Thanks for the input guys, won't they see IS as inferior and not take me? As much as a like coding I would much rather be on the corporate and management side of things, I can't be "the coder" for my entire life.
 
I did a BSc CS&IT and just finished a BCom (Hons) in IS&T. Colleagues of mine who did the same combination got places at Standard Bank and FNB. The BSc (Hons) CS people seem to go into coding (as has been said) or to work for CSIR, other research institutions and the like.

Hope this helps :)

Edit: IS puts your more on management, consulting, etc. side as compared to dev (CS).
 
Ghost02 said:
Thanks for the input guys, won't they see IS as inferior and not take me? As much as a like coding I would much rather be on the corporate and management side of things, I can't be "the coder" for my entire life.
Click to expand...
either degree is ok. remember your degree is just a stepping stone into a company. once you get in, it's up to you how you plan your career.
 
So if I do the IS honors they would still accept me into a coding position because of my Bsc being in CS too and then allow me to go more into the management roles? Will I have a lower income or harder time finding a job going the IS route? Thanks eb, what type of jobs did they get as graduates from banking insitiutions with the IS?
 
Hi. I was facing the exact same problem a month ago. I completed my degree this year, and spoke to alot of people about which honours degree is better, and what I've heard from various sources (lecturers and people working in industry) is pretty much what poorestguy said: "your degree is just a stepping stone into a company. once you get in, it's up to you how you plan your career". I also enjoy coding but cannot see myself a "a coder" for the rest of my life... but many people have told me that doing honours in CS does not limit you to a career in coding - I have a friend who did his honours in CS and is now working as a business analyst for a bank. Even if you choose to do CS honours, you still have your degree is IS, which allows you to fill an IS position. At the end of the day I chose a the CS honours route for two reasons: I am really interested and fascinated by the topics (Artificial Intelligence, Image Processing, etc), and after speaking to both IS and CS lecturers at my university, I personally felt that CS honours would improve my problem solving skills and analytical skills more than the IS honours programme.

Either option is a good option... so do more research, speak to more people, and also take into consideration what you really enjoy doing! Also, if you are looking into getting into a bank, keep an eye out for the FNB and Standard Bank recruiters who visit campuses every year - you could even speak to them on which honours degree is more suitable for a job at a bank.
 
Ghost02 said:
So if I do the IS honors they would still accept me into a coding position because of my Bsc being in CS too and then allow me to go more into the management roles? Will I have a lower income or harder time finding a job going the IS route? Thanks eb, what type of jobs did they get as graduates from banking insitiutions with the IS?
Click to expand...

This should provide a little insight into the types of jobs FNB offers graduates (I'm sure other banks offer similar positions): https://www.fnb.co.za/graduate-programme/main/IT-careers-at-fnb.html
 
No problem. I know people who have done IS Hons going into excellent dev jobs and people doing CS Hons and going into analyst jobs. Some companies don't differentiate much with Hons. As long as one undergrad major is what they need.

I agree with the post that you shape your career once you're in. The job i will be in next year will see me working with CS, IS and Computer Engineering graduates. Some with Hons, some without.

My colleagues applied to grad programmes, as did I. Grad programmes allow you to grow fast within an organisation (at least the one i will be joining), especially since the training is given by them.

Come to think of it, as far as I can recall, no one that has graduated CS with me has ended up at a bank or in any of the big 4. Most have gone into dev.

As far as income I've heard of/seen cases where grads get offered R4k-R5k p/m before deduction all the way to R20k p/m. I guess that it depends on the company and the position. Analysts in many cases earn more than devs, but you have both majors.

At the end of the day, look at what you enjoy. Afaik, banks seem to see CS/IS majors as equal. Hons is a bonus. Their grad programmes seem to level the field anyway.

All the best!
 
Last edited:
4k-5k ? You clearly going to the wrong companies.
 
Get Project Management qualification instead. You have the IT stuff covered. Through IT related project management you will hit the management side/level sooner.
 
Hi all. I'm new to the forum, and just saw this post, so I thought I would add my 2c.

I think COBOL gave some very good advice, specifically about a CS Hons degree being more condusive to developing stronger analytical skills. To expand on that (and given that the OP is in second year), I also strongly suggest continuing with any science courses that you may be doing as far as possible (Maths, Stats, App Maths, Physics, etc.). I completeld a double major in maths and cs, some 15+ years ago, and then did cs hons with a few hons maths courses in the mix. My experience was that a majority of the cs syllabus (which I also found more interesting than the IS syllabus) was something, I could have acquired by myself (in my own time, or on the job), but the maths courses really required the structure of a degree program (for me at least) to learn it. At the end of the day, I had acquired some strong quantitative and analytic skills, that I have used to good effect as both a software developer and manager.
 
Apparently MBA and CS Honours are more disjoint than IS Honours and MBA. Which means MBA supplement you a lot more as a person about management and all that stuff since you do do "some" management courses in IS.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X