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I just wanna know which of the best you think is to get into. These are the four computer-based majors in my school...I am almost positive that i know what you all will pick...and it is the worst in my opinion

I've heard that the demand is pretty good for computer business management - developing and integrating information systems and such into businesses. Having knowledge of both the technology and business sides of things would be very valuable since there seems to be a "barrier" of some sort between the ones programming and the ones running the business.

However, from what exposure I've had with it (MRP/ERP systems), it doesn't seem like the "best" job if it isn't something you're interested in. My advice would be to go with whatever you like best.

I think I voted what you thought I'd vote

I don't really know which will profit best. Probably the one you like doing most works best for you.

Yeah, I'd say go for whichever you're the most interested in. Whichever you enjoy the most. I voted the way that is for me. *mysterious* *looks at poll results* Okay, not very mysterious...

I voted programming since it's the only one I particularly know much about... although that's not saying much. Most of my knowledge is web-based programming and not very advanced either (since I'm more of a designer). But it is quite rewarding "creating" something.

But as others said, do whatever you enjoy. As long as the pay is decent enough for you to have fun, the main thing is that you don't die of boredom whilst at your job.

I took your question literally... phrased as such:

"Which technology-based focus will make me the most employable?"

As such, I voted Networking. There is currently a high demand for network personnel, especially in the area of network security.

However (and a big "however" at that)...

Don't choose a major focus based solely on what is the most lucrative/demand field out there. If you do, for example, choose Networking and don't enjoy it, you could very well be staring down the barrel of a multiple-year job doing something you get very little enjoyment from.

This isn't to say that if you choose what you enjoy doing in your free time, you won't end up disliking it as a career, or that once you've graduated you can never do anything else, but it's best to focus on what truly drives you. If it's programming, go for it. Server administration? Go for it. Poodle grooming? Go for it!

All else being equal, you can use the "lucrative/demand" criteria as a tie-breaker, but don't let it be your only criteria.

Just my two shiny copper coins.

P.W.

oh i wasent making the poll for my major...i am already networking...i just kinda wanted to see who went with programming.
For the programmers:
Compare 1968 to now
Compare COBOLand Basic to Java and Visual basic
Compare b to c
Compare frontpage to HTML

Programming is a dying career...in my opinion

Programming languages are getting so easy to use I can bet that in 10-20 years there will be no need for programmers and in another 5 years i belive they will advance the programming languages so simple that preteens could program.

You could say the same for networking but i dont think in my life-time networking will be useless.

Programming is good but i would not major in it.

and PixelWrangler i agree with you about the money thing...if i was in it for money i would choose electronics....Man...I wish people would stop calling me miss over the telephone...and please state your opinions...i am using this poll as a reference for my report...if you dont mind...you will all be names "general public"

Sorry for double posting...man am i going to hear from megaman about this...
But your guysinput will help i am putting the people i talk to in four catagories
Me-my opinion
General public-"Not you i mis-typed before"this is people with no idea
career hopefuls-you guys and one other forum
and people in the career

this is due monday so any input would be good...

I picked programing, because the end result is the most enjoyable for me.

Just because we don't use punch cards any more doesn't mean that the craft itself is dying. That just means we can pay more attention to the concept and the end product, and not so much on the regulations that will make those possible. And I wouldn't kid myself into thinking that programing is child's play either. A good program take a lot of work, as is evident by the majority of bad programs out there, particularly those employed in the business sector. Sometimes I see a program a business uses and I want to rip it a part and make it actually work.

Networking is both fun (because it's hands on) and lucritive, but it's also the fastest way to get people to impale effegies of you and put them in their offices. The less I have to work with clients, the better.

Business management = *snore*

Electronics would be my second choice, particularly electronic engeneering, because you get to /make stuff/. That's very important to me in any feild, that I get a chance to be creative and productive.

darkknight wrote:oh i wasent making the poll for my major...i am already networking...i just kinda wanted to see who went with programming.

Ah...

darkknight wrote:For the programmers:
Compare 1968 to now
Compare COBOLand Basic to Java and Visual basic
Compare b to c
Compare frontpage to HTML

Programming is a dying career...in my opinion

Programming languages are getting so easy to use I can bet that in 10-20 years there will be no need for programmers and in another 5 years i belive they will advance the programming languages so simple that preteens could program.

Technically, there are already applications out there that make developing a "program" easy to do... point-and-click game/app creation tools, etc. However, "programming" as such will most likely never truly fade away, just become more sophisticated in concept and implementation (programmers, after all, have to create those point-and-click apps). Until there is true language (re)cognition in AI systems, there will always be a layer of abstraction between the programmer's intent and the end result. And, even then, the language (re)cognition would be the end result of a programmer's work.

darkknight wrote:You could say the same for networking but i dont think in my life-time networking will be useless.

Programming is good but i would not major in it.

Actually, if networking was to become simplified, it would most likely be due to... well, solid application programming.

darkknight wrote:and PixelWrangler i agree with you about the money thing...if i was in it for money i would choose electronics....Man...I wish people would stop calling me miss over the telephone...and please state your opinions...i am using this poll as a reference for my report...if you dont mind...you will all be names "general public"

Mmm... tricky... let me think on that... I usually like to know beforehand if something I post/say is used for research/reports (though I do understand wanting to get candid opinions). For general stats, etc., no problem. Direct quotes... I'll think about it.

P.W.

P.S. - Any particular reason people keep calling you "miss" over the telephone? Just curious...

P.P.S. - If you were really just in it for the money, you'd be in law or medicine. Neither's going anywhere for a good long while.

P.P.P.S. - Or poodle grooming. Let's not forget poodle grooming.

darkknight wrote:Sorry for double posting...man am i going to hear from megaman about this...

[offtopic and aside]...and he says I post too much... *gets hit on back of head* WHAT?[/offtopic and aside]

PixelWrangler wrote:As such, I voted Networking. There is currently a high demand for network personnel, especially in the area of network security.

...and regardless of who's on security detail, someone's gonna find a way to hack in... just look at the whole HL2 source code theft that was (I think) all over the news (it was big news to the gamers!)... not that it's a bad idea or anything... (being on security, I mean.)

Sai (and other people) wrote:...do whatever you enjoy. As long as the pay is decent enough for you to have fun, the main thing is that you don't die of boredom whilst at your job.

ditto that advice. just don't make it too fun for you...

darkknight wrote:Programming languages are getting so easy to use I can bet that in 10-20 years there will be no need for programmers and in another 5 years i belive they will advance the programming languages so simple that preteens could program.

...and yet I still have trouble... I'M GIFTED, AUTISTIC (sp?), "SUFFER" FROM ADHD, [HUGE list I don't have time to type], AND I CAN'T EVEN DO A SIMPLE 3D PROGRAM IN DARKBASIC!!!!!!!!! *BLOWS A BIG HOLE IN THE WALL. EVERYONE STARES* ...um... you didn't see that, OK?

PixelWrangler wrote:P.P.P.S. - [text... that's not what I'm getting at -MMZ]

"P.P.P.S."? "Post-Post-Post script"? that's a new one for me...

PixelWrangler (again...) wrote:Just my two shiny copper coins.

you? giving up on mathematical (sp?) ways of saying two cents?!? *passes out*

Well as I said, I'm primarily a designer, so not really your target audience or whatever, but I take web design classes etc.
I mainly use Dreamweaver, but we have to learn programming either way because "If something goes wrong, you'll be able to understand why". As having an understanding of what makes it tick, helps you to know where things messed up easier.
Sometimes these programs can be a little too intuitive too and try and do what you want but accidentally add in unecessary symbols etc. Maybe it was just because the person using the program wasn't able to use it proeprly but someone once came to me cos they'd made a webpage in Frontpage and some of their links was messed up so I opened it in Notepad and Frontpage had added lots of uneccessary symbols which I cleaned up.... Dreamweaver apparently does this sometimes too but quite rare in my experience, still it's good to be able to read and understand code so that you can check these things
So programs like that probably won't ever completely phase out programming.
And if you're programming in something like PHP I think that's mostly hand-coded too (which you can do in Dreamweaver where it's all nicely coloured and formatted)... or at least that's what I have to do o_o;;
But beyond that... well I wouldn't know.

P.S. I sat with this open for ages cos I got distracted so sorry if any of this is redundant by now heh.

Sai wrote:P.S. I sat with this open for ages cos I got distracted so sorry if any of this is redundant by now heh.

don't think so... it's still useful... (the information. not "this", even though it is still useful... you are, too, but that's when you're either of help or explaining something... wait, I'm getting off-track again...)

I think out of those you posted, programming is probably the most useful for training people to think. In my job I test software and write small programs (more scripts really), and my degree was in maths, but I remember the one year of programming courses I took. At least at my university, the courses on algorithms and such were amongst the closest I've seen to teaching problem solving, which is a skill hard to overrate and woefully undertaught, and useful in every aspect of life.

Let me second chrono's comments.

I'd say a decent computer science (not programming) curriculum teaches basically three things:

• How to go from vague ideas to a reasonably precisely specified problem.
• How to break such a problem down into managable parts that we can solve.
• Solutions for importan problems in areas of interest regarding computers, like graphics and compiler design.

Programming is almost an aside in a decent program, as people are expected to basically become good programmers on their own.

The Algorithms class I took was really a thinking class, with some interesting brainteasers thrown in among more standard problems. Here's one:

1) Knowing the strategy you'll use in step 2, I pick 2 integers. I then flip a coin. If it's heads, I tell you the larger, if it's tails I give you the smaller.

2) Using some strategy that I know in advance, and the number that I just told you, you guess if I told you the larger or smaller number.

You need to come up with a strategy for step 2 that is right more than half the time. (Not much more... infinitesimally more is fine.)