[conure]

Hi all,

I'm about to finish my first year in a Software Development degree and I've been told by my university that they now also offer a Computer Science degree.

Basically, the first year for both comp sci and software development are identical, and the only difference in second and final year is that they have different compulsory modules - effectively I could do 2 identical degrees and come out with both Computer Science and Software Development. I've already chosen which modules I will take and, as I said, both courses offer them all.

So my question is simply, generally in this industry, which degree title will produce better results when looking for employment? Is it not as clear cut as that?

Hope you can help!

[Ryano121]

I would always say Computer Science but perhaps I am biased because that's what I did

However I do have one friend who did a software development degree and he did find it harder to get a job afterwards. That being said he did find one eventually it just took a lot longer. Look into that though as much as you will as the degree title is probably not the only variable to take into account there.

Most of the dev jobs in my area all require a Computer Science degree. I'm not really sure what they see of software development degrees. It's worth a check in your own area though.

[BenignDesign]

If it's essentially the same courses, I'd say go for both... then tailor your resume to the specific needs of the job for which you're applying.


On a side note, the Lounge really isn't the place for this. Moving to Student Campus.

[lordofduct]

Ditto with B9

It's exactly what I was thinking the entire time I was reading it.

Double major, you might have to take a couple extra classes, then you'll have both degrees.

[modi123_1]

... and we are sure these are not "concentrations"? It seems.. strange.. they would have a software dev degree *before* the comp sci degree. Typically the comp sci is the beach head, and specializations like web design and software dev come after.

[jon.kiparsky]

If I just go by the names of the degrees, I'd assume that Software Development is for people who want to make software and Computer Science is for people who want to academicize, but that might be incorrect. Hard to say without seeing the actual course listings.

If I were hiring a developer I wouldn't have a problem with either of those degrees. But then, my degree is in linguistics, so I'm not really one to complain.

[conure]

Hey guys,

I'm in the UK so our degree system looks a little bit different. I wouldn't be able to take both - I will only get one title on the degree certificate!

The two degrees are listed here - as you can see, they're very similar!

http://www3.open.ac....hways/q62-9.htm

http://www3.open.ac....ways/q62-12.htm

Do you have any advice about which is perhaps more relevant to general work?

[modi123_1]

So they are concentrations.. or as they re-coined it "pathways". Your over all degree will still be "BSc (Honours) Computing and IT", but those "pathways" help you bring order to the quantity of classes. On that note - go software dev side.

Side note - irrelevant of the whole degree thing - on first blush a place called "Open University" sounds like a for-profit scam school. Just say'n.

[conure]

modi123_1, on 08 March 2013 - 09:35 AM, said:

So they are concentrations.. or as they re-coined it "pathways". Your over all degree will still be "BSc (Honours) Computing and IT", but those "pathways" help you bring order to the quantity of classes. On that note - go software dev side.

Side note - irrelevant of the whole degree thing - on first blush a place called "Open University" sounds like a for-profit scam school. Just say'n.

Thanks for the clarification - I also think I prefer the software development side.

The Open University is pretty popular in the UK - it's well respected and writes course materials for many other universities and publishes a lot of good quality research so I'm not too worried about it being a for-profit school! I can see why you'd think that though lol

Thanks

[BobRodes]

Computer Science and Software Development (Software Engineering) are related in a way similar to Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. An example of something that you wouldn't study in CompSci and would in Software Engineering would be requirements gathering. At least as I understand it; my degree was in music.