Those with an MIS (or similar) degree

[hizzaah]

I've just started my third year at college and intend to graduate with a MIS degree. for those that already have a degree in this field, I've got a few questions for you:

- What was it was like for you finding a job when you graduated?
- What'd you do to distinguish yourself from the other MIS students?
- What is your current job?
- What would you describe your pay as for this job?
- Include any other school/job experiences/advice you want!

I'm not really looking to get a job specifically because it's "well paying" or anything like that. I also understand that it seems that while my school talks up this degree and how easily it is to find a good job after graduation, that doesn't seems the case in real life.

My problem is I dont know exactly what I can do with this major. I took it because it interests me.

thanks

 

[Lexluethar]

Any school is going to talk up any degree they offer. It's a business transaction and they would be foolish to downplay any degree. They are making money off of you, make no mistake about it.

When i was in school it was called a CIS major, but same feel where your first two years was business related, the last two years was programming.

-This is difficult to answer for me because i already had a job as a research analyst, so my last 3 years of school and the one year following i was employed full time there. Once i tried to get into the IT field it took a few months to find a solid job which i ended up taking
-Certifications, certifications, certifications. Experience is number one, degree is number to and the third most important would be certifications. Since you don't have experience and you're already going to get the degree get certifications
-Service Desk Specialist
-They pay me in dollars, and the pay is good
-I have 4 certifications, A+, Net+, MCST in Vista and my Server 2008 AD certification, prior to this job I worked at Applebee's as a level 2 technician for about 6 months, before that I was a level 1 technician for about a year in a half.

 

[hizzaah]

I'm planning on getting my A+ this winter break since there's a testing center near my house. I've been reading my study guide and nothing in there seems real difficult. After that the book i'm reading suggests an Net+ cert. is that the path you would take?

What kinds of things are businesses looking for nowadays?

What kind of things do you do for your current job?

 

[Lexluethar]

You should take whatever path you feel is right. I'm really big on not making career decisions for people or suggesting them. do what you want, do what feels right and what you enjoy.

-Most business want experience over anything. Experience is king and the more you have of it and the quality of it will really dictate what doors open for you.
-It's an expanded desktop support role, I do everything from configuring user accounts in AD, troubleshooting network, supporting software, swapping hardware, reimaging PC's, etc. I do not do anything on our supporting servers or our supporting switches though. I'm hoping to be supporting servers in a System Administrator role in the next year or two though. I've only been in specific IT jobs for the past 3 in a half years or so. Before that I was the IT person, but my job title was Research Analyst or some other title.

 

[hizzaah]

what are some of the career paths to choose from though? i know my school offers two MIS paths (networking and databases i believe) but there's only a handful of different classes between the two so my adviser has me going for both.

I should be trying for some kind of internship role soon? I know there's a job fair coming up at my school in october, so maybe i can get some kind of summer internship there.

Any internship ideas for the Austin, TX area?

 

[Lexluethar]

You should do what you enjoy. My CIS major encompased everything from programming to some server setup. Do what you like. What interests you? Networking? Servers? Programming? I would let what interests you guide your school and certification decisions.

I would definitely do an internship - either that or just a part time job working 12 hours a week at a local PC shop. ANything to allow you to put on your resume that you have experience before hitting the job market.

Realize right now experience is key, but it may change in a few years. Back in the late 90's and early 2000's certifications was everything.