General Computer Technology Degree?

[BenL]

Does something like a general computer technology degree exist? Like it doesn't focus on networking or engineering? Just a bit of everything? Sorry if this is an odd question. I'm almost completely new to forums/posting anything online. Thanks.

[tkitch]

Yeah, but it depends on the school.

 

I got an A.S. in "Computer Technology" way back when.  It covered basic programming, hardware, networking.  It's great for getting into IT, but if you want to go anywhere specific, a more specialized degree is better.  

[AbydosOne]

20 hours ago, BenL said:

Does something like a general computer technology degree exist? Like it doesn't focus on networking or engineering? Just a bit of everything? Sorry if this is an odd question. I'm almost completely new to forums/posting anything online. Thanks.

I'd say your better off spending time looking into each field on your own and finding what you like before diving in. "Jack of all trades, master of none" doesn't help much in a lot of tech fields, but depending where you end up, you'll also be trained by the company for their line of work, so don't worry too much about proprietary systems/tech; just have a solid understanding of the essentials in whichever field you choose.

Edited April 30, 2021 by Spotty

[theJish]

I'm currently enrolled in Google's IT course programs on Coursera. Gives you some basic certifications but the courses are affordable, and have a lot of good basic, ground covering information. Super useful if you want to start with some general classes.

[BuckGup]

Not really and that's sort of the issue. There's computer engineering now which takes a mix of software and electrical engineering. There's also CIS and MIS degrees but those are business oriented. Personally I think your best option would be to go with a BS in computer science and then chose electives or simply do it yourself to learn the other areas you want to

[AbydosOne]

12 minutes ago, Sakuriru said:

Computer Engineering: Computer hardware engineering (components, low level programming)

Electrical Engineering: Nothing to do with computers

EE can have things to do with computers, just more on a macro scale (vs. micro/nano of a Computer Engineer). Many of the EE courses I took were related to logic design and computer organization. I specifically didn't care about silicon design, as long as I could take a premade chip and use it, which is why I went towards EE.

CE is more towards designing at the semiconductor level to create IC chips; EE is, in turn, using those chips together on a PCB to make real-world items. In other words: CE designs the processor/chipset/RAM, EE designs the motherboard/PSU/connectors.

(to be clear, EE is more than just motherboards; there's also wireless comms and power systems too)

[danomicar]

5 hours ago, BenL said:

Does something like a general computer technology degree exist? Like it doesn't focus on networking or engineering? Just a bit of everything? Sorry if this is an odd question. I'm almost completely new to forums/posting anything online. Thanks.

What are you looking to learn specifically? You can take general computer use courses at a local community college most likely. 

[v0id]

3 hours ago, Sakuriru said:

Information Technology: Worthless degree that no one cares if you have

*cries into diploma* 

[Lurick]

15 hours ago, Sakuriru said:

For networking/cybersecurity etc no one cares about degrees, only certs like Security+

Wrong. HR bots care about degrees which helps you land jobs.

Certs don't help if you can't apply your knowledge either.

[mousesnob]

I think a "general" computer degree i.e non specialized or not something like CS or software dev wont get you anywhere on its own. Once im done with my current degree i might take im thinking i might do a year course or something to get some IT certs. Which is the only way to get some employability out of it afaik.

Keep in mind that im not in the us though both uni and job market is different

[BenL]

On 4/29/2021 at 12:34 PM, AbydosOne said:

I'd say your better off spending time looking into each field on your own and finding what you like before diving in. "Jack of all trades, master of none" doesn't help much in a lot of tech fields, but depending where you end up, you'll also be trained by the company for their line of work, so don't worry too much about proprietary systems/tech; just have a solid understanding of the essentials in whichever field you choose.

I'm mostly interested in hardware. But i'm pretty sure engineering is out of my reach. Would networking be a good one? 

[BenL]

On 4/29/2021 at 12:17 PM, tkitch said:

Yeah, but it depends on the school.

 

I got an A.S. in "Computer Technology" way back when.  It covered basic programming, hardware, networking.  It's great for getting into IT, but if you want to go anywhere specific, a more specialized degree is better.  

I was looking for something along those lines but they seem to have died out. Most degrees I've been seeing seem to be more focused toward a certain path.

[BenL]

On 4/29/2021 at 12:46 PM, Gerritz said:

I'm currently enrolled in Google's IT course programs on Coursera. Gives you some basic certifications but the courses are affordable, and have a lot of good basic, ground covering information. Super useful if you want to start with some general classes.

Thanks, I'll look into those.

[BenL]

On 4/29/2021 at 12:47 PM, BuckGup said:

Not really and that's sort of the issue. There's computer engineering now which takes a mix of software and electrical engineering. There's also CIS and MIS degrees but those are business oriented. Personally I think your best option would be to go with a BS in computer science and then chose electives or simply do it yourself to learn the other areas you want to

Computer Science mostly covers programming doesn't it? I know software is unavoidable, but i'm more interested in hardware. I think engineering is a bit out of my grasp, do you have any recommended degrees based on that?

[BenL]

23 hours ago, Sakuriru said:

Computer science is not a "general" degree. It is entirely about software.

---

Computer Science: Programming
Software Engineering: Same as above but with more nonsense

Computer Engineering: Computer hardware engineering (components, low level programming)

Electrical Engineering: Nothing to do with computers

Information Technology: Worthless degree that no one cares if you have

 

For networking/cybersecurity etc no one cares about degrees, only certs like Security+

 

There's also other degrees out there like "Informatics". To be honest people don't want these, they want people with CS degrees (i.e., programmers) or people with certs (cybsecurity/networking).

I'm definitely more interested in hardware, but I think engineering would be too complicated for me. Would there be anything else that focuses on hardware?

[BenL]

22 hours ago, AbydosOne said:

EE can have things to do with computers, just more on a macro scale (vs. micro/nano of a Computer Engineer). Many of the EE courses I took were related to logic design and computer organization. I specifically didn't care about silicon design, as long as I could take a premade chip and use it, which is why I went towards EE.

CE is more towards designing at the semiconductor level to create IC chips; EE is, in turn, using those chips together on a PCB to make real-world items. In other words: CE designs the processor/chipset/RAM, EE designs the motherboard/PSU/connectors.

(to be clear, EE is more than just motherboards; there's also wireless comms and power systems too)

Are there degrees more focused to doing work on the "field" instead of more lab/design work? I'm more interested in assembling things than designing them.

[BenL]

22 hours ago, danomicar said:

What are you looking to learn specifically? You can take general computer use courses at a local community college most likely. 

I don't really have those in my area unfortunately. Unless i'm just overlooking them on accident. Do you know of any good ones online? Something hardware focused? 

[BenL]

19 hours ago, v0id said:

*cries into diploma* 

At least you have one!

[BenL]

8 hours ago, Lurick said:

Wrong. HR bots care about degrees which helps you land jobs.

Certs don't help if you can't apply your knowledge either.

That's one of the reasons I'm looking into degrees. Experience is great, and I do have some, but that piece of paper can make all the difference sometimes.

[BuckGup]

55 minutes ago, BenL said:

Computer Science mostly covers programming doesn't it? I know software is unavoidable, but i'm more interested in hardware. I think engineering is a bit out of my grasp, do you have any recommended degrees based on that?

No, it's just most people who go for comp sci end up being software devs. Technically computer science is a scientist who uses computers to solve problems. I went for computer science and now work with mainly HPC AI hardware benchmarking. There's some programming and scripting but it's not really the majority of what I do. The degree you are searching for, and I was for many years, simply does not exist. Your best bet is to go for computer science and take electives that will supplement you with what you want to learn about hardware. Otherwise computer engineering would be the only other degree that would fill your needs but becoming an engineer is pretty hard.