BA v BS and accredited degrees
Author
How much difference is there between a BS in CS and a BA in CS when trying to get a job after college? I'm a computer science major with an English minor so the highest level math course required is only calculus. I will graduate with a BA in CS, basically, instead of a BS in CS (which is only available if I am a math minor). Is my CS education going to be any worse with a BA in CS? And will it make finding a job more difficult than with a BS?
Also, my degree isn't nationally accredited (once again, only the math minor falls under that category). Is that going to pose a problem if I intend to get a graduate degree later on?
I'm asking these questions because, like I said, I'm not a math minor and I have no intention of minoring in math. I just don't want to go to school for 4 years and go $30,000 in debt for a useless degree.
Generally speaking, to my knowledge there's little difference between a BA and a BS in perception.
That said, there might be a difference in focus, and a difference in the education. The actual education differences might effect your job hunt, but [imo] the BS/BA difference won't. Personally, I'd consider only 1 year of advanced math not enough; enough that it will likely bite you in the long run.
And non-accredited degrees will most definately cause you problems later. Again personally, I would be very suspect of even the math version if your school tries to pawn off a 4 year degree in computer science that isn't accredited.
That said, there might be a difference in focus, and a difference in the education. The actual education differences might effect your job hunt, but [imo] the BS/BA difference won't. Personally, I'd consider only 1 year of advanced math not enough; enough that it will likely bite you in the long run.
And non-accredited degrees will most definately cause you problems later. Again personally, I would be very suspect of even the math version if your school tries to pawn off a 4 year degree in computer science that isn't accredited.
There is a direct proportionality between the size of an organization and how much they care about things like this. In great big corporations, with extremely bureaucratic procedures, it matters a lot - they have lots of H.R. folks with nothing to do but write procedures manuals and once those are written, its in nobody's interest to rock the boat so if the book says "B.S. Degree" then that's what the book says.
As orgs get smaller, these things matter less and less. Things are more informal and the people interviewing you have fewer and fewer bosses to worry about.
My company is tiny and we don't care about that sort of thing at all. Our evaluation and hiring procedures are completely informal - take the guy to lunch, shoot the breeze for an hour and it becomes clear very quickly if he's full of it or not.
As orgs get smaller, these things matter less and less. Things are more informal and the people interviewing you have fewer and fewer bosses to worry about.
My company is tiny and we don't care about that sort of thing at all. Our evaluation and hiring procedures are completely informal - take the guy to lunch, shoot the breeze for an hour and it becomes clear very quickly if he's full of it or not.
BA versus BS: utterly meaningless. Some schools offer one, some schools offer the other. It's a reflection of the organization of the school, not of what they taught you.
Non-accredited: big red WARNING flag. You can get a nonaccredited degree on eBay for five bucks. If I were you, on my resume I would strongly emphasize work experience and skills over education.
Non-accredited: big red WARNING flag. You can get a nonaccredited degree on eBay for five bucks. If I were you, on my resume I would strongly emphasize work experience and skills over education.
Author
I may be wrong, but according to this page only the minor in math is ABET/CAC accredited... that's the same thing, right? http://cs.wku.edu/new/undergrad.html
I mean, that DOES mean that the degree I'm going after (the 'any minor' you see on that page') isn't accredited?
I mean, that DOES mean that the degree I'm going after (the 'any minor' you see on that page') isn't accredited?
Er... no, that page says that the CompSci major in S&S is ABET-accredited, and requires you to take a math minor. Looks fine.
Author
But I'm not a minor in math, I'm a minor in English. Sorry, I know this isn't the place to come for help but my advisor isn't the place either, if you know what I mean.
Ahhh, I see. Dude, go ahead and take the math minor (you can, of course, double-minor). It will be extremely useful.
Education is never useless, as long as you learn something!
What I've learned, from a fairly long time in the industry, is that while I took a large amount of math at University, I should have taken more. It doesn't stop at linear algebra (for your quaternion and 3D modeling needs), or even tensor calculus (for your physical simulation), but goes well beyond into places like fourier transforms (for audio), spherical harmonics (for 3D shading) and even Clifford algebra. Graph theory and logic, which is math in some places, and philosophy in others, are also great tools to have.
So, if you actually intende to be useful in game programming, I would advise you to get all the math training you can lay your hands on. If you find you really can't hack it in math, then you should seriously re-consider a career in game programming (perhaps you'd be better at writing, or directing, or whatever).
If your goal is to have the best possible basis from which to launch yourself into the industry as a programmer, I would suggest getting a MSCS after your BS.
What I've learned, from a fairly long time in the industry, is that while I took a large amount of math at University, I should have taken more. It doesn't stop at linear algebra (for your quaternion and 3D modeling needs), or even tensor calculus (for your physical simulation), but goes well beyond into places like fourier transforms (for audio), spherical harmonics (for 3D shading) and even Clifford algebra. Graph theory and logic, which is math in some places, and philosophy in others, are also great tools to have.
So, if you actually intende to be useful in game programming, I would advise you to get all the math training you can lay your hands on. If you find you really can't hack it in math, then you should seriously re-consider a career in game programming (perhaps you'd be better at writing, or directing, or whatever).
If your goal is to have the best possible basis from which to launch yourself into the industry as a programmer, I would suggest getting a MSCS after your BS.
I find statements such as "no difference between BA and a BS" to be completely untrue. A BA is more or less a "BS Lite", meaning that its much easier to get, you have to take a good amount fewer upper division CS courses, you don't take many higher math courses, and you don't take as many science courses. Instead, you take more general education courses.
Personally, I think a BA is worth as much as an Associates from a Community College.
Personally, I think a BA is worth as much as an Associates from a Community College.
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