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MS or MBA???

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by n.salooja 1 view

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I need some advice. I currently have a B.S. in MIS and thinking about going for my Masters in Information Systems. I am little confused and worried that my M.S. wont mean a lot. I am double minded now about should i go for MBA with MIS concentration or stick with M.S. in Information Systems. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

19 replies

by j.lupo

getting both won't hurt you. The real decision is do you want to eventually move into management. If so, you will need the MBA and the business background. Your experience in Information Systems will be sufficient with the MBA. Hoever, if you don't want management then the MIS is the right track. You can always get the MBA later if you change your career goals.

Just my opinion.

by jbaker

From what I have seen, it does not matter matter whether it is a a M.S. or an MBA, as long as you have a Masters degree, you have a Masters degree. The paper will serve you well either way.

by alov_viano

it's ok to get an MS..coz ur currently hav a B.S. right?but it's ok too n good if u combine a BS with MBA..maybe u'll need it in ur company...
btw do u know anything bout billing and account receivable information system?the meanin of it,the DFD or maybe flowchart?

by n.salooja

Yes i have a B.S. in MIS. From what i understand Accounts and Billing Information system deals with business aspect with some computer knowledge and using applications that use computers. I think it is also called Financial Information Systems. I will try to find more information for you if you want. Also i work for government agency and yes i do plan on going into management but as of right now i want to go for network administrator if possible but if i get a chance to go into management i wont mind that at all. My responsibilites are of a manager at this time.

by pmoleski

A technical degree supplemented with an MBA is widely recognized and opens doors into many other areas of companies beyond IT and also helps with getting into senior level positions within IT. I am currently mid way through my own career and have a CIO level IT job with a Bachelor degree in Engineering so I have also pondered whether to go back to school. A MS would not further my IT career. An MBA would open doors to the rest of the executive suite. The same could also be accomplished by taking a position is a non-IT business area to broaden my background. An MBA also makes it easier to jump between industries at the CIO level.

Unless you are planning to be an IT researcher or university professor what you do on the job with your career is more important then getting further IT degrees if you are working in a technical area in industry. If I went back to school I would take an MBA as I am not interested in research or teaching.

So it comes down to where are you at in your career and where do you want to get to?

Good luck with your career
Phil

by n.salooja

I currently work for state govt and will have 5 years of experience in IT field. I started off as a data entry person and then moved into help desk and now assistant manager. The manager is retiring end of this year and i can move into his title then. Basically i want to get into teaching but not comptuer teaching. If anything math or english teacher in junior high or high school. I decided to go for M.S. instead of MBA because i dont feel like taking GMAT test which is a requirement to get accepted to MBA program. Now if i really want and which i might end up doing is that after i finish my M.S. in Information Systems i might end up going for MBA. I agree with you that MBA will open lot of doors and i also know that in govt having a M.S in any field will open doors too. Also i am currently working on certifications too like A+ and MCDST and then go for Network+ and MCSE, MCSA and CCNA. Hopefully that will make me a desireable canditate in both public and private sector. Also i believe that with my B.S. in MIS i have gained both business and computer knowledge that can be really usefull to me and can open doors.

by jdmercha

"Basically i want to get into teaching..."

If that is the case, then you want an MS in education.

Otherwise an MBA will open more doors than an MS in IS.

by j.lupo

I spent 15 years teaching at a local community college. If you want to teach, then you will need an Education degree and teachers certification. If you want to teach at a university then you will need a doctorate. Just the way academia works friends. :)

by n.salooja

I want to teach junior high or high school so if you could tell me what i need i would really appreciate. Just to tell you i have a B.S. in MIS and working on M.S. in Information Systems. I want to teach english in junior or high school. Honesly i wont go teaching for atleast few years so i have some time to meet the requirements for teaching.

by j.lupo

Well different states have different requirements to a point. Having any masters will be useful. There is a strong need for Math teachers and math and computers go pretty much together.

Now what you need to do is contact the board of ed in your area and ask them. There is teaching certifications, Masters degrees in Ed. At the high school level a masters is generally enough, but you will need that teachers certification. Because of the the need for Math teachers you can usually get a position teaching and then get the cert while working.

Check with your board of education first though. In NJ there is also a special test for subject matter at the different grade levels.

by jdmercha

In NH and NY you need a BS and a teaching cert to get a teaching job. You have to get an MS to keep your job. Part of the certifcation is a student teaching requirement. If you are in an MS-ED program the student teaching may be part of the program.

In Florida you can teach with just a BS but have to get certified within a year.

by craig herberg

I suspect that an M.S. in Information Systems will be a duplication of your B.S. Although the MBA will probably means more hours and $, it will probably enhance your career prospects more than an M.S. in Information Systems. If you have options of other M.S. degree programs with less overlap with your undergraduate degree, you might want to consider them.

Good luck.

Craig Herberg

by jmgarvin

You don't have to get a MS in Ed to get into teaching. Get the MS CS or MS MIS or whatever for teaching. If you want to change career paths you can.

I'd suggest getting the MS. The MBA market is getting flooded and pretty soon everybody will have a MBA.

by amcol

This is going to sound a little brutal but I offer this perspective to be helpful, and in no way mean spirited.

One of your stated career goals is teaching middle school English. The way you put together words and sentences, with multiple errors in punctuation and grammar, I cannot for the life of me imagine why you'd want to do this. You've got a very, very long way to go before you can be in any way qualified to teach English to anyone.

None of the posters so far has provided the advice you need, because they're all trying to answer the question you originally posed. Therein lies the problem...you're asking the wrong question. How can you decide whether to go for an MS or an MBA when you haven't decided what you want to be when you grow up?

A lot of people get their bachelor's degrees without a clue as to what they'll do with them. The opposite is true at the master's level...no one goes to graduate school without a pretty good idea why they're doing it. It's an unfortunate fact of life that a BS degree has become a necessary commodity. The master's degree is pursued by choice...no one needs one.

You need to figure out your career and life direction, then ask what degree to get. First things first.

by j.lupo

Amcol

That is very good advice. I know from personal experience what degrees I went for and why. For me getting my BS for Comp Sci was because of my love of computer programming and working in IT/IS. However, as I went to school while working I discovered I liked teaching. So, I got an MS in Comp Sci Education. It was a new program and very worthwhile. However, it has hurt me in my professional career in IT.

I decided in 2000 that I really wanted to be in IT and not teaching. So, our life choices change as we mature. Sometimes we have competing passions. I attempted to merge my passions and found it didn't work.

You give great advice to the original poster. It is very important to decide what you want and then get the credentials that put you on that path.

by n.salooja

You were not being brutal at all and i liked what you said. I know what i want to do in life and thats to be a network administrator. Teaching is something i like and would like to pursue it in the future when i am either retired. I have A.A. from Community college. When i went for my B.S. i knew i wanted it to be in computers but at that time i was given a option of getting a B.S. in either Computer Science or MIS and i decided to go for MIS. After looking into both majors i decided to go for MIS because it gave me not only knowledge of computers but also business. The reason i decided to for M.S in Information Systems is because i can get more opportunites in State Govt.

by kevaburg

My opinion is that if you have a plan and that plan involves an MBA then go for it.

My issue is that there are too many people on Gods good Earth that feel an MBA, Degree or whatever is the only way ahead.

A good colleage of mine has a Degree in computing sciences and can tell me flawlessly how Ethernet moves data from A to B, he knows the format and construction of the token in a Token Ring network but he still comes to me for design and implementation help. All I have is a CCNA and MCP in five disciplines.

I don't know you unfortunately and so the answer is not wasy to give, but sit down and decide what you want to do. Honestly, the answer will come with time.

by happyalwaysapple

iam currently studying MBA my bachelor degree was BScIT and why MBA coz it open a lots of door in an organization,,
makes our mind broad...
teaches us alot about companies and other stuff,, but if your aim is to become a prof in comp go for MIS,,

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