Jobs for the Major
How this major affects a job search
When looking for jobs, the good news is that you're doing something computer science-related, there are plenty of job opportunities in this career field. Looking for a job with a computer information systems degree is also not as competitive as looking for one with a vanilla computer science degree, either.
Plus, if a computer science major ends up concentrating on databases or networking, which your major also focuses on, not only will he or she have the same amount of knowledge in that subject but also much more technical knowledge in the programming side of things, putting you further at a disadvantage.
Remember your strengths when you're searching for jobs that computer science majors can also do—with a much higher-level view of computers, chances are you won't get caught up in the technical details of problems and can therefore see them in a different light. Also, you have a business side that computer science majors don't have, which can help you land those analyst and managerial jobs over them.
Common Career Fields
Business analyst/consulting. Get ready to marry some computers to some businesses. (You may now kiss the...computer?) This is the main focus of a computer information systems major, after all—how to make computers useful to businesses. Your job will be going around and taking a look at various business' problems and then tell them what computer systems or programs they should use to solve those problems.
Database administration. In a database administration job, you'll pretty much be doing the same thing that computer science majors would be doing. Just make sure that databases are secure and kept up-to-date, and be prepared to exercise a lot of patience. There are a lot of problems that seem silly to you, but completely confusing to non-computer people. Don't be that computer guy.
Development. This is traditional computer science stuff, too—software, mobile, and web development and making sure things work and look the way they're supposed to. You're probably going to have a slight disadvantage when applying to jobs here, given that computer science majors will have more experience with this kind of stuff, but don't be afraid to give it a shot.
Network administration. What it says on the tin, really. Prepare to use all the knowledge that you gained about networks here, since your job will be ensuring that a company's LAN or WAN network is working properly, as well as all the components that make up that network. You might also be working on some servers. We know this all sounds like a bunch of computer mumbo jumbo right now, but hang in there…
Programmer analyst. This job is a blend of being a programmer and a systems analyst. Sometimes you'll be working in code on fixing a system, and sometimes you'll be working in actual English to let non-computer people know what a system's problem is and the best way to fix it. Who knew a natural language could be used in computer science? Since computer information systems majors have a more general knowledge of computer systems, you might be better suited at this role than a computer science major.
Project managing. Given your knowledge in both computers and with the business applications of them, you'll be suited to manage computer-related projects, since you'll be able to communicate in both programmer-speak and normal people-speak. Just remember to speak programmer-speak to programmers and normal people-speak to non-programmers, or you might get a lot of confused looks.
Systems analyst. This position can have significantly less coding than other computer science positions. You'll be figuring out the problems that a business has and then finding the types of information systems or programs that the business can use to solve that problem. Sometimes you may end up creating programs to solve those problems yourself, but don't count on that happening too often.
Current unemployment of the major
5.6%Percentage of majors who get a higher degree after college
20%Stats obtained from this source.