What is an Implementation Analyst?

CIS Systems Analyst student - which school should I choose? DeVry or Cal State

• This question involves a local university and may require some research. I am a CIS major, hoping to graduate and become a Systems Analyst. I am nearing Senior status and have the option of switching schools, so I want to choose the school that will look best on a resume, thus making me more likely to get a good paying job. I live San Diego, CA and would like to stay in this area, so my options are limited. The two choices right now are DeVry University and Cal State San Marcos (in San Marcos, CA). From the perspective of an employer seeking to hire a Systems Analyst, and all other things being equal, which university's CIS degree would be more impressive on my resume? The possible answers I am expecting (but not limited to) are: A) DeVry University B) Cal State San Marcos University or C) It really would not make much difference. Of course, please explain your answer and hopefully you will be familiar with the CIS/Systems Analyst field, so that you know what employers are looking for in a Systems Analyst. Thanks.

• Answer:

  Howdy pmac78-ga, If there had only been a Google Answers service 30 years ago when I was faced with this very same decision, except I was in Illinois. Granted, a few things have changed in those three decades, but not as much as we would like to think. I went the DeVry route, at least for my first year out of high school, and I found out this would not be my recommended route for anyone. I was studying in the Electronics Engineering (EE) field at the time, but I soon ended up going the route of what would be known as Computer Information Systems (CIS) today. You will want to be in an academic environment, where the emphasis is on just that, the academics, and not in an environment where it is education run mostly as a business. Employers want people who have come out the academic environment. If you intend to stay in California for your work, as it appears you desire, then you'll find that everyone is familiar with Cal State, and very many likely went there themselves. This makes you a colleague as soon as they meet you. Cal State is going to allow you the flexibility of going into the Computer Science (CS) field, or going beyond your Bachelor's Degree to a Master's Degree, if you so desire. The campus experience of a place such as Cal State San Marcos allows one to have just that, a campus experience of a library, lectures and personal networking. If you decide that you want to go someplace else for a Master's Degree, then the fact that Cal State San Marcos is part of the California State University System is another advantage, as this Merritt College document points out. http://www.merritt.edu/Projects/40254/transfer.pdf "All campuses follow similar admission requirements and use a common application form. Students will qualify for admission as a transfer student if they have a grade-point average of 2.0 ('C') or better in all transferable units attempted; are in good standing at the last college or university attended; and meet any of the following standards ..." Even a look at the two websites is very telling. DeVry University - San Diego Center http://www.devry.edu/locations/campuses/loc_sandiego.jsp "Spacious classrooms, lounge/vending area, information center/computer lab with online access." Cal State San Marcos http://www.csusm.edu/ "Library ... Research ... Technology ... Athletics" Cal State San Marcos - Computer Science Department http://csweb.csusm.edu/index.php "Presentation(s) ... Grid-based Secure Web Service Framework for Bioinformatics ... Web Traffic Quality of Service (QoS) ... Low Loss Parallel Queue Algorithm for Active Queue Management ... Real Time Traffic ..." It is these kinds of opportunities that Cal State can offer that will make the difference to you, and which will make a difference to your future employer. The RateItAll website has a lively bunch of comments from current and past students of DeVry University. http://www.rateitall.com/i-28327-devry-university.aspx "... First and foremost, before attending DeVry you have to decide what type of education you want. ... A University without a library or librarian cannot call itself a University. DeVry is just a mere institution. ... Everyone is always crying and complaining about the cost of the school. Every school is costly. I know it's going to be worth it in the end. ..." You should read through all of the comments, good and bad, on the above site for a relatively good view of DeVry, but let me add that any system that generates such a dichotomy of experiences needs to be approached with caution. One thing you want to check into, for both places, is what credits will transfer from your current school to the new one. Bottom line is that a potential employer is going to want someone that came out of an environment with which they are more familiar, such as Cal State, and the standards that they apply. If you need any clarification, please feel free to ask. Search strategy: Personal experience. I also examined the sites of both places, as noted above. Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher