gnardical

I received my BA in Psychology from UVA last year, and I currently do research coordination (heavy emphasis on database design) in the UVA Hospital. I took two CS classes during my fourth year, and realized that it is a much better career path for me. I have considered trying to take prerequisites and get into an MS program, but I feel like doing so might be setting myself up to have gaping holes or a lack of breadth in my knowledge. Thoughts?

Additionally, VCU offers a postbaccalaureate undergraduate certificate in computer science (Certificate | VCU Computer Science). Does anyone have experience with this route/know how employers view certificates versus second bachelors degrees a la ODU (http://www.cs.odu.edu/~advisor/advis...cs_2nd.shtml)?

Finally, I have been considering going the HCI route. For instance, CMU offers the one year MHCI program (Masters Program - Pittsburgh | Human-Computer Interaction Institute), which specifically targets psychology degree-holders, among others. Would this be a legitimate way to break into software development, or do you think this would pigeonhole me into UX?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

OperaDad

Does the Certificate Program fulfill the prerequisites you need for an MS program? If so, then there is no reason not to get it.

A piece of paper can't hurt, unless it takes a lot more classes. If it does, then look at the additional classes and see if they are beneficial to you. 18 credits is 3 classes? If so, that should not be that difficult. If you are a class or two away from the 30 credits, your first class or two in the MS program may be able to fill that requirement.

HCI? If that is your interest, then why not? If you want to develop software for space exploration, work on Operating System development, or micro-coding processors, then it is probably not a good choice.