<p>I want to work for a defense contractor or consulting firm, but can’t decide which major I want to pursue, so I need some insights. The thing is, guaranteed admissions are offered to virginia community college graduates to UVA in engineering/science but not their business school where their IT department is at. My community college offers transfer programs in Engineering, Business, and Computer science. I’m thinking about getting an associates in Engineering and transfer to UVA with the transfer agreement. Is engineering the right major if I want to get work in counsulting/contracting/IT? I have to decide pretty soon so any insights, suggestions, or tips will be appreciated.</p>
<p>It depends on what you want to do as a consultant or contractor. The answer is pretty open ended.</p>
<p>You really need to call UVa and talk with one of the SEAS advisors. If you’re interested in government contracting and the IT field you probably have 3 main options within SEAS as a major: Computer Science, Computer Engineering or Systems Engineering. They are all very different and SEAS will need you to know what program you wish to be a part of. It can’t just be an open-ended “I want to work in IT”. Also note that the Systems Engineering track is very competititve and has a cap on number of students enrolled, and not all students who apply for it are accepted to the program. So if that’s what you want, you’ll want a backup plan as well.</p>
<p>Note the following information about Major selection (from the SEAS Handbook): “Every major has a faculty contact available to talk with interested students. A list is available in THN 122. Systems Engineering and Biomedical Engineering may have caps on the number of majors they can accept. Admission will be based on academic performance in the first year.”</p>
<p>So again, you really need to call and talk to an advisor to determine your best route.</p>
<p>grp2013 thanks for the advice, I really should think of a back up plan just in case.</p>
<p>FWIW, I’m in the gov’t sector (private contractor) and I have a BSEE. </p>
<p>If you want to go the IT route, you’ll most likely want to do Systems. However, if you’re looking for network/computer-type engineering, you’ll want to look into CompEng or EE. </p>
<p>Do you know what type of IT you want to get into? Do you know what goes into contracting/consulting? I ask this because I’ve seen a few folks see consulting as major $$$ and fun perks…but they don’t see the harsh realities that come along with consulting/contracting. I also don’t foresee any major job growth in the gov’t sector in the next 2-4 years due to the crapola (to put it nicely) going on right now with the kids in that big white building with a dome. So, what exactly are you looking for?</p>
<p>shoebox - Can you please compare Systems Eng vs Comp Sc (not Comp Eng) from UVA for someone who wish to make a career in IT? I would think Comp Sc major would open more doors for IT related jobs.</p>
<p>Yesdee, it depends on what “IT” means to you. If it’s simply coding all the time, yes, CS would probably be a good choice. Systems, however, will give you a larger architecture experience, as well as an introduction to networks, risk management, in addition to CS.</p>
<p>Why did you not include CompEng? That, in my opinion, is the degree field to take if you’re interested in future IT work. It combines the best of EE and CS and systems engineering approaches will be worked into the coursework.</p>