<p>I’m a month away from graduating and thinking of the options available to me. I’m finishing with a biology degree and took a couple of computer science courses; loved the programming aspect. While browsing I found the PACE University MS comp sci program that accepts non CS degree holders. Does anyone have any idea how this compares to a regular MS comp sci degrees? Is it worth it, meaning, will I be able to get jobs that a person with a regular comp sci degree can get?</p>
<p>Have you looked into Computational Biology?</p>
<p>I did look into that and also bioinformatics but i’m not too sure what kind of jobs one would get from it or if its a more research Phd kind of field. I would love to be able to use computer science and the biology I learned in my bachelors degree but i definitely don’t want to go for a Phd. </p>
<p>You can make a half decent living in Bioinformatics if you’re in an area where there is a lot of research. A lot of Bioinfo applications are done in Python and Ruby, at any rate if you’re a good programmer with a bio background you could land a job in this without grad school. If you’re a self taught programmer my recommendation to you is to build a little portfolio of applications to show to a potential employer. Although some might disagree, I don’t believe good programmers are made in the classroom. If you’re good, employers are unlikely to care what your degree is in. I have many friends without undergrad degrees with big titles in good sized companies working as engineers and developers. </p>
<p>I was CS/EE/Physics undergrad one year from completing an EE/Physics focused PhD and have yet to take a class in programming that I found to be beneficial or helpful. </p>