Do employers care about Honors in Computer Science or should I just graduate with the 3 year degree? (1 Viewer)

[bloomberg]

Hi,

Im going into second year at UNSW studying Computer Science. Looking ahead, I am wondering if i should do honors or change to a double degree with commerce to make it a 4 year degree. I am not at all interested in research and would like to get into the workforce btw. My plan was that I would do 2 subjects per semester so 2-2-2 instead of the usual 3-2-3 in the trimester system. This is because I find it quite difficult to keep up with work/university/social life if I do 3 subjects per semester. This would extend my degree by about 0.5 years so I would complete my 3 year comp sci degree in 3.5/4 years. Now I was wondering If employers care about honors when employing you. I know that majority of the comp sci cohort at UNSW do a double with commerce but Im not interested in commerce and don't think its wise to spend money & time on something that will not help me. I was thinking that by graduating in 3.5 to 4 years instead of the 3 i will have more time to get personal projects and internships done and also be able to balance university and work. Do you think having a comp sci/commerce double or a comp sci- honors degree will give an edge in employment???

 

[sida1049]

If you're not really interested in commerce and don't really plan on entering the usual commerce related jobs, don't waste your time and money taking up double degree with commerce - you'll regret it very quickly. For a comp sci/IT student, I also don't think that an additional commerce degree will help your chances of getting into a job you care about.

It's perfectly fine to graduate without honours and land a job, as long as you actively try to go for internships, part-time work if you're interested, and look for graduate roles during your entire final year.

That said, honours will give you an advantage in the workforce; it's proof that you're likely more knowledgeable than your peers, and you are a good learner/researcher and therefore have many desireable qualities as an employee. There are also employers who only look for those who have done an honours year. Even if you're not too interested in research itself, I'm sure you can find an honours supervisor that will offer you something more project-focused rather than theory. To graduate honours, you do not need original research, even if your honours thesis is very theoretical.

That said, honours is a big commitment, so if you're really not interested in it, then don't worry about it and focus on internship/work experience and apply for as many opportunities as you can. (These are things you should go for with or without honours anyway.)