kintokae t1_j6fl8k6 wrote on January 29, 2023 at 11:59 PM

I would highly recommend UM over UMF any day. Consider your future career path and look for positions posted now. Are they requiring a BA or a BS degree. UMF cut most of the bachelor of science degrees when the University of Maine System began pushing for single accreditation. They only issue bachelor arts degrees now. UM has a strong program in Computer Information Systems (they merged with the spatial engineering department a few years back). They teach C++, html, Java, databases, and more. Depending on the career path you wish to pursue, you will have more in your portfolio coming from UM.

That being said, nothing stops you from applying to one campus and getting permission to take courses from another campus within the system. I do this with online classes at UMA that do not have an online counterpart at USM. I went to school at UM years ago and now attend USM.

flocking_north t1_j6gb2da wrote on January 30, 2023 at 2:57 AM

I agree with your post for the most part, but a couple things. Nobody cares about BA vs BS in CS. That said, you're right that they should do UMO no question. OP should stick with computer science. Ceiling for career and pay will be much higher. Also it really teaches you the underlying fundamentals instead of teaching you more like a trade. Even years down the line I can (for the most part) tell which of my colleagues did full CS programs versus CIS/bootcamp/IT/etc. They are all successful no doubt, but the lead/principal devs/architects are all hardcore CS people. YMMV and of course not everyone in tech wants to work IN tech, so it's all about what you want out of it.