When I first started City Tech, I had high expectations of learning mainstream programming languages such as C++, Java, HTML and SQL and as a result I enrolled in the Computer Science (CSC) major. However, while learning these languages, there were a bunch of classes that were deemed irrelevant to me that were required in order to get my degree. Some of these classes were higher level math courses such as Calculus 2, Discrete Math 2, Linear Algebra and many others. These classes deterred me from continuing my major as CSC so as a result, I changed my major to Computer System Technology (CST).
After changing my major and the curriculum I feel that I should have made this change a while ago. I admit that I haven’t adequately done my research on what major I should have chosen thus wasting a few semesters taking classes that don’t pertain to my current major. Reflecting back now after I’ve made this change, I know that I took a step in the right direction and gradually narrowing down to what I would like to do in the computer field.
In terms of preparedness, I can’t really speak too much about it since I have not took the higher level courses yet for a specific module. However, from the fundamental and basic courses, it has prepared me very little even though the programming classes are practical and hands-on. Most of programming concepts can be learned online. During the summer when I was working as an intern, most of the tasks that I was assigned had to be looked up on Google. The Web Development II course that the school offers only scratches the surface of languages such as PHP, Javascript, CSS and HTML. Also the specializations that the school offers are limited compared to other universities such as Boston University. Other universities have 6 or more while our school only has 4. Additionally, the school lacks labs where students can work with technology. Pace University offers these labs for students to work on virtualization and realistic enterprise computers.
Lastly, because the sole purpose of college is to prepare students for jobs, college education and it’s curriculum should definitely be based on the job market’s needs or demands. The problem is that with this school, it lacks the proper resources to prepare the students for the real world even though if the curriculum is on the right track. The lack of labs is incredibly detrimental for student education since it hinders the student’s ability to get curious and explore more about a certain subject such as virtualization or cybersecurity.
In conclusion, the education that I have received so far at City Tech is mediocre at best. On the bright side, I do favor how the school differs itself from other CUNYs such as City College and Hunter College where it offers an Information Systems degree instead of only Computer Science. This omits more of the theoretical courses such as higher level math courses, data structures and algorithms and sciences such as physics.
