To expand on what I wrote in my Job Ads post, I feel that the CST curriculum could use improvements to better prepare students for the real world.  Courses could be made more practical with the addition of more hands-on activity.  There isn’t a single course that teaches people how to build, disassemble, and physically work with computer systems.  This should be added to the CST 1100 course (Introduction to Computer Systems).  As it stands, CST 1100 is almost entirely historical.

Other courses I’ve taken, like Operating Systems Fundamentals and Networking Fundamentals, are a bit too theoretical in my opinion.  Both of these are almost entirely theoretical and has very little practicality or usefulness.  Database Programming is another one: it is at least somewhat practical, but has little in the way of projects to make it a very useful course.

Java and Web Programming courses are involving and have lots of hands-on work.  Students will write various kinds of programs in Java courses, and they’ll make simple websites in Web Programming I and II.  My only complaint regarding Java courses is that they’re usually too slow paced.  From my experience, if a few students are lagging severely behind the rest of the class, but they ask questions during class, the professor will slow the entire class down and not allow other students to keep moving forward.  I realize that these few students need the help, but they should really visit the professor during office hours, and at the very least everyone else should be able to move forward.  Perhaps all assignments should be listed on the syllabus, for those of us who prefer to work at our own pace.

The Web Programming courses actually address that concern, letting us know the assignments beforehand.  However, these courses are just a bit too basic.  The web design techniques shown in class are very amateur and wouldn’t cut it in the real world.  There’s nothing these courses teach me that I can’t learn on my own at places like w3schools.com.

A major complaint I have about the CST curriculum is the rather small selection of programming languages available.  We have Java, XML, SQL, and the Web Programming courses which teach HTML, JavaScript, and PHP.  Looking back at the job ads I looked at, many of them demanded experience in C++, Ruby, Python, and/or some others.  Although NYCCT offers two C++ courses, these aren’t part of the CST program for some odd reason.  CST needs C++ more than any other department, so why are they no longer in the CST department?  Oddly enough, C++ was part of the CST department as elective courses back in 2010 or so.

This brings us to another suggestion: more uniform course catalogs.  The curriculum has changed dramatically since I entered the school in Fall 2011, and not necessarily better.  Some classes have outright disappeared, like Introduction to Systems Analysis and Design.  So if I am to follow the curriculum from when I entered the college, I can’t, since some classes are gone.  Others have been renamed, like SPE 1330 (Speech/Public Speaking) which is now COM 1330.  This is a minor change, but it leads to errors on the Cuny Degree Audit, which takes time to sort out.  All of this leads to confusion and forced meetings with advisers, and I don’t even have an adviser listed on Cuny/Cunyfirst.

I think that colleges should focus on preparing people for jobs, but general, adaptable knowledge is also a good thing.  There are some courses that just seem completely unnecessary, however.  CST majors have to take two cumulative science courses for some reason.  I understand taking an introductory course, but the second one will go into details that we’ll never draw on.  It’s just a waste of time and money.  The same applies to calculus/precalculus, there’s no real reason for us to take it, aside from the fact that it’s required.

At the end of the day, I feel that if I relied only on my college experience, I wouldn’t be adequately prepared for jobs in these fields.  I learned relatively little programming in City Tech, most of my knowledge in this subject is self-obtained from working on my own projects.  The same goes for IT support jobs; City Tech really doesn’t prepare you for it at all due to the lack of hands-on experience offered, and because they don’t teach students how to troubleshoot properly.  These are skills I learned on my own or from others, outside of school.

The most useful experience you’ll get during your school years will probably be internship experience.  Thankfully, an internship course is required for both associate and bachelor degree in CST.  City Tech will help you make a proper resume, and they’ll send out your resume to various companies.  This is how I got my internship at Borough Hall.  It was a good experience, despite the fact that I had to pay for the internship course despite working for no salary.

My suggestion to those getting ready to enter the job market is to take multiple internships in your field.  The experience is vital for several reasons: it will make you more prepared for jobs, since schooling alone is not adequate preparation.  You also need this on your resume.  In addition, you actually can learn things from the internet.  This is how I gained much of my hardware knowledge; by following and becoming a part of tech websites and communities.  This is how I learned most of my HTML/JavaScript/PHP knowledge.  If you have a problem that you’re struggling to solve, chances are you can find the solution by googling it.

I have a friend who transferred from NYCCT (CST department) to Queens College.  His major in Queens College is Computer Science, which seems to be a mix between our CST department and our Computer Science department.  I don’t like the idea of mixing the two, but it does have many interesting courses that aren’t offered here, such as multiple algorithmic problem solving courses (NYCCT has an introductory one for EMT majors, not CST), a course about Compilers, an Artificial Intelligence course with languages not offered at NYCCT, Cryptography, more in-depth networking classes, among others.  This friend of mine told me that the courses offered at Queens College tend to be more applied/practical.

Brooklyn College also has more algorithmic courses, AI courses, and more hardware focus.  They call the department “Computer and Information Science”.  City College seems to have less programming focus, and more generic requirements like Calculus III.  When branching out more and looking at places like M.I.T., things become much different.  MIT has an “EECS” department, short for “Electrical Engineering and Computer Science” department.  They teach a much wider variety of topics and seem to have much more hands on experience.  Someone who gets a degree in EECS would be a very well rounded, knowledgeable individual.

My main suggestions to City Tech and their CST department are: more hands-on activity, stronger focus on practical/applied courses, less focus on unneeded courses like a second science course and Calculus, and a wider variety of courses like C++ (simply integrate it into CST department), Ruby, Python, Artificial Intelligence, etc.  Take inspiration from other colleges.

http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/academics/catalog_listing.shtml – NYCCT Catalog Listing

http://www.cs.qc.cuny.edu/index-3.html – Queens College Course Listing

http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/academics/schools/naturalsciences/graduate/computers/courses_g.php?sch=n&div=G&disc=CISC.&department=22&dept_id=109 – Brooklyn College Course Listening

http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/compsci/upload/Requirements-for-B-S-Computer-Science-Spring-2012.pdf – City College Course Catalog

http://www.eecs.mit.edu/academics-admissions/undergraduate-programs/curriculum – M.I.T. Curriculum

http://catalog.hunter.cuny.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=16&poid=2196&returnto=1728 – Hunter College Course Catalog

http://www.rit.edu/programs/computing-security-0 – Rochester Institute of Technology Course Listing

https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/confluence/display/undergraduatebulletinspring14/Department+of+Statistics+and+Computer+Information+Systems – Baruch College Course Listing

http://bulletins.psu.edu/undergrad/campuses/details/29/IST – Penn State IST Requirements

http://www.american.edu/provost/registrar/pdf/upload/2013-14-AU-Catalog-FINAL-7-26-2013.pdf – American University Course Catalog

Getting a job once you’re out of college can either be easy or hard. People will either get a job right out of college or it will take them a while searching through craigslist until they find something. Whether it is easy or hard depends on the person, but also is largely dependent on the school they attend. If your school takes the right steps to prepare you for the outside world then snagging that dream job should be no problem. I am part of ADGA program in City Tech. This is probably the most popular program in the school and it’s one the school is famous for. I would consider City Tech to be one of the better schools in the city for ADGA comparatively speaking. However, I am part of a smaller block under the ADGA program. I study 3D modeling & animation. City Tech puts a lot of focus on ADGA but some of the smaller blocks get largely ignored.

In the course catalog for City Tech  you can see all the required courses under ADGA for all the programs the school has. From this you can see that City Tech does adequately prepare you for the types of jobs that are actually available out there. Unless you’re studying 3D modeling & animation, then City Tech is lacking. Many of the courses that are required in this field are either unavailable to be scheduled, or if you actually get to sign up to one of them, it gets canceled. The upside here is the courses they do have for this block are all hands on and practical, which means that everything you learn is something you will use day-to-day while working. The school also helps with getting an internship through an internship course which is a major bonus and is something not all schools offer.

Many schools offer the same classes and courses for this program, because of little variety. However not all are named the same way.

To be prepared for the job market you really also have to depend on yourself along with the school you attend. If you don’t put in any effort outside the school hours, no matter how much the school helps you, you will not be ready.

City Tech does a good job preparing you but it can do better. Some schools like Rochester Institute of Technology focus more on the courses that are needed for your specific major. When you pick a program in the school all your courses will be based around it. Whereas in City Tech I am studying animation, but most of my courses are in the graphic design block because there are either not enough students studying animation so they don’t offer many classes for it (but do offer the program for some reason) or there are not enough teachers for everything.

All-in-all, I think i am prepared enough. The school offers a well rounded education for graphic design though it can center it’s focus better on individual programs. I am self-taught in most of the programs i will need (photoshop, 3Ds max, maya, illustrator, indesign) but i feel bad for people don’t didn’t take the initiative. they will come into the school expecting the school to teach them all these things extensively and it just doesn’t do that currently.

City Tech catalog listing
http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/academics/catalog_listing.shtml

Bachelor of Design – Carnegie Mellon
http://design.cmu.edu/content/bachelor-design

university of florida
http://www.dcp.ufl.edu/academics/degrees-and-programs/undergraduate-degrees-and-programs

rhode island school of design
http://www.risd.edu/academics/fav/courses/

university of minnesota
https://webapps-prd.oit.umn.edu/pcas/viewCatalogProgram.do?programID=207&strm=1149&campus=UMNTC

Pennsylvania State University
http://bulletins.psu.edu/undergrad/campuses/details/21/GD

Boston University
http://www.bu.edu/cfa/visual-arts/prospective/undergraduate/design/

American University
http://www.american.edu/cas/graphic-design/BA-DSGN.cfm

Texas Christian University
http://art.tcu.edu/graphic_design_ba.html

Point Loma Nazarene University
http://catalog.pointloma.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=8&poid=313&returnto=870

Bradley University
http://www.bradley.edu/academic/undergradcat/20142015/cfa-artcourses.dot

Florida State University
http://admissions.fsu.edu/apply/majors.cfm#1

Drake University
http://www.drake.edu/catalog/undergrad/14-15/collegeofartsandsciences/areas/graphicdesign/#BAGRAD

College of the Ozarks
http://www.cofo.edu/Page/Academics/Academic-Programs/Graphic-Arts.176.html

University of Denver
http://www.du.edu/ahss/edp/degree/courses.html

Rochester Institute of Technology
http://www.rit.edu/programs/graphic-design-bfa

When debating about City Tech curriculum in relation to the availability of jobs, it is yes and no. I can argue that the curriculum in my major at City Tech prepares me for the work environment. The school prepares students for general terms and offers adequate materials on the programming area. On the other hand, there are inadequate materials with some of the software application. Furthermore, the school uses software that is not used in today’s market. Also the students lack practical skills to handle and fix computers when they stall. It leads to the next issues of how courses are offered in terms of history, theory, and practical at the college.

The college ensures students learn all the historical and theoretical aspects of the course. The practical part of the course depends on the professor’s will. Some professors offer more practical than theory but majority of them concentrate on historical and theoretical part.

On other necessary courses, I am convinced that additional courses for Certifications such a, CompTIA, and CCNA, VoIP, and Citrix  that students must pass will be an added advantage since many available job openings require background experience and certifications. Again, the students need to have technical skills, troubleshooting knowledge, excellent communication skills, and over two years technical support experience. As evident, the job openings focus on the technical aspect that a lot of colleges fails to offer. I am convinced that if City Tech adds relevant workshops, the students will benefit a lot. The college is doing well on internship since I am through with mine, and I gained a lot.

On the issue of college preparing the students for the job, I believe so. Preparing students for the job market should be a priority since it is what we are studying for. If we do not learn what is essential in the work environment, it does not matter the level of education one has since without experience, securing a job will be difficult.

In terms of skills, education, and career preparedness, I can say I have acquired a lot in the areas of LAN, security, and programming areas such as C++, SQL, and Java for programming and database management. On the other hand, networking area is lacking, and I think City Tech need to give students adequate troubleshooting practices from PC to Server. Moreover, students should also be taught how to handle real time problems on the work environment and the challenges industries face in the work environment.

When comparing skills, education, and career preparedness at City Tech and how training in my field prepares me for the job market, in relation to other college’s programs and curriculum, I  can say that City Tech can be compared with  DeVry University that offer variety of programs so that students chose the discipline they want to specialize in. I established that City Tech offers ten times better courses than colleges such as NYIT, City College, Hunter College, NYU  and MIT . Therefore, City Tech is better than the other colleges I searched. City Tech is one of the qualified schools for the students who aspire to be IT managers and Network Administrators. Other colleges in NYC do not offer programs such as the programs at City Tech. Even through City Tech needs improvements in areas of practical, it is far much better than other colleges.

The job adds research helped me envision the job requirements employers will be looking at in the workplace for my field as a Computer Systems Technology major. As a Computer Systems Technology major at City Tech I believe that our curriculum in our major will help us prepare for the jobs that our available in the real world.  However, I think that the curriculum can certainly be improved so that students like me will be more equipped, interested and become better at the field I am in.  Most courses that are offered in the Computer Systems Technology in City Tech department in my opinion are really more on theoretical and historical rather than practical. Based on my experience in City Tech, Computer Systems Technology field classes are more theoretical and historical. However, they do give an overview on the types of jobs that a student will be going into in their careers. In my opinion to be prepared in any career it is important to have the specific skill that is required for the career that we are pursuing. However, to be able to learn a particular skill in Computer Systems Technology, it is better for a student to have practiced hands-on with the field, as an example, creating cable wires, programming coding, troubleshooting, replacing parts in the computer and etc. Through hands-on experience students will have a sense and experience on what type of tasks in the workplace they’ll be working on.

I am now entering my fourth year in New York City College of Technology and I must say that the courses that they offer in the Computer Systems Technology field are similar to other colleges like Hunter College, City College, York College, Brooklyn College, Baruch College, Lehman College, NYU, Queens College, MIT, and Stony Brook College. Baruch College as an example doesn’t have a Computer Systems Technology major but they offer a similar major which is Computer Information Technology and the only difference is that they focus more on business area related in Computer Information Technology. Aside from that difference, the courses that City Tech offers in Computer Systems Technology field is very similar with Baruch College.  [Baruch College page 16]  Other Colleges like Lehman, NYU, City College, MIT, Queens, York, Brooklyn, and Stony Brook also have a similar courses  that City Tech offers; these colleges also have Computer Science and Computer Information Systems. Based on my research with these different Colleges City Tech isn’t so bad after all. The only difference I saw with other colleges is that they offer more hands-on training with students more in the Computer Systems Technology, Computer Information or Computer Science unlike with City Tech the courses are mostly theoretical not many courses offer practical where students can practice the skill.  Moreover, based on my research I also found out that the class size that City Tech have in Computer Systems field is similar to the CUNY colleges I have researched and also the private colleges mostly 20-35 consisted of students in each classes. The only big difference that I saw that City Tech and these colleges have are the electives that a student must take to complete his/her major. Overall, the skills that are required to be Computer Systems Technology in City Tech like programming, web design, networking and etc is the same to what other colleges are also looking for their students.

City Tech does offer internships for Computer Systems Technology field however, the department is not very good telling updates to student in my opinion, if there are any internship that are available. I think this is important because  as a student, I would like my College in this case City Tech to be more helpful and give rightful advise to any students that wanted to know how they are doing with their major and what steps should they take to be able to prepare themselves in the workplace.  To be able to be prepared with a specific field I would want to have a great experience with it before I graduate because that is the main motive why I am taking this major, which is, I want to learn skills that is related to Computer Systems Technology.

My suggestion would be to the department is that they need to have a better  advisement for their students. I feel like they aren’t very organized with handling the students especially with leading them to the right direction with their careers. As example giving advice on the internships and advice on the classes that a student will decide to choose. Lastly, the courses that are related in Computer Systems Technology should be more hands-on rather than just being taught theoretically because the skill in my opinion is more relevant than knowing the history of it and the theories.

Links:

City Tech

Hunter College

City College

York College

Brooklyn College

Lehman College

NYU

Queens College

MIT

Stony Brook College

Baruch College

Hi guys, my name is Ray Chen and my major is Electrical Engineering Technology, I have been studying in City Tech for two and a half years now. Through the previous post on job search, I see that the jobs on my field not only requires a degree, but also knowledge on specific programs such as Auto Cad and Mutlsim which is part of my major’s curriculum. My major’s curriculum consists mostly of theoretical courses that combines with practical lab, a great example of this would be circuit analysis, this course teaches the theoretical background for the method we uses to analyze a circuit and then have the students do a practical lab where the students have to use the theory they learned from the lecture to analyze the circuit for the experiment. Through the research I have done for the “job ad” post, I concur that my major’s curriculum at City Tech adequately prepare us the students for the jobs that are available out there, I do not think there are different courses needed to be added to adjust for the types of qualifications that is shown on the job ads, because most of the skills required are part of the curriculum. 

I think a college education should not only focus on preparing the students for the jobs but also teach them different skills that are transferable to other subjects, because no one know what the future will be like, the graduated student may ended up doing something other than what he or she has studied for, with a universal skill like communication will help the students greatly even if the student ends up doing something different from their fields of study.

Even though city tech’s curriculum do adequately prepares the students for their future career, why do students still choose to transfer to a different college, there are many reasons why they decide to transfer to another college, and one of those reasons are that city tech does not offer the degrees that they want. Let’s take my major for example, city tech only offers a bachelor in electrical engineering technology degree while other universities like City College, Poly-Tech, Stony Brook, Buffalo University, Hunter University, Florida Institute of Technology, New York Institute of Technology, MIT, Stanford University, and UCLA offers the bachelor of science in electrical engineering technology, as for their curriculum there are not much differences between them and city tech, the only differences is that they requires the students to take higher level math and science courses, such as calculus III, linear algebra, differential equations, and chemistry. I think that in order to have the student stay and graduate, city tech will need to offer not only more degrees but also a more flexible class schedules, because there are classes in my curriculum that only offer one class per-semester and it’s a prerequisite for other classes. In my opinion I think that there is no need for any changes for my major’s curriculum, because it offers everything that is require by the jobs in field of electrical engineering technology.   

References

 City College

 Poly-Tech

 Stony Brook

Buffalo University

Hunter University

 Florida Institute of Technology

New York Institute of Technology

MIT

Stanford University

 UCLA