I am studying for a bachelor’s degree in cyber security. I just found out that if I choose my electives carefully, I can get a certificate in health informatics in addition to my degree and not have to take extra classes. My college offers certificates as distinct programs from degrees, but because of considerable subject overlap, I would only use all three of my “major related” elective slots on classes for the certificate to fill the requirements for both.
I do know that there is an enormous need for cyber security professionals in the healthcare industry.
Should I do this? Is a 30 credit informatics cert going to matter to employers much, and is it worth giving up the flexibility?
Note: This question is not about a minor. I can get an extra certificate in addition to my major and minor(Small Business) with strategically chosen electives.
It depends on how interested you are in the electives. It would be a shame to go through college only taking technical courses.
That said, there are many excellent software jobs in the healthcare field. They say they want healthcare development experience, but I bet the HR folks will look kindly on a certificate in health informatics.
And if you can do any practical development work as a course project, that would be good to put on a resume.
I’ve been out of this area (specifically health informatics and cyber security. How’s that for weird?) for a decade now, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but I think this certificate will mean little unless you have experience to back it up. The certificate thing seemed to just be getting started when I was in grad school, and I got one, and I doubt anyone ever cared about it. Research is what matters.
If you have electives you’d really like to take, I advise taking them instead.
It’s mainly a “looks good on the old resume” thing.
Even if you don’t apply/don’t get a job in HC IT, potential employers in other fields look at little extras on a resume and this one shows you put in extra effort. Extra effort is a good thing.
Remember, without experience your competition are the other new grads. How do you separate yourself from them?
It can’t hurt, but it probably won’t help. The value of this kind of certificate as a qualification is pretty limited-- it will basically only be considered during your very first job, and even then only as a tiebreaker if you are up against a similarly qualified candidate without the specialization.
If you have nothing better to do with the credits, go for it. But if there are classes that would help you professionally by actually building your skills (rather than as paper qualifications) I’d weigh that very carefully.
Rather than gaming majors, My advice is to focus on internships, student jobs or even volunteer work that will get you past that entry level barrier. Get to know your career counselors, attend professional events and build a network. As a student, you have access to opportunities that will help you get past that first gate, and if you don’t take advantage of those you will always be behind those that have. You really need to be getting past the entry level now, because it becomes 10X harder the moment you graduate.
What is the value to employers of this certificate? Does the subject interest you? Could extra study increase it to a double-major degree? So could you get a degree in ‘Cyber Security and Health Informatics’?
The subject does interest me, and I have done a little bit of Healthcare IT work already. My school only offers Health Informatics as a certificate, not a major.
At my community college a certificate is a 15-credit one-semester program for someone just entering the job market to get them started with basic skills. You said the topic is interesting to you, and certainly around here it’s really hot topic health IT/security.
What do you mean by “major related” electives? I assume you’ve already had Web programming classes, know Python, networking admin, computer ethics, etc. If not look into those.
However I would suggest you take some electives that pique your interest beyond just technical skills. One reason for a bachelor’s degree is to get a broad view of the world. If they’re really wide-open electives, how about World Religions? the history of Russia? economics or history of crime? business law? Spanish/Chinese/Russian? I’d someone in HR would find these intriguing if they show up on your resume.
I’m sure others could recommend other interesting electives.
What does your academic advisor suggest? When I advise students I try to steer them into taking more “fun” electives versus more of the same technical electives, because it may be your best chance to get exposed to more varied topics while you’re still in college.
My major requires me to choose several courses from the Information Systems, Information Security, or Computer Science fields. This is what I mean by major related electives. I am already done with humanities and social studies.