Looking For College Info Online Gets Me Nowhere

[SnoringFrog]

So I'm doing what I always do when I can't figure something out, I ask here lol. Despite this being an anime site I always prefer asking her because it's easier to actually get helpful, polite replies and chances are there's someone here that knows something about this.

Ok, so here's my dilemma. I'm having difficultly finding colleges that seem to offer what I'm interested in. This could be because I honestly don't know what majors to look for exactly, or because...well I don't know what else. Right now I'm split into two major areas I'm looking at.

Computers: Right now I primarily do web development (not much design-wise, because I'm not very artistically inclined at all), so I use html, css, javascript, php and the like already, and have been looking into learning some more server-side scripting languages, such as some more in-depth php or asp or something. In addition, I was considering going into software programming or perhaps a more...um...tech help oriented job? (Although I don't think I'd like that much. I'm kind of antisocial and don't like stupid people...fixing computer their comp probs seems like a bad idea because of that). Or, maybe there are other computer fields I'm neglecting to consider? My desire is to stay with web development as much as I can, but I realize I might have to expand that some to find a suitable college. For careers I was thinking probably joining/forming some web design/development company and making sites for whoever. I'm not really sure what else there is that has a strong focus on web development.

The other direction I'm looking is related to the media work I do at church. That primarily consists of running the sound board (live or for recordings, either one), but also sometimes includes being a cameraman and sometimes a video editor as well. In this realm of things, I'd like to stick mostly to sound work, and maybe reach into camera and lights work (I'm sure alot of this aren't significant enough to be a major in an of themselves, I'm just brainstorming here). For careers here I was thinking something more band-oriented (music is a major part of my life, I'd love to make it part of my career) like a recording studio or sound person for a band.


One thing that's come to my mind in considering all this is how much of the web development can be self-taught. For that kind of stuff, I don't see the need to pay to go to college to be retaught. I only want to go and learn something if it's actually going to be beneficial. This is what got me started looking at more media-oriented jobs (that, and Lacey of Flyleaf's mentioning of their soundguy, who has been with them for 7 years); I figure, if I keep up my self-taught web development (and maybe try to develop my web design skills more) I can always do freelance web development on the side of pretty much any other job I have.

In closing, I think my main questions are these:

Does anyone know of any colleges that have good programs in either of these fields? (even better if you've attended them and taken these courses, I'd love to heard about them)

What majors am I describing here that I might not be thinking of when I look at colleges?

Also, I'd prefer a Christian college, and I think I'd like a smaller college better as well. Neither of these is something I'm saying I have to have in a college, I'd go to a large, secular college if I thought it was the best choice, those are just my preferences. I don't wanna be made to be a robot by an uber-conservative college, but I don't want to have to deal with all the stuff that definitely isn't Biblical that I'm sure I'd face at a secular college.

[Peanut]

Hmm...I can't really answer all of your questions but I can tell you that most small, christian colleges aren't going to have a computer degree like you are looking for. Media, on the other hand, is more likely. From the sounds of it, I think you are looking at either a Broadcasting or Communication degree. Those I know some Christian colleges have (in fact, the university, I go to which is both small and Christian, has these two degrees I just mentioned). Hope that was a help to you.

[Paul]

Well, from my experience, I think you would want to look at a few things to consider, and you are doing exactly that. The two things that interest you the most, computer web design and the media. I would force myself to sit down and view the reality of what you are considering doing. The bible says "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1) The Devil can make something look real good to side track you from where God would have you go, resulting in regret and failure.

Take a moment and research the fields you are considering and find answers. Things like Pay scales, job availability, and most importantly will this keep me or steer me away from the path of God? What do other people think about their job? How is it going for them? You would be surprised. Something else to look at is people. If you can deal with people, going into business for yourself is a good idea. If you clash with people or you can honestly question your ability to pass a course in people ediquite skill or lack in good bedside manners, you could quickly cause a bad reputation for yourself and the best skills in the world won’t help you land a job. Another thing I would ask myself, would this job get to me? Employers like to hire people who love their job. Those are the ones who are passionate about what they do and doing it right, and not necessarily to have a “That’s not my job” attitude. This approach is a great way to “Test the Spirits” and keep you from making a mistake.

I love to write, so when I began my second attempt at college, I was set on that journalism degree. An academics teacher’s lesson plan changed all that. When I seen I was going to have $15,000 vested into education for a journalism degree to make $9.00 hr. in a very highly competitive field. Something began not to add up (I make more money driving a school bus). I also like helping hurting people, and when I was a volunteer EMT, if someone was a patient at an event, I made house calls for even minor sniffles. Researching those pay scales meant dollars. Big dollars, and I get to help hurting people which means I get paid to do what Christians do. Needless to say, I’m well underway for a Respitory Therapy degree.

Don’t know much about web design, but in the media, you’re up my alley. If you are interested to this point in this field, then begin looking into journalism and broadcasting programs. Our local city college has a good program. Even though you are looking for a Christian institution, which is great!, don’t over look community colleges. You would be surprised. I regularly defend my faith every semester, and God has used me to change the course of peoples lives. I can’t tell you where to look for the best school for your area, that depends on you and where you are willing to go. But I can tell you this. Go where God tells you to go. He knows why he wants you there, even though we may not.

Good luck.
Got questions please pm me.

Paul

[EricTheFred]

I'm going to agree with the point that the small Christian college is unlikely to carry the subjects you are interested in at the level of coverage necessary for a career-starting education. However, the small Christian college will have all the freshman and sophomore courses any normal degree plan is going to look for. You are not looking at such a high level of specialized education that it is necessary to be in the 'right' school from the first semester (typically, only fine arts degrees are this specialized, to my knowledge. Just about everything else has a similar core at the first and second year level.) So, if you are feeling like this is the sort of school that will nurture you correctly as you get started in college, it isn't such a bad thing.

However, you have to have a game plan, including what school you are aiming to get into from there. If you are pursuing any engineering degree, you typically have to have exactly the right prerequisites covered to get into the Junior and Senior level courses, and it can turn into a mess if you don't.

Most medium-sized-and-up Christian schools will have you covered for Computer Science. (For an example of 'medium-sized', I checked Texas Lutheran University, and sure enough, they offer degrees in both computer science and information systems.)

Audio Engineering and similar degrees are somewhat less common degrees. My search turned up mostly bigger schools (Wisconsin, Colorado-Denver, Michigan). I would recommend you contact people in the industry for advice. There is an Audio Engineering Society which would be an excellent place to start:
http://www.aes.org/

[Technomancer]

Think carefully about how in-depth you want to take your education and the kind of position you would like to have eventually. Do you want to work at a more applied position (e.g. a techician or operator), or would you like to involved at a more design-oriented level?

In addition to EricTheFred's post, I would also recommend you look into the IEEE for other engineering resources (particularly the IEEE Signal Processing Society and the IEEE Computer Society). You'll find a broader array of subjects there, but a degree in electrical engineering can easily be applied to computer science or audio work with a bit of effort. You also won't be so readily trapped in a difficult specialization

http://www.ieee.org/web/education/preuniversity/home.html

[Dante]

WHA-?! AFTER ALL OF OUR DARK WORK! THE YOUNG APPRENTICE DOES NOT CHOOSE PHYSICS! X_X FEEL OF THE POWER OF THE DARK SIDE OF THE FORCE!!! O_O.

Wait... I like computers and music and web design and all that jazz too.

Don't worry about liberal arts colleges too much, they will challenge some of your world views, but if your world views were right to begin with they should be able to withstand any challenge correct? If not, then college is an excellent chance to reform and remodify them. I certainly have and I am not ashamed to admit it. So I wouldn't say that a "Christian" college is absolutely a necessary and may not even be of great help in those two subject matters... Actually...

...
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I have a different suggestion to help you start out your journey....
Community College. That way you can decide which of the two you like better without having to choose right off the bat because of costs. The teachers tend to be nicer and more open too so it won't challenge your world-view NEARLY as much at a statistical level... which isn't to say that it might not happen, but the same can occur anywhere. I mean, you're not allowed to discriminate on the basis of religion so a die-hard atheist warmonger could exist at a Christian College just as well. It isn't like they can refuse to hire them.

[blkmage]

I think that regardless of the school you go to, the most important thing once you're there is to find a community of believers that you can be a part of that'll be able to support you spiritually. This is particularly helpful in those larger schools where you have to deal with all of that "stuff". They'll be able to keep you rooted and accountable, helping you grow spiritually, and challenging you.

[Mithrandir]

Hmm...I can't really answer all of your questions but I can tell you that most small, christian colleges aren't going to have a computer degree like you are looking for.

The one I went to ( link for your amusement ) had a computer science degree. That's what I got. From that degree, web development has been fairly easy for me. In fact, that's basically what I do for a living.

Going for a "degree in web development" probably isn't as useful to you as, say, a computer science degree, which will teach you the theory behind programming. From there, you can pretty easily pick up just about any language you want. I got a back ground in database development as well, which is (trust me on this) a major component of any modern website.

HIH,
Mith