Which 1 of these degrees is the better option(CompSci vs Compsci with cyber security)

Hi, I'm finishing up my final year in college studying a BTEC level 3 national extended diploma in ICT. I know for a fact I want a career in IT but I'm not sure what specific area however, cyber security has peaked my interest the most and I find myself spending my free time learning about it watching videos learning code etc. I was wondering which is the better option as I'm still not 100% sure on what I want to do. is the normal CompSci bachelor degree a better option? Will the CompSci bachelor with cyber security still give options in other areas of IT?
Sorry if this the wrong formum for this post wasn't sure where to put it.

Hi!

This is a great question and one I was wondering about a couple years ago (but for AI for myself) honestly, most universities like Heriot-Watt have all comp-sci students together for the start of the degree and then you start to specialize at a later date. This specialization is also normally just having more modules decided for you. To explain better: a comp-sci student may have one chosen module in later years and then have to chose three others to study and they can choose from any, while a comp-sci (Cyber Security) student may have 3 chosen modules and one they can choose as these modules need to be done for you to get that Cyber Security bit of the degree.

So basically, it doesn't matter too much as you can normally swap between these degrees if necessary early on as they are similar. I'd advise going for the more specialized degree as swapping off to Comp-Sci is slightly easier than swapping onto it but either way is doable. As for employability, doing Comp-Sci with Cyber Security (if Cyber Security is the field you want to go into) will look very good for you and it doesn't stop you from other jobs if you change your mind.

If you do decide to just go for it with the ability to switch at a later date if needed I'd just check the modules listed to make sure the first year / first and second year are the same between the two. Or even better send the particular uni an email just to make sure but most Universities do have this ability.

I hope this helps a little 🙂

- Jessica
2nd year, Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence)

Hi, I'm finishing up my final year in college studying a BTEC level 3 national extended diploma in ICT. I know for a fact I want a career in IT but I'm not sure what specific area however, cyber security has peaked my interest the most and I find myself spending my free time learning about it watching videos learning code etc. I was wondering which is the better option as I'm still not 100% sure on what I want to do. is the normal CompSci bachelor degree a better option? Will the CompSci bachelor with cyber security still give options in other areas of IT?
Sorry if this the wrong formum for this post wasn't sure where to put it.

Hi, I'm finishing up my final year in college studying a BTEC level 3 national extended diploma in ICT. I know for a fact I want a career in IT but I'm not sure what specific area however, cyber security has peaked my interest the most and I find myself spending my free time learning about it watching videos learning code etc. I was wondering which is the better option as I'm still not 100% sure on what I want to do. is the normal CompSci bachelor degree a better option? Will the CompSci bachelor with cyber security still give options in other areas of IT?
Sorry if this the wrong formum for this post wasn't sure where to put it.