Source
r/WGU•
Alex470

Which Computer Science degree should I be shooting for? AKA Beating a Dead Horse, and I'm sorry in advance.

Help!

I appreciate you taking the time to read through and give a little advice, whether it be as a student or alumnus! I'm well aware the question has been asked before, but situations are always a little different for everyone.

Backstory: I'm in my early 30s. I've been running my own business for a few years now, and I'm looking for an out. Unfortunately, I don't have loads of employment history to fall back on, so when applying for decent jobs, I'll hear that I'm underqualified. If applying for lousy jobs, I'll hear that I'm overqualified. Rough spot to be.

I'm very familiar with computers and have plenty experience troubleshooting them. Frankly, I'm too cheap to pay someone to do it, so there's a plus for me. Building PCs is second nature. I'm confident I'd be able to handle helpdesk once learning the required jargon. Either way, I'm interested in a career, not a 'job' per se, so here we are.

Prior college: I have somewhere around 80 credits that have not been put towards a General Transfer AA, and I have no degree to speak of. The gen-eds are covered, and there's a handful that probably won't get any use. Many were slated towards park/land management. Some involvement with ArcGIS as well, though not much.

Predicament: "Learn to code," they say. I haven't been totally enthralled with CSS and HTML, but that's in part due to how tedious it feels. I know that's just scratching the surface with regard to writing code, and it has me a bit concerned. However, real life, obligations, and goals are telling me to bite the bullet and get on with some sort of CS degree as it will pay the bills and then some.

I'm not opposed to coding, and I'm curious about Python, but I've hesitated to get started with them as I've felt the 'basics' like CSS and HTML are the first hurdles I need to jump. I'm not sure if there's any truth in that or if I'm setting my sights too high and burning myself out in the process.

Also, due to being in my early 30s, we'd like to get a family started. I'd like my folks to know their grandkids. A vacation would be nice as well (it's been years), but that's on the backburner until I can sort out what the hell I need to be doing. All that to say, I'm feeling the pressure! No, early 30s isn't old, but with how fast time is flying by, I'll be in my 40s by sometime next week. I can't be spending another four years in school.

Resolution:

A) Cybersecurity looks to be an inexpensive path and a relatively quick one. It sounds interesting, too. But, I've seen plenty here recommend against this as it's generally a senior role. I have zero work history in this field.

B) IT. More management focused to my understanding. This might be more up my alley, but it also sounds the least interesting from a cursory glance. Please do feel free to enlighten me if you absolutely love IT - all ears here. I'd also imagine it doesn't pay as well, but again, cursory glance.

C) Straight CS degree. Takes three years from WGU's stats, heavy on the coding front which I may or may not enjoy once I'm in the thick of it. Seems like the sky is the limit regarding pay, and will open the most doors. However, I'm concerned that, as a guy in my 30s, I should be specializing rather than trying to work into a specialization over the course of ten years in a position.

D) Cloud Computing. This was the longest path I'd checked out from WGU, but I have been told it's much less code-heavy, and should see plenty of job opportunities in years to come. Additionally, some of that would probably be cloud cybersecurity. Only trouble here is WGU says it takes about four years, and I really don't know if I have the time.

Remote employment (eventually) would be a major plus.

I've got a nose and grindstone here, but I'd like to hear from y'all before I put the two together. If anything's unclear or you'd like me to expand a bit more on one thing or the other, let me know. And if your advice is for me to consider another degree path entirely, whether through WGU or a like online school, give me your recommendation! Again, all ears and ready to get started yesterday.

I sincerely appreciate anyone who took the time to read through and leave a comment. Thank you immensely, and Happy New Year to you!

Posted Dec 30, 2022, 8:06 PM UTC · edited

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Esoteric_platypus•

My advice: go to freecodecamp.org and check out their “scientific computing with Python” certification (its free, and there’s loads of handful of different certifications on offer, but bear with me). See how much you can get done over the weekend and if it’s something you enjoy doing. If not, then perhaps a coding-focused degree isn’t right for you. In my opinion (so take with big pinch of salt) the degrees offered by WGU vary in terms of generalist vs specialist.

For generalist degrees, you have IT and cloud computing (with CC starting to specialize) Then for specialist you have the rest (cyber, dmda, se,cs… in no particular order).

I would suggest if the programming/coding isn’t up your alley, you just take the general IT degree

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Alex470OP•

My advice: go to freecodecamp.org and check out their “scientific computing with Python” certification (its free, and there’s loads of handful of different certifications on offer, but bear with me). See how much you can get done over the weekend and if it’s something you enjoy doing.

I'll do precisely that, then. I know I've seen sophia.org mentioned here a few times as well. Saylor and study.com, too.

I've looked into sophia.org and that seems like it might be a good way to knock out a Python course if I decide to go that route - evidently the one from WGU is pretty rough.

Either way, looks like I'll be busy tomorrow! Thank you so much for the recommendation to freecodecamp!

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Esoteric_platypus•

To clarify, the freecodecamp I discussed won't transfer any credits to WGU like Saylor or sophia will. That is simply a resource to learn programming. I highly suggest looking at Saylor/Sophia/StraighterLine/Study.com to transfer credits to WGU prior to starting

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IsmailiCanuk•

I would classify Cloud Computing degree as a specialist program.

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Esoteric_platypus•

I can see the argument for that, sure. I was just giving my opinion based on what i've read about the cloud computing curriculum. Especially since you focus on more than one cloud platform (iirc).

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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Alex470OP•

I’ve heard it’s fairly beginner-friendly and good at compiling.

I have a few simple (I think) app ideas I’ve wanted to hammer out for years now and wonder if Python would do the trick. Perhaps, in time, I’d be able to get two birds stoned at once.

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cyphertext71•

The BSIT is not "more management focused". It is a general IT degree that touches on everything.. You still earn the CompTIA Trifecta, plus touch on cloud, SQL, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Very broad and lets you sample a little of everything, but is still from the IT college.

The IT Management degree is totally different and is through the school of business.

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Dafoxx1•

Hello sorry i skimmed through your back story. My take on it would be IT management solely due to the fact you have management experience. Its more of budgeting and ppl managing but you are still able to get your hands dirty so to speak. Im in cybersecurity but also been in IT for over a decade and im finding it difficult to break into although again with your management experience you could do it. I would look for more like department head and the general it or it or business courses could benefit you there. If you have a particular interest in one area or another then you should persue that. Networking is a bit more advanced then general IT as well as cloud computing as they are both specialities. Cyber is a bit more specialized than those as we have to know those in depth. Coding can be very beneficial in most areas of IT. Html is just a markup language that I wouldnt say is explicitly useful in IT above simple troubleshooting. Python however is very useful to automate tasks and reduce hours spent on repetitive activities. Networking usually has some amount of scripting involved as most network gear is linux like and working from a shell comes with the territory. Infrastructure and cloud could use python or powershell to say automate building out servers on a large scale. Im heading onto my second term with 8 classes left and for the most part I didnt find much particularly challenging, most of the IT programs are extremely similar as far as classes and there are lots of overlap so if the program isnt quite upto your taste you could change course. In conclusion based off my understanding I would suggest the general IT course and say you find networking interesting you could go that route or security go cyber or find infrastructure and servers go the cloud route. I would like to add that this is purely my opinion and speculation and Im giving very generic advice based off what I know. Hope this helps.

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Trickz56•

Hey there I read your background & I definitely think you have a promising future. I’m not in IT yet but I’m working my way there, I start WGU in March for the Network Engineering & Security degree so you don’t really have to take my opinion into account but I enjoy supporting others. Networking is a great foundation to have for any IT role, I don’t know if the NES degree fits your timeline but I think you should consider it. Lots of good material to set you up down the line for a great position & a lot of good certs you can get in that degree path too like the CCNA. The CS, SE, & normal IT degree are all great I’m sure. I was even slated to go into the Cybersecurity & Information Assurance degree before switching to NES. Go with something that interests you & that you feel will set you up for what you want. Best of luck to you!

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itsneedtokno•

Same boat as you.

Finally chose BSITM

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