I really want to work in the IT industry. I wouldn't mind doing coding, network admin, Database admin whatever. I have been round and round the bend on schools and particular degrees and cant make a decision. Getting a Standard CS degree seems out of reach. The CS degrees that look to be really good are for the most part very expensive i.e. Regis. Or require things that I don't have like 2 years of foreign language or two years of java i.e. Florida state, UofI. Other CS degrees seem to leave things out here or there. I am not sure what is okay and what is not. CIS/IS degrees that I have looked at seem so general I am not sure how I could get a job off one. I need to get an inexpensive degree that can give me actual training to help me get a job. I am going to have to pay for this whole dang thing by federal loans so it needs to be a school that has them. I really prefer to avoid the degrees that require you to get pieces and put them together. I don't have much background training in the field so I can't really test out of anything. And frankly I would like to take some classes. A few schools I have looked at include Touro, Baker, Troy, Franklin (a bit expensive), Limestone and a couple others. I could use some serious help as I am looking for a long term Career change if I can make it. Otherwise if I am asking the impossible I may just look to something more business centric like accounting. Any help would be greatly appreciated:
You might be better served by an undergraduate degree in information technology or information systems management or computer information systems or management information systems than a pure computer science degree. You can pick up certifications in Java Programming and in Oracle Database Administration as well. On the other hand, Fort Hays State University offers a good undergraduate degree in networking and security. BlueMason is currently enrolled there. If you can swing the tuition at Champlain College, they offer an undergraduate degree computer information systems (networking option) or computer and digital forensics. I am currently enrolled in the digital forensics professional certificate programme.
How many hours do you currently have? I was in a similar situation back in 1999 or so (except I had a job in IT - I just wanted a real CS degree). I looked at the undergrad CS options and came to the same conclusion as you - they tended to be cost prohibitive and I would have to take a bunch of general ed requirements to meet specific requirements (like foreign language). Plus, it would take a lot of time to finish an undergraduate CS degree. In the end, I decided that I could earn an Excelsior BSCIS very quickly and relatively cheaply (<$5000). I could then leverage that into one of the relatively inexpensive masters in CS options. I figured I would end up with a master's degree for about the same price and time commitment as a BSCS would In the end, I went for a higher priced (and slower) masters program, but I haven't had any need to second-guess my Excelsior decision at all. The quick and cheap option has turned out great. I still think is this a good option for some people. If you want programming, I would look very closely at TESC's BA in CS option, in addition to Excelsior's options. One nice thing about either option is the ability to fill in some gaps through other options. As an example, before Excelsior added a discrete math requirement, I took discrete math through a local community college. If you know you want to go to grad school after the degree, these two options give you enough flexibility to fill in pre-req gaps and still have it count towards the undrergrad degree.
American Public University Look at Bachelor of Science in Information Technology at American Public University. http://www.apu.apus.edu/Academics/Degree-Programs/program.htm?progid=3613&program_type=Bachelors $250.00/credit DETC soon to be RA.
Jeff I dont understand how excelsior works. I have an AAS in water quality with 124 quarter credits 40 or so of which are sub 100 level and don't transfer. I thought you had to get pieces of your degree from all over for an excelsior degree and that you couldn't use federal aid.
Certainly you can get all your credits from wherever you want to with Excelsior or TESC. Both also offer some "in-house" options for the IT credit (ICCP exams for Excelsior and courses for TESC). If you haven't looked at BA in 4 weeks, you probably should. http://bain4weeks.com/ If you really want to take real courses, these are still an option. You could, for example, take courses from a distance learning program or even a brick-and-mortar college and apply the credits to an Excelsior or TESC degree. But if you are going to take most of your courses from a single source (Troy, Baker, etc), you probably are better off simply getting a degree from that source. The Excelsior/TESC option is simply an alternative that might give you more flexibility on what specific classes you have to take. It's confusing, and I'm certain I'm not qualified to give any actual recommendation for your situation. I also have no idea if you can get Federal financial aid for either.
