Military looking for accelerated online IT degree

Hello,

I'm in the military and I get out in exactly 2 years. I've completed my associates in criminal justice CCAF. But I'm interested in technology. I'm willing to use my gi bill I want to knock an IT degree out asap and focus on my masters at a slower pace when I get out. I have no experience other than what I learned on my own. So I'm hoping with a degree a d my secret clearance I can land a decent paying entry-level job so I can support my family.

It would be nice if the school had a curriculum that have some hands on projects or assignments other than stirring papers. I looked in to Excelsior and from their syllabus they require assignment and test for their IT course and no papers which I like but the course are too long and I'm not an excellent CLEPer. So looking for a school with a decent rep so no UoP plus wouldn't like team projects much. A school that has an accelerated IT program and short terms. Also I'm sorry to say but reasonably easy. Once again want to knock it out asap and I'll take my time with my masters.

Thank you all!!!

 

Well I'm in AMU right now and it's not accelerated it's an eight week course and they didn't accept that many of my credits. And again I have little under two years left. And yes CLEPS are free I'm taking analyzing literature on Monday. I hear great things about Excelsior but I never heard whether or not the courses they provide are easy or hard. So I can decide how many classes to take at a time.

 

Is anyone familiar with American Intercontinental University? Thank you!

 

WGU is accelerated and regionally accredited. It will be easy (if you already know the topic). If you have to learn it from scratch, then it just depends on how fast you learn. It will be difficult if you're not prepared to do the research and work on your own.

Hope this helps.

 

Yes...I want to go to WGU for my masters. I don't qualify as of now. My CCAF is in criminal justice because of my military career. So as soon as I get my BS in Information Technology I will go to WGU.

But after searching and reading each syllabus for Excelsior Information Technology - Network degree. I really like it. There's not much writing at all. You read the assigned books and do assignments and tests or projects related to technology so in a sense I will gain some experience that way.

BTW, I appreciate everyone's responses. One last question please.... Has anyone taken any courses or receive a degree related to IT from Excelsior College?

How difficult are the classes? Thanks!

 

Trident University would be a better choice.

 

Well I don't qualify for WGU. That was my very first choice because of the certs you test for within their program. So I might grab my masters from there as soon as I knock out this bachelors.

I read up on Trident International University. It's accelerated and accredited but it has no tests or projects within their IT programs just a ton of papers to write. Do you had personally experience with them?

Looks like I might have to try Excelsior. Their IT program has little writing and more hands on approach with test. Has anyone completed or taken any IT courses at Excelsior?

Again thank you all for your responses. If you have more please keep them coming.

 

You will have to write to get a Master's from WGU. As you're military, you shouldn't have much of an issue with presenting information with confidence.

Also, I just realized that you said your Associates was in Criminal Justice, due to your military career. If that is the case, physical security is one of the domains in the CISSP. You could prepare for and pass that before you get out, and that'll do more for you to get IT positions with your clearance than anything else.

It'll probably be easier to study for, if you go in this order:
Security +, then CISSP

If your computer skills aren't too high, you may do good to go through your computer information systems degree first, but keep an eye on studying for the Security + and then CISSP before you get out.

Even if you don't have enough experience for full endorsement, the Associate of ISC2 is good enough to qualify for 8570. For more information about IT certifications, you should probably look at techexams.net

Hope this helps.

 

I wouldn't recommend WGU for your Master's, unless you're financing it yourself. From your first post though, it seems you'll be using your GI Bill. Since the GI Bill is utilized based on time and not payout amount, I wouldn't expend your benefits on a WGU program - I think WGU is more designed for mid-career folks without a ton of overhead who want a self-paced degree to check the block. I may be wrong (and I know WGU is well-respected), but for a young veteran, I think you use your VA benefits for a more well-known school. Here's what I recommend:

-CLEP all of your general education requirements, and for those you can't CLEP successfully, use Online Courses - Distance Learning Courses - Online Classes for College Credit - StraighterLine | StraighterLine. Straighterline courses are not reimbursable under TA but they are incredibly cheap and you can complete most of them within weeks or even days if you devote the time to do so. Once you are finished with your general education requirements, enroll at a school like Colorado State University - Global Campus for the BS in IT and complete your BS. CSU-Global is extremely liberal in transfer credits, and you only have to complete 10 classes to finish the BS (provided you transfer in 90, which you can do through CLEP/straighterline; CSU-Global is a straighterline partner, which means free and fast transcripts from SL to CSU-Global). If you transfer in 90 credits and take 3 classes per 8 week term, you should finish within about 6-7 months.

-Once your BS-IT is complete and you leave the military, enroll in a program like Penn State's online Master's in Information Sciences. I spoke with someone from the PSU online MPA program, and from what I understand, their programs are structured so that you can finish your degree at your own pace - you choose your courseload.

I think once you exhaust all your VA benefits it would be far more beneficial in the long-run to be able to list a school like Penn State on your resume vs. WGU. I don't mean to disparage WGU grads at all, but I imagine if they were in our shoes with a nearly unlimited amount of VA benefits, they would have chosen another school. Just my $.02.

 

You are correct. I definitely would have gone to a bigger brand name school if I had known that I qualified for Post 9/11 GI Bill.

I didn't realize until after I had a Master's degree (which I just completed this year) that I was eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

Since realizing my eligibility, I've been looking at my options for the most bang for the buck.

I've been thinking to use it for an MBA. Unfortunately, I would have to change jobs to something with less travel in order to do an evening/weekend program (I'd prefer in-person for an MBA program.

 

You want to work in IT?

Join the Guard or Reserves. Choose one of the Cyber career fields. You'll get Security+ and some great training. Many of the Cyber career fields have a bonus. My career field, Cyber Transport offers a TS/SCI clearance. Which helps in the employment realm, especially if you are mobile.

Best career move I ever did was joining the Guard. Now I have an awesome job working for the Army and make a decent enough living to support my family.

Good luck to you.

Cory

 

It's true. Get an MOS with a TS if you can. A TS is to government contracting what a Top 10 MBA is to the business world.

There are some costs to getting a clearance, and employers prefer candidates who are ready to go on day one, as they make job postings that require someone to have a clearance on day one. Depending on your MOS, you won't have that clearance. It's one of those crazy things that you never know if no one told you before hand.

How Much Does It Really Cost to Get a Security Clearance? - Defense & Intelligence News

Since the OP is getting out, not sure if he/she is still entertaining the possibility of doing further service, even if it is only Reserve or Guard. Also, the OP could have family obligations that wouldn't like him/her to do any further service. If this is not the case, then it is an excellent recommendation to get the clearance. The clearance would be more valuable than anything else, salary wise. Even with that said, you can find positions that will sponsor you for a Secret, and then you just go from there.

I saw a guy post on a forum that he got sponsored for a TS, and I work at a company now, and I've seen three of my coworkers go through the interview stages for a TS, one of which never served, so it is possible.

EDIT: I apologize if this is difficult to read. I have a habit of too many words, too few periods.

 

No kidding, and somewhere a hot fitness chick is missing her boyfriend. I'd fill that hole for her.

(awesome double entendre on my part)

OP. I got on with General Dynamics with very little experience outside of my Air Force tech school training. I moved across the states to work at Ft. Meade, MD in an extremely high speed low drag Army unit as an IMO. The number one determinig factor was the TS-SSBI that I had.

 

Thank you all for you reply. Sorry I haven't responded I've been preparing to pcs. Yep, with two years left I get orders to PCS but atleast its to Texas. Anyways.... I've been looking at using my Post 9/11 GI Bill to go to Regis University for their Computer Networking bachelor (ABET) to include their master in Information Assurance. The classes are accelerated 5 week courses with some being 8 weeks. If I go here I could knock out the BS before I even got out and from what I hear you will learn something at Regis.

What are your opinions? Thank You!

 

Unistic - I'm currently in the least four semesters of my BS Computer Networking program at Regis, and can provide you with any answers/feedback you may need. It's a good program, but I'm not sure if I want to stay with Regis for the MSIA program.

 

Thank you! I'm going to pm you with tons of questions!! I'm calling them tomorrow to register!