Where to begin... figuratively and literally!

I have spent the last 5-6 hours reading this forum... lots of great information here. I look forward to eventually having my own "I'm done" thread... but anyways, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Hi, I'm Ryan. I am 22 years old and live in Hawaii. I have spent the last four years as an Intelligence Analyst for the USAF.

I have my CCAF in Communications Applications Technology.

I have completed the following clep/dantes:

COLLEGE MATHEMATICS
ENGLISH COMPOSITION
HUMANITIES
NATURAL SCIENCES
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
ANALYZING AND INTERPRETING LIT
BIOLOGY
CALCULUS
COLLEGE ALGEBRA
HISTORY OF UNITED STATES I
HISTORY OF UNITED STATES II
INFO SYSTEMS AND COMPUTER APPL
INTRODUCTORY BUSINESS LAW
INTRODUCTORY SOCIOLOGY
PRECALCULUS
ASTRONOMY
BUSINESS LAW II
ETHICS IN AMERICA
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
PERSONAL FINANCE
PRINCIPLES OF STATISTICS
TECHNICAL WRITING
THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION

Also, tested out of Public Speaking ( for the CCAF ).

I have my MCSE, MCSA, CCNA, CCNP, A+, Net+, Sec+; I am very proficient in Assembly, VC++, C#.NET, Perl, Python, Java, All web-based programming languages, including server side scripting.

Ill start with my goals before I get to my questions...

A Masters Degree. Preferably in a Computer science related field. Once again, probably getting ahead of myself. I realize I need a BS before I can get an MS.

I want to accomplish this as fast as possible. Utilizing my CCAF and Clep /Dantes. Would it be advisable to get my Business Administration degree from the top 3 and then apply to a graduate program with a strong Comp Sci GRE? and work related knowledge / certs?

Or stick it out and try for my CS degree at UMUC or somewhere similar. However, I am very unhappy with UMUC thus far and I know they do not rank well or at all in regards to CS... thats why I am thinking it might just make more sense to get the BS in anything and hope it applies to a meaningful MS.

Anyways, I really appreciate any information you're willing to share!

Thank you,
-Ryan

 

Hi Ryan,

While I am not a Computer Scientist, I will try to answer your questions as best I can.

As I see it, you have two options available to you.

1. Take all of your credits and CLEP/DANTES exams and enroll in one of the "Big 3" schools - Thomas Edison State College, Excelsior College or Charter Oak State College. While none of these schools offer a BSCS, Excelsior does offer a number of technology related degrees.

2. Continue with UMUC or another school to complete a BSCS. This is probably your best option if you're looking to eventually obtain a MSCS. Most CS schools want their applicants to have a CS background (usually necessitating a BSCS). Now with your extensive programming background, this may be less of an issue.

My advice would be to contact the schools that are offering graduate level CS programs of interest to you and ask them for their admissions requirements.

Best of luck!

 

I would suggest a comp sci degree or major from Excelsior. Go to their website and sign-up/download their Student_Guide_and_Assessment_Catalog.pdf.

They'll accept a lot of your certifications.

 

Have you considered just skipping the bachelors and going right for a masters? Charles Sturt University's IT Master program let's you do a masters without a bachelors and you can get upto 50% of the coursework waived with an MCSE. Maybe it is worth exploring.

 

Ryan,

while there are many options listed by folks you must first ask yourself where your career/personal goals lie? Commissioning? Commercial? Government? These answers will dictate a recommendation. A CS degree in an of itself may limit your field of work.

A top ranked school that will take you longer may be a better option than completing a quick degree. However, you have an excellent start and might be able to be admitted to a top ranked CS program with the Excelsior option.

The GRE test can lend considerable weight to a graduate program admission if you do well.

While Randell's suggestion is appealing, skipping the bachelors may create a problem with many automated hiring systems as they often do not allow for an explanation and a bachelors (yes or no) is a grade out question.

Let's start with the long term goal and work backwards.

 

Charter Oak State College:
BS in General Studies in Computer Science Studies www.charteroak.edu/Prospective/Programs/Concentrations/ComputerScienceStudies.cfm
BS in General Studies in Information Systems Studies www.charteroak.edu/Prospective/Programs/Concentrations/InformationSystemsStudies.cfm

Excelsior College:
BS in Computer Technology www.excelsior.edu/Excelsior_College/School_of_Business_and_Technology/Technology_Programs/BS_IN_COMPUTER_TECHNOLOGY
BS in Information Technology www.excelsior.edu/Excelsior_College/School_of_Business_and_Technology/Technology_Programs/BS_IN_INFORMATION_TECHNOLOGY

Thomas Edison State College:
BS in Applied Science and Technology in Computer Science Technology www.tesc.edu/2708.php
BS in Applied Science and Technology in Information Technology www.tesc.edu/5726.php

 

Hi Ryan,

Re your quote: Do you have an associates degre from CCAF?

Regardles you have lots of credit and well on your way to earning a degree in liberal studies from Excelsior College. A business degree requires a substantial amount of business courses.

My recommendation aim for any BS degree (the Excelsior BSLS has the most flexible requirements) then either obtain a second BS in your area of interest or go to a masters program.

You will need some upper division courses and members of this forum will be able to give you suggestions when you figure out a degree plan.

 

You are right. I guess I should list the second thought (that was in my head), after or while working on the master's, you could work on the bachelors. This would kill two birds with one stone (never understood what the birds did and why you need to kill them but that is another story). You could even take the CLEP's, certifications, and graduate credits and go for a COSC or Excelsior degree. Charter Oak State College uses Excelsior's guideline for certification credit. For example, you would get-
CCNA Cisco Certified Network Associate - 3 credits
A+ - 2 credits
Network+ - 2 credits upper level
Security+ - 2 credits upper level

MCSE/MCSA credit depends on the electives but I would get 13 lower and 4 upper for my MCSE (NT 4.0) and MCSA (W2K).

Here is the link

 

Question For Randell 1234

Randell
I see at the bottom of your posts the company logo for Jupiter Medical Center. I aslo noticed you are a student at NCU. Well, I work in the laboratory (pathology) at Jupiter Medical Center and am a student at NCU (concept paper stage). Anyway, if you do work at JMC, maybe we can get together. Good luck with you studies. mark sneckenburg

 

As for occupational goals...

I wouldn't mind working for the DoD... I have great contacts, and am pretty much guaranteed a gs11 without any degrees ( because of certs and experience ) a 12/13 with a BS, and a 13/14 with a masters. ( my field starts out pretty high ).

Maybe working as a contractor... and as long as I get into a decent masters program... with work related experience / contacts that shouldn't be much of an issue either. But getting into a decent MS program is the trick.

The BS in Information Technology from excelsior seems to be the degree that I could earn in the shortest amount of time.... but whether or not it applies to anything worthwhile is the question.

I wouldn't mind doing a dual degree MBA/IT program... from what I heard it looks pretty good when applying for a management position in the computer world ( esp. when I have a strong background to support the lack of a MSCS )


I guess my next step, before I pursue the BSIT from excelsior is find an appropriate MS program that will accept it.

Any thoughts? Money really isn't much of an issue... the new GIBILL, plus I've saved alot of money specifically for education, and of course the parents are always supportive of higher education.

Key is that its respectable, preferably a quality state school, somewhere that when I say their name, people don't question its authenticity.

Also,
I was looking ( however, briefly) at excelsiors acceptance of certs etc, I didn't see any mention of the CS GRE... I read somewhere on these boards.... that depending on your score... you can expect a contribution towards your undergrad credits at excelsior am I mistaken? or perhaps I don't fully understand the GRE.

You guys have given me tons of information, You guys rock... thank you so much for the help!

 

That is the logo for UF. I don't work at JMC but I have been there, I live in the Tampa area. My sister lives in Hobe Sound. I start my concept paper class on June 1st. Any tips?

 

And here I thought that picture of an alligator in Randell's sig line meant that he was pursuing a Graduate Certificate from the University of Florida (Gators)!

 

With your background and credit hours completed have you considered earning a BA in Intelligence Studies from American Military University followed by a MA in Intelligence Studies with concentration in Information Warfare. This would combine your experience and interests without leaving you stranded in IT and/or unemployed like many people have found themselves these days. Best of luck with your future endeavors.

 

Randall1234
After thinking about it, the IT department must have blocked your Florida Gator and instead inserted the hospital logo. Although I am in the old RSH8961-8964 sequence and you are likely in the newly modified sequence, I recommend doing your best on developing the initial assignments. Each assignment builds on the final deliverable for each course and each course is combined into the concept paper. Try to you get the problem statement, purpose statement and research questions/hypotheses nailed early and develop an understanding about your desired research methodology such as multiple correlation analysis or multiple regression analysis. A lengthy annotated bibliography is required and I suggest you develop it as you go. Good luck and hope this helps. mark sneckenburg