Misc CompSci/I.T Brahs, please help me out (career change) (reps)

[misheru]

I'm in the military and have wasted years not using my Tuition Assistance (TA) and with the spot I'm at right now, its the perfect time for me to work on getting my masters. After a lot of exploring fields that matter/are worth something and that I am also able to complete part time, I've decided to go into the tech field. Not sure exactly what or where I want to focus on as I am currently not planning to get out but I'd like to get started and get a baseline; possibly work on stuff casually part time.

More than anything I want to be able how computers and network infrastructure, smartphones, etc work. Its the only thing in life that constantly blows my mind in life. I'm good with the stuff in general but I don't have a technical understanding - I'd like to change that and be able to master that.

My undergrad is in molecular bio so I have no background in tech. Due to the way TA is set up they won't pay for another bachelors or any undergrad courses, so I'm trying to find something with bridge courses or prereqs included.

Anyway here is what I'm thinking below - What do you all think of the programs below?


1. University of West Georgia Masters in Applied Computer Science
2. Florida Tech Masters in Computer Information Systems
3. Florida Tech Masters in Information Technology
4. Northern Arizona University Masters in Computer Information Technology
5. Eastern Kentucky University Masters in Computer Science
6. New Mexico State University Masters in Information Technology
7. University of Louisville Masters in Computer Science
8. National University Masters in Computer Science
9. Kennesaw State University Masters in Information Technology
10. Liberty University Masters in Information Technology

Maybe Troy University Masters in Computer Science

Maybe University of West Florida Masters in Information Technology

Maybe Marshall University Masters in Computer Science


Also I've heard a lot of talk about not doing a Computer Information Systems or Computer Information Technology program because its viewed as one of those imaginary degrees that isn't here or there. I can see what they mean, however it seems solid to me. Literally a mix of the practical aspects of CS along with marketable and practical skills in IT. If I can I'd really like to get the best of both worlds, which is why my number 1 and 2 are the programs they are.

Reps for all advice!

Cliffs:

Wanna go into the tech field, need to do it online part time; would like to get best of both worlds (CS and IT), what do you think of bold?

[misheru]

Gooby pls

[IronFeta]

Planning to go into compsci.

Be back with answers in a few years.

[iloveus]

Learning about computers ,networking, smartphones is all IT stuff. Just get the CompTIA Trifecta (A+, Network+, Security+)

This is the misc. I dunno anything about these Universities or the programs that they have.

I would go to their websites and get the info of the person in charge of admissions and call them. This is the only real way to find out.

Google also has a bunch of certifications for stuff like Data Science etc... https://grow.google/certificates/. They're like 6 months long

[misheru]

Planning to go into compsci.

Be back with answers in a few years.

Thanks brah

Learning about computers ,networking, smartphones is all IT stuff. Just get the CompTIA Trifecta (A+, Network+, Security+)

This is the misc. I dunno anything about these Universities or the programs that they have.

I would go to their websites and get the info of the person in charge of admissions and call them. This is the only real way to find out.

Google also has a bunch of certifications for stuff like Data Science etc... https://grow.google/certificates/. They're like 6 months long

Yeah of course, I know the real value in that world is in the certs and actually I can get some Microsoft certs free being military etc; however I still need to complete a masters degree in SOMETHING and Id rather something useful like this than "Leadership" or "Homeland Security" like every other bumfuk in the military.

[redliner9]

I've bounced around from Sys admin, Storage, to Network engineer.

You kinda need to mess around and find an area that you like and go with it.

In the end, nobody cares where you went to school and just getting a cert isnt going to get you a job with no XP.

[dbs25]

Worked for a network infrastructure company while getting my undergrad in something pretty much unrelated. Is there reason you aren't considering electrical engineering? I may be wrong, but it seems much more futureproof and outsourcing-proof than masters in IT.

Got into the company as a laborer out of high school and ended my tenure there as a controls engineer. I know a lot of my former coworkers had degrees in EE, CS, and MechE.
If you just want to work in the field, I think any degree can get your foot in the door then you can start obtaining the relevant certs.

[StinkholePatrol]

I took the certification route and landed a cushy sys admin job with only a CCNP and some other basic certs. But I personally already did have alot of self education/experience in IT infrastructure before I even started my cert-process.

I did not go to college

It only took me a few months from start to finish to land my CCNP but again I do not know how those with little to no experience would fare starting fresh.

[dc3119]

I think I would go CS too. Or Electrical Engineering was a great suggestion too.

But there's so many different types of jobs in the field, just have to figure out what you like and don't like. Not everyone likes programming, but there's still plenty of jobs in admin and networking, and they pay extremely well. Big data analyst and security are also hot industries right now, and probably will stay hot indefinitely.

I haven't looked at blockchain jobs, but I imagine in the next few years, those will be the overall highest paid computer jobs. Reminds me to take a look at that stuff myself!

[roughinhouse]

I would avoid CS tbh. You literally have to have a deep passion for it and enjoy coding like a 12 year old enjoys video games. I regret it because im stuck in front of a screen 24/7 and expected to learn on my own time. It fuking sucks.

Some days i even wish i were a tradie.

[misheru]

Worked for a network infrastructure company while getting my undergrad in something pretty much unrelated. Is there reason you aren't considering electrical engineering? I may be wrong, but it seems much more futureproof and outsourcing-proof than masters in IT.

Got into the company as a laborer out of high school and ended my tenure there as a controls engineer. I know a lot of my former coworkers had degrees in EE, CS, and MechE.
If you just want to work in the field, I think any degree can get your foot in the door then you can start obtaining the relevant certs.

Haha me and electricity don't mix brah. Probably my hardest concept in physics and also when I was in A-School and my first unit learning about some of the boat electrical systems. I can do mechanical stuff all day, but when it comes to electricity, I nope the fuk out of there. I'm also not sure if I'd be able or allowed to get into a hard engineering program like Mech or Electrical with a Biology bachelors and a mediocre GPA. Definitely a great field though - anything engineering is and I respect the fuk out of those guys. Some of the best officers we have are engineers.

I think I would go CS too. Or Electrical Engineering was a great suggestion too.

But there's so many different types of jobs in the field, just have to figure out what you like and don't like. Not everyone likes programming, but there's still plenty of jobs in admin and networking, and they pay extremely well. Big data analyst and security are also hot industries right now, and probably will stay hot indefinitely.

I haven't looked at blockchain jobs, but I imagine in the next few years, those will be the overall highest paid computer jobs. Reminds me to take a look at that stuff myself!

Yeah a lot of the CS degrees like UWG logically focus mainly on programming/software design and coding. Definitely an interest there but also i'd like to branch out and get a little taste of everything and especially the IT stuff. What do you think of a Computer Information Systems degree like that at Florida Tech? A lot of CS guys scoff at the idea and say its a worthless degree but I'm not sure if thats out of fact or just elitism because they have a pure CS degree so they think they're hotter ****.

I would avoid CS tbh. You literally have to have a deep passion for it and enjoy coding like a 12 year old enjoys video games. I regret it because im stuck in front of a screen 24/7 and expected to learn on my own time. It fuking sucks.

Some days i even wish i were a tradie.

Dam son sorry to hear that. Have you thought about branching out to some other part of the tech field so you're doing more physical stuff instead of just coding all day? To be fair though you didn't expect to be 24/7 at a PC when doing the degree?

[DesiredUserphag]

No idea. I'm a Linux/Solaris/Windows Admin with no degree. Doesn't matter what you go for, just be a hard worker

[jn677]

No one cares about a degree for IT support, infrastructure, networking, etc but a comp sci degree will help you get a programming job... or at the very least an interview. So really depends which pathway you go down.

There is no certificate route for programming, there are no credible certifications for computer programming only for IT.

So yes do the cert route if you want to do something with IT infrastructure, cloud computing or networking or something but for programming doing a degree is still the best pathway to the money. At the end of the day if you can't pass a coding test the best degree in the world will not save you. You absolutely need to be able to pass a programming test but doing a degree will put you in a good position to do that as long as you pay attention and practice a lot.

I have multiple vendor certs and a masters in data science, undergrad is a bachelors technology so know both sides of it. My certs are related to cloud computing and database and BI platforms.

I am biased but I would also say the route of data science, cloud computing or security are all really strong. These are the in demand fields.

For anyone who really wants to go down the cert route then cloud computing is a very good pathway because the 3 largest cloud platforms (google, aws, azure) all have multiple cloud certifications. Just pick 1 vendor to start and take all of their cloud certs. Get a junior job doing something with that platform and just explore as much as you can. Then hop jobs gaining seniority and doing certs if you haven't already done them all till eventually get up to cloud architect in a couple/few years. Just don't get comfortable.

I think there is a similar pathway in security but I can't comment on what certs are best there as I have 0 experience in that area.

As for data science certs help but most companies will expect a masters or phd in math, data science or statistics.

If you're committed to a degree and just the programs listed then ignore IT and go comp sci. Just do whatever is local/good deal/works with your schedule. No one will care what school you went to.

[dc3119]

Not sure on the Information Systems degree. I would look at the various job sites and see what degrees are requested for different jobs. The most I see are CS and sometimes Engineering, but I've been looking at mostly programming jobs.