WGU BS IT Degrees

badreligion9265

Hi I am new to the forums and was hoping someone could help me answer a question. Which degree from WGU is best suited for someone interested in pursuing a career as a network administrator?

Would it be the BS in IT or the BS in IT-Network Administration. I know the answer seems obvious but when looking at the two degrees on WGU's website it appears that the BS in IT provides everything the Network Admin degree provides and more. So I take it as the BS in IT would be best but was curious if anyone here has a more educated opinion on the matter. Thanks. Here is a link to the Degrees information page:

Online Degrees | WGU's Accredited Online Bachelor Degree Programs

srabiee

I recommend creating a spreadsheet to do a side by side comparison of the courses between the regular IT degree, Network Administration degree, and the Network Design & Management degree. Then choose the one that that you feel has the most pertinent or most interesting IT classes. Also compare which certs are rolled into each program, as that will be an important factor as well.

I chose the ND&M degree because it was heavily Microsoft server centric and that's what I was interested in. The regular IT degree had too much programming stuff and the NA degree had too much Cisco stuff.

Ultimately, a BS degree in IT is a BS degree in IT after you graduate. You will be working on this degree for quite awhile, so it's important for you to choose the degree that's going to be the most engaging and hold your interest the longest. If you're like me and hate programming, then don't choose the degree with programming classes, for example.

markulous

I went with the Security track. The biggest decision for me was the certs that each offered so I would take a look at that. This track was the only one that offered Cisco certs. The only other cert I'd want out of the other tracks is the MCSA Server 2008, but I can get that on my own later if I need it.

badreligion9265

Thanks for responding guys. When it comes to the ND&M vs the NA degree, "srabiee" mentioned that his choice was based on the fact that the ND&M degree had more Windows Server certs and the NA had too many Cisco certs.

When it comes to careers I was under the belief that Windows Server Certs are more suited for "system admin" positions where as Cisco certs are more pertinent to becoming an NA. Is my assumption true? Or is obtaining Windows Server certs as valuable if not more so than Cisco certs when applying for NA jobs?