Finish Second B.S. or Go For M.S.?

CodeNinja

I jumped back into undergrad to pursue a second bachelors in computer science because I want to go into cybersecurity. I recently finished my first year, having done well. Now, with a year of upper division CS courses under my belt I'm wondering if I should finish the CS degree or go ahead and enroll in a M.S. degree in Cybersecurity (or information assurance).

I have options ranging from Masters of Science in Computer Science with cybersecurity concentrations to, as I already wrote, Cybersecurity M.S. programs. Most programs are designated CAE by the NSA and the one that's not models their program on the NSA's guidelines.

I'm thinking that since my ultimate goal is cybersecurity and that I can get into graduate programs now, I don't need to finish the second bachelors degree because in that 1.5 years I can have the M.S. I mean, if I find I need Calculus* I can take that on my own, right?

So, should I go for the M.S. in Cybersecurity or is that too narrow/specialized? Would the general B.S. in CS with an internship in cybersecurity have more utility?

*I had to drop Calc I b/c of a lupus flare, which made me have to drop Calc II, which I was pre-registered for. But, I still took Discrete Math (made a and Numerical Methods (made an A), both of which at most schools have Calc I and/or II as prerequisites.

the_Grinch

I got into a Masters program for Applied Computer Science (Cyber Operations concentration) and just need to complete four concentration course. I'd bet that in your current situation having the year of the undergrad will allow you right into the Masters program and there isn't a need to finish the undergrad. If Information Assurance is where you want to be then there isn't an issue with having a very specific Masters. Besides that, coding is coding, any program that has CompSci like pre-reqs will allow you to move into just pure programming if that is your aim.

srabiee

Perhaps I missed it, but what is your current bachelors degree?

CodeNinja

srabiee wrote: »

Perhaps I missed it, but what is your current bachelors degree?

No, you didn't miss it. I didn't mention what my current bachelors degree was in because, not to be snarky or disrespectful towards you, I didn't think it was relevant. All of the CS courses I took this past school year were upper division 300/400 level because I already had the 200-level Intro to Computers (which was not a MS Word/Excel/PowerPoint skills course) during my first degree.

At any rate, I've decided to go for the M.S. degree. I don't see the point in spending another 1-1.5 years getting a second B.S. when I could have a M.S. in the same amount of time for the same amount of money. I just submitted my application for the M.S. in Cybersecurity at UMUC about 30 minutes ago, in fact. That probably won't be the only place I apply to, but it feels good to take a concrete step and get the ball rolling.

CodeNinja

the_Grinch wrote: »

I got into a Masters program for Applied Computer Science (Cyber Operations concentration) and just need to complete four concentration course. I'd bet that in your current situation having the year of the undergrad will allow you right into the Masters program and there isn't a need to finish the undergrad. If Information Assurance is where you want to be then there isn't an issue with having a very specific Masters. Besides that, coding is coding, any program that has CompSci like pre-reqs will allow you to move into just pure programming if that is your aim.

I got off the seesaw and decided to go for the M.S. degree. For the same amount of time and money it just makes more sense, especially in light of the fact that a career in cybersec is the whole reason I went back to school in the first place.