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Considering WGU - need some opinions
TheFORCE
Member Posts: 2,297 ■■■■■■■■□□
So I have done some research and have found that Masters programs are expensive! Usually the range of 25k+. Because of that point, I started looking at WGU. Seems to me that more and more people are accepting and sometimes embracing online schools.
WGU offers the below Masters programs.
1. M.S. Cybersecurity and Information Assurance (This will get you CEH and CHFI certifications as well)
2. M.S. Information Technology Management
3. MBA Information Technology Management (from the College of Business)
What I have currently is B.S in Computer Science, CISSP, CCSP, A+, ITIL and also toying with the idea of CISM by December.
I looked at all 3 degrees and I'm leaning more towards the MBA because I would like at some point in the future to manage my own team but in the long long term hoping possibly for even more so I think a degree that is both business focus and IT focus would be the best bet.
The other reason I'm considering WGU is because the degree would cost me a total of less than 2k. The company I work for has an education program where they would pay a maximum of $5k per year when enrolling for a degree as long as you pass with a C grade. So I could either take the courses within 1 year and pay some out of pocket or could take the courses within 2 years and not pay anything because work would cover it.
I'm in my mid 30s and soon family life and more bills will catch up with me so this is another reason why I'm considering a Master's at this time and hoping to capitalize on the opportunity to not pay a lot of money.
After doing some searches on the forum for the MBA, I could only find some old posts from 2013 or 2014 and even those had only few comments on the MBA. Unless the posts are buried somewhere, it looks like not a lot of people are going for the MBA, maybe because of the lack of certificates you earn or because the word "business" scares people.
Now, is there anyone here that is currently enrolled or has already completed this WGU MBA program? How did it go, how was your enrollment process and was there anything that was extremely challenging? Based on the above details, would you say the MBA would be a better fit than the other degrees that align with my goals to manage a small team? Or would you say that all 3 degrees will give you the possibility to be a leader/manager. Also because of the work's education program, would you attempt to finish the degree as soon as you can or would you take your time and follow the standard path?
In one of the pdfs I read that for the capstone project for this degree you have to work as part of a small team and have weekly assessments? How did it go?
Now onto the other more general questions. As mentioned above, seems like online schools are gaining traction and younger generations are probably going to make online schools even more acceptable in the eyes of the traditional schools and those graduated from traditional school. How has your experience been with WGU degrees? Not only Masters programs. Are you finding that people are considering, respecting and value or recognizing WGU or competency based schools the same as traditional schools? Do you feel that if you had a degree from a traditional school you could have gotten that job you really liked, but instead you only got a job that was your 2nd option or 3rd option? Or are you on the side of people that think a degree is a degree and it does not hurt the more you have no matter from what school, online or otherwise?
Let the feedback roll it and maybe others can find this MBA topic useful too.
WGU offers the below Masters programs.
1. M.S. Cybersecurity and Information Assurance (This will get you CEH and CHFI certifications as well)
2. M.S. Information Technology Management
3. MBA Information Technology Management (from the College of Business)
What I have currently is B.S in Computer Science, CISSP, CCSP, A+, ITIL and also toying with the idea of CISM by December.
I looked at all 3 degrees and I'm leaning more towards the MBA because I would like at some point in the future to manage my own team but in the long long term hoping possibly for even more so I think a degree that is both business focus and IT focus would be the best bet.
The other reason I'm considering WGU is because the degree would cost me a total of less than 2k. The company I work for has an education program where they would pay a maximum of $5k per year when enrolling for a degree as long as you pass with a C grade. So I could either take the courses within 1 year and pay some out of pocket or could take the courses within 2 years and not pay anything because work would cover it.
I'm in my mid 30s and soon family life and more bills will catch up with me so this is another reason why I'm considering a Master's at this time and hoping to capitalize on the opportunity to not pay a lot of money.
After doing some searches on the forum for the MBA, I could only find some old posts from 2013 or 2014 and even those had only few comments on the MBA. Unless the posts are buried somewhere, it looks like not a lot of people are going for the MBA, maybe because of the lack of certificates you earn or because the word "business" scares people.
Now, is there anyone here that is currently enrolled or has already completed this WGU MBA program? How did it go, how was your enrollment process and was there anything that was extremely challenging? Based on the above details, would you say the MBA would be a better fit than the other degrees that align with my goals to manage a small team? Or would you say that all 3 degrees will give you the possibility to be a leader/manager. Also because of the work's education program, would you attempt to finish the degree as soon as you can or would you take your time and follow the standard path?
In one of the pdfs I read that for the capstone project for this degree you have to work as part of a small team and have weekly assessments? How did it go?
Now onto the other more general questions. As mentioned above, seems like online schools are gaining traction and younger generations are probably going to make online schools even more acceptable in the eyes of the traditional schools and those graduated from traditional school. How has your experience been with WGU degrees? Not only Masters programs. Are you finding that people are considering, respecting and value or recognizing WGU or competency based schools the same as traditional schools? Do you feel that if you had a degree from a traditional school you could have gotten that job you really liked, but instead you only got a job that was your 2nd option or 3rd option? Or are you on the side of people that think a degree is a degree and it does not hurt the more you have no matter from what school, online or otherwise?
Let the feedback roll it and maybe others can find this MBA topic useful too.
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PJ_Sneakers
Member Posts: 884 ■■■■■■□□□□
This is the best write up of WGU's MBA program that I've found. How I Did an MBA in 4.5 Months at WGU Online
I thoroughly enjoyed my experience earning my BS with WGU. If you're trying to get reimbursement, make sure that competency-based programs qualify. WGU will vouch that a pass is equivalent to at LEAST a C-average, but you'll have to check with your employer.