Interested in MIS Degree

napoleonppnapoleonpp Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
in IT Jobs / Degrees
I am currently active duty in the Army with about 10 years in and finally starting on a degree. I'm looking at 10 more years before retiring at the age of 37, unless I get out due to unforeseen medical issues or something else unforeseen.

I've always been in aviation but recently been interested in a Bachelors in MIS. I joined the Army at 17 so very unfamiliar with anything career wise outside the military or even college. As of right now I'm taking General Study online classes at Embry Riddle. I'd appreciate any general advice if possible. From my understanding a MIS can pretty much open someone up for pretty much anything in the IT field, is this correct? It includes helping businesses with organizing numbers and informations, programming, software and hardware changes, etc.

I'm looking at selecting the degree at the link below on the Embry Riddle website. It's a Bachelors in Science in Technical Management with a Major in Management of Information Systems. Other schools list the degree just as a Bachelors in Management Information Systems, stupid question but are these the same thing? Like I said I'm not familiar with college so don't want to spend forever getting a degree that's different due to slightly different wording. Below is the link to the webpage:

https://erau.edu/degrees/bachelor/technical-management/

Like I said I'm new to looking at careers outside the military and can take any General advice or help in this field. Thank you in advance!!
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Comments

  • EANxEANx Member Posts: 1,077 ■■■■■■■■□□
    Having the degree will check a box that many HR people put in the hiring process but the key is really what you get out of it. How do the two programs match-up? Compare the required courses each has, which set seems more interesting? How many seem like a total waste of time? Be aware that each college will have a set of courses that everyone needs to take. Math to a certain level, two English writing courses, etc. and you'll have to weigh which is better for you.

    When I decided to finish my degree, I had already taken over 100 credits from various sources. I could have transferred to just about anywhere but a max of 64 credits typically applies. Then I was pointed to a program I qualified for that allowed up to 90 credits to transfer. I jumped on it and managed to get 84 to transfer. The kicker was that they had two mandatory diversity courses. A total waste of time from my perspective but getting the extra 20 credits to transfer was worth it.
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  • napoleonppnapoleonpp Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
    EANx wrote: »
    Having the degree will check a box that many HR people put in the hiring process but the key is really what you get out of it. How do the two programs match-up? Compare the required courses each has, which set seems more interesting? How many seem like a total waste of time? Be aware that each college will have a set of courses that everyone needs to take. Math to a certain level, two English writing courses, etc. and you'll have to weigh which is better for you.

    When I decided to finish my degree, I had already taken over 100 credits from various sources. I could have transferred to just about anywhere but a max of 64 credits typically applies. Then I was pointed to a program I qualified for that allowed up to 90 credits to transfer. I jumped on it and managed to get 84 to transfer. The kicker was that they had two mandatory diversity courses. A total waste of time from my perspective but getting the extra 20 credits to transfer was worth it.

    I appreciate your feedback. Unfortunately most, if not all, the colleges I have found do not offer BOTH a full online MIS Degree and a military tuition rate for the Army to pay for it. I also interested in a Computer Science degree. As I said I'm still working on English and math classes at this time I am keeping an opened mind. I found a great school my wife has previously attended that provides an online "Applied Computer Science" Degree. I am looking at job requirements on online job postings and Federal jobs such as CIA, FBI, etc. Lots of the jobs require a BA in Computer Science, would this somehow hurt me to have one in "Applied Computer Science?"
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  • napoleonppnapoleonpp Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
    I forgot to post a link but below is the degree.

    A Quality Education, An Amazing College Experience. In Class, Online, Within Reach
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  • TranceSoulBrotherTranceSoulBrother Member Posts: 215
    Have you spoken to anyone at the education center?
    Go to GoArmyEd, look at the list of the LOI schools and see what majors do they offer.
    Most schools would be covered for an enlisted Soldier at the undergrad level. Penn State and others are part of the list and they would have an online degree in Information Systems or something similar.
    Those jobs at the CIA/FBI/3LetterPlace might require one for CompSci, but many would say something about CompSci, CompEng or similar. Some agents would not necessarily start off with a CompSci degree. Many would have a JD then veer into the investigative part of the department but I would advice you to dig deeper.
    Back to the degree, don't waste your opportunity to focus on EmbryRiddle only. Look at the schools with GoArmyEd and don't limit yourself to LOI schools, but research the non-LOI schools as well. Usually, these places price their credit tuition close to the TA reimbursement or a little higher, and some might cover the difference under the Yellow Ribbon program if applicable.

    Also, talk to the education folks about CLEP tests so that you can knock out some of your electives (English, humanities...) and not waste too much time on them.
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  • Russ5813Russ5813 Member Posts: 123 ■■■□□□□□□□
    The Yellow Ribbon Program is not available for active duty. However, you can look into the Top-Up program, which dips into your GI Bill benefits for anything not covered by TA. If the difference is minimal, you might consider just covering tuition out of pocket and saving your GI Bill for later.
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  • napoleonppnapoleonpp Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
    TranceSoulBrother wrote: »
    Have you spoken to anyone at the education center?
    Go to GoArmyEd, look at the list of the LOI schools and see what majors do they offer.
    Most schools would be covered for an enlisted Soldier at the undergrad level. Penn State and others are part of the list and they would have an online degree in Information Systems or something similar.
    Those jobs at the CIA/FBI/3LetterPlace might require one for CompSci, but many would say something about CompSci, CompEng or similar. Some agents would not necessarily start off with a CompSci degree. Many would have a JD then veer into the investigative part of the department but I would advice you to dig deeper.
    Back to the degree, don't waste your opportunity to focus on EmbryRiddle only. Look at the schools with GoArmyEd and don't limit yourself to LOI schools, but research the non-LOI schools as well. Usually, these places price their credit tuition close to the TA reimbursement or a little higher, and some might cover the difference under the Yellow Ribbon program if applicable.

    Also, talk to the education folks about CLEP tests so that you can knock out some of your electives (English, humanities...) and not waste too much time on them.

    Thank you for this advice. I'm not too familiar with GoArmyEd so did not even think to try that. I'm on the Officer side, former enlisted, but do not have a degree. I'll try GoArmyEd when I go into work Tuesday. I'm also seriously considering Computer Science so will check that out also.
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