WGU Bachelors or Masters in cybersecurity?

thaiguy314

hey guys, so i figured this community would be as good as any to ask this question regarding IT and WGU. for a little background: im currently midway into my IT career (going on 5 years). have held positions as an IA analyst, incident handler, and most recently as a cybersecurity analyst doing accreditation packages for DOD. education background is a bachelors in psych and an MBA. currently hold a Sec+, CCNA Cyber Ops, and CEH (working on getting CISSP in a few months).

not necessarily unhappy but a majority of jobs im interested in require at least a bachelors in I.T. or some STEM category which my two degrees dont qualify for. so to check the box and set myself up for the future, im looking at going to WGU to get a cybersecurity degree. my conundrum is: bachelors in CS/IA or masters in CS/IA?

with my current bachelors, masters and certs, id finish my bachelors in the same time as a masters. i know a masters in cyber would make me more marketable but i really like the certs included with the bachelors (especially the CCSP) which would not only be paid for but also include the study material (as opposed to me doing each on my own) but im interested in a masters because of the self-perceived notion that this may make me look more desirable from an HR perspective compared to a bachelors in CS... is that an accurate perception or would my MBA suffice if i were to try to move up to a management position within IT/cybersecurity? sorry for the novel. any opinion would be much appreciated. thanks ahead of time!

TechGuru80

Don't get another Bachelor degree. A Master degree will always look better and you have already reached that level...don't backtrack.

Is it going to be self funded or company funded? If your company will pay for it, try to see if they will fund a SANS masters degree...anybody who knows anything about Cyber will like the technical skills you get (especially since you already have an MBA). Also, since you have all of those certifications you listed, I don't think you are going to get a wealth of knowledge benefit since most of the topics if not all are based on the CISSP CBK...at least with SANS you get tangible technical skills.

In the end it depends on your situation and what you want but realize there are other options.

EnderWiggin

I would just go straight for the masters degree. Having dual degrees like that would definitely help for a management position, too. Showing you have the business skillset, as well as the technical skillset, will be a huge plus. Also, a master's in a technical field will qualify you at the 'expert' level of 8140 for pretty much every billet. An MBA won't do that for you, though, it has to be technical.

thaiguy314

glad i asked this group of people, this is all really good advice.

techguru: its funny you mention the sans degree. wasnt even aware it existed until a coworker showed me the other week. unfortunately this will be self funded so WGUs price tag may be a little more merciful on my finances. i just want to set myself up for the future and eventually get into a well-paying management role somewhere down the road so i think youre right, those certs may be nice to have but i guess CISSP will most likely be the end all, be all. thanks!

ender: thats exactly the feedback i was looking for. wasnt sure how far an MBA would carry me in IT but i was hoping an educational background (even if it was a bachelors) coupled with the MBA would help but i guess in such a technical field, it makes sense that an advanced technical degree would be preferred over a business degree. thank you!