Thinking about changing majors to Info Assurance from IT - Security at WGU

boxerboy1168

Hey all,

I originally chose the BSIT - Security path with WGU due to the fact that I thought having a CCNA would help me get an entry level job. However one of the things I've been noticing in the job market especially after my interview earlier this week is companies are slowly moving into security more to fill the gap. So what I've been thinking is is changing my degree plan.

Thoughts??

Really hoping some people currently in the field have some solid info here.

mikey88

I've been reading up on your posts and see that you are 1/2 complete to get A+ certified. Why not finish that asap and start applying for entry level jobs?

CCNA will help you land a job but only after a bit of experience under your belt. ~2yrs. Network+ from my experience is great for entry level knowledge but not very hands on nor good for actually landing a networking job.

Sure, security is an in demand area right now and may pay off going forward... but you should also be thinking about what's best for short term goals.

yoba222

WGU seems to be discontinuing the BSIT Security track so I'm making several assumptions as to which certs align with it. I think a CCNA is a valuable thing when attempting to land an entry level job in networking, sysadmin, and even security. I'm assuming your current track includes CCNA, CCNA Security, and CCDA? I think this is overkill though, as CCNA alone is enough to accomplish your mission.

I believe both degrees align with an opportunity to get A+, Net+ and Sec+, and those are great. I believe they also align with some CIW certs, which seem like worthless fluff from what I've seen.

That cyber and IA degree aligns with a couple of okay, but not very well-known ISC certs (SSCP and CCSP) and then a couple not so well-regarded and definitely not at all known EC Council certs (ECES, ECIH). Meh all around there.

So I don't know. CCNA is good to have. Three are overdoing it. There are better certs than those four security certs too. I'd pick whichever degree that can be obtained more quickly, because at the end of the day the ads usually say "Bachelors in related field" which qualifies just about any tech degree really.

boxerboy1168

mikey88 wrote: »

I've been reading up on your posts and see that you are 1/2 complete to get A+ certified. Why not finish that asap and start applying for entry level jobs?

CCNA will help you land a job but only after a bit of experience under your belt. ~2yrs. Network+ from my experience is great for entry level knowledge but not very hands on nor good for actually landing a networking job.

Sure, security is an in demand area right now and may pay off going forward... but you should also be thinking about what's best for short term goals.

Scheduled to take the second half of the A+ in a few weeks. Thanks.

boxerboy1168

yoba222 wrote: »

WGU seems to be discontinuing the BSIT Security track so I'm making several assumptions as to which certs align with it. I think a CCNA is a valuable thing when attempting to land an entry level job in networking, sysadmin, and even security. I'm assuming your current track includes CCNA, CCNA Security, and CCDA? I think this is overkill though, as CCNA alone is enough to accomplish your mission.

I believe both degrees align with an opportunity to get A+, Net+ and Sec+, and those are great. I believe they also align with some CIW certs, which seem like worthless fluff from what I've seen.

That cyber and IA degree aligns with a couple of okay, but not very well-known ISC certs (SSCP and CCSP) and then a couple not so well-regarded and definitely not at all known EC Council certs (ECES, ECIH). Meh all around there.

So I don't know. CCNA is good to have. Three are overdoing it. There are better certs than those four security certs too. I'd pick whichever degree that can be obtained more quickly, because at the end of the day the ads usually say "Bachelors in related field" which qualifies just about any tech degree really.

Guess I will just stick with the current course then and the CCDA is not included. When talking to my mentor he said that it's the same credit hours but with more certifications so I should consider that as well meaning, more cramming and I would prefer more learning to cramming.

gespenstern

I'm half way into IT Security and at this point switching implies having more CUs until graduation. Certs are good, but since I have CISSP it makes SSCP kinda worthless. CCSP is nice to have but I think it's not worth the effort so I decided to stay.

TechGuru80

boxerboy1168 wrote: »

However one of the things I've been noticing in the job market especially after my interview earlier this week is companies are slowly moving into security more to fill the gap. So what I've been thinking is is changing my degree plan.

Information Assurance is more of the high level aspects of managing Information Security within an organization...where IT Security is generally just focused on the technology aspect of things, not so much the enterprise policies. Depending on the program, one might have more technical courses versus the other, but it all depends on what your goals are. Either way you can expand and learn more from the other area through certifications and additional training.

Depending on who is doing the hiring, they might not actually know the term Information Assurance....and you aren't likely to see any positions labeled Information Assurance unless you look in the government, even though it might be an IA type job so be aware of that when you go to apply...especially if the job falls under IT, since some IT managers might not be aware of certain aspects of security.

Blucodex

Do you want to do reports and checklists or do you want to be technical?