Equivalent of a Bachelor Degree (IT/CS)

lolermoler

I'm in a serious dilemma here...My university don't drop out students, but its been 5 years and I still have a lot of courses remaining to be passed..before I elaborate further, My certifications:

MCITP - database admin SQL Server 2008
MCTS - .NET Framework c# windowsForm
IBM - Cloud Computing Infrastructure Architect
ECSA - certified security Analyst
EXIN - TMap Test Engineer
CiW - Database Design Specialist
NetApp - Storage Area Network Engineer

I know a lot about IT and Programming, since I did not go to these BORING lectures at university, I'd learn what I loved, programming/databases, hacking etc. But I had to pay a price...My mistake was not noticing the Course Curriculum of my Degree Programme. I chose BCSE - computer system engineering, thinking this has a lot to do with Computers and Softwares etc..

but ALAS...it is 1% Software and 99% Electricity, Magnetism, Static, Dynamics, Math, Communication, DLD....really pathetic...

I'm so frustrated right now...after so many years, it feels like I've tried to take a shortcut to win a Race, but now I'm lost and off the real track....and now I've two options..

- Go forward, not knowing, and hope that the finish line is a few meters ahead..
- Go back on my tracks and start from where I jumped off the race track...

I'm fed up tbh...by now I've built a PHOBIA from University Studies, and thinking of going back and getting Regular to stupid/pathetic ELECTRICITY HISTORY CLASSES is....

The problem? I live in a SHI# country where you can't get a SHI# job unless you have graduated...All the certifications I mentioned above are USELESS! Yes...sadly true

I'm here for suggestions, I need something that is equivalent to a bachelor Degree so I can apply for Jobs offered..i'd rather suicide than repeat 4 years of agony, or who knows if I drop off again...I don't want to risk that either..One reason why I love certification program is that you can take it anytime you want to, and in the shortest time possible..but 4years?? Please....

I have no knowledge of Diplomas how much they are worth so suggest anything that can get me a bachelors...in the shortest amount of time*

Just...help me with this pain please...very lost and confused in a serious dilemma...I'm an expert in Photoshop and I sometimes feel like replicating a degree but that sounds very unethical and I'm sure the guilt will follow me to the grave...anything that can help with this guilt and find me a way out.

ptilsen

There is no equivalent to education. Certifications can still get you lots of success and money, but that doesn't make them equivalent, nor are they worse -- just different.

What country are you in? There are some degree programs that are heavily IT-focused and lighter on generals and math. WGU is a good example. There is no good program I'm aware of that doesn't require generals, but there are plenty that are at least heavy on the degree material. The Computer Science degree I'm pursuing is about 40% all CS stuff, 20% math, and the rest generals and liberal studies. The percentages are even different considering I have transferred in 16 credits and will likely test/CLEP out of another 12. I don't think that's too bad, and probably not atypical for a traditional CS degree.

lolermoler

WGU is quite tempting tbh...I'm from Pakistan. What saddened me about WGU was that, COMPTIA exams are not offered in Pakistan's Prometric Test Centers..would that be a problem?

EDIT: I'm seriously loving this..Online Degree Programs..Can you mention some more universities that offer such? I found many but not sure which ones are legit and which ones fake.

Valsacar

WGU is only for those in the states (exception is those in the US Military, or related personnel), so that's out.

Excelsior, Thomas Edison, and Charter Oak are all online programs, I know Excelsior is possible (International Student Admissions - excelsior.edu). Excelsior will transfer credits in from your certifications (they count as IT electives), plus some (or all) of your previous college. I did my BS there, while it's structured more like a normal class, it generally took me just 2 days a week to do 3 classes at a time.

StraigherLine and the Americal Council on Education (ACE) are two methods to speed up college (and cheaper) and it is possible to do as a foreign student (here's a thread about a UK citizen doing so: International student; ACE, ALEKS, Straighterline, FHSU, Grand Canyon and credit). Excelsior (and the other two, as far as I know) will accept an unlimited number of these credits, as long as they apply towards your degree.

IMO, that is your best choice. I don't know about Pakistan, but over here (Korea) a US degree (and other Western countries) generally holds more weight for Koreans than all but their top schools. If that is true where you live, this could be an added benefit.

Edit: I left out that Excelsior doesn't require proctored exams, so you can do it all from home!

kgb

I don't see how asking here on these forums is going to help you. You've spent the last 5 years not understanding what you were going to school for? Maybe it's the language barrier and I'm misreading...

lolermoler

kgb wrote: »

I don't see how asking here on these forums is going to help you. You've spent the last 5 years not understanding what you were going to school for? Maybe it's the language barrier and I'm misreading...

So you're saying you don't know how/why so many people drop out every year?

lolermoler

Valsacar wrote: »

WGU is only for those in the states (exception is those in the US Military, or related personnel), so that's out.

Excelsior, Thomas Edison, and Charter Oak are all online programs, I know Excelsior is possible (International Student Admissions - excelsior.edu). Excelsior will transfer credits in from your certifications (they count as IT electives), plus some (or all) of your previous college. I did my BS there, while it's structured more like a normal class, it generally took me just 2 days a week to do 3 classes at a time.

StraigherLine and the Americal Council on Education (ACE) are two methods to speed up college (and cheaper) and it is possible to do as a foreign student (here's a thread about a UK citizen doing so: International student; ACE, ALEKS, Straighterline, FHSU, Grand Canyon and credit). Excelsior (and the other two, as far as I know) will accept an unlimited number of these credits, as long as they apply towards your degree.

IMO, that is your best choice. I don't know about Pakistan, but over here (Korea) a US degree (and other Western countries) generally holds more weight for Koreans than all but their top schools. If that is true where you live, this could be an added benefit.

Edit: I left out that Excelsior doesn't require proctored exams, so you can do it all from home!

Thank you so much for your generous opinions. Yes, its the same here, any degree from abroad weighs more. I'm liking Excelsior, quite cheap and more tempting. I'll research into it and let you know if i have more questions concerning. I cannot thank you enough, really. God bless you

MrBishop

There is a good forum that offers advice on which schools are good for online etc. Check this board out! DegreeInfo Distance Learning - online degree forum

Slowhand

Well, it looks like you've reached a conclusion, but you're not quite ready to take that plunge yet: you may have to go back to school. Coming from a background of working for software development shops, especially in the game industry, I definitely see the value in getting your "other" skills down, particularly advanced mathematics and those physics concepts. Valsacar gave you some good links to look at in terms of getting the actual degree, but I know that it can be tough and intimidating to go back, especially when you have to tackle subjects you're either not that interested in or you're not that good at.

I can offer you some links to things that may help you along the way as you take classes and study, perhaps even get you started on the topics you were hesitant to learn before. Hopefully, they'll help, and they're all free resources:
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• The Khan Academy - Video lectures and examples focusing particularly on mathematics (pre-algebra up through multivariable calculus and linear algebra,) as well as physics, chemistry, biology, history, and a slew of other topics.
• MIT OpenCourseWare - Free videos of actual class lectures, lecture notes, homework assignments, tests, and answer guides from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There are only a few of their undergraduate that aren't featured here.
• UC Berkeley's YouTube Channel - Much like MIT's OpenCourseWare, this is UC Berkeley's list of class lectures they've filmed and made available for both students and the general public. If you're willing to search their regular site, you can find lecture notes, book recommendations, etc., to use with any courses you actually want to follow along with. (Some professors, particularly the ones in the computer science department, like to put the books they've written for their classes up online for free.)
• BookBoon.com - Lots and lots of free textbooks, many with answer guides available, on topics ranging from math, physics, electrical engineering, and things like computer programming, networking, economics, business.
• Cramster.com - A site to supplement your classroom textbooks, kind of a replacement for those expensive answer-guides the bookstore sells. Much like an answer guide, though, don't be tempted to use the solved equations and explanations as a replacement for learning the material yourself; only use the guides and this site to check your work.
• Wolfram | Alpha - A site that features a search function for math and scientific formulas. It's not perfect, but it helps in a bind, as long as it's not used as a crutch to effectively do your homework for you.

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Hopefully some of these will be helpful, especially when it comes to reviewing what you already know and helping motivate you to jump back in and get started. As I said, I know it's tough to go back to school, especially when you're doing it because you have to and not because you simply want to. Since you mentioned that you love to learn on your own and not sit in classes, it may be easier to get a head-start on some of these topics now through self-study, so you can skip ahead and test out of them when (and if) you do decide to head back to school.

the_Grinch

If you want a degree I'd just finish the courses you have left and call it a day. Most jobs just want a degree and with your certs I don't see the point in starting over again.

Valsacar

That's one advantage of going with a school like Excelsior, once evaluated (you have to go through a third-party organization to evaluate foreign transcripts) they'll take pretty much any credit that can fit in your degree (with a BA/BS always having lots of electives you can fit a lot in there). Then the certifications will transfer as more credits, so in effect he's not starting over just moving to another school (and moving up due to the credits from certs).

For the OP, Excelsior is a good choice, I did my BS there and they were really helpful. I originally signed up for a specialization course and they called to inform me that if I switched to general IT they could apply 12 more credits towards my degree (lots of certs)... that cut of a few months off the process so I was more than happy to switch.