Virginia Tech Masters in IT

frobro989

Anyone know much about this program beyond what's on their website?

I just graduated from business school and am looking to expand my education in IT, wonder if it's worth the cost vs. self-study/education.

frobro989

Bump....

pinkydapimp

are you working right now? its typically better to get at least a few years experience before starting a Masters program. I dont know much about this program but you will want to check their rankings in usa today.

frobro989

I am. I have a job with an accounting firm and want to get more involved in their IT audit/information security practice.

pinkydapimp

have you looked into programs that are more focused towards security? If you definitely want to go that direction, that may be the way to go.

frobro989

That's where I'm stuck. I don't have the technical background to go straight into a security based masters degree.

VAHokie56

I dont know anyone who graducated from that program but I went to VT for my first degree, love the school and the area. Blacksburg is the best town in the world and not to mention Hokie football is AWESOME!! getting a masters in IT is over kill in my opinion depending on what you want to specialize in, so think long and hard on where you want your career to go before spending the money on a masters.

frobro989

I'm a big hokie fan too, and I'll be living in VA soon.

Like I said before though, I'm not sure how to get into other programs with a limited IT background.

VAHokie56

Is there a certain area of IT you are interested in?

frobro989

I want to go into information security, however I need to develop a solid foundation in IT which is why I'm leaning towards the VTMIT.

swild

I hate to say it, but with your limited IT experience, I think you would be best served by getting a BS in CS or IT. An MS is designed to be focused. If you don't have the technical background, you will be lost or trying to play catch up. Since you already have a business degree (BBA?) you would have all of the gen ed requirements transferred and should be able to just do the technical classes

N2IT

@VA

Smartest IT person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing was a CS grad from VTech. The guy could do it all, it was impressive and insanity at the same time. Took him 2 hours to write scripts that the enterprise would use for years and years later. He was truly a brilliant mind.

frobro989

swild wrote: »

I hate to say it, but with your limited IT experience, I think you would be best served by getting a BS in CS or IT. An MS is designed to be focused. If you don't have the technical background, you will be lost or trying to play catch up. Since you already have a business degree (BBA?) you would have all of the gen ed requirements transferred and should be able to just do the technical classes

Not quite sure if I want to spend that much time and money on education....

swild

The time to finish the IT portion of a BS and the time to finish an MS should be close to the same and generally undergrad credits are cheaper than grad credits.

pinkydapimp

i would agree with swild. if your going to get a MS in IT, its best to have some IT experience before hand.

Devilry

i'm with most here that you should combine the degree with experience.

However, to the person who said there is no point in getting a Master in IT, ignore them. Better yet, get their contact info and compare lives in 10-15 years.

pinkydapimp

Devilry wrote: »

i'm with most here that you should combine the degree with experience.

However, to the person who said there is no point in getting a Master in IT, ignore them. Better yet, get their contact info and compare lives in 10-15 years.

agreed. A Masters will be very beneficial coupled with strong experience down the road. Especially the direction IT is going in.

frobro989

The interesting thing about this Virginia Tech Masters in IT is it's a joint degree from the College of Business and College of Engineering.

The requirements to enter the program are low, which along with the course listing leads me to believe that it would be a key degree for a person of my standing who lacks a solid IT education.

pinkydapimp

frobro989 wrote: »

The interesting thing about this Virginia Tech Masters in IT is it's a joint degree from the College of Business and College of Engineering.

The requirements to enter the program are low, which along with the course listing leads me to believe that it would be a key degree for a person of my standing who lacks a solid IT education.

In my MS information systems there are business folks that are trying to get into IT. Is your job going to pay for it? I mean, it cant hurt to apply and then make a decision.

frobro989

They do have a tuition reimbursement program...Ill have to find out more about it. This is 6 months down the road so Ill have a firm idea by then.

Somnipotent

I was actually looking into this program as well. I was going to focus on the Computer Engineering program once I finish my WGU term however I need to do a little more research into the acceptance and enrollment requirements.

frobro989

I did a quick search on LinkedIn based who had that degree and it seemed they were doing fairly well.

Granted it all depends on the student, but it seems they were doing very well. Some waited a while to get the degree, and some went into it right out of undergrad.

pinkydapimp

Indeed.com is also a good place to search for resumes. pretty helpful. When i apply for a position, i will look for people that have had that position and see what skills and experience they had.

Getting a Masters is a big statement in any industry. But especially IT because not many people have them. Its always good to set your self apart from the crowd.

shodown

I think it all depends on what you are trying to accomplish. When I screen resume's for Network Engineer positions I don't even look at the school or degree. I actually look at your last 2-3 jobs and what you have done there. Then I look at certs. Now for management I'm sure they have different criteria.

pinkydapimp

shodown wrote: »

I think it all depends on what you are trying to accomplish. When I screen resume's for Network Engineer positions I don't even look at the school or degree. I actually look at your last 2-3 jobs and what you have done there. Then I look at certs. Now for management I'm sure they have different criteria.

right. for a network engineer position, a masters wont help as much. you may get a few employers willing to take a chance on you if you have less experience based on your exhibited ability to learn but thats it. That masters helps most for management positions and thats where you want to get to later in your career anyway.

shodown

pinkydapimp wrote: »

right. for a network engineer position, a masters wont help as much. you may get a few employers willing to take a chance on you if you have less experience based on your exhibited ability to learn but thats it. That masters helps most for management positions and thats where you want to get to later in your career anyway.

Not all of us want to be managers,lol.

My goal is to work as a Trainer/author/chief technologist somewhere. You can do most of those without a masters, but I think to get your foot in the teaching door, a masters is essential.

pinkydapimp

shodown wrote: »

Not all of us want to be managers,lol.

My goal is to work as a Trainer/author/chief technologist somewhere. You can do most of those without a masters, but I think to get your foot in the teaching door, a masters is essential.

lol good point. i think what i meant to say is less techie roles.

frobro989

Management's the way to go...at least in accounting. haha.