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WGU BS in Information Technology, then Brick and Mortar Computer Science degree?

daneeeee

I'm a 27 year old working professional that used to study art. Currently working as a technical support analyst and project manager for a cloud based software company. Looking to pursue further education to advance my career prospectives. Ideally, I'd like to be competent enough to be able to develop web and mobile applications and also possess good foundations in emerging web technologies (i.e., cloud computer, geolocation services, anything else being incorporated in mobile apps). It would be great to work as a programmer for a tech company, but look to gain enough knowledge to launch and manage my own start-up.

I'm assuming I can get into the Computer Science program from a brick and mortar school, but I don't have enough time to work full time and go to school full time. The curriculum for the programs are very structured where I am located and it's not feasible for me to adjust my schedule accordingly (that is, if my employer would even consider it) with a mortgage coming up.. I'm also likely moving in 2-3 years time due to work commitments, so it doesn't look like my tenure here will be long enough till I can graduate.

All things considered, I thought that going into the WGU BS in Information Technology -- Software would be a good entry point, then when I graduate and settle down at my new location, I can consider applying for a Computer Science degree and hope to god they would at least accept half the credits I've already accrued through WGU as transfers. After that, it would hopefully only be another 1-2 years before I can graduate.

I have read that the Software concentration for the WGU BS in Information Technology is probably the most useless though, so it's not instilling lots of hope in me. Would you sugges me not going into the Software stream and doing something more general or continue to carry on, since I have intentions to continue into Computer Science anyway?

Can anybody offer any advice on a good course of action? I would appreciate the feedback.

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Comments

TeKniques

My advice is to find a school where you can do a Computer Science BS degree online. It makes no sense to get a BS in IT and then attempt to get another one in Computer Science later. I suppose you could get a BS in IT and then try for a Master's in Computer Science, but that will be a difficult process of getting accepted because of the pre-requisites for graduate work. Computer Science generally consists of a lot of Math and Programming courses that go beyond what a tradition BS IT degree requires.

Getting into a Computer Science bachelor's program is just like any other program ... you do a placement test that tells you where you're at. The only catch is that if you start at a lower level (Math for example) it won't count toward your degree program until you reach a certain level. Be ready to put in a lot of hard work after work and on the weekends ... a Computer Science degree is not easy unless you have a lot of programming experience and are good in Math (you can be expected to go through Calculus plus a few more classes).

Good luck.

MSP-IT

What are you trying to achieve professionally that would require both?

phaneuf1

@tekniques, I have yet to find a full bachelor's degree in computer science that is offered 100% online.

Xonis1

Its about the same for me, I want to get into Web developing and mobile developing, I foudn the WGS BS:IT-software was a good route. you will learn the .asp, javascript , sql etc for web developing. Then you can learn java and objective for ios. Since it's self study, you learn how much you want. Then next year Georgia Tech is teaming with IUdacity to do a Computer science masters program on the cheap. It will be tough yes, but you can do the course free at your pace then apply for the actual degree version. Computer science BS will be tough to find completely online so I went this route.

Akaricloud

Getting both isn't really going to do much for you career wise.

Also, as you mentioned most CS programs are quite structured. Because of this you're going to have 4-years of computer science classes that build on each other and even with a BS: IT you're still going to require around 4-years for the CS degree.

In short, you need to figure out what you want first, both would not be a good option.

gadav478

phaneuf1 wrote: »

@tekniques, I have yet to find a full bachelor's degree in computer science that is offered 100% online.

Online Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science | UMUC

I would check out UMUC. I believe they offer a BS in Computer Science 100% online.

LunarSylph

Caveat: I'm new to IT so this is only my opinion.

I would say it makes perfect sense to get an IT (software emphasis) degree and then a Comp Sci degree.

Why? Because of the difficulty entering good development jobs. They want experience. Many of us have zero work experience, but lots of hobbyist-level experience and a passion to code.

A good way to qualify for a small development role is by having a generic IT degree (enough to land most interviews), an application portfolio stuffed full of GitHub projects, and a laptop you carry with you into the interview to demonstrate your programs. But that alone won't impress long-term developers and higher-level job interviewers who themselves most likely have Comp Sci degrees.

As you can easily take 30+ CUs a term, WGU's accelerated IT:Software degree is a quick way to gain the entry qualifications to get one's foot in the door for something small like junior web development, or maybe software QA. The faster you can get yourself in a situation where you're gaining small-time coding work experience the better for your future prospects.

After the first degree you can work full-time while going to a different school part-time for Comp Sci, and eventually gain the qualifications for something better. A Computer Science degree alone isn't enough to get most medium-level software jobs anyway. They also want experience. So whether you get the degree earlier or later doesn't factor into things very much.

Bottom line- when you're finished with both degrees you'll also have a few years of IT-related work experience under your belt too.

That's a quintuple whammy that should hopefully be enough (for us who begin with nothing) to allow future upward mobility in software:

(1) Certifications (resume padding)
(2) Application portfolio, GitHub experience
(3) IT degree
(4) Work experience
(5) Comp Sci degree

Plus it's never a bad idea to take Comp Sci classes part-time. They're known for being a challenge.

daneeeee

LunarSylph's response is pretty dead on with my educational plan. Can anybody offer further insight?

TeKniques

phaneuf1 wrote: »

@tekniques, I have yet to find a full bachelor's degree in computer science that is offered 100% online.

They are out there. For example -- Oregon State University offers a full online Computer Science program: Computer Science -- Undergraduate Degrees Online -- Online & Distance Degrees -- Oregon State University Ecampus -- OSU Extended Campus

OP - If you have enough time and money to get two bachelor's degrees then by all means best of luck.

phaneuf1

TeKniques wrote: »

They are out there. For example -- Oregon State University offers a full online Computer Science program: Computer Science -- Undergraduate Degrees Online -- Online & Distance Degrees -- Oregon State University Ecampus -- OSU Extended Campus

OP - If you have enough time and money to get two bachelor's degrees then by all means best of luck.

This is a unique post-baccalaureate program in computer science that is possible to complete in one year.

Again it's not a full bachelor.