Masters Degree in Computer Networking?

Before I proceed with my questions I figured it would be wise for me to share a bit of my background with you all. I am a Computer Science major at St. Edward's University in Austin, TX and I am projected to graduate this May 2014. I have become very interested (thanks to a friend) in computer networks (hardware particularly). As a result, I have begun my networking career where many of you have started.. the CompTIA Network + exam. I am currently in the process of studying for the exam (not too bad so far) and I expect to take the exam sometime before April 2014 ends. That being said, some of my goals involve going the Cisco Cert path. That is, start from the bottom CCENT and ultimately one day reach CCIE. However, I don't know if pursuing a masters degree fits well with my career path. I suppose one advantage is that a masters degree is terminal while certifications expire, but I'm still unsure as to whether I should consider applying.

So, I was wondering if some of you could comment on North Carolina State University's graduate degree in computer networking. The link below will give you a list of courses that I would need to take. At first glance, everything seems relevant. They even offer a hardware track which makes it that much more appealing to me. Anyway, if you all could offer some suggestions that would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.

Courses List |

Find more posts tagged with

Save $250 on 2025 certification boot camps from Infosec!

Book now with code EOY2025

Button

Comments

Kreken

In my opinion, I think it would make more sense to spend a couple of years working in IT and see what network engineers do on the daily basis. Maybe you will get to like some other aspect of IT besides networking or maybe it will reassure you that networking is your thing. Before you would commit yourself to hard study and new loans, you should make sure that's the right career for you.

I would stay away from the hardware track with your BS in CS. It is geared more toward people with degree in electronic engineering. When I studied for my MS, one of the required classes was optical communications class. While the beginning of the class was pretty easy, just the review of optical physics, for the final I had to design a circuit for optical signal receiver... None of my C++ and Java classes prepared me for that. Take a closer look at the courses, ASIC and VLSI designs. Those are circuits design classes.