A.A.S. Degree in IT what next?

mcmaster · December 2007

shortly I'll be graduating with my A.A.S. Degree in Information Tech. I have my CCNA and in a few weeks hope to have my MCSA 2003. I know this is pretty good to go right onto the market but I really want to go for a B.S. Degree. I want to pursue business education for IT management but use classes from my AAS degree as well as continue improving it. MCSE and CCNP for instance. I've been looking into an MIS but the class list seems to exclude any I took in my CITE program. I'm stretched between continuing in school and getting hands on in lets say a the school IT infrastructure or going into the market for experience and getting certs on the side. Anyone have any ideas on how I could proceed from here? What other Business/IT degrees are there besides MIS?

Thanks

Netstudent · December 2007

There's Data Communications, Telecommunications, CIS, Information Security, computer science.

What I did was I got my A.S and a cert and got an entry level job. Now I work in the day and go to class for my BS in the evenings. It's pretty difficult and strenuous, but I think it pays off in the long run. My only reasoning behind getting an AS was so that when I graduated with a BS degree, I would have both degrees, certs, and several years of experience in my arsenal. All of which are helpful in getting a high paying job.

If you feel like you may regret not getting a 4 year degree in the future, then get it and have no regrets.

mcmaster · December 2007

I definitely want to go for a 4 year degree but are there any that I could pick up in year 3 or 2.5 with my CITE A.A.S. degree? It seems so far that all the 4 year degrees I've come across have their core classes but then a whole bunch of basic non general education but easy computer electives which are not the classes I took during my CITE classes. My Cite classes were hands on class preparing me for certification exams. Cisco and Microsoft classes. However for the MIS degree they have classes introduction to computers, introduction to spreadsheets, things like this which i would rather not take but don't know if i can use my CITE credits towards.

oo_snoopy · December 2007

mcmaster wrote:

I definitely want to go for a 4 year degree but are there any that I could pick up in year 3 or 2.5 with my CITE A.A.S. degree? It seems so far that all the 4 year degrees I've come across have their core classes but then a whole bunch of basic non general education but easy computer electives which are not the classes I took during my CITE classes. My Cite classes were hands on class preparing me for certification exams. Cisco and Microsoft classes. However for the MIS degree they have classes introduction to computers, introduction to spreadsheets, things like this which i would rather not take but don't know if i can use my CITE credits towards.

Those core classes are what make 4 year degree's 4 year degrees. Those classes tell people that you're a well rounded person with a variety of knowledge in area other than the field you work in.

Smallguy · December 2007

mcmaster wrote:

I definitely want to go for a 4 year degree but are there any that I could pick up in year 3 or 2.5 with my CITE A.A.S. degree? It seems so far that all the 4 year degrees I've come across have their core classes but then a whole bunch of basic non general education but easy computer electives which are not the classes I took during my CITE classes. My Cite classes were hands on class preparing me for certification exams. Cisco and Microsoft classes. However for the MIS degree they have classes introduction to computers, introduction to spreadsheets, things like this which i would rather not take but don't know if i can use my CITE credits towards.

Netstudent's plan is definitely not an easy one but it would be great if you can do it

in some cases you are able to use previous credits from a previ9us degree or challenge for Credit depending on the School

you might want to look into these options if you want just remember that... you will normally only get a "PASS" for the course or complete so it won't factor into your GPA,,, can be a GPA booster if you want

Netstudent · December 2007

You can always test out of those kinds of classes too. You would be very surprised how easy the test out exams are for those kinds of classes. I have tested out of 2 classes in my time and they were both VERY do-able. A lot of schools will take credits from previous community colleges, Universities, or technical schools. I would find some schools that offer the 4 year degree that you want. Go talk to a counselor or student advisor, and see how many credits you can get out of the way. See what kinds of Bull S. classes you will have to take and if you can test out. Then if you can, put certs on hold and study to test out of those clases like spreadsheets, and INtro to PC.

The amount of time this could take would depend on if this CITE school was accredited and if you took GEn ed's like college Algebra, college math, English COmp. , any fine arts, or social sciences.

MIS would be take a little longer because it typically falls under the School of BUsiness. Then you have to take the BUsiness adminstration, marketing, and finance classes. These are generally not part of a technical AS degree.

MAybe you could look into a technical school that offers a Bachelor degree in a technical field. A technical school would be more likely to take more your previous credits than a university would.

Good luck.

A.A.S. Degree in IT what next?

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