YATTA! *mimicking Hiro from Heroes*
I know I am a week late with the good news, but I was waiting for confirmation from the enrollment office to see if I could accelerate into their master program early for "free" before I make my announcement. I just submitted the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) last night. They wanted to make sure that I understand and accept the risk of affecting my undergraduate transcript in case I receive a "not pass" grade at the end of my current term.
I will be starting September 1st. To be honest, I am not happy with what I am learning from my undergraduate degree other than learning the vendor way of doing things. Especially when I really should have finished my degree in one term. The ICND2 and KFT1 were the biggest time-consumers. I could have finished in two terms just fine, but I screwed up by procrastinating until my third month at WGU. I wanted to do a do-over, and I figured the MSISA will make up for the knowledge gaps and the regrettable mistakes I made.
Reasons why I am going for the MSISA:
- Cheap tuition: I think it is be ridiculous for me to pay for a graduate program out of my empty pocket at a well-reputable school elsewhere when I don't even have real-world experience yet. I will be piggybacking on my undergraduate tuition that has already been paid for this term. The official first graduate term is not until January. If I have been working for an employer that is going to reimburse me, then I would probably look elsewhere. I plan to use only federal loans to pay for the school.
- Satisfy my educational experience: I felt that I did not learn what I need to know about IT Security. I was coming from a well-known B&M tech school in upstate New York. Finished my AAS there, but was unable to finish my bachelor there due to funding. I would need two more years. Their security program was well-rounded, and that experience eluded me. Honestly, I perceive the MSISA degree as a bachelor degree from a reputable security program, but I could be wrong when I find out eventually. One thing I do know is that it will be challenging for me since I do not have many years of real-world experiences. I was also compelled to get a master due to my disability as I want to prove biased employers wrong that I can perform the work as my non-disable peers as long as I am provided reasonable accommodation.
- Good preparation for the CISSP associate exam: I plan to take the CISSP exam a few years after I graduate from the program.
- Open opportunities in the public sectors: I am aware that the employers from the private sector may gawk at people with the MSISA degree solely because the degree was done online. I don't think the people with experiences will have a hard time selling themselves to prospective employers with this degree, but I probably would. I assumed the government hires differently since they only follow requirements with no bias. If I have met the degree requirements, then I am just as qualified as the other applicants with similar credentials and experience except that their degree was from a local B&M school.
- I want to adjunct teach: I plan to teach at my alma mater in case I am unable to find work in this rough economy. I know I am more likely to be hired if I apply for the teaching position. I was told to get an IT-related master degree from a regionally-accredited school if I want to teach there. I had a good relationship with the faculty when I was a student there, and I still keep in touch with them every once in a while. I don't plan to teach until I gain at least a few years of experience.
UPDATE: Since I finished the BS, I am going to retire my old signature here and start a new one.
WGU BS: IT Security - Start Date: 07/01/11 Graduation Date: 07/24/12Transferred: BAC1, BBC1, CLC1, LAE1, INC1, LAT1, AXV1, TTV1, LUT1, WSV1, INT1, GAC1, SSC1, SST1, BRV1, HHT1, QLT1, TSV1, BOV1, IWT1, IWC1, KET1, WDV1, ABV1 (77 CUs).Required: NONE!Completed: EWB2, ORC1, MCG1, BSV1 *First Term*; TPV1, KFT1, LET1 *Second Term*; BLV1, TWA1 CPW4 *Third Term*
