Focus on Certifications or pursue Masters degree

Hey guys,

It's been a while since I have made any posts, but I have been quite busy. I passed the ICND1 and 2 exams in November, so I have obtained the CCNA: R&S certification. I've passed the 70-410, so now I have my sights on the 411 and 412 so I can earn the MCSA 2012. I plan to do that by July of this year.

I am finishing up my bachelor degree in Business Information Systems through Indiana Wesleyan University. It's been a good experience I suppose, but it's left me with a bitter taste in my mouth knowing that I could have spent almost half the cost attending WGU for two years instead, while obtaining certifications. It's very difficult to pursue certifications with a full course load of graduate classes, as many of you are aware. I had a difficult time preparing for the CCNA while taking my undergraduate courses.

I have changed jobs since November, and I am now employed as a Technology Consultant. It's a nice environment with Dell and Cisco switches, VMWare ESXi, and mostly Server 2008 R2 VMs.

What I am trying to determine now, is what are my personal goals past this point, and what will provide the best return on investment in regard to furthering my skills and potential opportunities years down the road.

I want to earn a Masters degree primarily because I would be interested in teaching at some point in my life, but also because I feel that it would help me to advance my career years down the road. I would like to specialize in something as well, instead of trying to be a jack of all trades. I find Information Security to be a fascinating subject so I am interested in security certifications and degree programs. Online programs are the only programs I am considering.

I am looking at WGU's masters programs in addition to Dakota State's masters programs. I'm trying to decide between the MS: Information Systems, or the MS Information Assurance at Dakota State, or the MS Information Security Assurance, or MBA: IT Management at WGU. Price is a factor in my decision. I already have undergraduate loans to pay off, so I want to spend less than $15,000 for any additional education.

So, at this point in my life, I'm very interested in the technical side of things, but I expect that at some point, I will desire to transition into a managerial role and perhaps teach classes in my spare time (or perhaps leave consulting and teach full time if the right opportunity presents itself). I feel that the best time to pursue graduate studies is now, since I'm about to be 27 years old and I'm unmarried without children. I think that it will be much more difficult as I age, so I am worried if I don't pursue it now, I will never accomplish this goal. However, I know that I can earn some advanced level certifications much quicker if I do not have graduate coursework to distract me.

I'm interested in the CISSP, so I'm very drawn to the Information Assurance programs. I feel that the courses would help prepare me for the certification, much more so than any other degree programs.

Just wanted to hear your thoughts on which degree programs you would recommend.

Thanks

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Comments

Zomboidicus

I'd get a full-time job (unless your current job is) first before moving onto Master's. Why not attend WGU's information security and assurance program part-time while you build on-the-job experience? You already know it is affordable, and I also heard WGU is certificate friendly. So you can build experience, education, and certification simultaneously. It'll be hard, but like you said, perhaps now is the time to do it.

Maybe I'm not in any position to give career advice but that's my 2 cents.

-hype

A degree doesn't expire, while certs do ...

egrizzly

Depends on what type of knowledge you would like to get. A widely accepted practice would be to get a general degree then specialize. Since price is a factor for you and you're in Kentucky consider Morehead State University. They have a Masters of Science in Management Information Systems. Public school with state tuition. You could then specialize with certs in InfoSec, Network Security, e.t.c. I'm talking CISSP and others in that family. Best of luck.

ande0255

Definitely go for Masters degree if it's possible to afford and you aren't burnt out on school, as that will put you ahead of the pack for jobs that require a degree, as most IT positions I've seen require a Bachelors at most. Certs are usually 'preferred' in job postings, while experience and sometimes degress are posted as requirements.

I got burnt on school after my AAS as the filler classes killed me, and just focused on certs, but I agree with the WGU suggestion Zomboidicus to build experience / degree / certs simultaneously.

yzT

In my opinion, if you have already a job you don't need certifications at this very moment, so focus on the master.

aspiringsoul

Thank you for your responses Gentlemen.

Yes, I do work full time and I have since my previous job as a Network Administrator for four years. I considered Morehead but they charge $535 a credit hour. $4,000 is $4,000, so I'm drawn to DSU's and WGU's programs at the moment.

I am worn out on school, but I do have an insatiable appetite for knowledge, and I want to do whatever I can to further my knowledge and advance my career. I've talked to a couple of friends in the industry, and they were telling me to focus on certifications and not to worry about a masters. So I wanted to get your opinions.

Anything past the MCSA and CCNA would really be superfluous for my current job duties. A few years down the road, that will most likely change as I move on to other opportunities with my employer. I've thought about the VCP-DCV since we do have a VMWare environment.

There is a lot of respect for WGU and its competency based approach on these forums, but most of the people in IT I speak with around here have never heard of it. I was wondering what your thoughts were on DSU vs WGU's curriculum for those of you who are familiar with them. I think there is an older WGU vs DSU thread, which I might revive. I don't want to enroll in DSU if I'm going to be teaching myself. I might as well enroll in WGU if that is the case.

Thanks guys!

dbrink

I'm currently enrolled at Dakota State University pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Ethical Hacking and will move into the MSIA program afterwards. I can guarantee you won't be teaching yourself.

About a year ago I was trying to decide between WGU and DSU also, I think I posted somewhere on these forums on why I chose DSU. One reason was because there are a few professors at DSU that have spoken at Blackhat/Defcon and have written some good books on the penetration testing side of things. They are also penetration testers so they have real experience to learn from. Also, the school is very active in the Collegiate Cyber Defense Challenge (CCDC) and I believe they finished 2nd in the nation the past year or two. That shows me that they must be teaching good material. Lastly, I looked at their curriculum and it has a lot of good technical aspects to it which is what I was looking for.

The cost was also a factor which ends up being about $1,200 per class. Overall that is more expensive than WGU and it is a standard school structure so it will take a bit longer. One benefit of WGU is you go at your own pace and can finish faster if you are determined.

aspiringsoul

Dbrink,

I remember that conversation. I find your comments to be very comforting. I think at this point, I will most likely enroll in DSU, in either the MSIS or MSIA programs. The MSIA program sounds far more interesting, especially since my interests are primarily in networking and security.

I'm curious though, what is the cost of materials (books). I understand that the tuition is $12,000 for 10 classes, but how much does the cost of books jack up the price?

Thanks!

dbrink

In my Offensive Network Security class last semester I think I spent $10 on books, the professor mostly went by his notes. The graduate students had to read a book called "Cyber War" and take some quizzes on it, I believe it was $8 for the Kindle version. He had just released his book on The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing, Second Edition: Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing Made Easy: Patrick Engebretson: 9780124116443: Amazon.com: Books but didn't require it for the class which I thought was really cool.

The Computer Forensics class I'm in this semester didn't require any books to be purchased. We are using case study documents that she is giving to us as the semester goes on.

Tom Servo

Does anyone know how hard it is to get into DSU MSIA without the pre-reqs? I have decent experience and a few certs, but I don't know if they take that into consideration. I would apply to DSU today pretty much, but the idea of having to take 4 prerequisites kills it for me.

dbrink

I'm really not sure how strict they are on the pre-reqs. I haven't applied for the MSIA yet, just doing the graduate certificate right now.

daviddws

I would go for the Masters but I'm a little biased (I have two). Get it done with, out of the way. It will consume all of your time and push you to your limits. It makes sense to do it now versus when your older when you have more responsibilities, or you dont have the motivation. Certs are always going to be around to get. IT has three major pillars for success in my opinion. Certifications, Degrees and Experience. You have all three and your changes of getting a great job go higher. Plus you get past the HR nonsense as your resume filters to the top.

egrizzly

MS: Information Systems is an advanced progression from BS Information Systems. Basically has the same courses just in greater detail. MS Information Assurance and MS Information Security Assurance is exactly the same thing just separate names. MBA: IT Management stands by itself though because it is a management degree although the management tends to be in IT.

My general advise? Go with a school that is more respected. If you choose to pursue these private institutions then you would have to do the research on your own. However, if you're looking to find evening, weekend, or online classes in widely respected public universities then search for a close match using this link >> BestBizSchools | Search AACSB-Accredited Schools.

Case-in-point, Morehead State University and Northern Kentucky University. Anyway, good hunting.

JaneDoe

aspiringsoul wrote: »

I am worn out on school, but I do have an insatiable appetite for knowledge, and I want to do whatever I can to further my knowledge and advance my career. I've talked to a couple of friends in the industry, and they were telling me to focus on certifications and not to worry about a masters. So I wanted to get your opinions.

Certifications are relevant to the real world and you can study at your own pace. Most masters programs are really theory heavy and impractical. If you're already feed up with school, don't start a master's program. You can do fine without one. If you like school, and want to continue, then start a masters program.