❗In order to get the 30% discount, you have to click the link below. Study[.]com is deprecating discount codes! ❗ study.com/?adkey=182b5d3d0aeb4089a701f9c3f876bddb
@@SameLif3 yes we can use FAFSA at WGU. Most paying on their own quality for Pell grants. With some using loans to pay for living expenses. Just like going to community colleges here. Plus lots of employers offer tuition reimbursement for WGU. Plus if you have your AA degree from a community college there's a 500.00 per semester scholarship that is available.
Yeah, my bosses bosses boss has an MBA from WGU. Haha, it doesn't really matter that much in tech, I think people will realize that one day and stop worrying...hopefully! I also interviewed at Google and Amazon. It's really not an issue haha
It might be worth mentioning the potential cost savings with financial aid. If you're getting Pell grants through financial aid, it's my understanding that these can only be used for an undergraduate degree. According to your chart there are six graduate classes in the combined program vs 10 separately. If you're getting a Pell grant, this could also potentially be a big savings.
Josh, excellent top notch videos. I'm about to get into IT after a twenty year career in the military (next year). I signed up for WGU after getting my SEC+ and then stumbled on to your videos. You give me great motivation in starting anew (no IT background apart from being into computers). Yeah I'm getting old, but I'm Asian so I don't look it 😁😁🌴🌴. Anyway, keep the great mentoring going.
Hahaha, hey Palm Tree, thanks for the nice comment and good for you! Great move getting Security+ first as well. Best of luck with WGU, I definitely don't regret going with them!
I'm absolutely honored to be a Patreon member of yours. Your videos are golden. I can never say enough about your advice and knowledge of the industry.
Thanks so much Marol, I really appreciate that a lot. I'm glad the content has been able to be helpful a bit at least haha! I plan to release a lot more!
This is interesting. I just finished my bachelor’s in Cybersecurity and information assurance. I begin my masters in December and I saw they had introduced an accelerated program for these. I’m hoping I don’t have a ton of overlap.
Your videos are ALWAYS informative! I just signed up for this accelerated Degree program. I also took a leave of absence from work for 6 months so I can go all out and get this done (as much as possible anyway). On a side note...I think you showed your BS in Computer Science degree twice in your slides instead of the Masters. 😆😁
I'm glad it was helpful! Thanks so much for watching and congrats on getting taking off work to bang out the degree. That sounds like a nice change of pace to get stuff done. I really like doing things like that. Also you're totally right about the degrees lmao. You're the first one to say anything, haha
Hey, thanks for watching! I would say, if you are dead-set on getting a masters degree it's very economical. Best of luck if you decide to go through with it. Study(.)com tends to help ease into it as well :)
Hey Brian, thanks so much for watching and commenting. And Oh, that's right! Today is the first haha. Best of luck with with the program, I hope it's fun :)
Thank you for uploading this! I am doing a career change after nursing and it helps so much that you are so organized and informative! Keep up the good videos! :)
Had a delay Bec i bought a wack webcam lol. This week i started and I'm 14 credits in. After the first class being kind of uncomfortable just testing after studying for a couple hours I felt I grasped the material. The following classes I spent a day on each studying then testing out. Very excited with all these early wins
Can you make a video more in depth about the comp sci path? What did you do after graduating with the degree: github, resume, projects, interview prep, etc. How do you feel about coding vs the IT path. Do you still recommend learning by Code with Mosh? Which languages on there you would do to prepare for WGU?
You realize how much time and money you've saved people Imagine going to a brick and mortar for 5 years to end up with the same degrees WITH student loans. Value proposition 💯
I’ve been thinking about taking their Bachelors in Data Analytics and Management course. Would you be able to do a breakdown for that courses like you did for your Computer Science course? Basically I’m debating between the two. I don’t have any degree, just some college classes. Therefore don’t know which one would be more harder for me and also salary wise I believe CS will open up more doors for me in terms of employment and higher salary whereas Data Analytics salary isn’t as high but still have lots of job opportunities. A video on that would be great only if you can :). I do watch all your videos and def got inspiration to go back and finish my school. Thank you for all the great content!
Let us know when they drop the Global Arts & Humanities and the American Politics classes Lol just kidding(but really not kidding) I love the videos Josh and I was considering going for one of WGU's degree programs. However after spending a fortune on The Art Institute just to withdraw for lack of learning and cost associated with the field I was pursuing at the time, my stance on college has changed significantly. I want to learn real skills that will make me successful in the field I'm pursuing.
I havnt done anything with study yet, but I have completed about 40 units through Sophia. Sophia has been awesome ! I will have to use study, saylor, and straighterline to knock out as much as possible so I can finish everything at WGU in the one term. Also Sophia is not proctored so you can blow through the stuff you don’t really need to know.
@@vanesarosario2510 just the IT bachelors degree. Eventually I’ll go after the masters. Fortunately I am In a job that allows me to do school at work and still make money. So it works out.
Strange question... What about taking this program just for the BS portion and then dropping out of the graduate portion? I would rather end up with CAPM and I already have an MBA from WGU. I would potentially continue, but I'm not as desperate for the Master's. I just like the BS courses better in this program.
I would recommend just going for the BSIT in this case, or BS IT Management and finish it quick: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SHtCCKJafxrTJiB-59s8GOAn2J4b1dqCDjm-iurA9oU/edit#gid=1549316567
Hey Josh, So i don’t know if I should go the computer science route or network operation and security route. I will soon be receiving an associates in cyber security but have picked up python on the side and have been enjoying the process. Is there any advice on choosing between programing for a company or working at a SOC? How has your computer science degree helped you for Microsoft? Thank you Ps been watching you since you were about to break 10k subscribers! Keep doing what you’re doing!
Hey Jeff, thanks for sticking around! I'm about to release a video next week that does a deep-dive on what my day-to-day is that I think will be helpful. If you go the CS route, it's definitely going to be harder, but the earning potential is more with a more cushy life, IMO. ( May have to practice algos after your degree, see this video: th-cam.com/video/wVOU-oLOGuk/w-d-xo.html ). Not everything is really cut and dry, like you could be working in a SOC and still be doing programming, or you could be in some totally strange un-related role where you're doing programming and it's slightly related to security (like me). Being interested/enjoy coding makes the journey 10x more enjoyable. If you like it, since you already have a security foundation from your associates, I might recommend going the CS route or the Software Developer route if you don't want to deal with the math. Being able to code well is invaluable. Funny you mention python, I use python for about 70% of my day-to-day activities right now. Best of luck :)
Hi Josh! Is your spreadsheet still relevant as of September 2024, please? I am a Canadian student looking to apply/enroll to the accelerated bachelor/masters information technology program at WGU this fall.
Today is my in Cyber security at WGU but torn at the cloud degree, some reddit reviews mention the cloud at WGU outdated. I was thinking I could do the following. 1.Take cloud computing to get bachelors then do masters in cyber security. 2. Take cyber moonlight AWS and learn on my own. (i know this is harder but I am used to the pain and pressure of self taught). 3. Cybersecurity BA and search for cloud computing masters somewhere. There is just chatter of what do I want to do more cyber or cloud. I don't know i like both and have tried to discount one. I went through the questions. 1. which one gives me the ability to be remote? 2. Which ones allows me to have a higher entry point with little experience in that field? ( I have help desk at small office experience two years system update printers etc. everyone has there limit though) 3. Which certs would be better to get on my own? And here I am after countless videos from you and scouring reddit. I am still not sure. Any logical advice from the other end. The mentors are a little bias as well as they come from that specific field. the only con I saw was chatter about cloud computing curriculum being outdated at WGU? One Pro is I can use AWS learning on my own to build a portfolio on my own companies that I have.
I believe WGU just updated their cloud track with AWS/Azure stuff which is looking really joocy. Honestly, anything cloud, you're probably going to have the option to work remote at this point. _1. which one gives me the ability to be remote?_ Either one honestly, but probably cloud more-so. (no stats to back this up, just my sense) _2. Which ones allows me to have a higher entry point with little experience in that field? ( I have help desk at small office experience two years system update printers etc. everyone has there limit though)_ Probably cloud honestly. I know several people who have a couple years in help desk (or less), have gotten a few cloud certs, then gone on to work Cloud Support Engineering for Azure/AWS. One of those people being my wife (total comp of like 140k) and then another guy in my Discord (@Zalman). Cloud support engineering can be a bit stressful, but there is a lot of coins early on. _3. Which certs would be better to get on my own?_ Gosh, for Azure I might recommend AZ-104 (Administrator), AZ-900 (fundamentals), and/or AZ-500 (security) and whatever the AWS equivalents are if you go that path. I think the Azure path in WGU Cloud Computing has a couple of these certs. I might consider taking a look at the updated CC degree and going that path, or just getting the easiest/fastest possible degree and then cherrypicking certs later on your own :) Sorry for the wall of text, haha
Oh sheesh, for which program? I just checked and they are all kinds random prices lol. (If you respond, you gotta make new comment since TH-cam won’t notify me for some reason)
Josh, thanks for this is a great analysis and information you are not going to find anywhere else on how to accelerate getting a college degree. What you didn't mention though is the cost and time involved in obtaining vendor certification exams if you do them on your own ala carte and intend to fill out the degree plan using those. If you already work in the IT space and are working for an employer that pays for Network+, Security+, AWS, or CAPM this can really be a cost saver. If someone came to me today out of High School or perhaps having some college or had an AAS degree or BS in some other discipline and said I want a career in IT. I might suggest modifying the overall plan a bit and looking into one of the Google IT Skills programs to gain Basic IT Skills (you can look at Coursera for this) it represents the equivalent of the CompTIA A+. The advantage here is that a person can become employable in an entry-level IT job by completing this. You can probably do this in parallel with taking Study.com courses and knocking down some of the Gen Ed courses. The advantage might be that once you have it you might consider finding a job with a company that will sponsor you to receive training for all the rest like AWS or CompTIA certs. If the company offers a tuition reimbursement program then you are going to be able to leverage this to attend WGU. At that point, you are also making money and gathering experience for your CV in the field. Yes, you are probably putting yourself on a two or two and a half years program. But at the end of the day, you might end up with a BS/Master's in under three years with zero debt. Along the way, if you like the company you could get promoted to another job with significant raise in pay. I am not trying to diminish what you have done here but your scenarios are based on a model of student self-financing which I suppose is the baseline case. If you have to do this ala carte then courses on Udemy etc are the way to go over expensive boot camps to prepare for cert exams. Passing some of the more technical CompTIA or PMI exams is not necessarily a walk in the park either as most people even with industry experience are not going to pass these exams in just a few weeks of study. Something like CAPM might take 3-6 months. You implied this already in this video and other videos but it is worth pointing out that in order to pull it all off well your "pre-game" preparation has to be fairly extensive and starting from scratch just the pre-game part of this plan realistically could take a person a year to put everything in place before enrolling at WGU.
Great write-up, and you're really. It really depends now how much someone can dedicate every day. Great point about potentially needing extensive pre-game as well.
Hi Josh, quick question, for the Accelerated Information Technology Bachelor's and Master's Degree, specifically the IT Certfications required or included in the curriculum. If I have a PMI-PMP, which trumps the PMI-CAPM. Can my PMI-PMP be used as a transfer in to credit for the required curriculum PMI-CAPM? Same for my CompTIA CASP to cover down for the other CompTIA certs? Also, Great Content, you are very thorough and provide a wealth of knowledge!
So do you recommend certs or going to a university to get the overview of knowledge for cybersecurity or is a boot camp just as fine because I’m trying to figure out a baseline to begin or where to start
I would actually recommend just study on your own with Jason dion or cbtnuggets and getting security+. Check out this video if you haven’t seen it :) How to get into Cybersecurity with NO Experience - The Ultimate Guide th-cam.com/video/a83ASGn_V_s/w-d-xo.html
Im about to graduate high school and was wondering if WGU is good for younger people like myself. I feel like it is targeted for much older people who might’ve missed the chance to go to college. Im thinking of applying to the cyber security and information assurance degree. It seems like a great choice but im a bit worried that I might not be as experienced as some older people.
Hey Bob! I wouldn't worry about you not being good enough to get through the program. It's not really designed for experienced people--it's designed for new people, but it's just that experienced people tend to get through it faster. As a younger person, I would be more worried about missing out on that college experience. I went to a traditional community college for a while and I really valued my time there. If you have the luxury of time and money and actually WANT that kind of experience, I _might_ recommend doing that over WGU, at least initially. (though it really depends on your personal priorities).
thank you for all of your videos. I'm most interested in software engineering but really want to get an IT job or something. Do you think I should get a cert or two and get a helpdesk job and study CS during that? Or should I just get literally any job that's easy for studying and focus on CS?
_Do you think I should get a cert or two and get a helpdesk job and study CS during that? _ this is a fantastic idea. I guess, any job that is not mentally taxing that will allow you to study during work would be IDEAL! Overnight helpdesk type stuff is really good, or any helpdesk that isn't insanely busy would be nice. Any job is fine, but a job in tech will be best for the experience and exposure. Best of luck :)
Hey Josh. Thank you very much for bringing all this knowledge to the masses. Wish I had come across your channel before enrolling in web developer bootcamp. I am currently looking for a job but definitely know I want to to be in the it/cybersecurity field in the next couple years. The goal is to get a developer job and then get a bachelors while working in the field. Would you say a cs degree from wgu will be a great foundation and just get certs along the way or get bs in cybersecurity or an it/cc degree.
Hey lil slam, definitely the CS degree + certs is a formidable combo when it comes to the technical side cybersecurity. I think it's actually the best choice lol. Especially if you want to get into malware analysis and reverse engineering where you need a low-level, fundamental understanding of the OS. Having said all that, i don't think any particular degree will make/break your career and it's best to do what you're interested in :)
@@JoshMadakorHey Josh! First off thank you for everything you do! 2nd, I’m going to get my CS at WGU like you recommended. What CERTs are great to pair with CS?
hello josh. I'm doing the bachelor's in IT management at WGU and i'm really struggling with D075 the Excel portion do you have any tips because i would like to pass this cource soon to accelerate.
Hey! I haven't taken that one, but I did do a bit of reddit research and I found this thread that seems pretty good actually: www.reddit.com/r/WGU/comments/l3k7g4/wgu_d075_information_technology_management/ Best of luck, hope you know it out quick :)
Hi Josh ! Are these are all the certifications I need to complete in the Accelerated IT program : A+ Network+ Security+ IT Operations Specialist Secure Infrastructure Specialist Amazon AWS Cloud Practitioner ITIL®*^ Foundation Certification PMI CAPM LPI Linux Essentials
Yes, that looks right! here is the spreadsheet, you can take a gander at everything: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15SmM4qjXAUrMq4c4NsoDUccO161LveClKTKRfDdvJqE/edit#gid=0
Hi Josh, I came across your videos while searching for information on school. I must admit, I'm not very comfortable with the idea of attending school. However, I have an AA in Math and Science, as well as certifications like Sec+, CISSP, and a job in cybersecurity. In one of your videos, you mentioned that the IT management BS degree is relatively easier to obtain. I'm considering pursuing a BS degree before moving on to other things. I wanted to ask you about any helpful websites or resources you found useful during your own studies. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! Kevin
Hey Josh my goal is to go into upper level management but I am still debating wether to do this accelerated program and get a MSITM, go with an MBA ITM or do both, I know the MSITM would be easier and faster to get compared to the MBA but the MBA is a way more prestigious title
Hey Dexter, if you really want the MBA, I would just go for it honestly. You can still finish getting a BS+MBA relatively quickly by leveraging study(.)com and sophia. The accelerated program is nice, but you can still hack your degree without it :)
Hey Josh awesome video I was a bit curious what jobs can you except to be able to get with this accelerated degree I feel like there isn’t many jobs you can get into with this?
Thank you! And that's a great question. When I "challenged" (tested out of) classes in my community college, I didn't receive a GPA and simply received a "G" as my grade. Idk what it meant, but I was glad to get the courses out of the way, haha. At WGU, when you pass a class, you automatically receive 3.0s for everything. This hasn't been a problem for me though, as nobody has asked about my grades 😂
I'm just curious. If IT certifications are imbedded within the online degree, then what is the difference between getting this WGU degree and doing the certifications on their own. What specific benefits does WGU provide compared to self studying the certifications on their own?
I'm actually making a short to answer this, but WGU pre-package a bunch of the study material for you, sufficient enough to pass the exams. The material includes text and/or videos with usually a BUNCH of practice questions/exams. Also the cost of the exam is included in your tuition, which can be nice!
This requires a long answer, but the short answer is, even if there are more graduates than before, it won’t matter because a degree is not really a major factor in getting most jobs in tech. There are a bunch of other stuff that is taken into consideration (see: th-cam.com/video/OHdFmQvpsvA/w-d-xo.html ), just my opinion though. Education in general is changing and has been gate kept on the most cringe way possible up until now. (Unnecessary cost, arbitrary time requirement to graduate, etc.)
On the verge of starting my cyber sec bs from wgu. Im almost 32. Realistically how long do you think it will take me to complete this program and is it doable for someone my age? Have been following yr videos for guidance.
Hey! It’s absolutely doable at pretty much any age, especially 30’s. Depending on how you handle certs (that degree has a lot), you’re looking at probably 400-600 hours, depending on how many credits you’re bringing in :)
Since Graduate-Level classes are like 100x harder than Undergrad, the accelerated degree of BS and MS of IT should take about 12 months if your experienced?
I wouldn't even say they are that much harder honestly. My hardest classes at WGU were all undergrad classes haha. 12 months is probably doable for the average person trying to accelerate. More accurately, maybe around 600 hours, assuming they are starting from scratch and work on it in a very productive way. Probably less though if they go hard and use reddit help, haha.
Hey Josh! So I'm in the IT Management BS at WGU and was gonna do the MS in Cyber security afterwards. For speed should I keep going with my original plan or go for this accelerated BS/MS?
Hmmm I'm not really sure, it's worth mentioning to your mentor and see what they think, and if you can easily just transfer into it. It might be worth it if they have a process setup for that. It's worth asking!
Hi! I left a comment on your cloud vid already but In case you don’t see it; to quickly transition into a new career in IT from the military, do you think this would be a better option over their Cloud Computing degree? I am thinking I can always go back to school while working for Cloud if I want to. Thanks!
Hey Josh. Appreciate the content. I was wondering if the it management degree at wgu would be the same as a management information systems degree? Just asking because I wanted to take mis but I’m also interested in going to wgu.
Hey Nathaniel! In my head, those two disciplines are basically the same thing. If you really want to compare the two, I might get an MIS program guide from another college and compare it with WGU's. I suspect the curriculum will be really similar though :)
WGU Accelerated IT Bachelor's and Masters Program vs Cybersecurity program Oct 1 HELP! I am starting in Oct 1 and I need advice on what degree to pursue. WGU Accelerated IT Bachelor's and Masters Program vs Cybersecurity program BA. I was looking at certifications and it looks like the accelerated program has all the certifications of cyber and more. I want to eventually go into cybersecurity, currently I have no IT experience. I was wondering what would be a more complete slash better degree to work on. Also would it be a good idea to do accelerated plus then a masters in cyber. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hello! Doing the Accelerated program (BS+MS) is going to be faster than just doing the cyber BS alone. The cyber BS is a bit tough because of the certs. If you really want to get a masters degree, I would probably go with the accelerated program. If you really feel like going hard into cyber afterwards, you can just pick up some extra certs (such as PNPT or CISSP, etc.). I honestly wouldn't recommend getting a second masters degree unless you just want to have it. Hope this helps!
Can you go from Bachelors in IT Management to Masters in Cybersecruity? Also thank you for all your information I just applied im about to graduate with an associated in IT from Devry but i dont want to gain more debt or have it take a long time to graduate.
Hey Nicio. Amazing, I didn't realize WGU took edX transfers, but that makes totally sense that they would haha. For sure, if you like edX's format and your program at WGU accepts credits from there, I don't see why not. ( partners.wgu.edu/Pages/Transfer.aspx?iid=1263&institution=edX ) Thanks for teaching me this, haha
Thanks for the video Josh. I do have a question. When going through the accelerated program, do you take the undergraduate classes first, finish and given a B.S before moving on to the M.S. or do you have to complete EVERYTING before you receive BOTH B.S AND M.S degree. My reason for asking this is, lets say you are taking the accelerated program and you finish your undergrad classes but personal issues came about that deterred you from completing the graduate portion. are you left with no degrees or at least given your B.S.? hopefully I am making sense.
Hey! This is a great question and it actually crossed my mind too. It looks like you complete the BS first and are awarded it, then you can complete the MS after. Here is what I found: --- This program allows you to accelerate your education and earn an undergraduate and graduate degree more quickly, saving you time and money. Here’s how it works: 1. Apply and get accepted to the program. 2. Complete your general education courses along with six bachelor’s-level IT courses. 3. Move into graduate-level coursework with four master’s-level bridge courses. 4. Earn your bachelor’s degree and industry-relevant certifications. 5. Complete six more master’s-level courses and a capstone. 6. Earn your master’s degree and industry-relevant certifications. --- Hope this helps! ref: www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/accelerated-information-technology-bachelors-masters-program.html
BSITM + MBA in IT is faster than the accelerated MBA IT + MSITM because there aren’t any certs in BSITM. Accelerated track is “better” though in terms of employability because of the certs :)
I'm confused about computer science degree. I hear they don't teach coding. Does the bachelor degree get me a entry level job where I apprentice or is it on me to learn how to code and CS degree is just a piece of paper that doesn't get your foot in the door?
Yo josh new subscriber I'm thinking of going into IT, right out of high school i went into the construction industry, 3 years later, i said let me go back to school, couldn't see myself in construction for the next 40 years, narrowed it down to tech degrees and went with IT, I know nothing about IT or computers but I'm determined to learn, should I go to community college for 2 years then transfer to a university or should I just get certifications? I want to able to really secure my future
Hey Cris, really sounds like you're headed down a decent path! _ should I go to community college for 2 years then transfer to a university or should I just get certifications? _ Honestly either one of these paths would work, it really depends on a lot of nuance though. You might benefit from taking at least one class so you can have a live human to ask questions to as you're just getting into things, but it's not really necessary if you have a good study plan with some nice resources. I will say, going certs and self-teaching/leveraging reddit is usually much faster and cheaper than going to CC :) You can go from zero to having a job after probably 2-300 hours of effort. Then, once you start working, you can slowly work on your bachelor's degree if you want :)
Hi Josh! Great video and thank you for all of this great information. I am transitioning from a career in sales into cybersecurity, and already I have a bachelors in Business Management. Would you recommend I go to WGU to get another Bachelors in cybersecurity or do a six to nine month cybersecurity Boot Camp? If I do enroll in WGU, do I need any basic IT experience being that the courses have no instructors and are self paced? I have no IT or Technical experience, only have basic computer skills like using the internet, sending emails, etc. Any advice you can give is appreciated and thank you.
Hey Dannelle, I'll try to answer in-line below! _>Would you recommend I go to WGU to get another Bachelors in cybersecurity or do a six to nine month cybersecurity Boot Camp?_ I don't usually recommend people to get a double BS unless they really need it for something. But considering the cost of some bootcamps, a double BS makes more sense half of the time. It's really hard to say lol. If you do go to the bootcamp, I would recommend trying to get Sec+ on your own before going into the bootcamp. If you do, you'll be able to leverage the instructors much better and come out with much more knowledge vs going into the boot camp with zero. _>If I do enroll in WGU, do I need any basic IT experience being that the courses have no instructors and are self paced?_ In spite of what people like to say online, the undergrad programs are designed for new-new people with no experience. If they weren't they wouldn't have courses like "Spreadsheets" and "IT Fundamentals". Of course you'll be able to finish faster the more experience you have, but you should be OK going in. As for any ACTUAL requirements, it kind of varies degree by degree. For the degree you're interested in, just check the admissions requirements or prerequisites on the page :) If you want to ease into WGU and online learning without dealing with the large up-front cost of WGU, I might consider taking some classes from study.com ahead of time and transferring them into whatever degree you're planning to do. Check out this video for how to use Study.com with WGU: th-cam.com/video/H7ViAgdVhFQ/w-d-xo.html Check out this spreadsheet for ALL the Study.com -> WGU degree mappings: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SHtCCKJafxrTJiB-59s8GOAn2J4b1dqCDjm-iurA9oU/edit#gid=423363706 Before spending any money, I might verify stuff with a WGU enrollment counselor. Hope this helps!
@@JoshMadakor Thank you so much for your thorough answer. This was a tremendous help! I am undecided about the direction I want to go because now I"m learning more about Tech Sales, Sales Engineers, and Customer Success Manager roles. I have 20 years of sales experience, and any tech sales role might be a better fit for me, but I am burned out in sales and want to try something new, so Cybersecurity also sounds interesting. Anyway, I appreciate your feedback, and either way, I'll start with the Sec+ course until I figure out the rest. I also enjoy your content, and I'll look at the links you provided.
Hey Erik. It really depends on the institution you are transferring to. It's best to ask, but WGU has a list of schools accepting WGU credits that graduated students have been compiling. Check it out here: www.wgu.edu/alumni/career-support/education-and-professional-paths.html Hope this helps a little bit, hehe
I’m about to graduate my bootcamp and hopefully get my security+ after getting a job should I go back to wgu and get a masters? How does the security+ transfer over
Hey Funky, you really don't _NEED_ a masters degree, but it's nice to have and kind of "check that box" on your resume. I might check out this video for more: th-cam.com/video/LfHBXt7am7w/w-d-xo.html Security+ wont satisfy any classes in the MSCSIA, I don't believe, but it gives you a decent foundation. If you were to get CISSP, the MSCIA will be much easier for you and it will knock off a class or two, last I heard. Congrats on the bootcamp, it sounds fun :)
@@JoshMadakor thank you good to know! The bootcamp was honestly super fun and I’m sad it’s almost over tbh. The projects are really good ways to get experience.
Ultimately i want my comp sci degree & my cyber security degree and my cloud degree…i have zero coding knowledge or experience and suck at math . Wich degree should i go for first?
Hey Josh, What time frame would you estimate for completing this new program? I’m in the middle of sending in transcripts to WGU. Starting soon. I was aiming for the Cybersecurity BS, then the Cyber MS, but now I’m considering the accelerated program in the video. At this point, I have my Associate degree in Cyber, earned the Security+, MTAs, and a few other minor certs. Sitting for CCNA in July. I landed my first job in Tech with a FAANG company. I’m like, I can save a lot of time. Plus, I can always get certs for Cyber later. So, for a career in Cyber, would you go for the Cyber BS and MS combo, or the accelerated program and sit for certs later, as needed. Thoughts? (BTW, I know the Masters isn’t a requirement for a career in Cyber. It’s just a goal of mine.)
Damn, you are already set haha. Big congrats on the job too, that has to be nice. _So, for a career in Cyber, would you go for the Cyber BS and MS combo, or the accelerated program and sit for certs later, as needed. Thoughts?_ I would probably recommend going with the fast/economical route, especially for you who is a self-disciplined enough to have already gotten a bunch of certs and accomplished a lot. I don't really feel the need to stretch out the process of getting a degree any longer than it has to be. I was kind of in the same boat as you, and for both of my non-CS degrees I went with the fastest possible route and it turned out OK. Spot on about getting certs afterwards too, but I'm not sure what else you'd need at this point unless you get CISSP or want to go offsec (PNPT/OSCP), haha. FWIW, I got the cyber masters, but I would have been happy with the MBA as well--I just wanted to finish quick :) Great question!
This is a really, really good question, because in the program guide, there is a cost differentiation between the courses even though they are in the same program. My guess is either: A) They will let you complete all of them in the same term, but will maybe charge an average between the graduate and undergrad courses, or B) They will let you complete all of them and just charge you at the graduate price. I can't see them forcing you to wait until the next term or forcing you to pay for a full other term. At the very least, they should do some kind of prorate if you finish one side early. (Like here: www.reddit.com/r/WGU/comments/ha219r/comment/fv0gxpe/?amp;amp;context=3 ) Great question, I'd definitely ask WGU about this one.
Hey Josh, do you happen to know if WGU does exceptions for midterm program changes? I just started at WGU with an accounting degree but decided to switch to the college of IT. The problem is in only one month in and my mentor told me I most likely won’t be able to transfer. I also can’t take a term break in the middle of term so I may have to withdraw :( if I withdraw I won’t be able to reapply because I would have to pay the remaining balance and I don’t have the money to do that. If I’m not taking classes relevant to the IT degree it’s disappointing that I have to pay the remaining balance. It’s so disappointing because I really wanted to do this accelerated program. It’s perfect for me because I eventually would like a masters degree.
Hey Sarah! _Hey Josh, do you happen to know if WGU does exceptions for midterm program changes?_ I know that you can change your program, but the criteria is kind of unclear for me. I've heard lots of different stories, but it looks like you have to change at the end of your term. To try to combat that, you might try asking your program mentor to switch your classes around and open up classes that overlap between the two degrees, so you can just work on those. Hope this helps :(
Hey Ivonne, I will make a short to answer your question, but take a look at this video, it answers your question exactly!! th-cam.com/video/CMdUe5n6X9M/w-d-xo.html (Short answer: Cybersecurity is "better", but it's harder)
Hey josh I had a question so I have a college degree in computer technology in which I got CompTIA A+ CompTIA Network + and CompTIA security + and am doing WGU bachelor program for Cybersecurity information and assurance do you think after I complete this degree I should do this accelerated program and what do you think would transfer over to the accelerated program for BS IT and MS ITM Thanks for the response in advance
Yes, but it will be a bit difficult. If you really want to maximize your chances, just do as much as you can from study(.)com (use discount), sophia, and complete some certs outside of the program. If you do that, it's MUCH more likely to finish in one term. Great question!
Okay so I'm a 30 year old lady with ZERO I.T experience. I would like to be a I.T Project Manager. Do you think this degree will be worth it for someone with zero experience? OR would you take this along with certain certs? I would like to begin as a program coordinator and work my way up. Would you begin with program coordinator or choose another entry level to work your way up? I'm worried about job security...
It isn’t clear but how many certifications does this degree require? And do you get the bachelors issued and then get the masters afterwards. Basically, do you have to finish everything to get the bachelors? Can some one tell me all the certifications? Thanks
Hey Josh, as someone who is looking to get into the IT field and thinking cybersecurity, but not 100% sure yet, would recommend the Cybersecurity degree from WGU or the accelerated BA/MS IT degree?
Sorry that I'm so slow, I'm going to make a video about this. Recording it now :P, but I'll paste my script below: So before I answer this question, I strongly feel I should give a disclaimer here: You don’t need a degree before working in IT: I recommend taking 3 months to study up and get a job before a degree After you get your job, get experience, money, then think about slowly working on your degree How to do this? I have partnered with CourseCareers and made a really thorough course that teaches you everything you need to know. So jumping straight into the answer, let’s take a deeper look and make a comparison based on marketability, overall degree cost, and time to completion Show these three things on the screen MARKETABILITY Jumping right into marketability, I will base the marketability score for each program on the industry certifications each degree has included in it and how many job hits each of those certifications gets on Indeed and LinkedIn Many of the IT degrees from WGU contain industry recognized, third-party certifications (such as CompTIA A+, etc). [[b-roll bscsia-program-certs]] So Tallying up the certifications for each program, we can see that… (show results: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19z9T_oPRpA8_37ncnVfMPuGAX24te73GbnGdUKVlkRQ/edit#gid=0) COST So getting into degree cost, is where it gets tricky. The BSCSIA, at WGU, costs $3,950 per 6 month term, and you are allowed to do as many classes as you can in that term The BS+MS Accelerated track costs $3,625 for the BS portion, per 6 month term, and $3,940 for the MS portion, per 6 month term. For both degrees, you can reduce the cost quite a bit by taking some of the courses externally at study.com and then transferring them into WGU when you are ready to enroll. When doing classes from Study.com, the cost is about 200/mo (1200 per 6 month term) If you’re using the discount code, Study.com can further be reduced to $140/mo, or $1020 per 6 month term So basically, since taking classes at study.com is a bit cheaper, the idea would be to complete as many courses as you can at Study.com, transfer them into whatever degree you choose, and then complete the remainder at WGU If you want more information on how to do this, check out this video, and don’t forget to use the discount code for some savings! As far as the number of classes you can transfer in from study.com for both programs, BSCSIA = 19 Total classes you can transfer in, not counting the certifications BS + MS Accelerated = 21 Total classes you can transfer in, not counting the certifications The one caveat with the BS+MS program is, since the classes are split up between undergrad and graduate, you have to take a minimum of 2 terms at WGU So not counting the couple thousand dollars you will spend at study.com, assuming you spend $1500 at Study.com and go super fast and and complete the remaining classes in one term at WGU, the MINIMUM amount you’ll spend for each program is: BS + MS = $3,625 + $3,940 = $7,565 + $1500 (study.com) = $9,064 BS Cyber: $3,950 + $1500 (study.com) = $5,450 TIME Now to talk about time to completion: BS+MS Accelerated: 46 Classes, 151 Credits BS Cyber: 34 Classes, 122 Credits Conclusion Show conclusion Chart BS in Cyber clearly wins based on the three things, but I didn't weigh the value of "Having a Master's Degree" as it's kind of nebulous. I do have a video where I talk about the value of a MS and if you need one, but if you just want to get some certs and a degree to help [[b-roll masters-degree]]
@@JoshMadakor The timing of this is incredibly funny; I just signed up for WGU's cybersecurity program yesterday. I am trying to find an entry level IT job while doing the program, I completed the Google IT Support certification on Coursera. Do you have any advice or tips for networking in the Edmonds/Greater Seattle Area to try and find these openings?
haha nice! Also, if you respond to comment threads it's almost impossible for me to find, so it's best to make a new comment. TH-cam is kinda bad about this. I just so happened to find this comment because I'm about to make a video response to your original question now, haha. But I'm pretty bad at networking, however I did just release this video which will probably be pretty helpful (I even mention Google IT Support Cert in it): th-cam.com/video/OHdFmQvpsvA/w-d-xo.html GL! And congrats on enrolling :)
All these classes just don't seem to fit the name "Computer-Science" it should more like "Information Technology". Computer science goes a lot deeper into theoretical concepts and, depending on the university, a lot more math. This programs definitely seem to have a value in our current market but it just don't composes the title of Computer Science appropriately.
Hmmm proooooobably slightly more marketable if I were to check all the certs on indeed and tally up the job hits between the two degrees. Before Cloud Computing got upgraded, it was #2-3 I believe, right behind BSNOS (which has CCNA in it). So I'm certain the cloud computing one is still very marketable, but it's close
It depends on the course you go into. Everything but the CS degree requires algebra-level stuff, sometimes some stats, which isn't bad at all. the Net Engineering course does get into some discrete math, but it's not as bad as the CS curriculum :). I'd recommend just using Khan Academy to brush up if you have to!
Honestly probably about 400-500 hours if you planned and strategized well. Also it depends on how many credits you bring in for other college, sophia.org, and/or study.com :) (I have a discount code for study.com, just TH-cam search "josh study.com" hehe
@@JoshMadakor btw one more quick question, do you get the bachelors and masters degree at the same time? Or do you get the bachelors first once you complete that course work?
I don’t really do those right now since my time is so limited. I could do it, but the price probably isn’t worth it :(. I do have a discord for patrons where I respond to everybody who @s me in there. There’s also a normal community of ppl in there too lol.
Hey Josh do you think cybersecurity will take longer to complete rather than the CS degree? I'm really having a hard time picking between the 2 degrees, any suggestion will be appreciated thank you josh!
Hey Macky! I've been getting this question a lot lately, haha. CS will definitely take longer due to the rigors of math (Discrete Math and all the math, up to, and included integral calculus). Data Structures and Algorithms also takes some time and effort to get used to, assuming it's your first time dealing with those. Ignore time and money, I will take a CS degree over a cyber degree (BS or MS) every day of the week. It's just better, gives you a difficult, tangible skill and a fundamental understanding of many low-level (as in, near hardware) concepts. It's just better IMO. Also, pairing Cybersecurity certs with a CS degree is absolutely powerful. Having said all that, there is a cost to getting a CS degree. It's quite hard compared to cyber and will definitely take some time. To put into perspective, it took me 12 days to blitz the cyber masters degree, but it took me 2 months to complete calculus at straighterline, and 3 weeks to complete discrete math 2 for CS. You're going to be successful if you apply yourself, regardless of the degree, just bear in mind the opportunity cost when considering the CS degree (aka, it will take longer). If I had to go back in time and choose only one degree, I would go with the CS degree and pair it with certs. just beware the maths :)
![WGU Computer Science vs Software Development - ALL Transfers Credits [w/ Study.com mapping]](/img/n.gif)
❗In order to get the 30% discount, you have to click the link below. Study[.]com is deprecating discount codes! ❗
study.com/?adkey=182b5d3d0aeb4089a701f9c3f876bddb
Hi WGU reps watching this video, please give Josh a sponsorship lol! WGU does it again, awesome video!
Thanks Shane! I 100% know they see this because a WGU employee hinted at me to make this video 😏
@@JoshMadakor
👋 I have a question. Is there a similar university like this in Norway? Over there it’s free. Does Fafsa cover you in WGU?
@@SameLif3 yes we can use FAFSA at WGU. Most paying on their own quality for Pell grants. With some using loans to pay for living expenses. Just like going to community colleges here. Plus lots of employers offer tuition reimbursement for WGU. Plus if you have your AA degree from a community college there's a 500.00 per semester scholarship that is available.
Considering you work at microsoft youre a great example that the degree is respected still from wgu.
Yeah, my bosses bosses boss has an MBA from WGU. Haha, it doesn't really matter that much in tech, I think people will realize that one day and stop worrying...hopefully! I also interviewed at Google and Amazon. It's really not an issue haha
It might be worth mentioning the potential cost savings with financial aid. If you're getting Pell grants through financial aid, it's my understanding that these can only be used for an undergraduate degree. According to your chart there are six graduate classes in the combined program vs 10 separately. If you're getting a Pell grant, this could also potentially be a big savings.
Shoot, thanks for mentioning this.
Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Josh, excellent top notch videos. I'm about to get into IT after a twenty year career in the military (next year). I signed up for WGU after getting my SEC+ and then stumbled on to your videos. You give me great motivation in starting anew (no IT background apart from being into computers). Yeah I'm getting old, but I'm Asian so I don't look it 😁😁🌴🌴. Anyway, keep the great mentoring going.
Hahaha, hey Palm Tree, thanks for the nice comment and good for you! Great move getting Security+ first as well. Best of luck with WGU, I definitely don't regret going with them!
About to do the exact same thing after 19 years LE and security contracting. How is the process going?
I'm absolutely honored to be a Patreon member of yours. Your videos are golden. I can never say enough about your advice and knowledge of the industry.
Thanks so much Marol, I really appreciate that a lot. I'm glad the content has been able to be helpful a bit at least haha! I plan to release a lot more!
This is interesting. I just finished my bachelor’s in Cybersecurity and information assurance. I begin my masters in December and I saw they had introduced an accelerated program for these. I’m hoping I don’t have a ton of overlap.
Your videos are ALWAYS informative! I just signed up for this accelerated Degree program. I also took a leave of absence from work for 6 months so I can go all out and get this done (as much as possible anyway). On a side note...I think you showed your BS in Computer Science degree twice in your slides instead of the Masters. 😆😁
I'm glad it was helpful! Thanks so much for watching and congrats on getting taking off work to bang out the degree. That sounds like a nice change of pace to get stuff done. I really like doing things like that. Also you're totally right about the degrees lmao. You're the first one to say anything, haha
howd it go? did you finish?
How did this go?
How was it? I'm planning on doing this program as well. How much of it did you get done during the 6 months?
Thank you for the info! I've been thinking of enrolling in this program but was unsure. It totally seems worth it.
Hey, thanks for watching! I would say, if you are dead-set on getting a masters degree it's very economical. Best of luck if you decide to go through with it. Study(.)com tends to help ease into it as well :)
Excellent video. I start this program today. All of your videos are a great help to all of us. I thank you all the information you have provided.
Hey Brian, thanks so much for watching and commenting. And Oh, that's right! Today is the first haha. Best of luck with with the program, I hope it's fun :)
@@JoshMadakor Yes sir, LOL. You know I will keep you posted. Thank you!
Thank you for uploading this! I am doing a career change after nursing and it helps so much that you are so organized and informative! Keep up the good videos! :)
Whew! Thank you so much for taking the time to share this
Appreciate the information you're passing out in all your videos. I'm starting this program on July 1.
Super! Best of luck with it. I appreciate you taking the time to comment, so thanks so much :)
Absolutely love your videos man. Always tons of value.
Thanks Logan, super appreciate that!!
Here goes my daily dose! Glad to see u back sir!
Hey, thank you so much! Really appreciate you watching :)
Im about to start this on July 1st. Excited to add a second degree and masters since i have a BS in MECH E already
Dang, you are super squared awayl MechE is freakin hard too lol. Best of luck with the program, I hope you find it fun!
Had a delay Bec i bought a wack webcam lol. This week i started and I'm 14 credits in. After the first class being kind of uncomfortable just testing after studying for a couple hours I felt I grasped the material. The following classes I spent a day on each studying then testing out. Very excited with all these early wins
Hey, Josh! Thanks for making this video, I know somebody who wants to do this degree so I will pass on this video! 😁
Hey Jennifer, that's super nice of you, thank you :). Appreciate you watching and sharing the content ( •̀ ω •́ )✧
Just realized you had a patreon. Had to jump on that! Thanks for the content.
Shoot, I really appreciate that. Thank you so much..
This is great!! I wish I had done my bachelors at WGU.
🖥 Break into IT in ~3 Months with my Hands-On Practical Course! 🖥
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great video as always. glad to see your kicking out more videos again. they are very helpful
Thanks Mike! really appreciate it :)
Thanks for the diffchecker tip.
Can you make a video more in depth about the comp sci path? What did you do after graduating with the degree: github, resume, projects, interview prep, etc. How do you feel about coding vs the IT path. Do you still recommend learning by Code with Mosh? Which languages on there you would do to prepare for WGU?
Hey Jacob, sure, I'll add this to my list. This is kind of something I wanted to do actually, haha
Combing through your content. Really enjoying the insight. Thanks for supplying the content 💯
You realize how much time and money you've saved people Imagine going to a brick and mortar for 5 years to end up with the same degrees WITH student loans. Value proposition 💯
Thanks Eugene. and I know right? B&M experience can be enjoyable, but you can miss me with that 4-5 years bachelors lmao
Hey Josh I start this course next month! Im super excited! 37.7% of my degree is finished so Im hoping I can finish in the 6 month term!
Hy Devaun, congrats on enrolling and that is a really decent chunk of it done! Best of luck, but remember to take breaks :P
@@JoshMadakor I'll remember ty! I have an associates degree so it took off a huge chunk. I've also been working in IT For 10 years.
I'm about the same. 32%. Gonna try to blast through the computer science within 6 months
How is it working out for you, are you close to finishing? Or it’s more time consuming than it seems?
Are you doing the Bachelor IT and Masters program?
This is great information. Thanks again for taking the time.
Saylor Academy offer the best value charging only five bucks per course though their offer is limited, but still a nice saving nevertheless.
That an amazing price lol..wow
I’ve been thinking about taking their Bachelors in Data Analytics and Management course. Would you be able to do a breakdown for that courses like you did for your Computer Science course? Basically I’m debating between the two. I don’t have any degree, just some college classes. Therefore don’t know which one would be more harder for me and also salary wise I believe CS will open up more doors for me in terms of employment and higher salary whereas Data Analytics salary isn’t as high but still have lots of job opportunities. A video on that would be great only if you can :). I do watch all your videos and def got inspiration to go back and finish my school. Thank you for all the great content!
Hey Reshmika, I will add this to my list of videos and make it in the future. Thanks so much for the request!!
Wow, just wow- your amazing lol, thank you for this.
Thanks, Josh this was very helpful.
Let us know when they drop the Global Arts & Humanities and the American Politics classes Lol just kidding(but really not kidding) I love the videos Josh and I was considering going for one of WGU's degree programs. However after spending a fortune on The Art Institute just to withdraw for lack of learning and cost associated with the field I was pursuing at the time, my stance on college has changed significantly. I want to learn real skills that will make me successful in the field I'm pursuing.
I havnt done anything with study yet, but I have completed about 40 units through Sophia. Sophia has been awesome ! I will have to use study, saylor, and straighterline to knock out as much as possible so I can finish everything at WGU in the one term.
Also Sophia is not proctored so you can blow through the stuff you don’t really need to know.
Ah yeah, I heard about that haha. It's not proctored. good for you, keep at em!
what program are you looking to complete at WGU?
@@vanesarosario2510 just the IT bachelors degree. Eventually I’ll go after the masters. Fortunately I am In a job that allows me to do school at work and still make money. So it works out.
@@DownwiththeGOPdid u get it?
Strange question... What about taking this program just for the BS portion and then dropping out of the graduate portion? I would rather end up with CAPM and I already have an MBA from WGU. I would potentially continue, but I'm not as desperate for the Master's. I just like the BS courses better in this program.
I would recommend just going for the BSIT in this case, or BS IT Management and finish it quick:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SHtCCKJafxrTJiB-59s8GOAn2J4b1dqCDjm-iurA9oU/edit#gid=1549316567
Hey Josh,
So i don’t know if I should go the computer science route or network operation and security route. I will soon be receiving an associates in cyber security but have picked up python on the side and have been enjoying the process.
Is there any advice on choosing between programing for a company or working at a SOC?
How has your computer science degree helped you for Microsoft?
Thank you
Ps been watching you since you were about to break 10k subscribers! Keep doing what you’re doing!
Hey Jeff, thanks for sticking around! I'm about to release a video next week that does a deep-dive on what my day-to-day is that I think will be helpful. If you go the CS route, it's definitely going to be harder, but the earning potential is more with a more cushy life, IMO. ( May have to practice algos after your degree, see this video: th-cam.com/video/wVOU-oLOGuk/w-d-xo.html ).
Not everything is really cut and dry, like you could be working in a SOC and still be doing programming, or you could be in some totally strange un-related role where you're doing programming and it's slightly related to security (like me).
Being interested/enjoy coding makes the journey 10x more enjoyable. If you like it, since you already have a security foundation from your associates, I might recommend going the CS route or the Software Developer route if you don't want to deal with the math. Being able to code well is invaluable.
Funny you mention python, I use python for about 70% of my day-to-day activities right now.
Best of luck :)
OMG JOSH IS BACK
Thanks for even noticing that I was gone lol
@@JoshMadakor me and all 50k+ friends noticed :)
Hi Josh! Is your spreadsheet still relevant as of September 2024, please? I am a Canadian student looking to apply/enroll to the accelerated bachelor/masters information technology program at WGU this fall.
Today is my in Cyber security at WGU but torn at the cloud degree, some reddit reviews mention the cloud at WGU outdated. I was thinking I could do the following.
1.Take cloud computing to get bachelors then do masters in cyber security.
2. Take cyber moonlight AWS and learn on my own. (i know this is harder but I am used to the pain and pressure of self taught).
3. Cybersecurity BA and search for cloud computing masters somewhere.
There is just chatter of what do I want to do more cyber or cloud. I don't know i like both and have tried to discount one. I went through the questions.
1. which one gives me the ability to be remote?
2. Which ones allows me to have a higher entry point with little experience in that field? ( I have help desk at small office experience two years system update printers etc. everyone has there limit though)
3. Which certs would be better to get on my own?
And here I am after countless videos from you and scouring reddit. I am still not sure. Any logical advice from the other end. The mentors are a little bias as well as they come from that specific field. the only con I saw was chatter about cloud computing curriculum being outdated at WGU? One Pro is I can use AWS learning on my own to build a portfolio on my own companies that I have.
I believe WGU just updated their cloud track with AWS/Azure stuff which is looking really joocy.
Honestly, anything cloud, you're probably going to have the option to work remote at this point.
_1. which one gives me the ability to be remote?_
Either one honestly, but probably cloud more-so. (no stats to back this up, just my sense)
_2. Which ones allows me to have a higher entry point with little experience in that field? ( I have help desk at small office experience two years system update printers etc. everyone has there limit though)_
Probably cloud honestly. I know several people who have a couple years in help desk (or less), have gotten a few cloud certs, then gone on to work Cloud Support Engineering for Azure/AWS. One of those people being my wife (total comp of like 140k) and then another guy in my Discord (@Zalman). Cloud support engineering can be a bit stressful, but there is a lot of coins early on.
_3. Which certs would be better to get on my own?_
Gosh, for Azure I might recommend AZ-104 (Administrator), AZ-900 (fundamentals), and/or AZ-500 (security) and whatever the AWS equivalents are if you go that path. I think the Azure path in WGU Cloud Computing has a couple of these certs.
I might consider taking a look at the updated CC degree and going that path, or just getting the easiest/fastest possible degree and then cherrypicking certs later on your own :)
Sorry for the wall of text, haha
@@JoshMadakor can you explain how the cloud support engineering job can be stressful?
Thanks for your help Josh.
Please I would appreciate your comments about WGU scholarship. I am applying for and will need some counsel.
Hey Josh,
FYI please kindly mention that WGU has slightly raised tuition...it's currently little over 4k per term...
Oh sheesh, for which program? I just checked and they are all kinds random prices lol. (If you respond, you gotta make new comment since TH-cam won’t notify me for some reason)
Josh, thanks for this is a great analysis and information you are not going to find anywhere else on how to accelerate getting a college degree. What you didn't mention though is the cost and time involved in obtaining vendor certification exams if you do them on your own ala carte and intend to fill out the degree plan using those. If you already work in the IT space and are working for an employer that pays for Network+, Security+, AWS, or CAPM this can really be a cost saver. If someone came to me today out of High School or perhaps having some college or had an AAS degree or BS in some other discipline and said I want a career in IT. I might suggest modifying the overall plan a bit and looking into one of the Google IT Skills programs to gain Basic IT Skills (you can look at Coursera for this) it represents the equivalent of the CompTIA A+. The advantage here is that a person can become employable in an entry-level IT job by completing this. You can probably do this in parallel with taking Study.com courses and knocking down some of the Gen Ed courses. The advantage might be that once you have it you might consider finding a job with a company that will sponsor you to receive training for all the rest like AWS or CompTIA certs. If the company offers a tuition reimbursement program then you are going to be able to leverage this to attend WGU. At that point, you are also making money and gathering experience for your CV in the field. Yes, you are probably putting yourself on a two or two and a half years program. But at the end of the day, you might end up with a BS/Master's in under three years with zero debt. Along the way, if you like the company you could get promoted to another job with significant raise in pay. I am not trying to diminish what you have done here but your scenarios are based on a model of student self-financing which I suppose is the baseline case. If you have to do this ala carte then courses on Udemy etc are the way to go over expensive boot camps to prepare for cert exams. Passing some of the more technical CompTIA or PMI exams is not necessarily a walk in the park either as most people even with industry experience are not going to pass these exams in just a few weeks of study. Something like CAPM might take 3-6 months. You implied this already in this video and other videos but it is worth pointing out that in order to pull it all off well your "pre-game" preparation has to be fairly extensive and starting from scratch just the pre-game part of this plan realistically could take a person a year to put everything in place before enrolling at WGU.
Great write-up, and you're really. It really depends now how much someone can dedicate every day. Great point about potentially needing extensive pre-game as well.
Hi Josh, quick question, for the Accelerated Information Technology Bachelor's and Master's Degree, specifically the IT Certfications required or included in the curriculum. If I have a PMI-PMP, which trumps the PMI-CAPM. Can my PMI-PMP be used as a transfer in to credit for the required curriculum PMI-CAPM? Same for my CompTIA CASP to cover down for the other CompTIA certs? Also, Great Content, you are very thorough and provide a wealth of knowledge!
Hi Josh,
Can you tell me how i can get help if i m strugglin with classes for this program? Any advice and recommendation will help.
So do you recommend certs or going to a university to get the overview of knowledge for cybersecurity or is a boot camp just as fine because I’m trying to figure out a baseline to begin or where to start
I would actually recommend just study on your own with Jason dion or cbtnuggets and getting security+. Check out this video if you haven’t seen it :)
How to get into Cybersecurity with NO Experience - The Ultimate Guide
th-cam.com/video/a83ASGn_V_s/w-d-xo.html
In the same boat, if I can get around the degree and get the certs that would be a better option for me and my family.
@@JoshMadakor would u recommend getting the security+ and CompTIA A+ separately before going for BS IT?
Im about to graduate high school and was wondering if WGU is good for younger people like myself. I feel like it is targeted for much older people who might’ve missed the chance to go to college. Im thinking of applying to the cyber security and information assurance degree. It seems like a great choice but im a bit worried that I might not be as experienced as some older people.
Hey Bob! I wouldn't worry about you not being good enough to get through the program. It's not really designed for experienced people--it's designed for new people, but it's just that experienced people tend to get through it faster.
As a younger person, I would be more worried about missing out on that college experience. I went to a traditional community college for a while and I really valued my time there. If you have the luxury of time and money and actually WANT that kind of experience, I _might_ recommend doing that over WGU, at least initially. (though it really depends on your personal priorities).
you can definitely do it :) I've heard of a kid who graduated HS in June 2020, registered with WGU ITM program, and Got his BS in IT by December 2020
@@Geomaverick124 I’ve heard about u on Reddit I think, is there a post about you??
Edit: oh I did not read that right, my bad
@@takethepillingodwetrust1510 lol
@@JoshMadakor don't u know when they will open their programs for ppl from EU?
thank you for all of your videos. I'm most interested in software engineering but really want to get an IT job or something. Do you think I should get a cert or two and get a helpdesk job and study CS during that? Or should I just get literally any job that's easy for studying and focus on CS?
_Do you think I should get a cert or two and get a helpdesk job and study CS during that? _
this is a fantastic idea. I guess, any job that is not mentally taxing that will allow you to study during work would be IDEAL! Overnight helpdesk type stuff is really good, or any helpdesk that isn't insanely busy would be nice. Any job is fine, but a job in tech will be best for the experience and exposure. Best of luck :)
Your videos are so helpful. What is your take on the University of the People?
Hey Josh. Thank you very much for bringing all this knowledge to the masses. Wish I had come across your channel before enrolling in web developer bootcamp. I am currently looking for a job but definitely know I want to to be in the it/cybersecurity field in the next couple years. The goal is to get a developer job and then get a bachelors while working in the field. Would you say a cs degree from wgu will be a great foundation and just get certs along the way or get bs in cybersecurity or an it/cc degree.
Hey lil slam, definitely the CS degree + certs is a formidable combo when it comes to the technical side cybersecurity. I think it's actually the best choice lol. Especially if you want to get into malware analysis and reverse engineering where you need a low-level, fundamental understanding of the OS. Having said all that, i don't think any particular degree will make/break your career and it's best to do what you're interested in :)
@@JoshMadakorHey Josh! First off thank you for everything you do! 2nd, I’m going to get my CS at WGU like you recommended. What CERTs are great to pair with CS?
hello josh. I'm doing the bachelor's in IT management at WGU and i'm really struggling with D075 the Excel portion do you have any tips because i would like to pass this cource soon to accelerate.
Hey! I haven't taken that one, but I did do a bit of reddit research and I found this thread that seems pretty good actually: www.reddit.com/r/WGU/comments/l3k7g4/wgu_d075_information_technology_management/
Best of luck, hope you know it out quick :)
@@JoshMadakor thank you
Hi Josh ! Are these are all the certifications I need to complete in the Accelerated IT program :
A+
Network+
Security+
IT Operations Specialist
Secure Infrastructure Specialist
Amazon AWS Cloud Practitioner
ITIL®*^ Foundation Certification
PMI CAPM
LPI Linux Essentials
Yes, that looks right! here is the spreadsheet, you can take a gander at everything:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15SmM4qjXAUrMq4c4NsoDUccO161LveClKTKRfDdvJqE/edit#gid=0
Thank you :) for everything
Hi Josh,
I came across your videos while searching for information on school. I must admit, I'm not very comfortable with the idea of attending school. However, I have an AA in Math and Science, as well as certifications like Sec+, CISSP, and a job in cybersecurity.
In one of your videos, you mentioned that the IT management BS degree is relatively easier to obtain. I'm considering pursuing a BS degree before moving on to other things. I wanted to ask you about any helpful websites or resources you found useful during your own studies. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Kevin
Hey Josh my goal is to go into upper level management but I am still debating wether to do this accelerated program and get a MSITM, go with an MBA ITM or do both, I know the MSITM would be easier and faster to get compared to the MBA but the MBA is a way more prestigious title
Hey Dexter, if you really want the MBA, I would just go for it honestly. You can still finish getting a BS+MBA relatively quickly by leveraging study(.)com and sophia. The accelerated program is nice, but you can still hack your degree without it :)
Hey Josh awesome video I was a bit curious what jobs can you except to be able to get with this accelerated degree I feel like there isn’t many jobs you can get into with this?
would u recommend getting the security+ and CompTIA A+ separately before going for BS IT?
Love your videos. Question: If you are testing out of each course early , do you end up having any GPA on your transcript at the end?
Thank you! And that's a great question. When I "challenged" (tested out of) classes in my community college, I didn't receive a GPA and simply received a "G" as my grade. Idk what it meant, but I was glad to get the courses out of the way, haha. At WGU, when you pass a class, you automatically receive 3.0s for everything. This hasn't been a problem for me though, as nobody has asked about my grades 😂
I'm just curious. If IT certifications are imbedded within the online degree, then what is the difference between getting this WGU degree and doing the certifications on their own. What specific benefits does WGU provide compared to self studying the certifications on their own?
I'm actually making a short to answer this, but WGU pre-package a bunch of the study material for you, sufficient enough to pass the exams. The material includes text and/or videos with usually a BUNCH of practice questions/exams. Also the cost of the exam is included in your tuition, which can be nice!
Put like this 100 people apply for IT position. 70 have cents and 30 have degree. Now hiring manager is looking at 30 resumes
Do you think the ease of graduating from WGU compared to a traditional college is going to oversaturate the market for future graduates.
This requires a long answer, but the short answer is, even if there are more graduates than before, it won’t matter because a degree is not really a major factor in getting most jobs in tech. There are a bunch of other stuff that is taken into consideration (see: th-cam.com/video/OHdFmQvpsvA/w-d-xo.html ), just my opinion though. Education in general is changing and has been gate kept on the most cringe way possible up until now. (Unnecessary cost, arbitrary time requirement to graduate, etc.)
On the verge of starting my cyber sec bs from wgu. Im almost 32. Realistically how long do you think it will take me to complete this program and is it doable for someone my age? Have been following yr videos for guidance.
Hey! It’s absolutely doable at pretty much any age, especially 30’s. Depending on how you handle certs (that degree has a lot), you’re looking at probably 400-600 hours, depending on how many credits you’re bringing in :)
Josh. Hello. How do I become a Patron. 🤷♂️. Great information as usual by the way sir. 😊
Thanks Craig, I just got your pledge. REALLY appreciate it!
@@JoshMadakor My pleasure. You give great content and assistance. 👍🏽
Since Graduate-Level classes are like 100x harder than Undergrad, the accelerated degree of BS and MS of IT should take about 12 months if your experienced?
I wouldn't even say they are that much harder honestly. My hardest classes at WGU were all undergrad classes haha. 12 months is probably doable for the average person trying to accelerate. More accurately, maybe around 600 hours, assuming they are starting from scratch and work on it in a very productive way. Probably less though if they go hard and use reddit help, haha.
GOAT
🐐Lol, thanks so much
@@JoshMadakor I second this
Hey Josh! So I'm in the IT Management BS at WGU and was gonna do the MS in Cyber security afterwards. For speed should I keep going with my original plan or go for this accelerated BS/MS?
Hmmm I'm not really sure, it's worth mentioning to your mentor and see what they think, and if you can easily just transfer into it. It might be worth it if they have a process setup for that. It's worth asking!
@@JoshMadakor Gotcha! Arigato gozaimasu! 😁
This is definitely my plan. Keep us updated
Hi! I left a comment on your cloud vid already but In case you don’t see it; to quickly transition into a new career in IT from the military, do you think this would be a better option over their Cloud Computing degree? I am thinking I can always go back to school while working for Cloud if I want to. Thanks!
Hey Josh. Appreciate the content. I was wondering if the it management degree at wgu would be the same as a management information systems degree? Just asking because I wanted to take mis but I’m also interested in going to wgu.
Hey Nathaniel! In my head, those two disciplines are basically the same thing. If you really want to compare the two, I might get an MIS program guide from another college and compare it with WGU's. I suspect the curriculum will be really similar though :)
WGU Accelerated IT Bachelor's and Masters Program vs Cybersecurity program Oct 1 HELP!
I am starting in Oct 1 and I need advice on what degree to pursue. WGU Accelerated IT Bachelor's and Masters Program vs Cybersecurity program BA. I was looking at certifications and it looks like the accelerated program has all the certifications of cyber and more. I want to eventually go into cybersecurity, currently I have no IT experience. I was wondering what would be a more complete slash better degree to work on. Also would it be a good idea to do accelerated plus then a masters in cyber. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hello! Doing the Accelerated program (BS+MS) is going to be faster than just doing the cyber BS alone. The cyber BS is a bit tough because of the certs. If you really want to get a masters degree, I would probably go with the accelerated program. If you really feel like going hard into cyber afterwards, you can just pick up some extra certs (such as PNPT or CISSP, etc.). I honestly wouldn't recommend getting a second masters degree unless you just want to have it. Hope this helps!
Can you go from Bachelors in IT Management to Masters in Cybersecruity?
Also thank you for all your information I just applied im about to graduate with an associated in IT from Devry but i dont want to gain more debt or have it take a long time to graduate.
Hey Josh, would you recommend taking a general class at edX like economic and try to transfer it into WGU?
Hey Nicio. Amazing, I didn't realize WGU took edX transfers, but that makes totally sense that they would haha. For sure, if you like edX's format and your program at WGU accepts credits from there, I don't see why not. ( partners.wgu.edu/Pages/Transfer.aspx?iid=1263&institution=edX )
Thanks for teaching me this, haha
Thanks for the video Josh. I do have a question. When going through the accelerated program, do you take the undergraduate classes first, finish and given a B.S before moving on to the M.S. or do you have to complete EVERYTING before you receive BOTH B.S AND M.S degree.
My reason for asking this is, lets say you are taking the accelerated program and you finish your undergrad classes but personal issues came about that deterred you from completing the graduate portion. are you left with no degrees or at least given your B.S.? hopefully I am making sense.
Hey! This is a great question and it actually crossed my mind too. It looks like you complete the BS first and are awarded it, then you can complete the MS after. Here is what I found:
---
This program allows you to accelerate your education and earn an undergraduate and graduate degree more quickly, saving you time and money. Here’s how it works:
1. Apply and get accepted to the program.
2. Complete your general education courses along with six bachelor’s-level IT courses.
3. Move into graduate-level coursework with four master’s-level bridge courses.
4. Earn your bachelor’s degree and industry-relevant certifications.
5. Complete six more master’s-level courses and a capstone.
6. Earn your master’s degree and industry-relevant certifications.
---
Hope this helps!
ref: www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/accelerated-information-technology-bachelors-masters-program.html
@@JoshMadakor
This was very helpful.
Thank you so much and I really apricate the quick response .
Hi Josh, if you were starting from scratch, which path would be easier/faster MBA ITM or MSITM accelerated?
BSITM + MBA in IT is faster than the accelerated MBA IT + MSITM because there aren’t any certs in BSITM. Accelerated track is “better” though in terms of employability because of the certs :)
I'm confused about computer science degree. I hear they don't teach coding. Does the bachelor degree get me a entry level job where I apprentice or is it on me to learn how to code and CS degree is just a piece of paper that doesn't get your foot in the door?
Yo josh new subscriber I'm thinking of going into IT, right out of high school i went into the construction industry, 3 years later, i said let me go back to school, couldn't see myself in construction for the next 40 years, narrowed it down to tech degrees and went with IT, I know nothing about IT or computers but I'm determined to learn, should I go to community college for 2 years then transfer to a university or should I just get certifications? I want to able to really secure my future
Hey Cris, really sounds like you're headed down a decent path!
_ should I go to community college for 2 years then transfer to a university or should I just get certifications? _
Honestly either one of these paths would work, it really depends on a lot of nuance though. You might benefit from taking at least one class so you can have a live human to ask questions to as you're just getting into things, but it's not really necessary if you have a good study plan with some nice resources. I will say, going certs and self-teaching/leveraging reddit is usually much faster and cheaper than going to CC :) You can go from zero to having a job after probably 2-300 hours of effort.
Then, once you start working, you can slowly work on your bachelor's degree if you want :)
Oh yeah, thank you so much for subbing. I really appreciate it!
@@JoshMadakor thanks I'm going to do both
Hi Josh! Great video and thank you for all of this great information. I am transitioning from a career in sales into cybersecurity, and already I have a bachelors in Business Management. Would you recommend I go to WGU to get another Bachelors in cybersecurity or do a six to nine month cybersecurity Boot Camp? If I do enroll in WGU, do I need any basic IT experience being that the courses have no instructors and are self paced? I have no IT or Technical experience, only have basic computer skills like using the internet, sending emails, etc. Any advice you can give is appreciated and thank you.
Hey Dannelle, I'll try to answer in-line below!
_>Would you recommend I go to WGU to get another Bachelors in cybersecurity or do a six to nine month cybersecurity Boot Camp?_
I don't usually recommend people to get a double BS unless they really need it for something. But considering the cost of some bootcamps, a double BS makes more sense half of the time. It's really hard to say lol. If you do go to the bootcamp, I would recommend trying to get Sec+ on your own before going into the bootcamp. If you do, you'll be able to leverage the instructors much better and come out with much more knowledge vs going into the boot camp with zero.
_>If I do enroll in WGU, do I need any basic IT experience being that the courses have no instructors and are self paced?_
In spite of what people like to say online, the undergrad programs are designed for new-new people with no experience. If they weren't they wouldn't have courses like "Spreadsheets" and "IT Fundamentals". Of course you'll be able to finish faster the more experience you have, but you should be OK going in. As for any ACTUAL requirements, it kind of varies degree by degree. For the degree you're interested in, just check the admissions requirements or prerequisites on the page :)
If you want to ease into WGU and online learning without dealing with the large up-front cost of WGU, I might consider taking some classes from study.com ahead of time and transferring them into whatever degree you're planning to do.
Check out this video for how to use Study.com with WGU:
th-cam.com/video/H7ViAgdVhFQ/w-d-xo.html
Check out this spreadsheet for ALL the Study.com -> WGU degree mappings:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SHtCCKJafxrTJiB-59s8GOAn2J4b1dqCDjm-iurA9oU/edit#gid=423363706
Before spending any money, I might verify stuff with a WGU enrollment counselor. Hope this helps!
@@JoshMadakor Thank you so much for your thorough answer. This was a tremendous help! I am undecided about the direction I want to go because now I"m learning more about Tech Sales, Sales Engineers, and Customer Success Manager roles. I have 20 years of sales experience, and any tech sales role might be a better fit for me, but I am burned out in sales and want to try something new, so Cybersecurity also sounds interesting. Anyway, I appreciate your feedback, and either way, I'll start with the Sec+ course until I figure out the rest. I also enjoy your content, and I'll look at the links you provided.
I was wondering, as far as course material is it similar to let’s say a traditional 16week course as far as the amount of homework/assignments?
If I took these classes for like general-ed would I be able to transfer those classes/credit then a regular cc and then transfer to a state school?
Hey Erik. It really depends on the institution you are transferring to. It's best to ask, but WGU has a list of schools accepting WGU credits that graduated students have been compiling. Check it out here: www.wgu.edu/alumni/career-support/education-and-professional-paths.html
Hope this helps a little bit, hehe
I’m about to graduate my bootcamp and hopefully get my security+ after getting a job should I go back to wgu and get a masters? How does the security+ transfer over
Hey Funky, you really don't _NEED_ a masters degree, but it's nice to have and kind of "check that box" on your resume. I might check out this video for more: th-cam.com/video/LfHBXt7am7w/w-d-xo.html
Security+ wont satisfy any classes in the MSCSIA, I don't believe, but it gives you a decent foundation. If you were to get CISSP, the MSCIA will be much easier for you and it will knock off a class or two, last I heard. Congrats on the bootcamp, it sounds fun :)
@@JoshMadakor thank you good to know! The bootcamp was honestly super fun and I’m sad it’s almost over tbh. The projects are really good ways to get experience.
Ultimately i want my comp sci degree & my cyber security degree and my cloud degree…i have zero coding knowledge or experience and suck at math . Wich degree should i go for first?
Don't recommend CompSci if you hate math
Hey Josh,
What time frame would you estimate for completing this new program? I’m in the middle of sending in transcripts to WGU. Starting soon.
I was aiming for the Cybersecurity BS, then the Cyber MS, but now I’m considering the accelerated program in the video. At this point, I have my Associate degree in Cyber, earned the Security+, MTAs, and a few other minor certs. Sitting for CCNA in July. I landed my first job in Tech with a FAANG company.
I’m like, I can save a lot of time. Plus, I can always get certs for Cyber later.
So, for a career in Cyber, would you go for the Cyber BS and MS combo, or the accelerated program and sit for certs later, as needed. Thoughts?
(BTW, I know the Masters isn’t a requirement for a career in Cyber. It’s just a goal of mine.)
Damn, you are already set haha. Big congrats on the job too, that has to be nice.
_So, for a career in Cyber, would you go for the Cyber BS and MS combo, or the accelerated program and sit for certs later, as needed. Thoughts?_
I would probably recommend going with the fast/economical route, especially for you who is a self-disciplined enough to have already gotten a bunch of certs and accomplished a lot. I don't really feel the need to stretch out the process of getting a degree any longer than it has to be. I was kind of in the same boat as you, and for both of my non-CS degrees I went with the fastest possible route and it turned out OK. Spot on about getting certs afterwards too, but I'm not sure what else you'd need at this point unless you get CISSP or want to go offsec (PNPT/OSCP), haha.
FWIW, I got the cyber masters, but I would have been happy with the MBA as well--I just wanted to finish quick :)
Great question!
Josh, in theory, if someone was speed running it, could they do it in one term, or are you forced a second term?
This is a really, really good question, because in the program guide, there is a cost differentiation between the courses even though they are in the same program. My guess is either:
A) They will let you complete all of them in the same term, but will maybe charge an average between the graduate and undergrad courses, or
B) They will let you complete all of them and just charge you at the graduate price.
I can't see them forcing you to wait until the next term or forcing you to pay for a full other term. At the very least, they should do some kind of prorate if you finish one side early. (Like here: www.reddit.com/r/WGU/comments/ha219r/comment/fv0gxpe/?amp;amp;context=3 )
Great question, I'd definitely ask WGU about this one.
Hey Josh, do you happen to know if WGU does exceptions for midterm program changes? I just started at WGU with an accounting degree but decided to switch to the college of IT. The problem is in only one month in and my mentor told me I most likely won’t be able to transfer. I also can’t take a term break in the middle of term so I may have to withdraw :( if I withdraw I won’t be able to reapply because I would have to pay the remaining balance and I don’t have the money to do that. If I’m not taking classes relevant to the IT degree it’s disappointing that I have to pay the remaining balance. It’s so disappointing because I really wanted to do this accelerated program. It’s perfect for me because I eventually would like a masters degree.
Hey Sarah!
_Hey Josh, do you happen to know if WGU does exceptions for midterm program changes?_
I know that you can change your program, but the criteria is kind of unclear for me. I've heard lots of different stories, but it looks like you have to change at the end of your term.
To try to combat that, you might try asking your program mentor to switch your classes around and open up classes that overlap between the two degrees, so you can just work on those.
Hope this helps :(
@@JoshMadakor thanks for the reply! My mentor did set me up with classes that would transfer, there’s only 2 classes that would transfer.
I am planning to. Enroll in Business IT Management/Health Management, can please Advise.
what do you recommend to pass discrete math its the most difficult for me to wrap my head around
This only apply to US resident right.
Unfortunately, but they also accept Canadians.
There's actually another kinda similar school that international students can attend. Look up Thomas Edison State University if you get time :>
: Lolz I got that.
Hello
Which bachelor degree between IT general and Cybersecurity is more worth it and has good job offers?
Hey Ivonne, I will make a short to answer your question, but take a look at this video, it answers your question exactly!!
th-cam.com/video/CMdUe5n6X9M/w-d-xo.html
(Short answer: Cybersecurity is "better", but it's harder)
Who else loves this guy? #Me
lmao, you are too kind
Hey josh I had a question so I have a college degree in computer technology in which I got CompTIA A+ CompTIA Network + and CompTIA security + and am doing WGU bachelor program for Cybersecurity information and assurance do you think after I complete this degree I should do this accelerated program and what do you think would transfer over to the accelerated program for BS IT and MS ITM
Thanks for the response in advance
Also for got to mention I’m a disabled vet so I got all my college for free and I’m using my Gi bill for the accelerated BS MS IT ITM
Hi Josh, Since this accelerated BS & MS only has 42 course, can it still be done on 1-2 terms?
Yes, but it will be a bit difficult. If you really want to maximize your chances, just do as much as you can from study(.)com (use discount), sophia, and complete some certs outside of the program. If you do that, it's MUCH more likely to finish in one term. Great question!
Thanks 👍
No problem!! thanks for watching :P
Okay so I'm a 30 year old lady with ZERO I.T experience. I would like to be a I.T Project Manager. Do you think this degree will be worth it for someone with zero experience? OR would you take this along with certain certs? I would like to begin as a program coordinator and work my way up. Would you begin with program coordinator or choose another entry level to work your way up? I'm worried about job security...
Did you go into this program?
It isn’t clear but how many certifications does this degree require? And do you get the bachelors issued and then get the masters afterwards. Basically, do you have to finish everything to get the bachelors?
Can some one tell me all the certifications?
Thanks
You will get the bachelor's once you finish the bachelor's degree plan.
Hey Josh, as someone who is looking to get into the IT field and thinking cybersecurity, but not 100% sure yet, would recommend the Cybersecurity degree from WGU or the accelerated BA/MS IT degree?
I’m interested to know what he says about this
Sorry that I'm so slow, I'm going to make a video about this. Recording it now :P, but I'll paste my script below:
So before I answer this question, I strongly feel I should give a disclaimer here: You don’t need a degree before working in IT:
I recommend taking 3 months to study up and get a job before a degree
After you get your job, get experience, money, then think about slowly working on your degree
How to do this? I have partnered with CourseCareers and made a really thorough course that teaches you everything you need to know.
So jumping straight into the answer, let’s take a deeper look and make a comparison based on marketability, overall degree cost, and time to completion
Show these three things on the screen
MARKETABILITY
Jumping right into marketability, I will base the marketability score for each program on the industry certifications each degree has included in it and how many job hits each of those certifications gets on Indeed and LinkedIn
Many of the IT degrees from WGU contain industry recognized, third-party certifications (such as CompTIA A+, etc).
[[b-roll bscsia-program-certs]]
So Tallying up the certifications for each program, we can see that… (show results: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19z9T_oPRpA8_37ncnVfMPuGAX24te73GbnGdUKVlkRQ/edit#gid=0)
COST
So getting into degree cost, is where it gets tricky.
The BSCSIA, at WGU, costs $3,950 per 6 month term, and you are allowed to do as many classes as you can in that term
The BS+MS Accelerated track costs $3,625 for the BS portion, per 6 month term, and $3,940 for the MS portion, per 6 month term.
For both degrees, you can reduce the cost quite a bit by taking some of the courses externally at study.com and then transferring them into WGU when you are ready to enroll. When doing classes from Study.com, the cost is about 200/mo (1200 per 6 month term)
If you’re using the discount code, Study.com can further be reduced to $140/mo, or $1020 per 6 month term
So basically, since taking classes at study.com is a bit cheaper, the idea would be to complete as many courses as you can at Study.com, transfer them into whatever degree you choose, and then complete the remainder at WGU
If you want more information on how to do this, check out this video, and don’t forget to use the discount code for some savings!
As far as the number of classes you can transfer in from study.com for both programs,
BSCSIA = 19 Total classes you can transfer in, not counting the certifications
BS + MS Accelerated = 21 Total classes you can transfer in, not counting the certifications
The one caveat with the BS+MS program is, since the classes are split up between undergrad and graduate, you have to take a minimum of 2 terms at WGU
So not counting the couple thousand dollars you will spend at study.com, assuming you spend $1500 at Study.com and go super fast and and complete the remaining classes in one term at WGU, the MINIMUM amount you’ll spend for each program is:
BS + MS = $3,625 + $3,940 = $7,565 + $1500 (study.com) = $9,064
BS Cyber: $3,950 + $1500 (study.com) = $5,450
TIME
Now to talk about time to completion:
BS+MS Accelerated: 46 Classes, 151 Credits
BS Cyber: 34 Classes, 122 Credits
Conclusion
Show conclusion Chart
BS in Cyber clearly wins based on the three things, but I didn't weigh the value of "Having a Master's Degree" as it's kind of nebulous.
I do have a video where I talk about the value of a MS and if you need one, but if you just want to get some certs and a degree to help
[[b-roll masters-degree]]
@@letschataz Answered up above!!
@@JoshMadakor The timing of this is incredibly funny; I just signed up for WGU's cybersecurity program yesterday.
I am trying to find an entry level IT job while doing the program, I completed the Google IT Support certification on Coursera. Do you have any advice or tips for networking in the Edmonds/Greater Seattle Area to try and find these openings?
haha nice! Also, if you respond to comment threads it's almost impossible for me to find, so it's best to make a new comment. TH-cam is kinda bad about this. I just so happened to find this comment because I'm about to make a video response to your original question now, haha. But I'm pretty bad at networking, however I did just release this video which will probably be pretty helpful (I even mention Google IT Support Cert in it): th-cam.com/video/OHdFmQvpsvA/w-d-xo.html
GL! And congrats on enrolling :)
Is sophia learning a good way to earn credits for wgu?
Yeah! Sophia is good too, I just haven’t used it before. Wgu does have a mapping for Sophia transfers as well, on the partners.wgu.edu page ^^
@Josh Madakor Wait..you quit your IT job to do TH-cam full time?
All these classes just don't seem to fit the name "Computer-Science" it should more like "Information Technology".
Computer science goes a lot deeper into theoretical concepts and, depending on the university, a lot more math. This programs definitely seem to have a value in our current market but it just don't composes the title of Computer Science appropriately.
Hey Josh, would the cloud computing be more marketable than this degree?! What’s your thoughts im torn 😩
Hmmm proooooobably slightly more marketable if I were to check all the certs on indeed and tally up the job hits between the two degrees. Before Cloud Computing got upgraded, it was #2-3 I believe, right behind BSNOS (which has CCNA in it). So I'm certain the cloud computing one is still very marketable, but it's close
@@JoshMadakor thanks a bunch Josh💯
How good does our math need to be for this schoolwork?
It depends on the course you go into. Everything but the CS degree requires algebra-level stuff, sometimes some stats, which isn't bad at all. the Net Engineering course does get into some discrete math, but it's not as bad as the CS curriculum :). I'd recommend just using Khan Academy to brush up if you have to!
What if i already have a beachelors. Could I take the accelerated program just for the Masters?
No
What’s the fast programs on wgu
BS IT Management :)
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DD4YO9iBJjqaU7VJ4fULTAMep30HtzsdLI6Spt_oZXo/edit#gid=1549316567
How long would it take on average to complete this program if let’s say you can study full time?
Honestly probably about 400-500 hours if you planned and strategized well. Also it depends on how many credits you bring in for other college, sophia.org, and/or study.com :) (I have a discount code for study.com, just TH-cam search "josh study.com" hehe
@@JoshMadakor Thank you so much Josh 🙏🏽
@@JoshMadakor btw one more quick question, do you get the bachelors and masters degree at the same time? Or do you get the bachelors first once you complete that course work?
Can we book aa consultation session with you
I don’t really do those right now since my time is so limited. I could do it, but the price probably isn’t worth it :(. I do have a discord for patrons where I respond to everybody who @s me in there. There’s also a normal community of ppl in there too lol.
Hey Josh do you think cybersecurity will take longer to complete rather than the CS degree? I'm really having a hard time picking between the 2 degrees, any suggestion will be appreciated thank you josh!
Hey Macky! I've been getting this question a lot lately, haha.
CS will definitely take longer due to the rigors of math (Discrete Math and all the math, up to, and included integral calculus). Data Structures and Algorithms also takes some time and effort to get used to, assuming it's your first time dealing with those.
Ignore time and money, I will take a CS degree over a cyber degree (BS or MS) every day of the week. It's just better, gives you a difficult, tangible skill and a fundamental understanding of many low-level (as in, near hardware) concepts. It's just better IMO. Also, pairing Cybersecurity certs with a CS degree is absolutely powerful.
Having said all that, there is a cost to getting a CS degree. It's quite hard compared to cyber and will definitely take some time. To put into perspective, it took me 12 days to blitz the cyber masters degree, but it took me 2 months to complete calculus at straighterline, and 3 weeks to complete discrete math 2 for CS.
You're going to be successful if you apply yourself, regardless of the degree, just bear in mind the opportunity cost when considering the CS degree (aka, it will take longer).
If I had to go back in time and choose only one degree, I would go with the CS degree and pair it with certs. just beware the maths :)
@@JoshMadakor thank you for your opinion Josh I really appreciate it!