BAT Cybersecurity to a Masters later?

[alab21]

Has anyone taken a BAAS or BAT and gone on to get accepted into a masters program? Any issues you can see with it? I'm not sure if he'd care to do it or not, but I want to make sure we are leaving all the doors open, just in case. 

My teen son wants to go into IT and there's a local 2yr college now offering a BAT (Bachelor's of Applied Technology) in CyberSecurity at $100/cr at collin.edu. Hubby and I are both long-time IT people. We looked at the degree when they first came out with it a couple of years ago and felt like it was a nice fit for just an IT degree and would likely be viewed the same by most companies. I sort of doubt he'd want to go into the higher stress world of full-fledged Red team-blue team CyberSecurity (he says this also), or I'd urge him to pursue the degree at TAMU or UNT. I think those programs would open more opportunities, particularly for the higher-paying jobs. These are also more like engineering degrees, heavier in maths that he loathes, so I think the BAT at Collin College is a better fit for him right now and will tick the Bachelor's degree box to clear human resources.  He will have completed at least 66 crs and completed a basic AA at another local cc by high school graduation in May for transfer to Collin. He will be approx 20 cr, I think, away from another AAS in CyberSecurity at Collin - all of it feeds into his BAT at Collin, by their design. They want students to get their AAS first before starting the BAT program - same courses, so no big deal. Hopefully, he can pick up a paid or unpaid internship along the way to get some experience, and complete some of the certs, though right now, I have to say that the classes alone are not enough experience, IMHO, to pass most of the certs. I think they need more hands-on experience before shelling out hundreds on an exam. The certs will be a goal as he is ready.


Thanks!

Collin BAT Cybersecurity, for those interested: http://www.collin.edu/academics/programs/CYBR_BAT.html

[dfrecore]

Has anyone taken a BAAS or BAT and gone on to get accepted into a masters program? Any issues you can see with it? I'm not sure if he'd care to do it or not, but I want to make sure we are leaving all the doors open, just in case. 

My teen son wants to go into IT and there's a local 2yr college now offering a BAT (Bachelor's of Applied Technology) in CyberSecurity at $100/cr at collin.edu. Hubby and I are both long-time IT people. We looked at the degree when they first came out with it a couple of years ago and felt like it was a nice fit for just an IT degree and would likely be viewed the same by most companies. I sort of doubt he'd want to go into the higher stress world of full-fledged Red team-blue team CyberSecurity (he says this also), or I'd urge him to pursue the degree at TAMU or UNT. I think those programs would open more opportunities, particularly for the higher-paying jobs. These are also more like engineering degrees, heavier in maths that he loathes, so I think the BAT at Collin College is a better fit for him right now and will tick the Bachelor's degree box to clear human resources.  He will have completed at least 66 crs and completed a basic AA at another local cc by high school graduation in May for transfer to Collin. He will be approx 20 cr, I think, away from another AAS in CyberSecurity at Collin - all of it feeds into his BAT at Collin, by their design. They want students to get their AAS first before starting the BAT program - same courses, so no big deal. Hopefully, he can pick up a paid or unpaid internship along the way to get some experience, and complete some of the certs, though right now, I have to say that the classes alone are not enough experience, IMHO, to pass most of the certs. I think they need more hands-on experience before shelling out hundreds on an exam. The certs will be a goal as he is ready.


Thanks!

Collin BAT Cybersecurity, for those interested: http://www.collin.edu/academics/programs/CYBR_BAT.html

In looking at this degree, the main thing I see is that it's heavy on major coursework and light on GE's with no electives; reminds me of WGU.  I've known people who went on from WGU to a master's.  The worst that happens is that he applied and they say they want more/specific GE coursework, like College Algebra, Comp 2, etc.  But really, most schools just want a bachelor's and don't specify what it has to be in or what courses you need.

This is one of those things where I'm going to not worry about the master's, and cross that bridge if/when you come to it; if you never come to it, it's not an issue.  If you come to it, you have lots of options, from going ahead and taking a few courses to meet requirements, or choosing another program that doesn't care.

[alab21]

In looking at this degree, the main thing I see is that it's heavy on major coursework and light on GE's with no electives; reminds me of WGU.  I've known people who went on from WGU to a master's.  The worst that happens is that he applied and they say they want more/specific GE coursework, like College Algebra, Comp 2, etc.  But really, most schools just want a bachelor's and don't specify what it has to be in or what courses you need.

This is one of those things where I'm going to not worry about the master's, and cross that bridge if/when you come to it; if you never come to it, it's not an issue.  If you come to it, you have lots of options, from going ahead and taking a few courses to meet requirements, or choosing another program that doesn't care.

Thank you! That makes me feel better!

[FastTrackDegree]

Maybe checkout SANS degree, then he will get 9 GIAC certs. It includes an internship too. They have very easy GE requirements. Pretty sure they can be filled with just Sophia courses.

[MNomadic]

Maybe checkout SANS degree, then he will get 9 GIAC certs. It includes an internship too. They have very easy GE requirements. Pretty sure they can be filled with just Sophia courses.

1) Very expensive vs the CC they were planning on going to.

2) SANS Technical Institute isn't listed as a transfer partner on Sophia's site. Where did you see that they accept ACE/Sophia?

[FastTrackDegree]

Maybe checkout SANS degree, then he will get 9 GIAC certs. It includes an internship too. They have very easy GE requirements. Pretty sure they can be filled with just Sophia courses.

1) Very expensive vs the CC they were planning on going to.

2) SANS Technical Institute isn't listed as a transfer partner on Sophia's site. Where did you see that they accept ACE/Sophia?

They told me. Yes but the certs are worth a lot. You only take 50 credits at the school.

[alab21]

Maybe checkout SANS degree, then he will get 9 GIAC certs. It includes an internship too. They have very easy GE requirements. Pretty sure they can be filled with just Sophia courses.

1) Very expensive vs the CC they were planning on going to.

2) SANS Technical Institute isn't listed as a transfer partner on Sophia's site. Where did you see that they accept ACE/Sophia?

They told me. Yes but the certs are worth a lot. You only take 50 credits at the school.

He has already finished almost all of his LL Gen eds and will have his associates in ~6 months, all but 1 cr fulfills courses in his BAT, all of which will cost in total < $10k not counting money back from AOTC credit or any scholarships he might get. SANS is $36K for 2yrs.

Speedy isn’t really the goal for a kid already graduating with 2 Associates and a Bachelors 2 yrs ahead of most of his peers. Youth isn’t necessarily on his side in the job market - it reads as inexperienced. He has only the IT experience that we give him at home with our mini lab and minimal demands of our home office. Virtual servers, Linux server, printer server, routers, laptops/desktops, etc. But we don’t have the load that a full office would have. It’s hard to pass many IT certifications w/o some life experience and more hands on troubleshooting and stuff. As long as the BAT doesn’t close any doors on a higher degree, I think we are satisfied to continue on the same path to his BAT and he would have no college debt.

Today we discussed the possibility of just continuing on to do his masters while he has no other responsibilities, and possibly getting an unpaid or paid apprenticeship or job in IT while he finishes his BAT, so he would have a couple of years of work experience to carry into the masters. I told him I’d look at masters programs to check requirements, in case he chooses that route. If he needs more maths or sciences it’s better to do them now, I think. Restarting math after a long break stinks.




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[bjcheung77]

This is amazing news, your family is so educational/productive, I wouldn't rush into things and focus on just three for the lad: Certs, Degree, Experience. I mean, there are a few certs that are great for entry into the industry, a few mentioned on the board are the inexpensive ACE Google/IBM certs (even the free cybersecurity ones at TEEX). I would "mix/match" his learning so it doesn't overload the amount of info he gets... such as spreading out the courses/certs so he can complete them in a timely and not in a rushed manner.

Basically any BAAS or BAT is in "applied studies", there shouldn't be many general education courses as these are for prep into a work field. In regards to the Masters, practically any Bachelors will do as long as you have the prerequisite requirements all met. I would focus again on getting the BAT nearly completed before looking ahead. Since you're in Texas, for the Masters, you may want to have the UT-Austin as your first choice, GT as your second, and WGU as a backup or third choice (they all offer CS, Cybersecurity, IT, etc).

[alab21]

This is amazing news, your family is so educational/productive, I wouldn't rush into things and focus on just three for the lad: Certs, Degree, Experience. I mean, there are a few certs that are great for entry into the industry, a few mentioned on the board are the inexpensive ACE Google/IBM certs (even the free cybersecurity ones at TEEX). I would "mix/match" his learning so it doesn't overload the amount of info he gets... such as spreading out the courses/certs so he can complete them in a timely and not in a rushed manner.

Basically any BAAS or BAT is in "applied studies", there shouldn't be many general education courses as these are for prep into a work field. In regards to the Masters, practically any Bachelors will do as long as you have the prerequisite requirements all met. I would focus again on getting the BAT nearly completed before looking ahead. Since you're in Texas, for the Masters, you may want to have the UT-Austin as your first choice, GT as your second, and WGU as a backup or third choice (they all offer CS, Cybersecurity, IT, etc).

Thanks. yeah the masters is just a possible next step, no pressure on him. I’ll look at UT Austin also. We are actually closest to UTD. They have a pretty strong tech program also. UNT has a good CyberSecurity program with some government contracts and it’s in our town, so that’s also on my list. We are within driving distance of a ton of colleges (DFW).

He will be “core complete” when he graduates, which transfers as a block to any Texas public college to replace their core for undergrad, so it would really just be extra math or science classes beyond the core GE’s for anything higher. I’ll look at what’s common. Anything else, I think he can just do later. I dislike interrupting the math or science course flow - Not coincidentally the two main subjects that hold adults back from the degrees they want. My main goal with the kids to to make sure those potential roadblocks are done and out of the way, whether they finish college now or not. Nothing but open doors for them if they need to go back later.

He will start “in person” IT classes in the fall. I’m hoping he can make some industry contacts through those, also. The degree heavily targets local adults, so he could get a job or internship through those contacts, which would be nice. And maybe some people to study for certs with. We’ll see.


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[Glenda P. Gipe]

I would also recommend TAMU or UNT. There are more opportunities for salary growth there.
And if he doesn't like math so much, you can probably find an excellent tutor to change his attitude towards it.

With a good job, he'll be comfortable in life.