BOG AAS v TESU ASNSM CS

[xicovu]

It'd look like a cake walk to have 8 weeks of little to do versus the 2-6 months you'd spend on the AWS exams, Azure Exams, and all the the other Cloud exams. I think the Cloud System Administrator is not the course to do if you'd like to breeze through and VMware Datacenter/Desktop cert. Even if you're experienced in one very well to the point you don't have to study for more than a month, the other two or three are going to take 2-6 months each. There isn't a way to really get around taking them either. For VMWare, you need to know ISMv3 level of storage realistically to get VCP. These certs are hard even for experienced people in the industry. Interviewers are going to grill you in any interview you land with these, and it's all going to be real-world problem solving. Pick one area, and learn it really well.

The B.S. Information Technology would be much, much easier to knock out fast in my opinion. Lots of time and effort for certs/degree that are marginally useful to your career that killing yourself cramming for.

[LevelUP]

onlinedegree doesn't have intro to programming anymore, they been saying update coming for months now.

I took onlinedegree courses and they are good and can be done somewhat fast if you only watch the first video at 2x speed and ignore the other ones for each lesson. The key is to average 80% on quizzes (they throw out 2 lowest scores) then you only need 50% on the final to pass the course which is easy.

If you go the TESU route, I would just take the required courses for the BACS degree and apply it for your 2-year AS degree. Then it would be easier to upgrade in the future.

Introduction to Programming
Data Structures
Discrete Math
Operating Systems
Computer Architecture

Calculus I

[xicovu]

I am not good at math. I'm pretty set on the COSC route, with a "de facto" AS Information Systems degree, meaning I take the AS General Studies and match the coursework exactly to an IS/IT degree, preferably with WGU transferable credit in case i go that route. Do you think they'd accept it straight as an AS Info Tech if it is pretty much identical to the coursework? I know that going for a B.S. isn't all that much harder but I don't have huge amounts of time, and an AS will meet immediate goals.

I'm speaking with the COSC counselor about creating a BIS in Logistics & Information System studies or similar...between SL/study/online and others I should be able to get the equivelant of at least a logistics minor. Anyone have experience with that sort of thing?

One other tangent question: Can I take an upper level CS course and apply it to an AS degree?

[dfrecore]

[quote pid='303325' dateline='1581464792']

A large majority of IT jobs count "experience" by treating 2 years of school to 2-4 years experience. With 7 years experience, that pushes me past the decade mark. I needed 6 years to qualify for my current job, but with an AS it would of been 3. I just don't see me having the bandwidth to cover all the material in a B.S. even over the next year. Even with the AS i was anticipating 1 year with only a couple hours a week. The majority of WGU cert's are worthless as far as hiring mangers go. Only the big name certs (AWS, VMWare, MCSE, CCNA/P) are actually going to matter.

How much time are people dedicating a day to finish WGU quickly?

I just can't wrap my head around the idea of being able to get an AWS SysOps cert alone in 3 months, let alone a BS. And then people that need to learn VMware, Azure, all these other things I just can't see how it's humanly possible for people to finish something like this so fast.

Most people on this forum who are doing WGU already have many years of experience, so they are coming in with certs and knowledge.  Meaning they aren't learning VMware from scratch, they already have a cert, or have used the product, or whatever.

My husband worked at VMWare for a long time, and has a couple of certs, and then went and got his AWS cert.  He had a CCNA previously, he could probably study for it before starting at WGU.  He'd probably get his A+ Cert through WGU-Academy ($150/mo) so that it wouldn't slow him down once he was enrolled.  He'd figure out which 30cr to get the most quickly at WGU, then get everything else other ways, and probably finish well before the 6months was over.

I think I'm going to pass on WGU. I've got years of experience and I'm a VMWare/Nutanix Hyperconverged Admin and I've worked Ops for a large cloud provider. Even still, the AWS Solution Architect would be difficult. AWS SysOps is one of hardest even for AWS folks with years under there belt. Add an Azure Admin. Associate cert on that and there's no way it humanly possible to do that quick & effectively. Years of experience won't matter when they're asking small, ever changing details for 3 essentially disparate technologies .

Any hiring manager that see that many certs on someones resume that fast is not going to take you seriously and that's why WGU is a waste to me. I'd rather have an Architect cert in Azure/AWS/VMware or other specialization instead of wasting neurons on all three.

If others can pull it off and make it work for them, go for it. It's not for me. Those certs won't help, and may harm, your prospects in the interview. I'd leave all but the most prestigious off of my resume. My plan is COSC. I've got a call with admissions today to see if they can give me a customized degree tuned to my specialization in my role and industry: BIS Industrial Automation/Info Systems/Logistics or some similar combination and have a dual purpose degree.
[/quote]

You're not actually getting those certs with the degree; you can use them to fulfill requirements if you already have those certs, but they aren't part of the degree.  I was just showing how people get through it quickly, by using what they already have to get past stuff they already know.

[xicovu]

Understood. I'm not trying to be adversarial in this discussion, so hopefully it isn't coming across that way. It's just my professional opinion, unless you are an AWS pro and have those specific certs, there isn't a way to split that degree that you're not spending a ton of time on them. I've know AWS pros that strike out on it. If someone is only out to WGU for a quick check-the-check-box degree, BS IT is easy with basic CompTIA certs and some HTML5/CSS/Javascript. The last three can be useful no matter where your taking them, and quick. A BSIT degree will get you the same interview that an BSSA degree will, and will probably be better on the HR-algorithms. If I end up the WGU route, it's how I'm taking it. Wasting hard time on the AWS Sysops if you aren't using it in the next three years isn't the most effective strategy to check that box.

[LevelUP]

When it comes to WGU IT programs, most of them are nothing but a bunch of certifications that you can get on your own and add them to your resume later.

[dfrecore]

Understood. I'm not trying to be adversarial in this discussion, so hopefully it isn't coming across that way. It's just my professional opinion, unless you are an AWS pro and have those specific certs, there isn't a way to split that degree that you're not spending a ton of time on them. I've know AWS pros that strike out on it. If someone is only out to WGU for a quick check-the-check-box degree, BS IT is easy with basic CompTIA certs and some HTML5/CSS/Javascript. The last three can be useful no matter where your taking them, and quick. A BSIT degree will get you the same interview that an BSSA degree will, and will probably be better on the HR-algorithms. If I end up the WGU route, it's how I'm taking it. Wasting hard time on the AWS Sysops if you aren't using it in the next three years isn't the most effective strategy to check that box.

It does seem adversarial.  You asked people's opinions, then proceeded to tell them why they're wrong.  But it's easy enough going forward to not reply to your posts.  Then we're both happy - I don't waste my time "helping" you, and you don't waste your time telling me why it's not helpful.  Done.

[xicovu]

And from my perspective, you've been constantly putting me on the defensive. The first time I said "not into WGU" should of been the end of it, you implied I don't have necessary experience. Most of these posts aren't even directed at you specifically.When I did find a way to line of an AS from COSC up with WGU, you shot it down. I went through the BSCSA requirements after you refered them. Most of these posts aren't even directed at just you specifically, they're for other people considering WGU for IT. I have absolutely used your advice in building my degree plan. This should of never turned into a hostile back and fourth.

There is no way that going the route of an AWS Sysops cert is going to help anyone wanting a checkbox because it is notoriously difficult. It's "Master's Degree" vs "High School". I know what certs to get, which are hard,  and which one's no one will take serious. People with a ton of certs on their resume are notorious for being poor performers in the trenches, whether it's true or not. Putting AWS Sysops their resume is going to get them grilled in an interview if you don't have the right experience in technologies not covered in that degree.

The BS IT is objectively a faster degree to get than BSCSA for most people. Referring them to attempt that degree is going to make there lives much more difficult, and it makes sense to let that be known. Most of your advice with WGU is fantastic, but referring people in the future to the BS Cloud & System Administration is counter productive. That is why that needs to be corrected.