College degree advice needed

[RESTfulADI]

My company just started tuition assistance and I want to take advantage and finish my degree. I went to huge state university straight out of high school and finished most of my gen. ed. reqs. but then due to circumstances which are not relevant to this discussion I quit and started working. I was not ready at the time and did not know what I really wanted to do. Eight years and a couple of career changes later, I am a L2 server engineer at a datacenter and I want to validate my skills and knowledge, as well as advance my career.

I'm studiyng for CCNA (work requirement), if I pass it would give me 19 credits toward an A.S. in Information Systems - Network Administration at the local community college. I am past the A+ cert career wise but if I take it and pass, that gives me credit for two more classes (6 credits). They offer credit for experience as well (prior learning credit), and since I was a sys. admin for 2 years, it may potentially cover a Microsoft admin class or two (total of 3, one is elective). Long story short, if I start now I could be done but the end of spring for very little upfront cost. After that I want to immediately start a bachelors and I don't know in which direction I should go.

After taking AP Calculus in high school and hating it, I don't want any more advanced math so I doubt classical Comp. Sci. if for me and I don't want to be a developer. The local branch of the University of Maryland offers a 100% online B.S. program for Computer Networking and Security, and another for Information Systems Management. The networking bachelors degree is much more technical and if was was 18 with no experience and wanted a shot at landing a Network Engineer job out of school I would go that route, but I already have 5 years experience in systems and network administration I am thinking the MIS degree would complement me better and open more doors. I could be completely wrong and I would appreciate any advice from people who have been in this situation or hire IT staff.

 

[NetJunkie]

Hard to argue with a MIS degree. Good now...good later. My BS is in Internetworking and Security..also good. But it's hard to argue against the MIS.

And good move going back. I see a lot of people never use their company's tuition reimbursement. That's free money for school and how I did both my degrees.

 

[adam30k]

Yes definitely don't leave money on the table especially since you have a lot of credits you can apply. Both CIS and MIS would be worth looking into. Check out your local community college and state college, although it sounds like that's where you started.

 

[RESTfulADI]

Thanks for the advice guys, I am going to meet with the advisor at the comm. college monday to see exactly were I stand with my existing credits and experience. I looked at the B.S. in Networking and Security curriculum and it appears I would be repeating a lot of the same courses from the AS, I see four cisco networking courses, a couple windows server courses, unix, relational databases, and intro to programming to name a few. On the other hand this UMD branch also has prior learning credit and I may be able to accelerate the process. I am just brainstorming right now so please take these early ideas with a grain of salt.

NetJunkie, do you mind elaborating on why you support MIS vs the degree you hold which is my other option?

There is also a Cybersecurity BS and while I know a couple of forensics guys who make a lot of money, I don't think it's for me. I would prefer to stay in infrastructure, but I want to get to where I am designing the solutions and managing projects, not just implementing and administering. I do some of that now, but I can't help but feel that my lack of formal education in the correct field is holding me back.

 

[Blue Knight]

I would prefer to stay in infrastructure, but I want to get to where I am designing the solutions and managing projects, not just implementing and administering. I do some of that now, but I can't help but feel that my lack of formal education in the correct field is holding me back.

You're answering your own question here my friend. If you want to manage projects and be more on the business side, then MIS is your direction.

I mentioned some in my other post (that brought me here), but there's a lot of business thinking that's separate from the technical side of IT. IT exists to support a business. While it may be cool to upgrade to the latest version of anything, managers also have to think about costs, compatibility, reliability, long-term needs, risks, etc etc. The one phrase that suck with me is "IT is about aligning technology with business needs". We're a service industry for whatever business we work in and can't exist on our own.

You might have this already from experience or intuition, but it doesn't hurt to have a degree backing it up. If you wanted to take it to the next level up the corporate level, an MBA is possible next step.

Sounds like you're already planning your path. My only comment is sometimes that switching specialties requires a step down before taking a step up. Larger companies tend to keep hiring the specialty roles, set processes with little room for maneuvering (gotta wait for someone to quit their position). If you looking for some breathing room and room for creativity, don't be afraid to try the mid to small businesses to start this new road.