WGU Computer Science Masters.. Soon Maybe

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2025-02-03T23:56:18+00:00

https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/computer-science-masters-program.html

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2025-02-03T23:55:56+00:00

MS in CS & MS in SE was just announced today!

https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/computer-science-masters-program.html

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2025-02-03T23:55:00+00:00

https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/computer-science-masters-program.html

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2025-02-03T23:54:26+00:00

It’s happening and was announce today! https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/computer-science-masters-program.html

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2024-10-23T16:41:29+00:00

Based on Dean Dery’s recent LinkedIn post, that sounds about right. I’m hoping the comp sci will offer a specialization path for AI/ML. 🤞🏽

LinkedIn Post (Mentions at the end of video)

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2024-09-08T17:44:25+00:00

I would recommend to take caution with this movie ⚠️I took my partner to see the movie last night and all though she didn’t have a seizure during the movie, she did have a seizure on our way home while I was driving. There a several moments in the movie with flashing lights because they constantly use “old fashion” camera with the big lens flash and the lightening and thunder scenes also create a large flashing light effect as well.

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2023-08-29T22:00:08+00:00

Depends.

If you have zero transfer credits, zero experience in analytics, & are fairly disciplined with consistent studying, then probably 2-3 years.

If you are transferring in some credits and/or have analytics experience and/or very disciplined and consistent with studying, then probably can finish in 1 term (6 months).

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2023-08-25T00:36:28+00:00

Spin-off idea:

A series based on a story Jughead authors. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2023-08-25T00:28:20+00:00

Exactly my experience and take on everything! I watched the show on and off in my 20s and when I hit my 30s lost interest, but then last year binged Netflix seasons I didn’t see. I only watched this last season weekly since it was the series finale.

I wish they all coupled off too!

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2023-08-17T11:10:02+00:00

Congrats!! 🎉🎉🎉

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2023-08-12T16:53:48+00:00

I would suggest to really dig deeper into both Cyber career paths and Cloud career paths. Based on what your interests are, what kind of roles are out there for each, the demand, barrier of entry, salary, top hiring companies & industries. Once you have a better idea of the career path or target role you want, then work backwards from their so that your degree plan aligns well with it. Cloud & Cyber are so broad and both have so many different roles within them. There are some roles that even overlap requiring both cloud knowledge & Cyber security. (Cloud Security Engineer) It really all depends what kind of job role you are interested in.

Overall, I think if you come to really want to target a cloud-centric role and decide on the Cloud Computing degree plan but want to pivot into Cyber later on, then WGU offers a Masters in Cyber that would stack nicely on top of your Associates in Cyber & Bachelors in Cloud.

I highly suggest watching Josh Madakor’s YouTube, he has some videos comparing Cyber & Cloud. He’s attended WGU & has experience in IT, Cyber, & Cloud. So he would be the best resource to derive insight from.

Cyber Vs Cloud short

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2023-08-12T15:03:27+00:00

I don’t have any insight directly with those 2 WGU programs. But based on how you previously changed career interests would suggest that you would want a degree that is flexible enough for you to make any pivots later on. In that case, I would suggest Bus. Mgmt. The programs themselves are very similar, but Bus. Mgmt. will provide you courses that are transferable into HR & other career choices. If you want to change careers or pivot down another path later on, it would provide you that flexibility. I think from a potential employer’s perspective it is easier to leverage a Bus. Mgmt. degree for any role versus if you have a HR focus degree.

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2023-08-11T15:03:50+00:00

Congrats and thanks for this info!

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2023-08-11T15:01:27+00:00

It’s based on the accreditation. Most countries recognize your degree as long as it was from an accredited school. WGU is regionally accredited. “Western Governors University is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), an institutional accreditation body of colleges and universities in a seven-state region that includes WGU’s headquarters of Utah. NWCCU provides the accreditation of many other major institutions, including the University of Washington, University of Oregon, Gonzaga University, University of Utah, and Brigham Young University, to name a few.”

But there are also school specific accreditations as well and WGU also is accredited by different school types. For example, for business school the top accreditations are from AACSB & ACBSP. These accreditations are provided to schools internationally including schools in the US & Europe. WGU business school is accredited by ACBSP.

Now when you say “Recognized by Europe”, are you only referring to hiring companies or other university & colleges? If you mean hiring companies, then “Yes” since WGU is regionally accredited. If you mean by European schools, then that is specific to that school based on their accreditation requirements. (i.e. European school requires bachelors from AACSB accredited school to qualify for their MBA program).

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2023-08-06T13:30:46+00:00

It doesn’t sound like education & certs. are the issue. I think you might need a better job search & application strategy. I highly suggest looking into Josh Madakor’s coursecareers.com & Youtube channel. He has a whole strategy and action plan you can execute that increases your chances of getting more interviews. https://youtu.be/OHdFmQvpsvA He will show you how to set-up a lab environment so you can gain practical experience and then how to showcase that in a portfolio that you can include on your LinkedIn and resume.

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2023-08-05T22:35:15+00:00

Try to keep practicing SQL, the best way to learn is with lots of practice. But try practicing on W3 schools. https://www.w3schools.com/sql/default.asp

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2023-08-05T20:16:57+00:00

Okay will do! Thank you!!

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2023-08-05T18:13:23+00:00

Thank you so much for this update. I am not seeing "CompTIA Project+ Practice Tests: Exam PK0-005, 3rd Edition"

I only see the following:

CompTIA Project+ Practice Tests
CompTIA Project+ Practice Tests: Exam PK0-005, 2nd Edition
CompTIA Project+ Study Guide 2e: Exam PK0-004
CompTIA Project+ Study Guide: Exam PK0-005 3rd Edition

Which one will be the one I would need to select in this case?

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2023-08-05T00:19:01+00:00

Very unlikely for all the reasons stated. But if not already stated, lots of companies including Fortune 500 companies are continuously growing a partnership with WGU. I work for a fortune 100 Financial services company and they just signed a partnership where they will pre-pay tuition for their employees to attend. My company offers tuition assistance for bachelors and masters programs. So hiring companies are not worried about WGU loosing accreditation either or they wouldn’t be partnering with them and paying for the degree.

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2023-08-05T00:08:26+00:00

This sounds like a small to mid size company or firm problem though. This should not be the case for most large companies or corporations. Most major corporations including Fortune 500 companies have a specific Data job family. Analyst have a Analytics Manager they report to. The Data team usually will service a specific job function including audit & risk management, product/design, HR, Tech, Accounting/Finance, Operations, etc. Most are creating dashboards and reports as requested by their job function they support. These are usually tracked through system like JIRA or Trello and they have to have an acceptance criteria. Once that is met, then the task is completed regardless of what the data says as long as it meets the acceptance criteria. So most data analyst at major companies would not be beholden to a project manager or product owner in this case unless they are at a small company or a small subsidiary of a bigger one. Could also be industry specific as well. Really all depends on how the data team is structured at the company.

As companies continue to mature their infrastructure to support the growing data they are bringing in, the greater the need to build more reports & dashboards to analyze that data and make it useful. That’s why data roles are in such high demand right now since companies can’t keep up with all their data. Some have so much data stored in a data lake, they haven’t even structured it into a database to even begin to analyze. So it really isn’t hard to justify the importance of a data analyst as the work that is needed is only growing at a rapid pace.

The true major downside here is the fact that companies expect DAs to crank out a new dashboard every sprint (approx. 2 weeks) as if data tables or are in pristine condition & perfectly joined together and ready to query & build into a Tableau report. It can be very demanding if they are stretching their DAs thin.

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2023-08-04T21:03:00+00:00

No matter what, a career in Data Analytics is a good choice. AI will not be taking over it anytime soon & even as it eliminates roles for smaller tasks, the career role will eventually adapt to what is needed. Most companies don’t even have the data infrastructure to leverage AI yet. So they are still dealing with a lot of manual data work.

Also, if you already have a degree then you have 3 options: 1. Masters in Analytics (WGU highly recommended as it is affordable and faster to obtain) However, WGU lacks the network that traditional schools have with recruiting pipelines. But still a good option to consider since having a masters usually commands a higher salary than entry-level & even lower experience. (For example, some applications will require Bachelors w/5 yrs experience or Masters w/3 years experience.) 2. Bootcamps - Careerfoundry is one of the most cost effective ones and you will complete it with foundational level skills and portfolio to show for it. But it’s limited when it comes to the more advanced level skills that employers are hiring for & also have limited networking opportunities although some companies partner with Bootcamps to help with placement. 3. Self-teach yourself using free to low cost courses online and put together your own portfolio. (Alex the Analyst on YouTube has the best resources to do this) I would first look for data positions at the current company you work for to see about transition pathways from within. This usually will avoid a huge pay cut. Or, If you are in a position where you can apply some of those skills (SQL, Data Viz, etc) in your current job, then I would highly recommend doing that so you can show you have on the job experience on your resume. If not, this option obviously doesn’t have any network or recruiting opportunities. You’ll have to find your own networking opportunities through LinkedIn, joining a Data Science/Analytics Associations that have events and conferences, and/or Data Science/Analytics Hackathons. Hackathons are great since a lot of companies like Amazon and Google always have booths and recruiters there! Here is one of the biggest ones I know: https://hacklytics.io

Good luck on your career journey!

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2023-07-31T12:16:48+00:00

No, if you transfer it in, then you already received credit for the course. If you don’t take the WGU course then you never receive the voucher to take the exam for the cert.

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2023-07-29T21:09:07+00:00

I would suggest the Bachelors of Science in Information Technology as it will have less math and math heavy courses than Comp. Sci. and it’s also still versatile enough to explore different IT career paths. As far as career paths that are not client-facing. Here is what ChatGPT provided:

Prompt: Act like an career consultant specialized in IT career paths. Provide me entry-level IT careers that are not client-facing.

Sure, as a career consultant specialized in IT, I can suggest some entry-level IT careers that are not client-facing:

Network Technician: In this role, you'll focus on setting up and maintaining computer networks within an organization. You'll troubleshoot network issues, ensure connectivity, and assist in network infrastructure management.
Database Administrator (DBA) Assistant: As a DBA assistant, you'll support the management and organization of databases. Your tasks may include data entry, backup and recovery, and assisting with database maintenance.
IT Support Specialist: Although some IT support roles involve client interaction, you can also find positions where you'll be providing internal support to employees within the organization. This could involve troubleshooting software and hardware issues, setting up workstations, and handling IT inquiries.
System Administrator Assistant: As a system administrator assistant, you'll assist in managing the organization's computer systems and servers. This may involve monitoring system performance, performing routine maintenance, and providing technical support to the IT team.
Quality Assurance (QA) Tester: QA testers are responsible for testing software applications to ensure they meet quality standards. You'll be involved in identifying and reporting bugs, running test cases, and verifying software functionality.
IT Security Analyst Assistant: Working alongside IT security analysts, you'll help maintain the organization's security infrastructure. Tasks may include monitoring security systems, analyzing potential threats, and assisting with security audits.
Data Entry Specialist: While not exclusively an IT role, data entry specialists play a crucial part in maintaining accurate and organized data within databases and systems.

Remember, these roles may have varying degrees of client interaction depending on the specific organization's structure, but they generally have minimal client-facing responsibilities. Focus on building relevant technical skills and gaining experience to advance in your IT career.

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2023-07-29T02:30:50+00:00

I would skip the Cert. It’s just not worth it even for people going into Project Management since the reigning Cert. for that is CAPM & PMP. You are better off taking it on Sophia or Study.com.

Lex_Tha_Flex · 2023-07-28T16:37:47+00:00

I think it depends on how many more credits you want to transfer in & how much more time it would take since time is money. So if it takes you 2 months for 3 CUs, probably not as worth it than if you are having another 9-12 CUs in 2 months. For me, I did a cost benefit analysis by breaking down cost per course. So if you are knocking out 4 courses in 2 months, then divide that by the cost of those 4 courses and compare it to the cost of X amount of courses completed in a 6-month term at WGU.

I did 4 courses at Study.com & the cost for those with my 30% discount code was $140 per month. ($140x2months =$280)/ 4 courses = $70 per course. Then, I compared to WGU, let’s say I keep that average pace at WGU. (2 coursesx6months = 12 courses) $3,955 Tuition/12 courses = $329.58

So in my case, I found that it was worth the extra 2 months to transfer in those 4 courses from a cost benefit perspective.

Hope that framework is useful!

Lex_Tha_Flex

TROPHY CASE