Degree for Breaking into Tech and Further Study Options

[Korbolko]

Your Location: Middle East
Your Age: 27
What kind of degree do you want?: bachelor’s degree in CS/SWE. Ultimately I want to get an on-campus master's degree in the US/Canada or OMSCS from GaTech.
Current Regional Accredited Credits:
I have a 4 year undergraduate Law degree in my home country. I don't know if it is relevant. 
Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: None
Any certifications or military experience? None
Budget: $15.000
Commitments: I work full-time as a lawyer, living in my mom's basement, not married.
Dedicated time to study: at least 3 hours each day on weekdays and at least 4 hours on weekends.
Timeline: I want to finish the degree in 2 years. 
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: None



Hello everyone
I am glad I stumbled upon this supportive community. I wish I had known about it years ago. I have been literally wasting my years compulsively searching for degree programs and postponing my dreams.


My case is really complicated and a little different. 
I am planning a career change. I want to become a software engineer and go abroad.
I have zero background and near zero knowledge in the CS area right now so I am not looking for a degree purely to hack it. 
I am starting my self-learning journey soon and looking for a program that can be completed in 2-2.5 years, providing guidance, structure, and supplementary materials along the way. Keeping the motivation and discipline up and learning the right things at the right time is very challenging without a proper degree program. 
I hope to attend an on-campus master's degree program in the US/Canada after bachelor's degree. 

OSU post-bacc program that takes 2 years to complete seemed like the perfect program for me with its great teaching, support and community but it costs $35k (around $25k with maximum transferred credits). When I add the cost of the master's program, the total amount becomes astronomical.
WGU would be good but I am not from the US. 
So, it seems like I am only left with TESU. I have been thinking about speed-running TESU, but the thing is I will be spending all my free time just to pass the courses and transfer credits instead of actually trying to learn, which seems inefficient and ineffective for someone with zero background in the field. 
Most of the grad schools I've checked have strict requirements too, many of them require certain courses to be graded and up to three reference letters. But my main concern for TESU is that speed-running a degree in 1 year will not really prepare me for employment or grad school, especially in this market and competition. 
I’m wondering if it’s worth taking 2 years to complete the TESU program in order to better absorb the content of the curriculum. Another thing I’m curious about is whether speed-running the degree in 1 year would give me enough free time for self-study. Also, what are the chances of being accepted to an on-campus grad program after getting a TESU bachelor's? How hard is it to get reference letters?

Right now, to start studying in a structured manner and to stop wasting more time with overthinking I've applied for an online CS degree that I've found in Coursera. There are only two enrollment periods per year for the program so I didn't want to miss the chance to apply. The classes start in July. 
https://www.coursera.org/degrees/bachelor-of-science-computer-science-bits
It is offered by a well-ranked Indian university and it only costs around $500 per semester. It's really an intense program with assignments, projects, quizzes, and finals... Both teaching-wise and curriculum-wise It seems much more beneficial to my learning path than TESU.  
Unfortunately, there is no way to hack it. It is a 3-4 year program. 
However I’ll have the opportunity to convert my earned credits into a credential at regular intervals. I have the option to exit with an associate degree at the end of year 2, a bachelor's degree at the end of year 3 or opt for an additional year to earn an honours degree at the end of Year 4. Of course, I will always have the opportunity to transfer the credits I earned there to TESU to complete my whole degree too.
To give you an idea, here are the courses I will be taking in 1st and 2nd semesters:
1st semester
*Introduction to Programming *Discrete Mathematics *Linear Algebra and Optimization *Introduction to Computing Systems 
*Basic Electronics *Writing Practice
2nd semester
*Data Structures and Algorithms *Object Oriented Programming *Command Line Interfaces and Scripting *Probability and Statistics *Introduction to Logic
Do you think it would be more beneficial for my self-learning path to take first-year and additional courses here and then transfer to TESU?

It is a bit off-topic and may complicate the situation further, but I am also considering applying for an on-campus conversion master’s in CS next year in the UK. These conversion master’s programs are designed for individuals who have an undergraduate degree in a non-CS related discipline. They aim to provide a foundation in CS skills, enabling a transition into the field of CS. These programs are primarily offered in the UK and typically take only one year. I haven’t seen similar master’s programs elsewhere. Most master’s programs usually require students to have a CS degree or to have taken several CS courses.
The main advantage of conversion master’s programs is that some offer an optional industry placement year, though they do not guarantee that every student will secure a placement. The program costs around £20,000, but it is probably my best bet to break into the industry given the current market conditions.

Considering my age and background, what would be the most optimal degree choice for me? 

Thank you for your time. 
I am open to any suggestions.

[bjcheung77]

@Korbolko, Welcome to the board, good initial first post with the addendum and template, plus extra info. Sadly though, you just entered in "Middle East", and I don't know which country that from, as there several in that area! Without going into much, it seems you've made up your mind on several options and pathways... Nicely done! I like it when people have choices and they can decide from a few that fit their needs, it's going to be hard to say, everyone has a different opinion on things, I would go for the one you feel you'll get more learning and filling in those skills gaps... Like I always say, a balanced mix/match trifecta of certs, degree, experience, is probably the most rounded way to fill any learning gaps you may want to improve on and gain a better skill set.

[davewill]

If the main stumbling block is the cost of in-person bachelors plus in-person masters, I would look at two approaches.

1. Start serious self-study, doing as much development as a hobby as you can. As you gain confidence in your knowledge and ability, then start taking the online CS courses needed for a bachelor's from TESU or another alt-credit friendly choice. Then work and plan that in-person masters (or decide to do OMSCS).

2. If you feel you just can't do the bachelor's completely by self- study, then you could pony up for the post-bacc. Commit to doing the master's online. OMSCS is a very high quality program despite being reasonably priced and online.

In either case, I still think you should start with some serious self-study. To succeed at this via online courses, you will have to have the aptitude and a real love for the field. Better to find out whether you have it before you sink a ton of money into education.

[LevelUP]

But my main concern for TESU is that speed-running a degree in 1 year will not really prepare me for employment or grad school, especially in this market and competition. 

I’m wondering if it’s worth taking 2 years to complete the TESU program in order to better absorb the content of the curriculum. Another thing I’m curious about is whether speed-running the degree in 1 year would give me enough free time for self-study. 

If you plan to work in software development, you should focus on learning programming languages and building projects.

With TESU you are taking Sophia or Study.com to learn programming languages. That will give you the basics but you need more knowledge to build your skills.

You are probably best off going the self-taught programmer route and building up your skills outside of college. Then, after you get a couple of years of work experience, you can decide if you want to get a degree.

A lot of people start off with:
https://www.freecodecamp.org/

Then go and do other things such as Udemy courses.

Here's a Youtube video of how one person learned how to program in around 4 months





ALEX JONES is referenced in the video, but you probably won't notice if you are not into American politics.

[Pikachu]

Being a self-taught programmer with no CS/SWE degree is handicapping yourself in this job market. Wouldn't recommend that path at all.

Given that you mentioned BITS and that you want to go abroad I'm assuming you're an Indian citizen living in the Gulf. Honestly you'd be better off going for a Conversion Masters in UK or Ireland if you can afford it. Both countries offer a 2 year post-study work visa.