Confused Brit looking for advice

[dfrecore]

Actually, the more I look into the H1B requirements, it looks like I DO need a BS in Cyber Security, Computer Science or possibly Information Management, in order to be able to apply for Cyber Security roles in the US as the degree has to be specifically required for the job role.

This means something like TESU is the cheapest option at double or more for the BS compared to UMPI? Or possibly Purdue? I also see Excelsior have fully online Cyber Security degrees, is that viable?

Actually, now I see COSC also has Cyber Security!

These aren't listed on the 'Choosing the right college' wiki article apart from PUG, does that mean they aren't as cheap or fast to do with credit transfer?

UMPI does not have a CyberSec or CompSec degree; their BLS concentrations are very minor and won't help much in your situation.

TESU has a BACS, but their CyberSec degree is impossible to get inexpensively.  Excelsior is also impossible to do inexpensively.  Either one will cost upwards of $20k.  COSC is not an option either.  The Big 3 are only cost-effective if you get specific degrees, and CyberSec isn't one of them.

The main thing you might want the UMPI degree for would be to get into a master's program more quickly.  That's the main advantage with it I think.

[BritStudent]

Maybe something like an IT degree at Purdue would work for me? I think that'd meet the related subject requirement for H1B.

https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/PU...egree_Plan

They seem to be generous with recognising IT certs and perhaps I can transfer a fair bit of my current UK degree credit.

[dfrecore]

Maybe something like an IT degree at Purdue would work for me? I think that'd meet the related subject requirement for H1B.

https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/PU...egree_Plan

They seem to be generous with recognising IT certs and perhaps I can transfer a fair bit of my current UK degree credit.

I don't understand what you're trying to accomplish here?  You are going to have a Cybersecurity degree in a year.  Why spend thousands to get an IT degree unless you're actually going to stop the CyberSec degree, which it didn't sound like that was your plan?  Maybe I'm confused.

[BritStudent]

Maybe something like an IT degree at Purdue would work for me? I think that'd meet the related subject requirement for H1B.

https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/PU...egree_Plan

They seem to be generous with recognising IT certs and perhaps I can transfer a fair bit of my current UK degree credit.

I don't understand what you're trying to accomplish here?  You are going to have a Cybersecurity degree in a year.  Why spend thousands to get an IT degree unless you're actually going to stop the CyberSec degree, which it didn't sound like that was your plan?  Maybe I'm confused.

Apologies for any lack of clarity, my ongoing UK degree is going to take two years to complete (as I'm doing it part time = half speed) and regardless it won't qualify as the same as a 4 year US degree in the eyes of a H1B visa application.

My aim is to get a US degree which would qualify me for IT / Cyber roles, which I've just realised would have to be a degree in that field of study for a valid visa application.

The reason why I didn't think the field of study would matter at first is due to my IT experience and certifications, which would probably qualify me for the roles I'm looking to begin with.

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Reading your reply to your thread from TwinMom - a Comp Sci at TESU may be what I'm looking for - although a bit more expensive than what I was hoping for.

I'll get my results for my final course for this year in October, and will have more IT certs by then too - that would be the ideal time for me to get a WES evaluation done I guess and see what I have that is transferrable to the various degree programs.

I suppose I could have the UMPI PM degree as a backup plan and with short term different career goals.

[bjcheung77]

Decide when you're closer to that goal, it'll either be one or the other, unless you have another degree option and a change in energy, money, time constraints... There are other providers that have a degree, it depends on your needs/wants and what you can budget, etc. SNHU is another option for under 10K, I think a quick option for UMPI BABA PM&IS shows it's a Business Admin with a Project Management and Information Systems concentration. It *may* get you into the doors of Masters in the future as you don't really need a specific degree to get into some Applied Computer Science or IT related degrees.

[rachel83az]

SNHU isn't great as far as time goes. It will take 1-2 years to complete the required SNHU classes AFTER you have done maximum transfer (90-ish credits).

A TESU BACS can be completed in under a year and for a total of $6-7k if you're able to do the 15-credit flat-rate term. It'll actually cost a bit more if you maximize transfer and only complete the capstone at TESU. For the BACS ONLY, you may complete the cornerstone at edX and save money that way if you're not going to be doing the 15-credit term.

[allvia]

that would be the ideal time for me to get a WES evaluation done I guess and see what I have that is transferable to the various degree programs.

The Open University is already a US RA school, I don't see why you would need to have a WES evaluation

[dfrecore]

I guess I'm not seeing the need to get the CyberSec degree from Open University if you're going to get one from a different US college instead. Again, I'm so confused. This seems like you're duplicating effort, and I don't know why anyone would do this?

[bjcheung77]

@BritStudent, you're a year younger than me, take a little time - decide what your goals are and plan to reach it is, read through the thread again, and see which options are more suited for you. What you're trying to do is get into Cyber Security and move to the US... Why? You're going from #2 to #1, is there such a need when UK has a great national university system?

In this day and age, you're going to be evaluated by immigration to meet certain criteria, nations such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and so on will have slightly different requirements, including here in the US. My suggestion usually is the trifecta of certs, degree, experience, if you're already working in Cybersecurity or a subfield in IT, great, if not, try to get in first...

You want to make sure that field is something you're looking into and want to continue in, not just because you read it online and thought it was a good profession, something good or recommended for one person, may not be for another. When you're in IT and have a job, experience along with certs and degree, you've got a very strong application already.

In short, you don't need a specific degree to get into Cybersecurity or IT, even their subfields of data analytics/science, etc. People nowadays look at the trifecta I mentioned and 'ageism' exists, they'll look at what you bring to the table and length you've been in that field. Just make sure you've checked all the boxes, dotted your i's and crossed your t's, you'll be fine with the UMPI BABA PM/IS.

[BritStudent]

I guess I'm not seeing the need to get the CyberSec degree from Open University if you're going to get one from a different US college instead.  Again, I'm so confused.  This seems like you're duplicating effort, and I don't know why anyone would do this?

My thinking was that if I can get a degree within 6 months, I could begin applying for US jobs once I had that, rather than having 2 years wait with the path I'm on now. Then I realised that a stipulation of the H1B visa is the degree has to be specific to the job role that you're applying for.

To quote just one site 'The minimum educational level acceptable for H-1B status is a bachelor's degree in the field of the proposed employment.'.

Originally I didn't want to duplicate a second Cyber degree as you say, seems a bit wasteful, and Comp Sci would have been ideal - but they seem more expensive and perhaps longer to complete. Information Management systems may be adjacent enough to work out too.

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that would be the ideal time for me to get a WES evaluation done I guess and see what I have that is transferable to the various degree programs.

The Open University is already a US RA school, I don't see why you would need to have a WES evaluation

I understand that, but I may also be misunderstanding the process a bit - maybe it's not WES but the individual universities I need to approach to evaluate how they would match the courses I've done to their class requirements?

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SNHU isn't great as far as time goes. It will take 1-2 years to complete the required SNHU classes AFTER you have done maximum transfer (90-ish credits).

A TESU BACS can be completed in under a year and for a total of $6-7k if you're able to do the 15-credit flat-rate term. It'll actually cost a bit more if you maximize transfer and only complete the capstone at TESU. For the BACS ONLY, you may complete the cornerstone at edX and save money that way if you're not going to be doing the 15-credit term.

Thanks for the reply - yes, that probably puts SNHU out of contention in that case.

A TESU BACS may be a viable option though.