IT Worker with Certifications and Bootcamps Trying to Finish as Quickly as Possible

[tr8ness]

Your Location: Washington, DC, USA
Your Age: 32
What kind of degree do you want?: Any, just need a university degree for a work promotion requirement
Current Regional Accredited Credits: none
Any certifications or military experience? Amazon Cloud Practitioner, Certified Scrum Master, two intensive coding bootcamps (George Washington University Full-Stack, General Assembly Data Science)
Budget: I'd like to go the cheapest route possible. This will all be cash out of pocket.
Commitments: Full-time work
Dedicated time to study: 2-4 hours per day, but also willing to take a leave of absence from work to knock this out as quickly as possible.
Timeline: Fast as possible would be ideal but I am willing to extend the timeframe if needed.  Overall I would like to be done within a year, but have seen people here finish at UMPI for example in a matter of months.
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: none

So I'm an IT worker with a fair amount of on-the-job experience.  Doesn't matter what degree I get, I just need one to qualify for certain labor categories at my job and continue my promotion pathway.  Looking for the swiftest way to accomplish this.

Unfortunately I'm starting a bit from scratch with no previous credits, unless there's some way to get credit from my coding bootcamps or tech certifications.  I know folks have mentioned ACE somewhere but is there a list on whether these bootcamps or certs might qualify somewhere?  Seems that a 6-month intensive bootcamp at GWU should be worth something, somewhere.

Thanks in advance for the help!

[walruspanda]

So I'm an IT worker with a fair amount of on-the-job experience.  Doesn't matter what degree I get, I just need one to qualify for certain labor categories at my job and continue my promotion pathway.  Looking for the swiftest way to accomplish this.

Unfortunately I'm starting a bit from scratch with no previous credits, unless there's some way to get credit from my coding bootcamps or tech certifications. 

I was in a similar position to you when I started looking at programs -- although I did have some college credit -- and I ended up getting my BSIT degree from PUG (Purdue Global) in ExcelTrack, largely because they were very generous with IT cert credit. In your case, because a couple of them aren't on their list, you might have to try their LRC 100 course, which takes a look at all certs you have and your work experience and gives you course credit based on that.

PUG also has the advantage of being very generous with Sophia and Study.com credit -- enough so that even if you didn't get much cert credit, you might be able, with a little work, to put yourself in a position to complete the PUG BSIT degree in three 10-week terms. (I finished ~40 credits in my first term, and that's not even the highest people have posted here.)

The other school I seriously looked at was WGU (Western Governors), which has some of the same advantages PUG has for IT degrees. For my particular situation PUG was better, but I'd consider both of them in your shoes.

[jg_nuy]

For pure check the box - BLS with project management or management information system minor (or both).

My recommendation: BABA with Project Management and Information Systems Concentration, you get two concentrations on the degree with stuff you like already know like the back of your hand:
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...egree_Plan

Another options --> A little more utility than the BLS and lots of transfer credit room - plan below.

For all options, as close to 90 credits from Sophia as you can get, a couple of classes at study dot com and 1-3 terms at UMPI for 30 credits.

Here are the UMPI plans
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:UMPI

Pierpont to UMPI plan
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pi...egree_Plan
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...egree_Plan

[allvia]

If this promotion involves management then I'd 2nd the BABA with Project Management and Information Systems Concentration path. Especially starting from zero credits (it will make almost no time/cost difference), and the long term ROI in the resume will beat a check box degree (and you're young enough it could matter). All the options that jg_nuy listed can be completed within your year goal - if you take a day or two to decide which seems to be the best fit for you, then you pick one and start 'now'.  Only you can decide how you'd prefer your resume/CV to read for the goals you have set. I believe that UMPI will be your lowest cost option either way. If any of those certifications are worth ACE credit then set up a Credly account today and get them on it ASAP - https://www.acenet.edu/National-Guide/Pa...fault.aspx

[bjcheung77]

@tr8ness, Welcome to the board, great intro post with the addendum and template plus a bit more info... I'd go with the BABA PM & IS recommendation, having said that, if you're looking for something comparable and more "Biz" or "IT", you can look at offerings from WGU as well. I suggest creating a spreadsheet plan that uses both Sophia.org, Study.com, and other ACE partners as these can transfer a max of 90 credits into both institutions! You'll be able to complete classes that go towards both if you're undecided... Basically, only 30 or so credits will be different, these are the residency credits that must be done at UMPI or WGU.