My Journey - TESU BA Computer Science

[Ideas]

I paid for C++ finally. I don't need the course, but why not, it's pretty cheap. At least it's not Calculus! If I don't get it done during my first membership month, that's ok, although I have so much planned this year.

I feel like the course is a little shocking for someone new to programming (or not). It seems like they don't even tell you some basics like what are some possible compilers and editors to download. Anyone with some experience will figure it out quickly, but it seems very odd to me. Especially as they start with an assignment instead of quiz. It feels like you open the first page and you're being told to program something. Strange.

[davewill]

Well, here's a good guide for setting up a C++ environment on Windows. It gives you a couple of choices depending on whether you want use Microsoft Visual Studio or you would rather have a more standards compliant compiler.

http://stephencoakley.com/2015/01/21/gui...on-windows

[Ideas]

I'm very, very glad that I got the ASNSM in CS. 

It's crazy, but I'm actually thinking of not doing the BA-CS. I didn't think I would ever give up on Comp Sci, because it's been basically a dream for years and on my bucket list. However, I'm wondering about doing a Learner Designed Area of Study that is somewhat similar, yet different enough to get approved.

Fair warning: my posts are going to go all over the place regarding this decision. I'm only in the brainstorming stage, but I sometimes write a lot and come to conclusions quickly. 

All input is very appreciated, but, yes I am crazy and have an unusual situation due to my health. So please keep in mind that I am basically unable to pursue traditional career paths.

First of all, the biggest reason to not do it, in my mind, is that CS degrees get a lot of respect and therefore open doors. I'm not sure what my LDAS would be, but it needs to be something that sounds great. Personally I feel that Information Science does not get enough respect as people confuse it with Information Systems. 

Another reason to not switch off CS would be if it increases the costs by much, but if I PLA, then the costs might even be lower not higher. And with PLA I wouldn't have this hassle of trying to get into classes before they fill up, and doing 15-16 weeks of assignments, etc. Then again, I know PLA has plenty of difficulties.

I've posted before that the tech area I'm most personally interested in is Information Architecture, and it sounds a bit better than Information Science to me. I guess I wouldn't want it to be just IA, however, if they allowed. My other main areas of interest are Info Accessibility and Knowledge Management. I do have experience in those areas. But I feel those sound weaker, they sound kind of like Informatics. Also, I feel pretty sure that there are some other areas of CS/IT that I would like to study and that I'd like to work in, but that I don't exactly know what they are. It took me quite a while to realize that IA was the name for what I had already done and enjoyed. I feel like there may be some area of Data Science that is fairly related that would fit in.

Another big reason to not bother is... I'm not really sure I want to work in IA. Ok, this is a huge reason, and most people would stop right there, not consider pursuing a degree in something like this. Anyone who has been following my posts knows that I am partly doing this for personal satisfaction, partly to gain different kinds of freelance/contract work, etc. It is hard for me to decide if I would look back someday and think that the decision was crazy.

On the other hand, is it any more crazy than doing CS? In some ways, maybe doing a specific area that's related is more likely to lead to employment/contract work because it sets me apart? Then again, CS is considered kind of foundational and comes with flexibility to work in most CS/IT areas. Especially if someone adds a certification or undergrad certificate, that might be all they need. Maybe IA would pin me down too much.

I guess I imagine that maybe someday I find a great job listing which involves IA. Maybe that's not the entire job, but it's part. And maybe they don't even know they need IA. Then the degree would make me stand out among the other candidates who only have "Information Science", CIS, etc. I feel like if the job was truly IA, then that degree would be more considered than CS.

I'm assuming TESU wouldn't allow something like "Computer Sci & Info Architecture". I feel like "Computer and Information Science" isn't good because it's too much like Comp Info Systems.

One thing I like about this is I feel like there might be non-tech positions where it applies. For example, my primary direction is going to be creating educational materials, hopefully. With a tech slant. I am more interested in doing IA work in an educational field rather than for a tech company. Or, in other words, I feel like information goes along with education more than CS does.

I do feel I might regret it someday if I pass up CS, and then I feel like I'm not getting hired for what I apply for.

I'm very confused about this at this point. I actually wish that I had not gotten the BSBA, but I didn't know at the time that I would be ok with studying for more than a year.

[homeschoolmom1]

Without knowing much about the differences in degrees and jobs you describe, my advice gets back to determining what kind of job you can and want to do and then reverse engineer the degree that gets you there.

[Ideas]

I'm sticking with CompSci

But it's a real setback not getting into that class.

[TrailRunr]

I don't know your situation with health and career and been out of the forums for months, but I doubt having so many degrees to pursue is the right approach. I think you realize now that all those other degrees have become a real impediment in terms of cash and time to get the BACS. I dropped the idea of getting the BSBA-CIS when I realized I needed to focus on getting the BACS and then get the MBA as a business degree later on. Since you've basically graduated with the BSBA, which is still a good degree for many careers, just go ahead and grab the diploma before TESU makes any more changes to make it harder and more expensive to get. That BSBA is certainly much more portable and versatile than a BACS, especially if you end up hating IT careers later in life which I've seen happen to quite a number of people.

[Ideas]

I don't know your situation with health and career and been out of the forums for months, but I doubt having so many degrees to pursue is the right approach. I think you realize now that all those other degrees have become a real impediment in terms of cash and time to get the BACS. I dropped the idea of getting the BSBA-CIS when I realized I needed to focus on getting the BACS and then get the MBA as a business degree later on. Since you've basically graduated with the BSBA, which is still a good degree for many careers, just go ahead and grab the diploma before TESU makes any more changes to make it harder and more expensive to get. That BSBA is certainly much more portable and versatile than a BACS, especially if you end up hating IT careers later in life which I've seen happen to quite a number of people.

Well I've been certain of the BA-CS for 5-6 months, and the only reason I considered something else was because I learned additional info about the LDAS, so I spent a day considering it. I found that wasn't right for me.

I somewhat regret doing the BSBA, but I didn't realize until 3-6 months ago that it didn't fit with my plans. There was no way to know before that, because I was sure that I wanted only "any" cheaper, faster degree. (But it happens that I enjoy studying business and found it somewhat easier due to prior knowledge in various business subjects.) I should not have done it, probably, but it was cheap and fast. However, since I have the BSBA, I am looking at the bright side. I really like that I did the Marketing concentration.

Unfortunately I think the BA-CS will take a while (a year), but it's not something I'm planning to give up on. If necessary I will spread it out, however, due to pursuing some other things.

I am still planning to get other degrees, but I feel they fit into a Master plan, and my approach is pretty cheap and fast. The BA-CS is part of that plan.

[Merlin]

I don't know your situation with health and career and been out of the forums for months, but I doubt having so many degrees to pursue is the right approach. I think you realize now that all those other degrees have become a real impediment in terms of cash and time to get the BACS. I dropped the idea of getting the BSBA-CIS when I realized I needed to focus on getting the BACS and then get the MBA as a business degree later on. Since you've basically graduated with the BSBA, which is still a good degree for many careers, just go ahead and grab the diploma before TESU makes any more changes to make it harder and more expensive to get. That BSBA is certainly much more portable and versatile than a BACS, especially if you end up hating IT careers later in life which I've seen happen to quite a number of people.

Well I've been certain of the BA-CS for 5-6 months, and the only reason I considered something else was because I learned additional info about the LDAS, so I spent a day considering it. I found that wasn't right for me.

I somewhat regret doing the BSBA, but I didn't realize until 3-6 months ago that it didn't fit with my plans. There was no way to know before that, because I was sure that I wanted only "any" cheaper, faster degree. (But it happens that I enjoy studying business and found it somewhat easier due to prior knowledge in various business subjects.) I should not have done it, probably, but it was cheap and fast. However, since I have the BSBA, I am looking at the bright side. I really like that I did the Marketing concentration.

Unfortunately I think the BA-CS will take a while (a year), but it's not something I'm planning to give up on. If necessary I will spread it out, however, due to pursuing some other things.

I am still planning to get other degrees, but I feel they fit into a Master plan, and my approach is pretty cheap and fast. The BA-CS is part of that plan.

Once you have the BSBA, have you considered just getting an undergrad (or grad) certificate in Computer Science instead of pursuing an additional bachelor's degree? It is effectively the same thing and less additional work.

I my case, I don't need a CS degree for my work, but I already have the experience of being a CS engineer for the last 30 years, so I figure I might as well get the credential. I'm considering the ASNSM-CS and/or BSBA-CIS concentration add-on to my BSBA, though I'm also considering just picking up a CS certificate instead. My ultimate goal is an MSML and/or MBA in IT Management since that is more my focus these days, but I like the idea of having the CS credential on there as well... particularly if I can get it quickly and cheaply.

[Ideas]

Once you have the BSBA, have you considered just getting an undergrad (or grad) certificate in Computer Science instead of pursuing an additional bachelor's degree? It is effectively the same thing and less additional work.

I my case, I don't need a CS degree for my work, but I already have the experience of being a CS engineer for the last 30 years, so I figure I might as well get the credential. I'm considering the ASNSM-CS and/or BSBA-CIS concentration add-on to my BSBA, though I'm also considering just picking up a CS certificate instead. My ultimate goal is an MSML and/or MBA in IT Management since that is more my focus these days, but I like the idea of having the CS credential on there as well... particularly if I can get it quickly and cheaply.

I have the BSBA. I think that most grad certs would not be easier for me and not cheaper, because you don't have the ability to do Saylor, DSST, cheap community college, etc. Undergrad isn't enough. I already have the ASNSM-CS, which I'm glad I have, in case somehow I don't finish this, but I plan to someday, if not this year. There are some other plans which may delay the BA-CS

Do you have any CS credits done already? I think adding the CIS concentration would be easier and cheaper than the undergrad CS cert!

[Merlin]

Once you have the BSBA, have you considered just getting an undergrad (or grad) certificate in Computer Science instead of pursuing an additional bachelor's degree? It is effectively the same thing and less additional work.

I my case, I don't need a CS degree for my work, but I already have the experience of being a CS engineer for the last 30 years, so I figure I might as well get the credential. I'm considering the ASNSM-CS and/or BSBA-CIS concentration add-on to my BSBA, though I'm also considering just picking up a CS certificate instead. My ultimate goal is an MSML and/or MBA in IT Management since that is more my focus these days, but I like the idea of having the CS credential on there as well... particularly if I can get it quickly and cheaply.

I have the BSBA. I think that most grad certs would not be easier for me and not cheaper, because you don't have the ability to do Saylor, DSST, cheap community college, etc. Undergrad isn't enough. I already have the ASNSM-CS, which I'm glad I have, in case somehow I don't finish this, but I plan to someday, if not this year. There are some other plans which may delay the BA-CS

Do you have any CS credits done already? I think adding the CIS concentration would be easier and cheaper than the undergrad CS cert!

Yeah for the grad cert you couldn't use those options, but you could for the undergrad cert. Though given you already have the ASNSM-CS that might not be as valuable (or as easy to do since you've probably already used all the Saylor options, etc.) Though I would expect that the CS course requirements for the BACS are pretty close to the same as the undergrad CS cert, except it doesn't have the higher math or science prereqs.

As for me, for the CIS/COS course of study, the courses I have taken so far evaluate as CAP-295, CAP-385, COS-102, COS-107, CIS-301, and CIS-344. To get the BSBA-CIS (and probably the ASNSM-CS) I should just need to add the SL C++ course (COS-213), Saylor Software Engineering (CIS-351) and Shmoop/Study.com Introduction to E-Commerce (CIS-360) and then either PLA or take the CSU-Global CBE for Info Systems Design. The last course is the rub... while the PLA option seems the most straightforward, its the most expensive. The CSU-Global CBE seems like it might be a crap shoot since its just an exam and I don't know enough about it or where the questions are drawn from to know how close my personal experience is to the material in the test... plus its also on the pricey side.  I might just go with the ASNSM-CS since it only requires 16 CS credits and doesn't appear to require the Info Systems Design course. Though that point, I'd just need that Info Systems course to get the CIS concentration as well, so it seems like I might as well just do it.

I was also thinking about just trying to get an undergrad cert later on since I could come back to get that any time after I had the BSBA and I wouldn't have to worry about trying to get it all done in the same graduation cycle. Though it appears to require taking a number of courses that don't have cheap/easy online options, such as data structures and computer architecture. So maybe not such a good option after all.