In my 30s and looking to finish my degree in Computer Engineer/Science

[RichardN]

@RichardN

Are you a California resident for residency purposes at California community colleges? (eg. 3 years of high school in CA but reside out-of-state) If so, there are some alternatives we can discuss privately for completing some GE courses that would be better than CLEP or DSST.

I live in California, more specifically Mammoth Lakes ( a ski town) and there's no real community colleges in the area that have a technical focus. I'm looking for the fastest route to get a degree. It's more for me just completing something I started and having a focus of a technical degree would be beneficial.

[TrailRunr]

I live in California, more specifically Mammoth Lakes ( a ski town) and there's no real community colleges in the area that have a technical focus. I'm looking for the fastest route to get a degree. It's more for me just completing something I started and having a focus of a technical degree would be beneficial.

PM on the way. Doesn't matter where you live. I would love to live near Mammoth and ski every day and then work on my degree after a session of powpow.

[subhuman]

At UMUC, you can get a bachelors in Cybersecurity with just 10 online classes (30 credits) for residency. The rest can be work experience, CLEP, DSST, and tech certs (A+, NET+...). Just make sure you get the Upper Level credits you need with DSST.

Plus UMUC is regionally accredited and a member of University System of Maryland.

[Outis]

Yes, I understand CE, SE, and CS are all different. I'm not really looking to enter the industry, but more awareness and just a desire to finish some technical degree. I'd like to just learn with an ability to speak more intelligently to my team (I run a tech start up) and perhaps get into the trenches if need be. Maybe someday fall back on IP Law in my later years, but that requires an engineering degree not CS (from what I know). At least that is my train of thought.

Another option is to complete the fastest technical degree with my current credits, to test out of as many units as I can and avoid taking courses. Perhaps that would be the TESU CIS Degree?

I can understand the first train of thought. The second train of thought - to finish the degree as quick as possible by testing out of exams -- will not get you to where you want to be (speaking with your team more technically, etc. etc.); it will get you a diploma. If you run a tech start up, I don't understand the rush. I'd be much more inclined to go the first route.


You can do IP law with a CS degree, but the idiots require ABET accredited CS courses. Many - most - CS programs are not ABET accredited. And, I would like to say that 99.9% of lawyers would balk at the suggestion that someone will "fall back" on IP law. It's not for the faint of heart (from what "they" say....).

[RichardN]

I can understand the first train of thought. The second train of thought - to finish the degree as quick as possible by testing out of exams -- will not get you to where you want to be (speaking with your team more technically, etc. etc.); it will get you a diploma. If you run a tech start up, I don't understand the rush. I'd be much more inclined to go the first route.


You can do IP law with a CS degree, but the idiots require ABET accredited CS courses. Many - most - CS programs are not ABET accredited. And, I would like to say that 99.9% of lawyers would balk at the suggestion that someone will "fall back" on IP law. It's not for the faint of heart (from what "they" say....).

How long will it take to complete a BA in CS @ TESU with the credits I have. To my understanding, I have really just the major specific courses to take on top of Linear Algebra and Discrete Math. The requirements for TESU doesn't include Cal III where as my previous school SJSU did. Can I use that credit elsewhere?

[TrailRunr]

The calc 3 could go to GE, free electives or other. It won't help with anything in the AOS for CS. My calc 3 got dumped into the "other" pile of unused courses.

The actual requirement is:
> Complete Calculus I and II for a total of 6 semester hours
> (SH), with a grade of C or better.

[dfrecore]

There is no way we can tell you how long it would take you to finish your degree. All we can do is show you the path, and it's then up to you to decide how quickly you want to go (how hard you want to work) to get what you can quickly. There are also courses that you can't test out of, so it depends on when/where you can get those courses, and how long they take to complete.

The BA CS degree offers more flexibility in the free elective areas, but the required courses are harder to find, more expensive. Many will be through schools where you have to take the courses in a semester format.

uni.edu offers Data Structures for $664 in a self-paced format

OK State offers Linear Algebra for $609, not sure of the format

TX State offers Discrete Math for $784, not sure of the format

The remaining CS electives can be found, but will take some work on your end.

[RichardN]

Here's a spreadsheet showing what you would need to complete the BSBA in CIS at TESU. I included 8 TECEP's (minimum needed for residency), and then tried to get everything I could find at Straighterline. You have other options if you don't want to use them, but it's one of those things where if you're going to take courses there anyway, you might as well take a bunch and get it over with.

I also included a free Insurance Ethics course: Preserve the trust on which insurance transactions are based with an understanding of ethics where you don't have to take the course, you can just pass the exam with a 70% and you're done (and you can retake is as many times as you need to).

There are some additional courses you can take through Saylor, but I've heard they are more time-consuming than SL, so I didn't include them if there weren't other options.

If you want alternatives to any of these, most have them, but I tried to keep it to as few places as possible to make it a little simpler.

You are truly amazing. Thank you for making this a lot easier to see what direction I need to take. If I wanted a dual major in CIS and HR, most of the requirements for the CIS is met, what additional courses can I take to get the HR concentration as well? I feel like I can test out of most of the HR requirements as I have about 9 years of experience in that area.

[RichardN]

There is no way we can tell you how long it would take you to finish your degree. All we can do is show you the path, and it's then up to you to decide how quickly you want to go (how hard you want to work) to get what you can quickly. There are also courses that you can't test out of, so it depends on when/where you can get those courses, and how long they take to complete.

The BA CS degree offers more flexibility in the free elective areas, but the required courses are harder to find, more expensive. Many will be through schools where you have to take the courses in a semester format.

uni.edu offers Data Structures for $664 in a self-paced format

OK State offers Linear Algebra for $609, not sure of the format

TX State offers Discrete Math for $784, not sure of the format

The remaining CS electives can be found, but will take some work on your end.

Thanks again for this! I realized I forgot to add a course I took:

San Jose City College ENGL-1B English Composition A 3
Which meets one of the requirements.

[bluebooger]

https://www.uni.edu/continuinged/distanc...es/cs-1520

go here
Undergraduate Courses by Area of Study : Athabasca University
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COMPUTER SCIENCE - COMP