Degree Plan for BS in Information Technology

[BadBradsBBQ]

Hello, 

I am already in an entry level IT job and have worked up to a management position. I have worked there 5 years and want to get out of help desk management and pursue something more technical/hands on, but in order to get even an interview at most companies in the area, they require the candidate to have a bachelor's degree in computer science or information technology. I have read the Beginners Guide and the Wiki but not sure what all is still relevant as many things there have been listed as out of date.

I have a full time job and don't really have time to test at a site and would rather do everything online if possible. Of course I can make exceptions if it makes the most sense.
The faster I can get the degree while working full time, the better. That is my #1 priority.
Fast > Easy > Cheap are my priorities in that order.

I have not applied/enrolled in any school yet as I still don't really have a grasp on even how gen ed's work across the degree plans/schools.
I have taken 1 class at a community college for English Comp I and passed with a 98%. I have zero certifications to help matters.

I am open to the Big 3/WGU, I am really looking for some help on a degree plan for Information Technology (or similar if one of the offshoot degrees are much faster/easier to achieve). I just need some help to determine which school will get me the degree I need and in the most time/cost efficient manner possible. Then with some help plugging in a spreadsheet, I should be on my way and this thread could then be used for future IT degree seekers that have no college under their belt.

P.S. I might be pursuing government jobs after this milestone if that makes any difference.

Thanks in advance,
Brad

[davewill]

Does your employer offer reimbursement for either tuition or certifications? in general, WGU is thought highly of here for IT since you end up with a number of certs as you do the program. If your employer reimburses certs, then you can do some of them on their dime, then get credit for them when you enroll at WGU.

[allvia]

WGU is likely your quickest option.  And as davewill said it is often the most recommended here for the IT/CS degrees - as it can be quick and cheap (easy is relative to what you already know)

[BadBradsBBQ]

Current employer will not reimburse for any education or certs. I have looked into WGU and do like the idea of being able to get both a degree and a variety of certs at the same time. I am finding it harder to put together a good degree plan with WGU than with the Big 3.  As an example, I can't seem to find equivalencies for study.com courses for WGU.

[quigongene]

I only transferred in 3 SDC courses, but I found these guides very helpful:

https://partners.wgu.edu/transferguidelines

[bluebooger]

 I am finding it harder to put together a good degree plan with WGU... 

then don't put one together 

just sign up and do it 

it costs the same no matter how many courses you do in a term 

do 4 courses -- do 20 courses -- its the same price $3225 

they've got everything listed https://www.wgu.edu/content/dam/western-.../BS_IT.pdf

just enroll and get started 

in the time you spend trying to develop a degree plan, find and complete courses elsewhere and then transfer them and wait for an evaluation you could have already completed the same courses and more through WGU

[mysonx3]

@bluebooger I was under the impression that once you apply at WGU you can't transfer in any credits. Is that not the case?

[quigongene]

@bluebooger I was under the impression that once you apply at WGU you can't transfer in any credits. Is that not the case?

Not the case at all. Once you pay and go through orientation, you can't xfer in credits. I started a month later than planned so I could transfer in the CCSK and MIS DSST.

[mysonx3]

@quigongene Yes, I misphrased my question. What I meant to say is that you can't transfer after starting, which you confirmed. Thanks for clarifying.

[jsd]

@bluebooger I was under the impression that once you apply at WGU you can't transfer in any credits. Is that not the case?

This is the case for ENROLLING, not applying. Do not enroll in WGU until you have everything you want to transfer in.

The link to transfer guide above is the best place to start. Only courses that are allowed to be transferred in are listed. If it's no on there, it needs to be done through WGU.

WGU takes Study.com, Straighterline, Sophia, Saylor... most of the stuff we talk about here. It's been reported that they don't take Shmoop. As far as any of us have gathered, they only take ACE and not NCCRS recommendations (so double check if you use Saylor or Study.com, sometimes one of their courses will have NCCRS approval but not ACE)