08-30-2018, 12:13 PM
I've posted this on our "sister forum" as well - so this may be a duplicate post for a few of you.
Question for those of you in computer occupations. My high school senior son is taking dual enrollment at our local community college on campus. His teacher for his OS and Device Foundations course has been a great inspiration for him, and my son is interested in pursuing the Digital Forensics AAS after he graduates.
I have some questions because if he does pursue this program, I want to be sure it's worth it for him.
Here's what you should know about him: he is homeschooled and will graduate June 1 from high school with his diploma and also his AS from Charter Oak (he has everything completed except his Cornerstone).
He has taken all online courses up until this course on campus- and his engagement/enthusiasm has been below average. Our plan was to have him finish his bachelor's at COSC. He's a good student, get's A's, but just wasn't into anything until this class. This ON CAMPUS class lit his fire- so while I know he can easily do his bachelor's at COSC (he currently has over 100 credits) I want him to learn the foundation of his career on campus with a live teacher- so a plus for me is that most (not all) of the AAS courses are on campus.
The more I read about careers in digital forensics the more confused I become. I think it's the same as cybersecurity, but I'm not sure. I also know that THIS AAS won't accept any of his gen eds from COSC and that our local 4 year university won't accept our local AAS in transfer there - so we have a big decision to make:
AAS - starting from scratch, 70 credits while (maybe?) simultaneously doing a bachelor's at COSC too. He could do a business degree for cheap/fast, but they have Cybersecurity that wouldn't be cheap or fast- but it would give him a bachelor's and would build on the AAS.
other option:
UNC-Charlotte (local uni) not only has this degree, but is also a participant in the CyberCorps Scholarship program. This would put him into an internship at some point in Washington DC as well as a service obligation wtih the NSA. The huge cons of this degree, are that it's computer science and he doesn't meet the admissions requirements. He *could* eventually meet the requirements, but we'd have at least a year of courses at the CC to make that happen. He needs SAT scores (doesn't have) and needs to be at Calculus 1 (he's in Algebra). It's a very high bar he'd have to hit just to qualify, let alone gain admission or receive the scholarship (no guarantee).
I'm ready, willing, and able to help him be successful, so - the BIG QUESTION is whether or not he needs a degree in computer science to make this happen. If he doesn't need a computer science degree, we're ready to go straight into the AAS - but I don't want him to invest 2 1/2 years only to be under-employed. If we found that out AFTER the AAS, he'd essentially be starting his bachelor's at UNCC from scratch- and no matter what he does, we're not investing 7 years in his undergrad.
Advice or suggestions would be really appreciated at this point!! THANKS!
EDIT to add: this is the course list for the AAS http://www.cpcc.edu/it/programs-of-study..._06_18.pdf
and the Department of Labor Occupational Outlook handbooks says a bachelor's degree is typical for entry level Information Security Analysist but lists computer science as one of several degrees that would work - also listed are "Information security analysts usually need at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information assurance, programming, or a related field."
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-inf...alysts.htm
Question for those of you in computer occupations. My high school senior son is taking dual enrollment at our local community college on campus. His teacher for his OS and Device Foundations course has been a great inspiration for him, and my son is interested in pursuing the Digital Forensics AAS after he graduates.
I have some questions because if he does pursue this program, I want to be sure it's worth it for him.
Here's what you should know about him: he is homeschooled and will graduate June 1 from high school with his diploma and also his AS from Charter Oak (he has everything completed except his Cornerstone).
He has taken all online courses up until this course on campus- and his engagement/enthusiasm has been below average. Our plan was to have him finish his bachelor's at COSC. He's a good student, get's A's, but just wasn't into anything until this class. This ON CAMPUS class lit his fire- so while I know he can easily do his bachelor's at COSC (he currently has over 100 credits) I want him to learn the foundation of his career on campus with a live teacher- so a plus for me is that most (not all) of the AAS courses are on campus.
The more I read about careers in digital forensics the more confused I become. I think it's the same as cybersecurity, but I'm not sure. I also know that THIS AAS won't accept any of his gen eds from COSC and that our local 4 year university won't accept our local AAS in transfer there - so we have a big decision to make:
AAS - starting from scratch, 70 credits while (maybe?) simultaneously doing a bachelor's at COSC too. He could do a business degree for cheap/fast, but they have Cybersecurity that wouldn't be cheap or fast- but it would give him a bachelor's and would build on the AAS.
other option:
UNC-Charlotte (local uni) not only has this degree, but is also a participant in the CyberCorps Scholarship program. This would put him into an internship at some point in Washington DC as well as a service obligation wtih the NSA. The huge cons of this degree, are that it's computer science and he doesn't meet the admissions requirements. He *could* eventually meet the requirements, but we'd have at least a year of courses at the CC to make that happen. He needs SAT scores (doesn't have) and needs to be at Calculus 1 (he's in Algebra). It's a very high bar he'd have to hit just to qualify, let alone gain admission or receive the scholarship (no guarantee).
I'm ready, willing, and able to help him be successful, so - the BIG QUESTION is whether or not he needs a degree in computer science to make this happen. If he doesn't need a computer science degree, we're ready to go straight into the AAS - but I don't want him to invest 2 1/2 years only to be under-employed. If we found that out AFTER the AAS, he'd essentially be starting his bachelor's at UNCC from scratch- and no matter what he does, we're not investing 7 years in his undergrad.
Advice or suggestions would be really appreciated at this point!! THANKS!
EDIT to add: this is the course list for the AAS http://www.cpcc.edu/it/programs-of-study..._06_18.pdf
and the Department of Labor Occupational Outlook handbooks says a bachelor's degree is typical for entry level Information Security Analysist but lists computer science as one of several degrees that would work - also listed are "Information security analysts usually need at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information assurance, programming, or a related field."
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-inf...alysts.htm
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