How to get a Software Engineering, Data, or CS degree for cheap in 2024?

[awildstudentappeared]

Location: US
Age: 30
What kind of degree do you want?: Bachelor's in probably Software Engineering or Data Analysis or related. Maybe CS. More on this below
Current degrees: None. Applied for Pierpont BOG AAS to turn my credits into an Associate's
Budget: 10k all in
Current Regional Accredited Credits: A lot. I'm not gonna post them all because it would take forever but it's over 60 credits from various brick and mortar schools over the years. Should knock out 90% of gen eds at almost any school. I changed schools and majors a lot.
Completed RA classes of note: Calculus I
Other: Recently signed up for Sophia


So, I've been looking at WGU's Software, Data, and CS degrees for awhile. I like how they're competency based and how that makes it possible to finish in just a term or 2. I want to get my degree as quick as possible, while also learning the relevant information well. Some posts I've seen on reddit concern me if people are really learning the foundational stuff well, when they post about taking the equivalency of whatever difficult course at the easiest provider (Study.com, Sophia, Straighterline) possible, and speedrunning the course in 3 or 4 days. I'd probably do the same for gen eds if I had any that my previous credits wouldn't knock out, or if the degree was just an HR checkbox and I already had industry experience, but that's not the case for me. When it comes to the core classes of whatever degree I pick, I want to actually learn and upskill.

I found this forum recently and was introduced to TESU. Though I still don't know much about the school it looks like it could be a good option for a CS degree with lots of people saying it's better if you have a lot of transfer credits (since you can transfer in a higher percentage of credits than you can at WGU), while WGU is better if you have industry experience and can finish the degree quickly by testing out of classes.

I enrolled in some CS classes in the past, and I think something like WGU's software engineering degree or a data degree is probably a better fit for me over CS. Learning about assembly, compilers, operating systems, architecture, and the like just doesn't interest me. Is there an alternative to WGU's SE degree out there that focuses more on the practical application of programming? It's too bad TESU only has a CS degree. On the other hand, a CS degree opens a lot of doors and employers like it.

I'm still not decided on which degree I want to get, and honestly don't think I will be until I'm exposed to more of the material. I think data analytics could be a good match for me too, but I have no hands-on experience with it other than reading about it. I'm planning to take some data focused courses on Sophia or other platforms where I can earn transferable credit while learning so I have something to show for it. If I like the data stuff a lot, I might be open to a double major. Is this a good path for now to build relevant credits while also learning exactly what I want to study? Are there any obvious degree options I'm missing? Thanks