Advanced degrees

[Gregory Childers]

This poll is open to all participants on the CIN message boards, from instructors to CompTIA staff.

Do you possess an advanced degree, and if you do, is it technical or non-technical?

Feel free to discuss the topic below, but please leave your response in the poll.

 

[Gregory Childers]

I have a Bachelor's degree with a major in Sociology. I'm considering signing up for a Master's program in Cybersecurity, but I'm interested in hearing other people's responses and experiences. How has your degree helped you, either through domain knowledge or professionally?

I was training to be a social worker, but the job didn't pay enough to repay my student loans. I found a job in logistics loading boxes on trucks for a Fortune 500 Pharmaceutical company. They had a job opening in the data center, and the warehouse manager spoke to the data center manager and highly recommended me. As a result, I got the job without interviewing for it. I was responsible for business continuity, disaster recovery, hardware repair, help desk, hardware maintenance, reporting, Y2K testing, etc. That was the start of my technical career. I didn't seek it out. It found me.

 

[BrianFord]

I have a Bachelor's degree with a major in Sociology. I'm considering signing up for a Master's program in Cybersecurity, but I'm interested in hearing other people's responses and experiences. How has your degree helped you, either through domain knowledge or professionally?

I was training to be a social worker, but the job needed to pay more to repay my student loans. I found a job in logistics loading boxes on trucks for a Fortune 500 Pharmaceutical company. They had a job opening in the data center, and the warehouse manager spoke to the data center manager and highly recommended me. As a result, I got the job without interviewing for it. I was responsible for business continuity, disaster recovery, hardware repair, help desk, hardware maintenance, reporting, Y2K testing, etc. That was the start of my technical career. I didn't seek it out. It found me.

Thanks for the post and the poll, Greg!

I started out my career earning a B.S. in Computer Science in 5.5 years. I worked as a programmer for about five years before moving to networking and management. Ten years into networking, I faced a dilemma: I had my CCIE and a bunch of cybersecurity certifications. I couldn't maintain everything. I walked away from networking. It was at that point I sought out a graduate program in cybersecurity. I chose Norwich, which had/has a remote graduate program. When I was there, we had to attend an annual residency on campus for a week to 10 days. I'm unsure if they do that anymore, but it was fantastic. My employer paid 100% and gave me a 1-year assignment to the incident response team. At the time, the degree was in Information Assurance (M.S.I.A.). They now have a cyber program with specialties. I highly recommend it.

 

[Mark Anthony Germanos]

I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations Policy Problems from Michigan State University. If anybody wants to know why the world has so many America haters, just see me.

 

[Brandon G]

I have a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers Univ.-Newark and M.A. in Organizational Leadership from Claremont Lincoln Univ. IMHO, my degree has help both domain knowledge and professionally. It has afforded me additional opportunities to teach college courses aligned to the CompTIA and other certification standards.

 

[Jill West]

I have two masters' degrees, one technical (IT) and one non-technical (education). Bachelor's is in psychology--I also originally planned on going into social work and worked in inner city Memphis for a couple years (eye-opening experience). I even completed a year in an MSSW program. Changed gears to education, which eventually led to IT.

 

[Steve Linthicum]

I have a Juris Doctorate, and a BS in engineering. From an academic employment point of view, the doctorate certainly provided benefit on the College's salary schedule. The problem with laws is the speed for enactment is simply too slow to keep pace with the rapid changes in technology.

 

[Gregory Childers]

I have two masters' degrees, one technical (IT) and one non-technical (education). Bachelor's is in psychology--I also originally planned on going into social work and worked in inner city Memphis for a couple years (eye-opening experience). I even completed a year in an MSSW program. Changed gears to education, which eventually led to IT.

I grew up and went to college in Memphis. Imagine if we had both been social workers in Memphis instead of working as technical trainers.

 

[Rick Butler]

Well, I have a BS in IT with a Networking concentration from the University of Phoenix and a Masters in Management of IT and Project Management from Colorado Technical. I am looking (once I can scrape the cash together) of going for the Cybersecurity Doctorate over at Dakota State.

Never would have gathered that @Jill West and @Greg Childers would have gone the social work route, but there it is.

But if I decide to hang up my IT fedora, you'll probably find me in a church, as I'm doing a few things that might lead to an ordination...maybe.

 

[Gregory Childers]

But if I decide to hang up my IT fedora, you'll probably find me in a church, as I'm doing a few things that might lead to an ordination...maybe.

Can a CINner be ordained?

 

[Rick Butler]

Can a CINner be ordained?

I've heard of weirder around here.

 

[Patrick Asamago]

Well, I have a BS in IT with a Networking concentration from the University of Phoenix and a Masters in Management of IT and Project Management from Colorado Technical. I am looking (once I can scrape the cash together) of going for the Cybersecurity Doctorate over at Dakota State.

Never would have gathered that @Jill West and @Greg Childers would have gone the social work route, but there it is.

But if I decide to hang up my IT fedora, you'll probably find me in a church, as I'm doing a few things that might lead to an ordination...maybe.

I thinking of Cybersecurity Doctorate too.

 

[Jill West]

I grew up and went to college in Memphis. Imagine if we had both been social workers in Memphis instead of working as technical trainers.

When were you there? We moved to Memphis in '96, left in '02. Both got our masters' at U of M (well, it was still "Memphis State" when hubby graduated in 2000, then it was "Univ of Memphis" when I graduated a year later, lol).

 

[Gregory Childers]

When were you there? We moved to Memphis in '96, left in '02. Both got our masters' at U of M (well, it was still "Memphis State" when hubby graduated in 2000, then it was "Univ of Memphis" when I graduated a year later, lol).

I lived there until 2013. I enrolled at Memphis State University but graduated from the University of Memphis in 1995. The name changed on July 1, 1994.

 

[Jill West]

I lived there until 2013. I enrolled at Memphis State University but graduated from the University of Memphis in 1995. The name changed on July 1, 1994.

Oh weird--somehow I remembered that hubby graduated under the old name, and I graduated under the new name. Hrm. Now I have to go back and check documentation to see what it was that changed, lol. Our undergraduate school had a bit of a change in the year between our graduations, too--we were the "Pacers" when hubby graduated and the "Skyhawks" when I graduated.