Should I pursue a degree related to my MOS as 25B ?

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 21:55:02 -0400

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 27 at 2016 10:01 PM

PO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 22:01:25 -0400

Absolutely. Try UMUC, they have great programs.

http://www.umuc.edu/academic-programs/information-technology.cfm

Online IT & Computer Science Bachelor's & Master's Degrees | UMUC

University of Maryland University College offers online technology degree programs including computer science, forensics, networking and information systems.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Aug 27 at 2016 10:04 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 22:04:53 -0400

http://www.uopeople.edu

Look at the Assoc and Bach in comp sci, they're DETC accred, not regional, I also don't know how the svcs , VA, or industry views them, the one good thing is they're nonprofit, and, I gather, except for admin and exam costs, free, there's apparently no tuition, I figured, what's to lose by seeing if the svcs might accept a DETC accred school. Ask first to be sure, they also, I gather, don't take transfers, apparently, I've read good things about them, however, they're new, so check thoroughly, however, for the low cost involved, I just thought they could be a bargain, I've been mentioning them on here for awhile now, I'll try to send in others as well.

UoPeople - The world's first tuition-freeAccredited Online University

Welcome to the world’s first non-profit, tuition-free, accredited, online, American university. Follow your dreams. Your career starts here.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Aug 27 at 2016 10:07 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 22:07:12 -0400

http://www.excelsior.edu

Regionally accredited, formerly part of NYS govt, it was privatized, very SVC friendly, call their toll free and speak with them at length. I got a 2nd Bach in math froim them, a friend got his Bach in math, then went OCS using it, so I know they're quite real, from all I've seen.

www.excelsior.edu

Excelsior College, an online college with degree programs, courses and exams in Business, Technology, Nursing, Liberal Arts, Health Sciences and Public Service.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 27 at 2016 10:09 PM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 22:09:25 -0400

SSG Private RallyPoint Member Working on a degree is an outstanding choice. Do you enjoy being an Information Technology Specialist, and want to continue in this field as a career? Are you considering the Army as a career? Below are the education requirements for a civilian career in this field. Best wishes.

Education requirements vary depending on the IT specialty. While some IT specialists work their way up with professional certifications, most experts begin their careers with an information technology degree at the associate or bachelor level. IT certifications are useful for building specialist expertise and staying up to date on the latest advances in a specific area of information technology

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Aug 27 at 2016 10:09 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 22:09:57 -0400

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_College_of_the_Air_Force

If you've gone through svc school tech training, if you haven't looked at them, you very def should, I've known of enlisted from other svcs being allowed to use them ...

Community College of the Air Force - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) is a federal program offered by the United States Air Force which grants two-year Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees in association with Air University.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Aug 27 at 2016 10:12 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 22:12:06 -0400

http://www.navycollegepace.com/

You might try this one also, other svcs might be allowed, I don't know for sure....

NCPACE

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Aug 27 at 2016 10:13 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 22:13:49 -0400

http://www.faytechcc.edu/military-veterans/army/

This has been mentioned on here a good deal of late....

Army - Fayetteville Technical Community College

FTCC’s most popular and most flexible degree is the Associate in General Education (AGE), which allows you to capitalize on your credits earned through military training and transfer with ease to one of FTCC’s partner institutions for an advanced degree.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 27 at 2016 10:13 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 22:13:59 -0400

Thank you all for your responses

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Aug 27 at 2016 10:14 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 22:14:28 -0400

http://www.faytechcc.edu/military-veterans/

Look at this also....

Military & Veterans - Fayetteville Technical Community College

1. Earn Credit forMilitary Trainingto reduce the time it takes to earn your associate degree. Select abranch to get started: Air Force | Army | Coast Guard | Marine Corps | Navy

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Aug 27 at 2016 10:15 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 22:15:19 -0400

http://www.faytechcc.edu/military-veterans/credit-for-military-training/

And this....

Credit for Military Training - Fayetteville Technical Community College

Whether advancing in the military or transitioning to the civilian workforce, FTCC is committed to your success. As the leader in Credit for Prior Learning

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Aug 27 at 2016 10:16 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 22:16:52 -0400

If you haven't done your Assoc yet, I honestly think CCAF might benyour best chance to avoid losing out on using what you've already done thus far, however,howeverm, check all of them....

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Aug 27 at 2016 10:19 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 22:19:01 -0400

I have sevl other ideas for you,mtry to elaborate on your background and or interests, I might be able to give you other ideas, I don't want to overwhelm, check what I sent first, and give me to your thoughts, I'd be eager to hear more, many thanks....

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Aug 27 at 2016 10:23 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 22:23:51 -0400

I think I might seriously be able to point you in good directions, give me more background, elaborate, as I said, as much as possible, explain what prior training and not college you've had, and your objectives. Try to be as highly detailed and specific as possible, the more you give me, the more I might be able to help....

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Aug 27 at 2016 10:25 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 22:25:14 -0400

Sorry for typos temperamental tablet, I obv meant explain your college thus far of course....

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Aug 28 at 2016 3:28 AM

SPC Erich Guenther — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 03:28:11 -0400

IT is the field I work in and I have worked at USAREC on a Army contract in my past which was the 1990's. Feel free to correct me if the Army has changed in your MOS since then. However when I was working at USAREC the only things they would let the uniformed Army do as far as IT was Computer Network Management, Management of Servers and installing Microsoft Windows and Office products. The actual Computer Programming and Systems Maintenence they would only let the Civilians do. If you persue a degree in MIS it is going to be much broader coverage of IT then what you do in the Army currently and it will cover programming and you will take programming courses. Nothing wrong with that IF that is what interests you. Otherwise will let you know that the degree you choose is not necessarily relevant to your Military Career that you end up with. So for example you may obtain a Bachelors of MIS but not otherwise score high enough to land a job in the Army Signals Branch...........perhaps you land a Officer slot in Logistics. On the civilian side MIS and Logistics is a HOT Combination but on the Military side, not many folks are going to care what your degree is in because the Army will train you in everything you need to know in your Officer Branch. Not sure if that all makes sense to you. Bottom line is choose a degree field that BOTH interests you and could work to your advantage on the outside if say the Army Officer field does not really appeal to you. MIS or Computer Science is a good degree to have inside or outside the Army (Army will be looking for cyber warfare folks shortly). But if you think MIS and Computer Science is boring then your wasting your time with that degree. Degree choice stays with you for life, inside or outside of the military.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 28 at 2016 5:32 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 05:32:28 -0400

As a fellow 25B, I would advise you think about this more so as a personal choice than a professional one. Do you want to make the military a career or purse the IT field after your initial contract is up? If so, by all means I encourage you to pursue your degree in IT. I'm currently working on my Associate's Degree in Computer Information Security through Central Texas College because I want to put in at least 20 years in the Army, hopefully retire as a CSM somewhere down the line. Personally, I don't want to do IT when I get out of the Army. I plan on doing my Bachelor's degree in Sports Medicine because I'm fascinated in kinesiology, the science of how the human body moves. Just keep that in mind brother.

Response by Maj Marty Hogan made Aug 28 at 2016 8:02 AM

Maj Marty Hogan — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 08:02:26 -0400

They can never take education from you. I pursued my degree much later in life- I had a great adviser- long story short I finished my General Studies degree with a Business concentration. Many doors have opened since and two full career changes within my dual status career as a full time Guardsman.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 28 at 2016 8:08 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 08:08:12 -0400

Think about it this way. As an employer would you rather huge a guy with a degree and experience in a field, or a guy with a degree and no experience. Get the degree in what your MOS is so that you can leverage yourself into a higher salary bracket.

Response by COL Jason Smallfield, PMP, CFM, CM made Aug 28 at 2016 9:28 AM

COL Jason Smallfield, PMP, CFM, CM — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 09:28:54 -0400

Should you pursue a degree related to your MOS as a 25B? A few thoughts:
- Short answer is that it depends.
- Long answer is that I recommend you answer the below questions yourself which should lead you to an answer to your original question:
1. What are your personal and professional goals 1, 5, and 10 years out?
2. How long do you plan to remain within the military?
3. At what point do you plan to retire or ETS from the military?
4. How does obtaining a degree related to your MOS help you achieve your personal and professional goals either in or out of the military?
5. Depending upon your answers to the above, what other credentials other than a degree can and should you consider to help you achieve your personal and professional goals? Credentials can include but are not limited to: education, licenses, certifications.

Response by SGT Pete Masullo made Aug 28 at 2016 9:54 AM

SGT Pete Masullo — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 09:54:18 -0400

Depending on how young you were when you joined, you may not want to continue doing what you did in the military as a civilian. Lots of troops get out and pursue careers entirely unrelated to their military specialty. Sure lots of MPs become cops and 68s become EMTs...but lots of former infantry guys go into banking or real estate. Intel folks go into teaching or sales. The world is a lot bigger the younger you are and directional changes are easily absorbed into a life. I would advise anyone pursuing a degree to choose one that is marketable. If it's not very high demand like engineering, then pick a degree that makes you a better person and an intellectual addition to society.

Response by SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 28 at 2016 6:45 PM

SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 18:45:08 -0400

I would recommend getting hands on experience before pursuing a degree in IT. Jot down everything you've done via STAR (Situation, Task, Action and Results). This will give you a foundation for jobs. Pursue certifications in areas that you are competent in.... I see too many people studying their ass off for CISSP and don't even work in Security.... and when they go for a security position and they start asking behavioral questions, duhhhhhh.

IT is one of those fields where a degree isn't the holy grail into getting a position. Employers want real world examples and that you are able to think on your feet and use the resources around you (Google, stackoverflow, youtube, etc).

But now it boils down to your own personal goals?
1) Are you planning on staying in the military past your original contract?
2) Commissioning in your sights?
3) Do you ever want to be in management?
4) Do you actually enjoy being in the field? And would you do the work for a low wage?

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 28 at 2016 8:35 PM

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 20:35:30 -0400

Yes, if you want to make a career of IT whether you stay in or get out. Getting a degree could set you apart from your peers, and help you move up. You might be able to go to OCS with one, and you could, if you decide to go Warrant, be more competitive than others.....

Those letters after my name stand for Master of Software Engineering...and helped me get a good job with Booz Allen Hamilton (I'm USAR TPU).

Response by CPL(P) Kevin Koch made Aug 29 at 2016 12:31 PM

CPL(P) Kevin Koch — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 12:31:44 -0400

Edward, Let me share with you my experiences. A college degree will always be great. But being a 25B, certifications are key along with the college degree. Depending on what area of 25B you are working (S6 shop, line unit) will also play a factor in it. In an S6 shop, you need to have network admin rights to the DoD network. So you will need to have certifications to meet the requirements. These are Network+ or Security+ and also an environmental certification such as a Microsoft cert. These certifications will get you 10 promotion points each (30 point max) in Civilian Education. Also, when going to college, if you have the certifications already they will sometimes credit you for the respective class(es) you would have taken to prepare for the certification exam.

If you are planning on staying in, remember it's not always going to be up to you. I planned to do 20 and retire, however injuries and other things prevented me from being able to do that. You need to be ready for whatever may come. I didn't have college while I was in, but I did have certifications. That's what got me going on the contractor side when I did get out. I am now doing college also to build things up. Just remember that college is a requirement for OCS. But I also want to put another path for you to consider, going Warrant. Think about what you enjoy doing and choose the path for a military career that follows that. If you go OCS, you are a manager. You will need to know what needs to be done and what things entail doing, but you will be hands off for the most part. If you go warrant, you will be hands on. You will be the subject matter expert and the technical lead for pretty much everything. So if you are more of a technician (such as I am) then warrant is the path you will want to look more heavily into.

Just step back, look at everything and what could happen. Then select a path that suits you and will allow you to be successful on whatever path life will throw you on. Good luck with everything, and wishing you success in whatever you choose.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 3 at 2016 3:55 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 03 Sep 2016 15:55:49 -0400

Depends on what you want to do and career goals. Do you want to be more of a doer or a manager? There's pros and cons to both. Some people are more cut out to be a doer and others are more cut out for manager. This is something you can determine by growing in the Army, even if it's four years. That's a really important question because that will tell you not only what degree but what certifications to go for.

How long have you been in the Army? What I would do right now is not work on a degree right this moment but grow a bit in the Army first and see if you want to be a doer or a manager. In the meantime, I would do CLEP tests and also look at doing AP exams too. This will take care of a lot of the basic stuff that you have to do for any degree. And to echo what everyone has said, greatly commend you on asking the question and thinking ahead.

Response by SSG Reginald Bowie made Sep 8 at 2016 2:24 PM

SSG Reginald Bowie — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 14:24:53 -0400

Yes!! you can become a corrections officer, police officer,

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 8 at 2016 9:09 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 21:09:48 -0400

Yes you should! Look up Western Governors University. It has bachelors for IT and includes the vouchers for your certifications. I'm a 25B SSG going warrant real soon. It's worth it!

Response by SGT Gary Pichler made Sep 9 at 2016 5:40 PM

SGT Gary Pichler — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 17:40:30 -0400

If you're using your benefits to pay for the degree and you plan to work in IT as a career outside of the military, sure. A degree isn't really required for positions below director level when working in IT. Once at the director level, pay in IT isn't really any different than officer level positions outside of IT. However, to secure a position as a director of IT a degree related to business management would probably be a better fit. So, if there is a field that seems more interesting than IT to you, I would suggest that you explore a degree in one of those fields. Pay in IT is more related to the quality of work you perform, how much of it you're willing to do, and the certifications that you hold. There are lousy programmers who make well over 100k a year in the market that I'm in, where extremely talented infrastructure folks often make less than 100k a year.

Ultimately, the answer depends on your goal. If your goal is to make excellent money and you don't mind working hard in addition to constantly learning new things, your effort and money is better spent on certifications than a degree.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 17 at 2016 3:07 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 17 Sep 2016 03:07:16 -0400

Yes.
Here's why... You are currently getting credit for military experience in information technology field. Upon retirement or early termination of service, you will need to secure another job. Obtaining a degree in information technology will back your military experience with a degree.

The other side is this... You work as a 25b for 20 years.. You get out with a degree in culinary arts. You have a degree but no experience in the field. You will have a hard time getting a job.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 22 at 2016 8:36 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 20:36:26 -0400

A degree means a lot in the civilian world of IT. I ended up stuck in a Help Desk position because I only had a two year degree. The difference between me and the guy who had a 4 year degree (w/o as much experience as I had) was almost double the pay. IT managers always would say they would take experience over education however as they said that they would overlook me as I requested a different position and take the HR approved guy.

When looking into an IT degree it almost doesn't matter what you get into however I started to get into Information Security as it is a relatively new field and not yet saturated. It's also hot in the job market as long as you are willing to go to where the job is.

Figure out what you like about IT and go for it.