Seeking a Bachelors in Science in Computer Science

[InbetweenDreams]

So here's what I am wanting to do . I want to go after a BS in Computer Science. I currently have an Associates in Applied Science in Computer Information Technology but I feel I would need more. I am thinking about possibly teaching but not so much on a K-12 level, I think I would prefer to teach on a college or community college level and I think a lot of those sort of job require a BS or Masters degree. I also think given my experience in previous education a Computer Science degree would make things a little more flexible, whether I decide I want to be a software engineer or whatever. I think it will open up on what I can do if I decide to change careers, etc.

So here's the thing, it is likely that few or none of my credits would transfer to a school outside my state. So that sort of limits me to stay inside NC for that reason and a lot of schools charge a lot of more for non-residents, but not all...there's another limiting factor. It would be nice to either be able to do what is called College Transfer which gives me another Associates Degree in Science and at least I do know that the credits I get will transfer to any state accredited university. However none of the universities in NC offer an online only degree program. They do offer a Computer Information System degree but that is more of the same and not really the direction I want to go with things, it is basically more of the same type stuff I have already done.

Couple of other things I am concerned about is the Math, not that I'm bad at Math I just haven't taken higher Math courses and Computer Science or alike will require a good deal of Math. So in that respect it would be good to take some of those courses at a community college level as it would cost a lot less. I also don't have to worry about taking out student loans to find out well it's beyond me...

The next thing is I don't think it would be a good idea to say quit the job I have to go back to school so I can take an on-site, traditional degree program. I think that would be foolish in my opinion. I have a good job, decent enough pay for the time being and benefits...I would be giving all that up to take out a huge student loan at the age of 30 only to pay that off over god knows how long.

So the best course of action I can think of would be to either go with the Computer Information Systems BS or look at something that is out of state. I did look at University of Arizona which doesn't jack up tuition for out of state students, but again not offering a Computer Science degree.

I'm kind of stuck doing online, having a full time job and the nearest University is about 60 miles away and unless they can waiver me not living on campus (I remember they required all freshmen to live on campus the first year) and offer all night classes.... It simply cannot interfere with my employment

I also think it might be worth my while to simply take a few math classes here and sort of test out the waters, it is a lot less expensive should I just not take well to more advanced maths as it will be required to do Computer Science...

Anyway, anyone have any advice, this might be more for those in the US as the requirements in other countries vary greatly... I think community college is something comparable to junior college in the UK?

[InbetweenDreams]

Ok, normally don't do this but....bump...

[Insertnamehere]

I really don't know how things work there. At least here, yes, you need a doctoral degree to teach in college.

Plenty of places here offer evening-night classes (programa vespertino would be the term here) for kids (or grown ups) that have to work to pay for college in the first place. I would think you can find such a place there? Then again, I don't know.

I would agree on you with taking math classes first, that sounds wise.

Talk to Chase. I would assume he at least has more insight on this.

[SilverBullet]

In one more semester I will have completed my BA in computer science and math minor. If you have any specific questions I would be happy to answer them just pm me ^_^.

[InbetweenDreams]

I really don't know how things work there. At least here, yes, you need a doctoral degree to teach in college.

Plenty of places here offer evening-night classes (programa vespertino would be the term here) for kids (or grown ups) that have to work to pay for college in the first place. I would think you can find such a place there? Then again, I don't know.

I would agree on you with taking math classes first, that sounds wise.

Talk to Chase. I would assume he at least has more insight on this.

Well I'm thinking, at least in the foreseeable future. For me to teach at a community college level I would only need a masters, some of the non-cirriculum courses I can possibly teach now or only need a Bachelors.

So far what I have found are that NONE of the colleges, even University of Arizona doesn't offer an online degree program in Computer Science. On the other hand CIS is still good but I kind of want to get out of dealing with most of the hands on stuff....by that I mean running CAT5 up in the ceilings or dealing with failed servers and running around trying to find spare parts or all the horseshit with Active Directory. Not that it is going to get easier, I really have enjoyed getting into more of the coding and database side of things...I know enough to impress a few people with what I have been able to pull off. I've written a couple programs for work one which has been heavily used by our purchasing department... But I also know better that I really am not using good practices in my code... That has become more evident as I have been trying to tutor a couple high school students which at the same time has helped me see what sort of things I have been missing...



I have found that while I enjoy the networking and hardware side of things it is at a point somewhat of a dead end and I really think the industrial standards, like Cisco, Novell, those are all temporary...a good example is Novell. Folks used to go after getting Novell certifications and now no one cares because Novell doesn't matter, everyone for the most part has traded that in and went to the "dark side" with Active Directory and Office 365, Google, or someone...

I digress...Anyway... I think if I can stick to it I think I may just be able to pull it off, but the math is like I and everyone have agreed is a good place to start is the math as I think that will be more challenging and also a fundamental skill to have before you can really get going with the rest.