Associate of Applied Science

[LindseyS]

My son is planning to go to a technical school in 2 years, with his ultimate goal being a career in cyber security.  The technical school he is looking at has a plan which includes an associate of applied science in cyber security that takes 5 semesters to complete, then something called "certificate 2" in cyber security (which takes another 4 semesters) and finally the Advanced Technical Certificate to become a Digital Forensics Specialist that would take an additional year.  This school was recommended by his Computer Programming teacher in High School, but I am just wondering if an AAS and the other certificates will really "mean" anything when it comes to his job search.  We spent some time on Monster and onetonline.org (which we actually found through the program page on the tech. school website) and it seems that most jobs require at minimum a bachelors degree.  I don't want him to "waste" his time earning certificates if they won't aid him in the future.  Does anyone have any ideas about what type of job he could get with what I mentioned above?  Or does it seem like the technical school idea should be scrapped and a new plan put into place?  Any input at all would be very much appreciated! 

[katsiki]

Will he also obtain any certifications?  That might be valuable in that field.  Not sure of the value of certificates.  Unless the school is well-known for cyber security, I suspect they would not be worth much.

[Cassie]

If you found that most jobs require a BA then I would go that route. He doesn't want to spend a bunch of time on certifications and AS degree that won't be beneficial. Each state has their own online program that shows you the job outlook and education needed for different jobs. I would call your state unemployment office for the correct website.  I used our state website when I was doing career counseling in order to give people updated information since it is updated every 6 months.

[Kwill]

My son is planning to go to a technical school in 2 years, with his ultimate goal being a career in cyber security.  The technical school he is looking at has a plan which includes an associate of applied science in cyber security that takes 5 semesters to complete, then something called "certificate 2" in cyber security (which takes another 4 semesters) and finally the Advanced Technical Certificate to become a Digital Forensics Specialist that would take an additional year.  This school was recommended by his Computer Programming teacher in High School, but I am just wondering if an AAS and the other certificates will really "mean" anything when it comes to his job search.  We spent some time on Monster and onetonline.org (which we actually found through the program page on the tech. school website) and it seems that most jobs require at minimum a bachelors degree.  I don't want him to "waste" his time earning certificates if they won't aid him in the future.  Does anyone have any ideas about what type of job he could get with what I mentioned above?  Or does it seem like the technical school idea should be scrapped and a new plan put into place?  Any input at all would be very much appreciated!

This doesn't sound good at all. He's talking about doing more than 4 years of education to get a 2 year degree plus some certificates that are not necessarily going to be worth it. It's one thing to take a course or two, perhaps while finishing high school. But if he's going to commit 4+ years to it, he might as well focus on doing a 4 year BS. That way, he could do internships and/or get right to work, or he could add a year or two to do a Master's. If he does the technical school route, his coursework might not transfer fully into another program, so he might have to do 8 or 9 years just to end up with a BS.

[deadlymonkey]

If he wants to be a Digital forensics specialist, that is a good job.  He is investing a lot of time in what might be better spent getting an actual CS degree.  Also depends on who is issuing the certification.  Local community tech school cert means nothing, Cisco or SANS certs mean a little more.

[Jeremy E.]

Where I work there are 2 people with the title, Engineer II - Security, one has a bachelor's in computer science, the other has a bachelor's in cyber security