18 ms·

Georgia Tech Creates Cybersecurity Master’s Degree Online for Less Than $10k

374 points by electriclove 8y ago

jbkly7 8y ago
This is positive. More quality online degrees please.
- anonymous5133 8y ago
  You would still have to look into how these courses are structured. A lot of these online courses/MOOCs tend to be heavily watered down, even when they're offered by major universities.
  - wufufufu 8y ago
    So you're saying I can get an MSCS from a top tier school AND it won't be as hard as normal?
    - ironjunkie 8y ago
      the difficulty in a lot of top tier university is usually not the courses but more "getting in".
      - mmirate 8y ago
        And if it were any other way, then our field would go the way of the lawyers.
    - alexgmcm 8y ago
      Yeah - but employers will see online and give it as much credit as if you'd watched a few youtube videos.
      - jbkly7 8y ago
        Where would employers see online?
    - randcraw 8y ago
      No. A BIG no. Stanford has been offering an on-line MS in CS for about 30 years using videos of the same courses taught on campus. Same tests. Same grades. The degree is exactly the same, on-line or not. Same for U of Illinois. Same for Ga Tech. The word "online" does not appear on the diploma. THESE ON-LINE DEGREES ARE EQUAL IN EVERY WAY TO ON-CAMPUS DEGREES. Yes, there's a HUGE range of quality in on-line degrees these days. Many of the degrees are sold by degree mills calling themselves universities and cheating the hell out of their students. Almost all MOOCs are watered down subset of an on-campus course. But the on-line degrees from these top tier schools do not suffer from that.
  - gaius 8y ago
    A lot of these online courses/MOOCs tend to be heavily watered down, even when they're offered by major universities I am curious as to your basis for this statement. Have you done many? Why would a prestigious institution be willing to dilute its brand in that way?
    - seventhtiger 8y ago
      It's not true in Georgia Tech, at least in OMSCS. After you finish 10 classes you will have done 20 to 40 projects and as many exams, in addition to homework and papers. You will at least have a rich gitHub repository if you go through it. If you try your best you will also learn a lot and make connections. The advantage of a part time masters is that the connections are of a much higher value. During your undergrad you and all your connections will go on the job hunt. In a part time masters some of your connections will be hiring.
cwkoss 8y ago
Has anyone here taken this degree program on campus? Would love to hear your thoughts about it.
- lemonghost 8y ago
  This program was just announced. So the first cohort hasn't started yet. There are a bunch of OMSCS students in this thread though who have taken some of the classes.
  - auiya 8y ago
    The online program has actually been available since 2010 or 2011 I believe, the on-campus program since the 00's. The difference now is the price.
josephmosby 8y ago
This is a phenomenal field choice for an online degree. I'm a little surprised that they didn't have a professional institution co-sponsoring it (like AT&T did for another GT program). One of the big players like Splunk or Symantec seems like an ideal fit for this.
PostOnce 8y ago
Is it a "Master's Degree" or is it an "Online Master's Degree" because they keep saying online, and OMS instead of MS, etc. I suspect that will be stigmatic, or is already. If that is the case, then why waste $10K on a degree that is no more valuable than "self taught"? Is an OMS from Georgia Tech more convincing than "I read some books and here's a good portfolio of personal projects" ? It's a hard sell.
- knuththetruth 8y ago
  It probably depends on the market where you’re job-hunting. In tech worker starved areas like the Midwest and South, it’s probably a sufficient credential. Either of the coasts, obviously less so.
- EduardLev 8y ago
  Taken from the FAQ: How will this degree appear on my diploma and/or transcript? The name "Online Master of Science" is an informal designation to help both Georgia Tech and prospective students distinguish the delivery method of the OMS program from our on-campus degree. The degree name in both cases is Master of Science in Computer Science. The point stands that it would be relatively easy to know which version someone completed (you worked in New York but got a masters at Georgia Tech?). I personally believe the value to be roughly equal to a "real" degree.
  - tptacek 8y ago
    I think the question is less whether the "online" part of the degree is problematic, and more whether the "masters" part is. Pay-for-play vocational masters degrees are kind of a known quantity in the field already. A BSCS from GATech is something! An "MS in Cybersecurity" is something else.
    - zebraflask 8y ago
      They aren't exactly the University of Phoenix, either. Compared to the average cost for an online degree from a decent university, I can see a lot of people compromising over only 10K - even if some parts of the program aren't perfect.
tptacek 8y ago
Here's the requirements for GATech's standard Cybersecurity MS: Core: CS 6035 Intro To Info Security PUBP/CS/MGT 6725 Info Security Policies CS/ECE/PUBP 6727 Cyber Sec Practicum Elective (CS/PUBP/ECE 6000-level) Tech Specialization: CS 6260 Applied Cryptography CS 6238 Secure Computer Systems CS 6262 Network Security CS 6265 Information Security Lab Any 2: CS 6210 Adv Operating Systems CS 6250 Computer Networks CS 6255 Network Management CS 6300 Software Dev Process CS 6310 Software Arch & Design CS 6340 Software Analysis & Test CS 6365 Intro Enterprise Comput. CS 6390 Programming Languages CS 6400 DB Sys Concepts& Design CS 6675 Advance Internet Comput CS 7210 Distributed Computing CS 7230 Software Dsgn,Impl& Eval CS 7260 Internet Arch& Protocols CS 7270 Networked Apps&Services CS 7292 Reliable Secure Comparch CS 8803 Mobile Applications and Services Energy Systems Specialization: ECE 8813 Smart Grids ECE 8813 Introduction to Cyber-Physical Electric Energy Systems ECE 8813 Introduction to Cyber-Physical Systems Security ECE 8803 Computational Aspects of Cyber-Physical Systems And any 2: ECE 6550 Linear Sys and Controls ECE 6607 Computer Comm Networks ECE 6615 Sensor Networks ECE 6102 Dependable Distribut Sys ECE 6320 Power Sys Ctrl&Operation ECE 6323 Power System Protection ECE 8813 Advanced Computer Security ECE 8813 Network Forensics Policy Specialization: Select 4 courses: PUBP 6502 IT/Comm/Telecom Policy MGT 6726 Privacy Tech Policy Law PUBP 6111 Internet & Public Policy INTA 6014 Scenario and Path Gaming INTA 8803 Data Analytics and Security PUBP 6501 Information Policy & Mgt INTA 8803 Challenge of Terrorism in Democratic Societies And any 2: PUBP 6701 Energy Technol & Policy PUBP 6014 Organization Theory PUBP 6401 Sci,Tech & Public Policy INTA 6103 International Security INTA 6015 Technology& Military Org I'm pretty meh about this. In particular: when we think about the "cybersecurity talent shortage" (I don't believe that one exists, but whatever), we're thinking about what this degree program considers "technical specialization" roles. I don't look at that course list and think of a consistent cohort of people it produces that are especially ready to take on jobs in my field. I'm also: why do they make Cybersecurity MS candidates take that pointless Applied Cryptography class? I read the lecture slides for it, and, like most university crypto classes, it's "just enough cryptography to make you dangerous, with just enough math notation to make you think you learned something really hard that you didn't really learn". The MS core classes are an intro to computer security that might be workable as a 100-level class in a serious CS program, a "policies" class that looks just absolutely deadly (1 week on "HIPAA, GLBA, FISMA", then a week on the "NIST cybersecurity framework", then a week on "cybercrime and cyberwar"), and a capstone independent study program. My advice: get an internship and skip the MS. They'll pay you to learn this stuff.
ralmidani 8y ago
edX has a bunch of upcoming online Master's degrees: https://www.edx.org/masters https://www.edx.org/masters I wonder which schools will be offering the CS, EE, and Accounting Master's. Hopefully MIT, MIT, and UT-Austin, respectively. Does anyone know anything beyond what's already posted?
- technofiend 8y ago
  Man I would go back to get a brass rat! Wonder why Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute isn't on your list? Then again an online degree takes all the fun out of living in the "asshole of the universe" as the students allegedly dub Troy, NY.
  - ralmidani 8y ago
    Not to berate other schools but the ones I listed are top in their respective fields.
all_usernames 8y ago
GATech brought in $68M from their $6,800 CS degree? "OMS Cybersecurity is Georgia Tech’s third at-scale online degree program. It will follow the same model as the groundbreaking online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS) program, which launched in 2014 on Udacity with support from AT&T and has enrolled approximately 10,000 students overall for the $6,800 degree."
- ralmidani 8y ago
  Some of that goes to Udacity.
  - rootusrootus 8y ago
    Also, $6800 is on the optimistic side, probably achievable only by maxing out the number of courses that can be taken simultaneously (I believe the concurrent limit just went down, too). For the average person taking it one-class-at-a-time, it's a bit over $8K.
    - nkozyra 8y ago
      It comes out higher than that. Mine was about $10k all-in.
      - rootusrootus 8y ago
        Textbooks? I've been paying $811/class so far.
        Delfino 8y ago
        Same here. Did the degree previously require 12 courses instead of the current requirement of 10? I feel like when I first started looking into the program before I joined it was 36 credit hours, not 30.
        rootusrootus 8y ago
CryoLogic 8y ago
Another poster listed the curriculum. As a security professional from a top software company I am not really impressed. The curriculum is as follows (tech specialization, the others are worse): 1 intro to security 1 intro to policy 1 hands on lab 1 crypto 1 netsec 2 it security choice of (2): basic CS courses (i.e. mobile apps, operating systems) None of that will help you get a job at any company with a serious security org. All of those courses from what I could find are the same introductory level electives you can get in your BS degree in CS. It is not a specialized program, it is more of an introduction to security and CS at the MS level. Things that would help: Client XSS, Authentication / Session Management, Secure client/server architecture, defining access boundaries, phishing / social engineering, red team / blue team setup, automated vulnerability regression tests, SSDL, threat modeling, etc.
- sinatra 8y ago
  Thank you! Do you recommend a few books or courses that would have better / more relevant coverage for people interested in the space?
- ransom1538 8y ago
  "Client XSS, Authentication / Session Management, Secure client/server architecture, defining access boundaries, phishing / social engineering, red team / blue team setup, automated vulnerability regression tests, SSDL, threat modeling, etc. " ^ I am in no way trying to be offensive here. But if you are already a programmer, with the exception of "threat modeling" and "regression tests", it seems all those topics combined would take a week to learn?
  - detaro 8y ago
    If "learn" is "has seen and memorized a checklist", then maybe. Don't expect people that "learned" like that to be able to do much in practice with that though.
    - 3pt14159 8y ago
      Yeah. Security is best learned after creating software for four or five years. Before that you're not going to have enough of the pieces to think about it creatively. Things turn into "rules-games" where everyone else has to tell you the rules. Also, I think studying data science is underrated for cybersec.
mandelken 8y ago
Or move to Belgium/Germany where university education costs less than a thousand per year.. And you may enjoy a proper beer as a student.. Afterwards universal health insurance and unionized labour.. All debt free.. Cheers!
- selectodude 8y ago
  Most masters degree students are over the age of 21. Also “move to Germany” isn’t really something you can just...do.
  - nostrebored 8y ago
    It is. People treat moving like some sort of impossibility -- apply for a student visa and go. The quality of education you'll get there is questionable, though
    - alexgmcm 8y ago
      I find in STEM that's not such an issue. I mean I studied Physics at a good UK Uni but it isn't like one of the best in the world or anything. Then I did Neuroinformatics at Edinburgh which is really competitive due to their reputation in AI etc. It was fine, ultimately linear algebra etc. are the same wherever you learn it. I think in less objective and more qualitative fields the reputation of the University etc. counts a lot more.
      - nostrebored 8y ago
        As someone who's taken two linear algebra courses at different schools -- it's really not. When the expected level is familiarity with basic concepts vs. being prepared for a top-tier graduate degree program, the course content becomes very different. When this is aggregated over all of your courses, then you start to get a gigantic disparity.
    - piotr1212 8y ago
      Do you got a source on your quality statement? Many European universities do quite good in the rankings.
56chan4 8y ago
NordVPN use these guys as a node along with MIT, plenty of businesses and plenty of *.io domains to pop out in different parts of the world. Would not be surprised to learn there are various analysis of the traffic popping out of NordVPN's openVPN vpn's. Of course if you have 14 eyes, you can watch the encrypted traffic passing along the wires like waves travelling an ocean.
dionna767675 8y ago
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karmajunkie 8y ago
I'd really like to see them do this for an undergrad. I never finished mine, which hasn't really held me back in my career except for wanting to pursue a masters. I've looked around, and I've never really found what I consider to be a respectable online undergrad for less than about 50k worth of tuition.
- smt88 8y ago
  A lot of schools including GT will accept 3 years' worth of credits from a junior or community college. You can then finish 1 year's worth of additional credits and get the degree from the final institution. A working person might be able to space out classes so that they can continue their full-time job, but I'm not sure.
- wittjeff 8y ago
  GA Tech does admit some students to the Masters programs who don't have bachelor degrees. The Micro Masters programs at edX may be a way in to the MSCS programs without the undergrad step. One benefit of the MM programs is that they're basically open access. You do what is essentially 1/4 of the degree online first, and if you do well you may be admitted to either the residential Masters program or the online program. Disclosure: I work at edX.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - barry-cotter 8y ago
    https://www.omscs.gatech.edu/prospective-students/faq https://www.omscs.gatech.edu/prospective-students/faq Unless I misread the below they prefer a Math, CS or Engineering Bachelor’s and a Bachelor’s of some kind is an absolute requirement. > Preferred qualifications for admitted OMS CS students are an undergraduate degree in computer science or related field (typically mathematics, computer engineering or electrical engineering) from an accredited institution with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. Applicants who do not meet these criteria will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis; significant professional or other work experience with supporting recommendations may qualify as an adequate substitute for the appropriate academic credentials, however work experience will not take the place of an undergraduate degree
lucb1e 8y ago
Is that supposed to be cheap or affordable? As far as I knew online courses are up to a few hundred to get an official certificate. And I just graduated last week from a similar master's for €2k in a brick and mortar school. What's special about "under 10k" for an online study? Edit: from elsewhere in the thread, I understand that a degree is more usually more expensive than 10k in the USA? I guess a lot more, since this is making headlines? Is that also the typical case for online degrees?
- dsr_ 8y ago
  It's under $10K for an accredited Master's degree in the United States, where higher-ed price have soared over the last thirty years.
  - thanatos_dem 8y ago
    For an accredited Master’s degree from the #8 CS program in the US* - https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/computer-science-rankings https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-sch...
    - mmirate 8y ago
      Which is to say, you might actually have to learn something if you go to CMU, UCB, MIT, Stanford or UIUC; instead of just leeching off of your group-project teammates. (Not that I've ever had any experience on the receiving end of this... /s)
- lfowles 8y ago
  For comparison I briefly took online masters classes from my alma mater, a state school that is not especially heard about often, and it was approximately $2000 per class.
- chch 8y ago
  As anecdotal data: The Masters program I took (not in Cybersecurity) is offered online for the same price as it is in person (I did it in person). If I were to do it again today, according to its website, the program would cost a total of $37,000 (€32,5k) in tuition, not including books, etc.
plaidfuji 8y ago
Enrollment only available to those who can SQL inject themselves into the class registries
- czbond 8y ago
  That should be pretty easy. https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/12/hacking-the-websites-responsible-for-election-information-is-so-easy-an-11-year-old-did-it/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/12/hacking-the-websites-respo...
jamestimmins 8y ago
While these degrees are interesting, they still have the same entrance requirements as on-campus programs (transcripts, references, undergrad degree). This is a shame bc there are many people, especially in software engineering, who have the skills yet lack adequate proof of those skills. I'd love if there were a CS masters that either let you apply directly or complete a specification to get automatic admission. Perhaps after completing foundational courses with a B average. That would greatly increase access and should be sufficient to weed out unprepared candidates.
- petrbela 8y ago
  There have definitely been a number of students admitted to the GT's OMSCS program who didn't have an engineering undergraduate degree. Not sure though what are the stats of students without any bachelor's degree at all... There is a requirement to complete a few foundational courses after you enroll but you still need to be accepted first.
  - sinnet11 8y ago
    where have you read this?
    - petrbela 8y ago
      Some of those without an engineering undergrad degree were my classmates.
- lu5t 8y ago
  Once you get to a reasonable level of career experience, college is not beneficial for your bottom line. At least that's been my experience.
  - jamestimmins 8y ago
    Do you mean undergrad or masters?
techjuice 8y ago
Hopefully they will have something more advanced in the future, possibly calling it Masters of Science in Cyber Engineering with course work similar to the following: [*]Introduction to Graph Design and Theory [*]Secure Network Design, Theory and Implementation Introduction to Analog and Digital Signal Processing [*]Assembly for IA-32 and x86_64 Assembly for PowerPC, MIPS and ARM [*]C/C++ Programming for Windows, Linux and MacOS C/C++ Programming for Android, iOS and Embedded Systems [*]Python Programming [*]Advanced Python Programming [*]Automated Testing Theory and Implementation Advanced Graph Theory Introduction to Game Theory Advanced Game Theory Building Secure Scaleable Systems and Networks Building Big Data Analytics Systems [*]Automated Defense and Offensive Systems Theory and Implementation [*]Information Assurance Policy [*]Reverse Engineering Windows, Linux and MacOS Reverse Engineering Mobile Devices and Embedded Devices Reverse Engineering SCADA Systems Advanced Analog and Digital Signals Processing Cryptography for Engineers [*]Vulnerability Research Theory and Methods Updated - [*] Core courses. If the individual could make it through the above, they would be very knowledgable, experienced and ready for many of the hard problems in the realm of cyber that employers are wanting in extremely high demand.
- ams6110 8y ago
  Your list strikes me as significantly more than a typical master's degree would cover.
  - suyash 8y ago
    Yes, that list does look bit overblown. Most MS in US need you to take 12 classes, each of 3 credits = 36 credits to graduate.
    - techjuice 8y ago
      Yeah, many would probably have to be broken down into electives, but if all of them were taken the graduate would be an extremely strong cyber engineer versus the current easy cyber degrees that are available now that do not really cover what cyber engineering employers are looking for. Most of the degrees are very general and do not go into depth or build a strong engineer during the process.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
Thriptic 8y ago
At the risk of topic hijacking, I was looking at Northeastern's cybersecurity masters program the other day. What do people think of this? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:2ygsHHstqxkJ:catalog.northeastern.edu/graduate/computer-information-science/information-assurance/cybersecurity-ms/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:2ygsHH...
loblollyboy 8y ago
cybersecurity + higher education - a meeting of memes!
znpy 8y ago
Still sad that Coursera/Udacity etc didn't really solve the course accessibilty problem though. Master's degrees are cool, but what about Bachelors' degrees ?
- lemonghost 8y ago
  There's an online BS CS on Coursera. I can't really imagine how that works though because a BS typically isn't as specialized as an MS. https://www.coursera.org/degrees/bachelor-of-science-computer-science-london https://www.coursera.org/degrees/bachelor-of-science-compute...
  - toupeetape 8y ago
    It is offered by a British university. Undergrad degrees are more specialized here than in the US, a BSc in Computer Science is a completely normal thing and is what the majority of British CompSci grads would have.
- barry-cotter 8y ago
  They’re well on the way to solving the accessibility problem in terms of having all the materials available to cover a Bachelor’s in CS if they’re not there already. Coursera have partnered with the University of London to provide a Bachelor’s in CS. And the company launched in April 2012. The different MOOC providers may not have disrupted education but they’re off to a good start.
PakG1 8y ago
Looking at all the comments here, I imagine this is more of just a cash grab. They see the trend and the opportunity to make some money using their name. Serious employers would look for OSCP, less serious employers would look for CISSP, or either one for management positions.
- itronitron 8y ago
  I agree that employers are looking for those certifications, but I doubt they are finding them as frequently as they would like. In addition those certifications don't guarantee that a person is the right fit for a particular organization.
  - PakG1 8y ago
    So would this Master's degree be a better alternative in an employer's eye or show that someone is a good fit? That's the important question. Otherwise why not get the certifications instead?
    - itronitron 8y ago
      It would show that someone is a good fit. I think the certifications might be a lot harder to get, but I could be wrong.
ConfSibi 8y ago
Just asking to gauge the community: I'm about to start a full time in person MS CS program at an Ivy League school. The school I'm studying at is not recognized as having an elite CS program, but it is top 20. Will the general prestige of the school I'm studying at help with getting internships and jobs after graduation?
- Latteland 8y ago
  maybe, but you'll still have to interview and do okay. It matters if you are cmu, mit, stanford, berkely, uw (maybe?) but who knows the next tier. this will probably be unpopular but there's so much more demand than available students that just doing a decent job in an interview will yield you all the jobs you could ever want.
- joncrane 8y ago
  Yes.
- zerkten 8y ago
  It'll help if you learn to network with alumni and pull together a good portfolio for you resume. Consider how balanced your resume looks today and what it's going to look like with only that MS CS program. As you go, investigate what companies are currently looking for and try to balance it with some practical skills that are related to what they are doing. You don't have to program the exact same language, but try to match at the conceptual level. Example: if they used Scala then your Clojure and Java experience is likely enough for them to take a bet on you assuming other fundamentals match up. Things like hackathons etc. might be a good start if you have real world experience today. It's also good to look for any sort of volunteer position that'll help development of leadership skills. With a master's degree expectations will be that you can develop into a leadership role which doesn't necessarily mean management.
- apapli 8y ago
  Totally as an aside, but for what it’s worth, 20 years ago when I did my degree I gave myself a rule that I would do 1 extracurricular activity every year that I could talk to for 5 minutes in a job interview. I theorised that over the course of 4 years (5 as it turned out) would give me 20 minutes of talking time. It worked. Even with average scores (and a handful of fails) I got a well paying job at a top company. Even back in the late 90’s many hiring managers valued experience and personality equally to academic transcripts. The extracurricular activities were: * organised LAN gaming days for 100 people to teach myself networking, event management, marketing etc. Quake was the game by the way :) * half a day a week work experience for a year at a relevant employer * involvement in a paid capacity at the student association, taking on leadership roles * something else I cannot remember now! Best wishes for your studies!
blueprint 8y ago
If it was so cheap to produce then why does it cost $10k?
- marcinzm 8y ago
  Because someone figured that they will make the most profit at that price point taking costs into account. Keep in mind that there are also presumably per student costs for things like grading assignments, exams, virtual office hours, etc. edit: Profit as institution, not just on this program, devaluing their in-person MS programs by charging very little for the online version would be a net negative in profit for example.
  - blueprint 8y ago
    It was a joke
    - hacym 8y ago
      Good one.
      - blueprint 8y ago
        thx
Communitivity 8y ago
As the home site I used to go to for the hacking zine Phrack, it seems very appropriate they would do this. The courses though seem more generic than I'd expect. I tried to find the old gatech.edu site for phrack to ad the url here, but all I find now is phrack.org.
sk_hazratali 8y ago
I'm a grad of the OMSCS program. The "netsec" subject covered all of the "things that would help" and some in detail with practical projects. https://www.sherekhudahazratali.com/2018/08/main-gulam-e-khwaja-hu-hind-hai-watan-mera.html https://www.sherekhudahazratali.com/2018/08/main-gulam-e-khw...
jcrawfordor 8y ago
I'm currently in an online MS Information Assurance program offered by Iowa State University. It's both more expensive than this offering (although not by a lot) and from a university with a lot less name recognition. I mean, besides that it's probably in Iowa. So on the surface the GATech offering looks superior. However, I can't help but wonder how the "at-scale" model changes that. At IA State I'm "in" rather small classes and have very ready access to the instructor by email and phone. My work is also almost all graded by the instructor directly, most courses aren't big enough for a TA to have been hired. So I feel like it's a fairly personal experience, despite my physically being several states away and watching lectures recorded. I'm working on forming a committee for my thesis this semester so I'll be conversing directly with the faculty even more. I wonder how an "at-scale" program like this, which seems to get built more on a MOOC model, will compare. Will it feel nearly as much like receiving direct instruction from an expert, which is what I would want a graduate program to be, or will it feel more like an off-the-shelf mass produced training package? That's a big concern to me. Edit: I also feel like it's worth noting that my program confers an MS, with either thesis or creative component at student choice. I suspect this will be viewed more favorably by employers and others than an "OMS," even with a big name on it.
- ironjunkie 8y ago
  I looked quickly at some online master offering and you are exactly describing the struggle. Some places seem to charge an enormous amount of money (>40k$) and some other a fairly small amount of money (<5k$). Unrelated to the price, some are simply a glorified version of a Coursera MOOC with a non personalized experience while some other seem to offer a lot of 1:1 and side project opportunities directly with the TAs and teachers. This field is in full revolution, but it feels like a lot of universities see this as an easy way to get a couple thousands extra dollar for only posting the lecture videos online.
CitizenTekk 8y ago
It all makes sense to me. You received Master's online, because it Cybersecurity. Hacking between you and the mentor would be much of fun.
wilsonfiifi 8y ago
Any way of getting scholarships for these online degrees?
insertcredit 8y ago
This is a complete waste of time and money with the usual bullshit material taught by people who don't really have a clue and completely-out-of-touch-with-reality academic focus (write a buffer overflow!). If you really want to learn invaluable cybersecurity skills, start playing wargames. I suggest (1) which is one of the best. If you manage to reach level 25 on your own, then you are elite and the knowledge you gained doing so is not only extremely valuable but something you can be proud of. (Sidenote: I would hire anyone who reached vortex level 25 on the spot and pay him a six figure salary, without looking at any of his other qualifications/degrees/past experience) Additionally, read every single phrack (2) magazine from the past 20 years and try to understand most of the material within. (1) http://overthewire.org/wargames/vortex/ http://overthewire.org/wargames/vortex/ (2) http://phrack.com http://phrack.com
- growtofill 8y ago
  Thanks for sharing Vortex wargame! > I would hire anyone who reached vortex level 25 What would be the position/role?
  - insertcredit 8y ago
    I'm not currently in a position to hire people, see my previous reply to danesparza. Doing these and other similar challenges and reading and understanding phrack articles would give you a solid foundation to start doing reverse engineering and vulnerability research and reap the rewards that come from successfully doing so.
- noelwelsh 8y ago
  Security is a much larger field than what the game you linked covers.
  - mehrdadn 8y ago
    Almost every single comment I've seen on this page is about how the parent comment/post doesn't understand what security is about...
DanielGee 8y ago
Cybersecurity is something that I feel is best self-taught. Set up a small network at home. Go crazy with nmap. Set up a few VMs. Go crazy with gdb or windbg. The best way to learn is to break things. If you have an old application or game with serial #. Try to crack it. Set up an webserver + sql backend, try injections or other exploits. Profile/audit it to see what is happening. There are websites that document OS, Database, Webserver, etc vulnerabilities. Install older versions and try these vulnerabilities. Then you can look into worms, trojans, etc. See their code and how they work. And see if you can come up with ways to stop it. Then see how you would bypass your fix. You can also look at security ( white hate/black hat ) software that audit, pentest, etc. If it is open source, read the source. The only reason to shell out the $10K is if you are looking for a job.
- chc4 8y ago
  "The only reason to shell out the $10K is if you are looking for a job." That's a pretty big "if". If you're considering a cyber security Masters degree, you're probably interested in doing it for a career.
auiya 8y ago
I completed this online MS InfoSec program in 2013 back when it cost $40k (out of state). Who do I talk to in order to get a refund for the difference since now Georgia Tech are effectively admitting they were price gouging me by $30k?
- MoBattah 8y ago
  How was it?
  - auiya 8y ago
    I thought it was a fantastic and quite challenging program from a curriculum standpoint. From a logistical standpoint organizing group project work across time zones was difficult at times. Not being able to ask the professor follow-ups in real time is a bit of a bummer, but they were all very responsive via email. Best of all is being able to kick back with a beverage in comfy clothes to watch the lectures in the comfort of your home. Worst part was the prices. I double checked and it cost me exactly $55,080 in total. So at $10k this is an absolute steal. I just wish they'd refund me the difference now.

374 points by electriclove 8y ago

jbkly7 8y ago

This is positive. More quality online degrees please.

anonymous5133 8y ago
You would still have to look into how these courses are structured. A lot of these online courses/MOOCs tend to be heavily watered down, even when they're offered by major universities.
- wufufufu 8y ago
  So you're saying I can get an MSCS from a top tier school AND it won't be as hard as normal?
  - ironjunkie 8y ago
    the difficulty in a lot of top tier university is usually not the courses but more "getting in".
    - mmirate 8y ago
      And if it were any other way, then our field would go the way of the lawyers.
  - alexgmcm 8y ago
    Yeah - but employers will see online and give it as much credit as if you'd watched a few youtube videos.
    - jbkly7 8y ago
      Where would employers see online?
  - randcraw 8y ago
    No. A BIG no. Stanford has been offering an on-line MS in CS for about 30 years using videos of the same courses taught on campus. Same tests. Same grades. The degree is exactly the same, on-line or not. Same for U of Illinois. Same for Ga Tech. The word "online" does not appear on the diploma. THESE ON-LINE DEGREES ARE EQUAL IN EVERY WAY TO ON-CAMPUS DEGREES. Yes, there's a HUGE range of quality in on-line degrees these days. Many of the degrees are sold by degree mills calling themselves universities and cheating the hell out of their students. Almost all MOOCs are watered down subset of an on-campus course. But the on-line degrees from these top tier schools do not suffer from that.
- gaius 8y ago
  A lot of these online courses/MOOCs tend to be heavily watered down, even when they're offered by major universities I am curious as to your basis for this statement. Have you done many? Why would a prestigious institution be willing to dilute its brand in that way?
  - seventhtiger 8y ago
    It's not true in Georgia Tech, at least in OMSCS. After you finish 10 classes you will have done 20 to 40 projects and as many exams, in addition to homework and papers. You will at least have a rich gitHub repository if you go through it. If you try your best you will also learn a lot and make connections. The advantage of a part time masters is that the connections are of a much higher value. During your undergrad you and all your connections will go on the job hunt. In a part time masters some of your connections will be hiring.

cwkoss 8y ago

Has anyone here taken this degree program on campus? Would love to hear your thoughts about it.

lemonghost 8y ago
This program was just announced. So the first cohort hasn't started yet. There are a bunch of OMSCS students in this thread though who have taken some of the classes.
- auiya 8y ago
  The online program has actually been available since 2010 or 2011 I believe, the on-campus program since the 00's. The difference now is the price.

josephmosby 8y ago

This is a phenomenal field choice for an online degree. I'm a little surprised that they didn't have a professional institution co-sponsoring it (like AT&T did for another GT program). One of the big players like Splunk or Symantec seems like an ideal fit for this.

PostOnce 8y ago

Is it a "Master's Degree" or is it an "Online Master's Degree" because they keep saying online, and OMS instead of MS, etc. I suspect that will be stigmatic, or is already. If that is the case, then why waste $10K on a degree that is no more valuable than "self taught"? Is an OMS from Georgia Tech more convincing than "I read some books and here's a good portfolio of personal projects" ? It's a hard sell.

knuththetruth 8y ago
It probably depends on the market where you’re job-hunting. In tech worker starved areas like the Midwest and South, it’s probably a sufficient credential. Either of the coasts, obviously less so.
EduardLev 8y ago
Taken from the FAQ: How will this degree appear on my diploma and/or transcript? The name "Online Master of Science" is an informal designation to help both Georgia Tech and prospective students distinguish the delivery method of the OMS program from our on-campus degree. The degree name in both cases is Master of Science in Computer Science. The point stands that it would be relatively easy to know which version someone completed (you worked in New York but got a masters at Georgia Tech?). I personally believe the value to be roughly equal to a "real" degree.
- tptacek 8y ago
  I think the question is less whether the "online" part of the degree is problematic, and more whether the "masters" part is. Pay-for-play vocational masters degrees are kind of a known quantity in the field already. A BSCS from GATech is something! An "MS in Cybersecurity" is something else.
  - zebraflask 8y ago
    They aren't exactly the University of Phoenix, either. Compared to the average cost for an online degree from a decent university, I can see a lot of people compromising over only 10K - even if some parts of the program aren't perfect.

tptacek 8y ago

Here's the requirements for GATech's standard Cybersecurity MS: Core: CS 6035 Intro To Info Security PUBP/CS/MGT 6725 Info Security Policies CS/ECE/PUBP 6727 Cyber Sec Practicum Elective (CS/PUBP/ECE 6000-level) Tech Specialization: CS 6260 Applied Cryptography CS 6238 Secure Computer Systems CS 6262 Network Security CS 6265 Information Security Lab Any 2: CS 6210 Adv Operating Systems CS 6250 Computer Networks CS 6255 Network Management CS 6300 Software Dev Process CS 6310 Software Arch & Design CS 6340 Software Analysis & Test CS 6365 Intro Enterprise Comput. CS 6390 Programming Languages CS 6400 DB Sys Concepts& Design CS 6675 Advance Internet Comput CS 7210 Distributed Computing CS 7230 Software Dsgn,Impl& Eval CS 7260 Internet Arch& Protocols CS 7270 Networked Apps&Services CS 7292 Reliable Secure Comparch CS 8803 Mobile Applications and Services Energy Systems Specialization: ECE 8813 Smart Grids ECE 8813 Introduction to Cyber-Physical Electric Energy Systems ECE 8813 Introduction to Cyber-Physical Systems Security ECE 8803 Computational Aspects of Cyber-Physical Systems And any 2: ECE 6550 Linear Sys and Controls ECE 6607 Computer Comm Networks ECE 6615 Sensor Networks ECE 6102 Dependable Distribut Sys ECE 6320 Power Sys Ctrl&Operation ECE 6323 Power System Protection ECE 8813 Advanced Computer Security ECE 8813 Network Forensics Policy Specialization: Select 4 courses: PUBP 6502 IT/Comm/Telecom Policy MGT 6726 Privacy Tech Policy Law PUBP 6111 Internet & Public Policy INTA 6014 Scenario and Path Gaming INTA 8803 Data Analytics and Security PUBP 6501 Information Policy & Mgt INTA 8803 Challenge of Terrorism in Democratic Societies And any 2: PUBP 6701 Energy Technol & Policy PUBP 6014 Organization Theory PUBP 6401 Sci,Tech & Public Policy INTA 6103 International Security INTA 6015 Technology& Military Org I'm pretty meh about this. In particular: when we think about the "cybersecurity talent shortage" (I don't believe that one exists, but whatever), we're thinking about what this degree program considers "technical specialization" roles. I don't look at that course list and think of a consistent cohort of people it produces that are especially ready to take on jobs in my field. I'm also: why do they make Cybersecurity MS candidates take that pointless Applied Cryptography class? I read the lecture slides for it, and, like most university crypto classes, it's "just enough cryptography to make you dangerous, with just enough math notation to make you think you learned something really hard that you didn't really learn". The MS core classes are an intro to computer security that might be workable as a 100-level class in a serious CS program, a "policies" class that looks just absolutely deadly (1 week on "HIPAA, GLBA, FISMA", then a week on the "NIST cybersecurity framework", then a week on "cybercrime and cyberwar"), and a capstone independent study program. My advice: get an internship and skip the MS. They'll pay you to learn this stuff.

ralmidani 8y ago

edX has a bunch of upcoming online Master's degrees: https://www.edx.org/masters https://www.edx.org/masters I wonder which schools will be offering the CS, EE, and Accounting Master's. Hopefully MIT, MIT, and UT-Austin, respectively. Does anyone know anything beyond what's already posted?

technofiend 8y ago
Man I would go back to get a brass rat! Wonder why Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute isn't on your list? Then again an online degree takes all the fun out of living in the "asshole of the universe" as the students allegedly dub Troy, NY.
- ralmidani 8y ago
  Not to berate other schools but the ones I listed are top in their respective fields.

all_usernames 8y ago

GATech brought in $68M from their $6,800 CS degree? "OMS Cybersecurity is Georgia Tech’s third at-scale online degree program. It will follow the same model as the groundbreaking online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS) program, which launched in 2014 on Udacity with support from AT&T and has enrolled approximately 10,000 students overall for the $6,800 degree."

ralmidani 8y ago
Some of that goes to Udacity.
- rootusrootus 8y ago
  Also, $6800 is on the optimistic side, probably achievable only by maxing out the number of courses that can be taken simultaneously (I believe the concurrent limit just went down, too). For the average person taking it one-class-at-a-time, it's a bit over $8K.
  - nkozyra 8y ago
    It comes out higher than that. Mine was about $10k all-in.
    - rootusrootus 8y ago
      Textbooks? I've been paying $811/class so far.
      - Delfino 8y ago
        Same here. Did the degree previously require 12 courses instead of the current requirement of 10? I feel like when I first started looking into the program before I joined it was 36 credit hours, not 30.
        rootusrootus 8y ago

CryoLogic 8y ago

Another poster listed the curriculum. As a security professional from a top software company I am not really impressed. The curriculum is as follows (tech specialization, the others are worse): 1 intro to security 1 intro to policy 1 hands on lab 1 crypto 1 netsec 2 it security choice of (2): basic CS courses (i.e. mobile apps, operating systems) None of that will help you get a job at any company with a serious security org. All of those courses from what I could find are the same introductory level electives you can get in your BS degree in CS. It is not a specialized program, it is more of an introduction to security and CS at the MS level. Things that would help: Client XSS, Authentication / Session Management, Secure client/server architecture, defining access boundaries, phishing / social engineering, red team / blue team setup, automated vulnerability regression tests, SSDL, threat modeling, etc.

sinatra 8y ago
Thank you! Do you recommend a few books or courses that would have better / more relevant coverage for people interested in the space?
ransom1538 8y ago
"Client XSS, Authentication / Session Management, Secure client/server architecture, defining access boundaries, phishing / social engineering, red team / blue team setup, automated vulnerability regression tests, SSDL, threat modeling, etc. " ^ I am in no way trying to be offensive here. But if you are already a programmer, with the exception of "threat modeling" and "regression tests", it seems all those topics combined would take a week to learn?
- detaro 8y ago
  If "learn" is "has seen and memorized a checklist", then maybe. Don't expect people that "learned" like that to be able to do much in practice with that though.
  - 3pt14159 8y ago
    Yeah. Security is best learned after creating software for four or five years. Before that you're not going to have enough of the pieces to think about it creatively. Things turn into "rules-games" where everyone else has to tell you the rules. Also, I think studying data science is underrated for cybersec.

mandelken 8y ago

Or move to Belgium/Germany where university education costs less than a thousand per year.. And you may enjoy a proper beer as a student.. Afterwards universal health insurance and unionized labour.. All debt free.. Cheers!

selectodude 8y ago
Most masters degree students are over the age of 21. Also “move to Germany” isn’t really something you can just...do.
- nostrebored 8y ago
  It is. People treat moving like some sort of impossibility -- apply for a student visa and go. The quality of education you'll get there is questionable, though
  - alexgmcm 8y ago
    I find in STEM that's not such an issue. I mean I studied Physics at a good UK Uni but it isn't like one of the best in the world or anything. Then I did Neuroinformatics at Edinburgh which is really competitive due to their reputation in AI etc. It was fine, ultimately linear algebra etc. are the same wherever you learn it. I think in less objective and more qualitative fields the reputation of the University etc. counts a lot more.
    - nostrebored 8y ago
      As someone who's taken two linear algebra courses at different schools -- it's really not. When the expected level is familiarity with basic concepts vs. being prepared for a top-tier graduate degree program, the course content becomes very different. When this is aggregated over all of your courses, then you start to get a gigantic disparity.
  - piotr1212 8y ago
    Do you got a source on your quality statement? Many European universities do quite good in the rankings.

56chan4 8y ago

NordVPN use these guys as a node along with MIT, plenty of businesses and plenty of *.io domains to pop out in different parts of the world. Would not be surprised to learn there are various analysis of the traffic popping out of NordVPN's openVPN vpn's. Of course if you have 14 eyes, you can watch the encrypted traffic passing along the wires like waves travelling an ocean.

dionna767675 8y ago

One of the best companies online Fiverr is the world's largest freelance services marketplace for lean entrepreneurs to focus on growth & create a successful business https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=27228&nci=5490 https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=27228&nci=5490

karmajunkie 8y ago

I'd really like to see them do this for an undergrad. I never finished mine, which hasn't really held me back in my career except for wanting to pursue a masters. I've looked around, and I've never really found what I consider to be a respectable online undergrad for less than about 50k worth of tuition.

smt88 8y ago
A lot of schools including GT will accept 3 years' worth of credits from a junior or community college. You can then finish 1 year's worth of additional credits and get the degree from the final institution. A working person might be able to space out classes so that they can continue their full-time job, but I'm not sure.
wittjeff 8y ago
GA Tech does admit some students to the Masters programs who don't have bachelor degrees. The Micro Masters programs at edX may be a way in to the MSCS programs without the undergrad step. One benefit of the MM programs is that they're basically open access. You do what is essentially 1/4 of the degree online first, and if you do well you may be admitted to either the residential Masters program or the online program. Disclosure: I work at edX.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- barry-cotter 8y ago
  https://www.omscs.gatech.edu/prospective-students/faq https://www.omscs.gatech.edu/prospective-students/faq Unless I misread the below they prefer a Math, CS or Engineering Bachelor’s and a Bachelor’s of some kind is an absolute requirement. > Preferred qualifications for admitted OMS CS students are an undergraduate degree in computer science or related field (typically mathematics, computer engineering or electrical engineering) from an accredited institution with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. Applicants who do not meet these criteria will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis; significant professional or other work experience with supporting recommendations may qualify as an adequate substitute for the appropriate academic credentials, however work experience will not take the place of an undergraduate degree

lucb1e 8y ago

Is that supposed to be cheap or affordable? As far as I knew online courses are up to a few hundred to get an official certificate. And I just graduated last week from a similar master's for €2k in a brick and mortar school. What's special about "under 10k" for an online study? Edit: from elsewhere in the thread, I understand that a degree is more usually more expensive than 10k in the USA? I guess a lot more, since this is making headlines? Is that also the typical case for online degrees?

dsr_ 8y ago
It's under $10K for an accredited Master's degree in the United States, where higher-ed price have soared over the last thirty years.
- thanatos_dem 8y ago
  For an accredited Master’s degree from the #8 CS program in the US* - https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/computer-science-rankings https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-sch...
  - mmirate 8y ago
    Which is to say, you might actually have to learn something if you go to CMU, UCB, MIT, Stanford or UIUC; instead of just leeching off of your group-project teammates. (Not that I've ever had any experience on the receiving end of this... /s)
lfowles 8y ago
For comparison I briefly took online masters classes from my alma mater, a state school that is not especially heard about often, and it was approximately $2000 per class.
chch 8y ago
As anecdotal data: The Masters program I took (not in Cybersecurity) is offered online for the same price as it is in person (I did it in person). If I were to do it again today, according to its website, the program would cost a total of $37,000 (€32,5k) in tuition, not including books, etc.

plaidfuji 8y ago

Enrollment only available to those who can SQL inject themselves into the class registries

czbond 8y ago
That should be pretty easy. https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/12/hacking-the-websites-responsible-for-election-information-is-so-easy-an-11-year-old-did-it/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/12/hacking-the-websites-respo...

jamestimmins 8y ago

While these degrees are interesting, they still have the same entrance requirements as on-campus programs (transcripts, references, undergrad degree). This is a shame bc there are many people, especially in software engineering, who have the skills yet lack adequate proof of those skills. I'd love if there were a CS masters that either let you apply directly or complete a specification to get automatic admission. Perhaps after completing foundational courses with a B average. That would greatly increase access and should be sufficient to weed out unprepared candidates.

petrbela 8y ago
There have definitely been a number of students admitted to the GT's OMSCS program who didn't have an engineering undergraduate degree. Not sure though what are the stats of students without any bachelor's degree at all... There is a requirement to complete a few foundational courses after you enroll but you still need to be accepted first.
- sinnet11 8y ago
  where have you read this?
  - petrbela 8y ago
    Some of those without an engineering undergrad degree were my classmates.
lu5t 8y ago
Once you get to a reasonable level of career experience, college is not beneficial for your bottom line. At least that's been my experience.
- jamestimmins 8y ago
  Do you mean undergrad or masters?

techjuice 8y ago

Hopefully they will have something more advanced in the future, possibly calling it Masters of Science in Cyber Engineering with course work similar to the following: [*]Introduction to Graph Design and Theory [*]Secure Network Design, Theory and Implementation Introduction to Analog and Digital Signal Processing [*]Assembly for IA-32 and x86_64 Assembly for PowerPC, MIPS and ARM [*]C/C++ Programming for Windows, Linux and MacOS C/C++ Programming for Android, iOS and Embedded Systems [*]Python Programming [*]Advanced Python Programming [*]Automated Testing Theory and Implementation Advanced Graph Theory Introduction to Game Theory Advanced Game Theory Building Secure Scaleable Systems and Networks Building Big Data Analytics Systems [*]Automated Defense and Offensive Systems Theory and Implementation [*]Information Assurance Policy [*]Reverse Engineering Windows, Linux and MacOS Reverse Engineering Mobile Devices and Embedded Devices Reverse Engineering SCADA Systems Advanced Analog and Digital Signals Processing Cryptography for Engineers [*]Vulnerability Research Theory and Methods Updated - [*] Core courses. If the individual could make it through the above, they would be very knowledgable, experienced and ready for many of the hard problems in the realm of cyber that employers are wanting in extremely high demand.

ams6110 8y ago
Your list strikes me as significantly more than a typical master's degree would cover.
- suyash 8y ago
  Yes, that list does look bit overblown. Most MS in US need you to take 12 classes, each of 3 credits = 36 credits to graduate.
  - techjuice 8y ago
    Yeah, many would probably have to be broken down into electives, but if all of them were taken the graduate would be an extremely strong cyber engineer versus the current easy cyber degrees that are available now that do not really cover what cyber engineering employers are looking for. Most of the degrees are very general and do not go into depth or build a strong engineer during the process.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

Thriptic 8y ago

At the risk of topic hijacking, I was looking at Northeastern's cybersecurity masters program the other day. What do people think of this? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:2ygsHHstqxkJ:catalog.northeastern.edu/graduate/computer-information-science/information-assurance/cybersecurity-ms/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:2ygsHH...

loblollyboy 8y ago

cybersecurity + higher education - a meeting of memes!

znpy 8y ago

Still sad that Coursera/Udacity etc didn't really solve the course accessibilty problem though. Master's degrees are cool, but what about Bachelors' degrees ?

lemonghost 8y ago
There's an online BS CS on Coursera. I can't really imagine how that works though because a BS typically isn't as specialized as an MS. https://www.coursera.org/degrees/bachelor-of-science-computer-science-london https://www.coursera.org/degrees/bachelor-of-science-compute...
- toupeetape 8y ago
  It is offered by a British university. Undergrad degrees are more specialized here than in the US, a BSc in Computer Science is a completely normal thing and is what the majority of British CompSci grads would have.
barry-cotter 8y ago
They’re well on the way to solving the accessibility problem in terms of having all the materials available to cover a Bachelor’s in CS if they’re not there already. Coursera have partnered with the University of London to provide a Bachelor’s in CS. And the company launched in April 2012. The different MOOC providers may not have disrupted education but they’re off to a good start.

PakG1 8y ago

Looking at all the comments here, I imagine this is more of just a cash grab. They see the trend and the opportunity to make some money using their name. Serious employers would look for OSCP, less serious employers would look for CISSP, or either one for management positions.

itronitron 8y ago
I agree that employers are looking for those certifications, but I doubt they are finding them as frequently as they would like. In addition those certifications don't guarantee that a person is the right fit for a particular organization.
- PakG1 8y ago
  So would this Master's degree be a better alternative in an employer's eye or show that someone is a good fit? That's the important question. Otherwise why not get the certifications instead?
  - itronitron 8y ago
    It would show that someone is a good fit. I think the certifications might be a lot harder to get, but I could be wrong.

ConfSibi 8y ago

Just asking to gauge the community: I'm about to start a full time in person MS CS program at an Ivy League school. The school I'm studying at is not recognized as having an elite CS program, but it is top 20. Will the general prestige of the school I'm studying at help with getting internships and jobs after graduation?

Latteland 8y ago
maybe, but you'll still have to interview and do okay. It matters if you are cmu, mit, stanford, berkely, uw (maybe?) but who knows the next tier. this will probably be unpopular but there's so much more demand than available students that just doing a decent job in an interview will yield you all the jobs you could ever want.
joncrane 8y ago
Yes.
zerkten 8y ago
It'll help if you learn to network with alumni and pull together a good portfolio for you resume. Consider how balanced your resume looks today and what it's going to look like with only that MS CS program. As you go, investigate what companies are currently looking for and try to balance it with some practical skills that are related to what they are doing. You don't have to program the exact same language, but try to match at the conceptual level. Example: if they used Scala then your Clojure and Java experience is likely enough for them to take a bet on you assuming other fundamentals match up. Things like hackathons etc. might be a good start if you have real world experience today. It's also good to look for any sort of volunteer position that'll help development of leadership skills. With a master's degree expectations will be that you can develop into a leadership role which doesn't necessarily mean management.
apapli 8y ago
Totally as an aside, but for what it’s worth, 20 years ago when I did my degree I gave myself a rule that I would do 1 extracurricular activity every year that I could talk to for 5 minutes in a job interview. I theorised that over the course of 4 years (5 as it turned out) would give me 20 minutes of talking time. It worked. Even with average scores (and a handful of fails) I got a well paying job at a top company. Even back in the late 90’s many hiring managers valued experience and personality equally to academic transcripts. The extracurricular activities were: * organised LAN gaming days for 100 people to teach myself networking, event management, marketing etc. Quake was the game by the way :) * half a day a week work experience for a year at a relevant employer * involvement in a paid capacity at the student association, taking on leadership roles * something else I cannot remember now! Best wishes for your studies!

blueprint 8y ago

If it was so cheap to produce then why does it cost $10k?

marcinzm 8y ago
Because someone figured that they will make the most profit at that price point taking costs into account. Keep in mind that there are also presumably per student costs for things like grading assignments, exams, virtual office hours, etc. edit: Profit as institution, not just on this program, devaluing their in-person MS programs by charging very little for the online version would be a net negative in profit for example.
- blueprint 8y ago
  It was a joke
  - hacym 8y ago
    Good one.
    - blueprint 8y ago
      thx

Communitivity 8y ago

As the home site I used to go to for the hacking zine Phrack, it seems very appropriate they would do this. The courses though seem more generic than I'd expect. I tried to find the old gatech.edu site for phrack to ad the url here, but all I find now is phrack.org.

sk_hazratali 8y ago

I'm a grad of the OMSCS program. The "netsec" subject covered all of the "things that would help" and some in detail with practical projects. https://www.sherekhudahazratali.com/2018/08/main-gulam-e-khwaja-hu-hind-hai-watan-mera.html https://www.sherekhudahazratali.com/2018/08/main-gulam-e-khw...

jcrawfordor 8y ago

I'm currently in an online MS Information Assurance program offered by Iowa State University. It's both more expensive than this offering (although not by a lot) and from a university with a lot less name recognition. I mean, besides that it's probably in Iowa. So on the surface the GATech offering looks superior. However, I can't help but wonder how the "at-scale" model changes that. At IA State I'm "in" rather small classes and have very ready access to the instructor by email and phone. My work is also almost all graded by the instructor directly, most courses aren't big enough for a TA to have been hired. So I feel like it's a fairly personal experience, despite my physically being several states away and watching lectures recorded. I'm working on forming a committee for my thesis this semester so I'll be conversing directly with the faculty even more. I wonder how an "at-scale" program like this, which seems to get built more on a MOOC model, will compare. Will it feel nearly as much like receiving direct instruction from an expert, which is what I would want a graduate program to be, or will it feel more like an off-the-shelf mass produced training package? That's a big concern to me. Edit: I also feel like it's worth noting that my program confers an MS, with either thesis or creative component at student choice. I suspect this will be viewed more favorably by employers and others than an "OMS," even with a big name on it.

ironjunkie 8y ago
I looked quickly at some online master offering and you are exactly describing the struggle. Some places seem to charge an enormous amount of money (>40k$) and some other a fairly small amount of money (<5k$). Unrelated to the price, some are simply a glorified version of a Coursera MOOC with a non personalized experience while some other seem to offer a lot of 1:1 and side project opportunities directly with the TAs and teachers. This field is in full revolution, but it feels like a lot of universities see this as an easy way to get a couple thousands extra dollar for only posting the lecture videos online.

CitizenTekk 8y ago

It all makes sense to me. You received Master's online, because it Cybersecurity. Hacking between you and the mentor would be much of fun.

wilsonfiifi 8y ago

Any way of getting scholarships for these online degrees?

insertcredit 8y ago

This is a complete waste of time and money with the usual bullshit material taught by people who don't really have a clue and completely-out-of-touch-with-reality academic focus (write a buffer overflow!). If you really want to learn invaluable cybersecurity skills, start playing wargames. I suggest (1) which is one of the best. If you manage to reach level 25 on your own, then you are elite and the knowledge you gained doing so is not only extremely valuable but something you can be proud of. (Sidenote: I would hire anyone who reached vortex level 25 on the spot and pay him a six figure salary, without looking at any of his other qualifications/degrees/past experience) Additionally, read every single phrack (2) magazine from the past 20 years and try to understand most of the material within. (1) http://overthewire.org/wargames/vortex/ http://overthewire.org/wargames/vortex/ (2) http://phrack.com http://phrack.com

growtofill 8y ago
Thanks for sharing Vortex wargame! > I would hire anyone who reached vortex level 25 What would be the position/role?
- insertcredit 8y ago
  I'm not currently in a position to hire people, see my previous reply to danesparza. Doing these and other similar challenges and reading and understanding phrack articles would give you a solid foundation to start doing reverse engineering and vulnerability research and reap the rewards that come from successfully doing so.
noelwelsh 8y ago
Security is a much larger field than what the game you linked covers.
- mehrdadn 8y ago
  Almost every single comment I've seen on this page is about how the parent comment/post doesn't understand what security is about...

DanielGee 8y ago

Cybersecurity is something that I feel is best self-taught. Set up a small network at home. Go crazy with nmap. Set up a few VMs. Go crazy with gdb or windbg. The best way to learn is to break things. If you have an old application or game with serial #. Try to crack it. Set up an webserver + sql backend, try injections or other exploits. Profile/audit it to see what is happening. There are websites that document OS, Database, Webserver, etc vulnerabilities. Install older versions and try these vulnerabilities. Then you can look into worms, trojans, etc. See their code and how they work. And see if you can come up with ways to stop it. Then see how you would bypass your fix. You can also look at security ( white hate/black hat ) software that audit, pentest, etc. If it is open source, read the source. The only reason to shell out the $10K is if you are looking for a job.

chc4 8y ago
"The only reason to shell out the $10K is if you are looking for a job." That's a pretty big "if". If you're considering a cyber security Masters degree, you're probably interested in doing it for a career.

auiya 8y ago

I completed this online MS InfoSec program in 2013 back when it cost $40k (out of state). Who do I talk to in order to get a refund for the difference since now Georgia Tech are effectively admitting they were price gouging me by $30k?

MoBattah 8y ago
How was it?
- auiya 8y ago
  I thought it was a fantastic and quite challenging program from a curriculum standpoint. From a logistical standpoint organizing group project work across time zones was difficult at times. Not being able to ask the professor follow-ups in real time is a bit of a bummer, but they were all very responsive via email. Best of all is being able to kick back with a beverage in comfy clothes to watch the lectures in the comfort of your home. Worst part was the prices. I double checked and it cost me exactly $55,080 in total. So at $10k this is an absolute steal. I just wish they'd refund me the difference now.