Once again, thank you, and apologies for the delay in my response. I was traveling this weekend and didn’t have time to really absorb your post until now.

IT degree – The degree I’m looking at is a business degree focused on IT Management. I chose this because it’s business-oriented, lets me leverage some of the experience I already have, and includes content outside my current wheelhouse that’s directly applicable to the roles I’m targeting. It also leaves a future path open if I decide to continue. My intention is to complete the IT Management degree and then evaluate whether I want to go on to an MBA or pursue more education in a different direction. The idea is to achieve something relatively quickly and stack wins so I feel like I’m making real progress. My biggest worry with jumping into something entirely new is burnout.

WGU - This is the first program I’ve really dug into, and it seems like a good fit for what I’m looking for. I understand their model, and my hope is that I can move through it fairly quickly. I’m not trying to “speedrun” it, but I do want to use my existing experience to accelerate where it makes sense. Based on my research, it still checks the most boxes. I have a full-time job, I have kids, I’m an assistant scoutmaster for my kid’s troop and so I need something that lets me learn at my own pace, in fits and bursts as I can clear time. I’ve run some financial numbers, and if I can stick to a plan, I think WGU (or a similar online, competency-based program) is still my best bet. Plus, I kind of like the idea of trying school in a different way than the traditional model, since I never had much love for traditional classroom environments.

Costs – As I said, I’ve run some numbers. I could do some prerequisites through something like Study.com, but the cost savings versus the added complexity just isn’t worth it to me. I’d rather commit to a complete program and march through it; I know myself well enough to know I need to feel like I’m “on the path.” I do have some tuition reimbursement and have reached out to HR for details, but even without that, WGU is affordable. My planning assumes a two-year target for the degree, but I’m fine if it ends up taking three.

I’m working on finding any transferable credits I might have and trying to track down my ACT scores (do 30-year-old test results even still exist?). I’m also talking with some trusted colleagues and friends who’ve been down a similar path for advice. I also personally know a career coach who is absolutely fantastic, and we’re meeting next week.

So, a plan is coming together. Thanks again for all your advice, this is good stuff and will absolutely help me on my path.

Which I always assumed was a hyperbolic stereotype based on things like the “Florida man” phenomenon.

Turns out it is a reality based description.

That’s an interesting euphemism.

This is why I’ve been so interested in local LLMs. This was always inevitable, and they know all the patterns and tricks to manipulate us… Going to be truly dystopian.

Once again, thank you so much. It means a lot coming from someone in the industry, who’s walked a similar path.

I have been making some moves. I am evaluating, but I don’t want to get stuck in analysis paralysis. I’m in the “what happens if my situation changes” stage, and right now, I still think having a degree will be a benefit.

Wait his lead over who??? That coke fueled failson is in the running??

Jebus, this is the stupidest country that has ever existed.

Living amongst these people is a baffling and frustrating experience.

Does he even know what words mean?

Some maybe, most probably not.

I do, I have a career goal I have been marching towards for some time but the momentum I had has stopped.

I joined the IT workforce during my generals at college, before the .com crash in the 90’s. I dropped out and have been working my way up ever since. I’ve led teams, I’ve been an architect, I’ve been a senior engineer, but I have always been after a director level role. No matter the experience though so far, the door is closed unless I have the degree.

So, I’m thinking about WGU, for an IT Management degree (maybe eventually a masters). It’s what I do every day, so I hope I can test out of a fair bit and the rest I should probably brush up on anyway.

I’m not after Fortune 500, I’ll go be a director for a balloon manufacturer or something, just a role where I can have a little of my own agency.

I’m aware, but I’m stuck where I am and can’t climb any further. So, either stop trying or try something else.

I never did but I’m now middle aged and stuck in my career without one. I’m right now planning on finding a competency based program to try to speedrun, so I can stop working on implementing others peoples broken garbage.

I have always assumed that everything that I type into an LLM is guaranteed to be completely insecure, and entirely public. I would never, in a million years, put anything sensitive into an LLM, any account and password is unique.

I mean, I figure whatever I type is going to be used as training data for the next iteration, and I assume anything that goes in, is retrievable to some degree.