to do an Msc in Cyber Security when my MA Business Communications means nothing?

[scrummummy]

I work in IT I got an invite to a taster day for an Msc in Cyber Security. I passed it on to my dh as he is a Solution Architect obsessed with security. We both love Mark Russinovich, so he went but its more senior management Msc not practical.
so DH suggested I do it.
would I be crazy to do it? I already have an MA in Business Communication which apart from the piece of paper was worthless as I didn't learn any thing.
its £9k over 2 years but tax deductible as long as I don't go perm.
but it would give me something to go for a CTO position.
waste of money or not?

Can I ask which university? My DP has been thinking about something similar.

I would do it in your shoes.

Will you make back that 9K in the 2 years after it?

the SANS qualifications are regarded highly in this field, far cheaper and far shorter in length. fwiw I would do one of those, see how it suits you and them commit to something more if you like it. will be back with the website in a mo

www.sans.org/courses don't know how to make it clicky sorry...

it QA its an American Private Company backed by Northumberland University. but its the only one in the UK or USA. it does look good.

shine- I could pay it out of my taxes before I got paid. and yes I could get a raise well over the cost. I would hope but with now experience how far would I get?

I went from £40k to over £60k but not just due to my MA so I would want to go to over £100k

QA you say.... In a former role I had experience of them and their training. I would go for SANS instead, the risk with them is that QA can be style over substance.

what is SANS?

sorry SANS is like learningtree week long courses at 2k is a go. Asked DH who has worked with people who have sans and he said its not for me as I don't need to understand thresholds on firewalls to prevent DDoS' more the overview of why the thresholds must be set than ootb configs.

He rightly identified the style over substance with the QA MSc but lt would give me the accreditation to be taken seriously as a contender for head of SecOps or CTO. So that I have the confidence to understand when I'm being bs'd and deal with the mysogynists.

plus its an accredited MSc

fair enough, horses for courses and all that :) you and your dh are obv well informed. good luck whatever you decide to do :)

also +1 for being able to deal with BS and misogynists, something that cones as part and parcel with being a woman in a technical field (as I am too) :)

Anything that would help me get a chance of a CTO position, I'd do in a heartbeat. I'd review the prospectus quite thoroughly, though. Cyber security is something that moves really quickly, as you know, so if the course materials are outdated it might not be useful for you unless having the degree means something for career progression, rather than the work you can do after you've acquired the knowledge.

Oops sorry I caught up on the whole thread. If what you want to get out of it is management level understanding rather than a dive in, then go for it. Anything that helps you gain the confidence to go for the big job!

My DH is a CTO. He has a PhD. Would doing something like that be an option? It really seems to set him apart.

The prospectus/syllabus will never move as fast as current trends and information, but the fact its as current as it can be is a plus. Is it a differentiator? I would say so, given that the vast majority of SME/enterprise networks are actively penetrated eg AmEx yesterday and the massive DDoS on the HK democracy movement (hasn't hit the news in the west yet). Being Agile in SecOps would become a trump card.

We'll, you've got your answer there, then

As you already have a masters level qualification you may have to pay extra fees under the elq rule - you need to check this out with the uni