Need Advice: Is a BA in CS necessary?

Hey everyone I'm having a hard time deciding my path in tech and I wanted to hear your opinions/experiences.

Background on myself:

I'm 25 F and have recently separated from the military as well. During my time in the military, I had many interests in career paths and explored all that never felt right for me. Fast forward to my separation date, I felt stuck. I was 24 and lost on what exactly to do. I was a dental assistant while I was active and just settled on dental hygiene as my career path since it paid well and I knew it. As I start my prereqs for dental hygiene, I decided to dabble in code.

Tech has always interested me but I thought to become a programmer, I had to be a genius… so I created this fear within myself trying to pursue tech hence why I ventured into other paths while I was on active duty.

In my mind at the time, I felt like if I went back to when I graduated high school, I would've aimed to pursue programming/tech instead of the military. I felt "too old" and started to compare myself to my peers who have families, degrees, and careers. Pursing dental hygiene would only take 3-3.5 years for me and I would make decent money after graduating.

A month ago, I caught up with my old mentor/friend from the military and expressed my feelings about switching degrees and imposter syndrome. She gave me the courage to bite the bullet and pursue tech.

I talked to the CS program advisor and he recommended I get an Associate's in Web development and then pursue a BAS in cybersecurity since I expressed my curiosity in cybersecurity as well. I follow many programmers who have a BA in CS so my path is unique compared to what I'm exposed to.

My questions:

Does an Associate in web development and BAS in cybersecurity have any less meaning compared to a BA in CS?

What are your opinions on educational background in tech?