Need advice: Online Degree Programs

[yellowfin]

Ok folks, I'm at a point where I'm in need of some life improvement here. My wife's done with her schooling and gotten settled into where she wants to work so it's time to focus on my job prospects, and that's looking like it's going to need finishing my degree. I just got hit with a car repair and rental car cost that stacked up a hell of a lot faster than I'm being paid to do what I do right now and that just isn't cutting it, especially with the wife nagging me about wanting kids.

The best route as far as I can figure out based on what I know is doing it online so I can keep working and be adaptable to whatever comes up for opportunities in the meantime. What I see is a lot of different schools offering online programs but not very much to tell me a difference between them as far as which are reputable i.e. which ones an employer would look favorably on versus ones they'd basically toss out as junk. I've heard the "a college degree is worthless these days" bit over and over again yet also "they won't look at you without a degree" routine also--which is true, or is it both at the same time? Or am I better off going to a tech/trade school for a few welding & machining classes?

Yeah yeah, I should have gone into the military...well, I've got a wife now for the last 4 years so that's been off the table or I'd have seriously considered it.

Anyway, the one I'm looking at now is Penn State online, since that's a reputable school and there are campus locations in my area if I need to take any classes in person. I'm wondering if there are any choices of equal or better quality for a lower cost for someone like myself who did around 3 years of college classes but stopped several years ago. Anyone have info/experience on this?

[Littlelebowski]

I'm curious as well. I have a post 9/11 GI Bill burning a hole in my pocket.....

[kmrtnsn]

There are a bunch out there, ensure that the one you look at is accredited through recognized channels. When I decided to finally knock out the remaining credits I needed to finish my degree I went with American Intercontinental University. I was happy with how everything worked. Don't look at the online systems to be a money saver, they are not, what they are in convenient, especially if you travel, work shifts, etc.

I know when I was in the Border Patrol that the agents assigned to static deterrent positions, or "X"s as they were called (named after, "park here on this "X" on the map and sit there all day") would knock out class after class and that was before all of this mobile hotspot, live online participation stuff.

[orionz06]

I went to PSU, great school, great name, and the name means something nationwide. Reputable schools have had online programs for years, long enough such that most potential employers won't think twice about them. Depending how things work out I believe your degree may not indicate how you took classes. Either way I know that the name carries.

As for a tech/trade school I would be weary of PTI, ITT Tech, and Triangle Tech. Mostly crap employees come from there and their job placement percentages are high for reasons other than education. Quite frankly I am appalled with their tactics on how they basically rob people who don't know any better, but that is a whole different thread.

My online school experiences are limited to USC. I have been looking into them for an advanced engineering degree. They have an online program and will have exams proctored locally at some schools. I live near Carnegie Mellon and that is one location that they will accept.

[Voodoo_Man]

I finished up my bachelor's while working last out a bunch of years back. I could only go online since my schedule did not allow me to attend physical classes. I went to Ashford University. They had 5 week classes so every class was pretty high intensity. Lots of reading and writing

I would suggest you do a lot of research for whatever school you go to. When I went through I just wanted to get it done and the school I went to did what I wanted in terms of ease of use and flexibility. I would not recommend Ashford to anyone as I had a poor experienced not being liberally minded and not censoring my reports for whatever topic or class.

I have found that employers dont really care how you did as long as you have that paper. I have provided my transcript several times to prospective employers and they basically told me it was not needed.

So go for it. Do it now and get it over with. Don't wait the hardest part is starting school again.

[500grains]

I understand that this is a reputable online program:

http://www.wgu.edu/degrees_and_programs

But I have not attended it.

[a0cake]

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2012/01/10/us-news-ranks-top-online-degree-programs

[Col_Crocs]

I took up advertising online at the Academy of Art University.
What degree are you looking to finish? Going online in which school is relative to the major you want IMHO.
If Penn State online has a good program for the degree you want, I say go for it, esp with campus locations in your area... I Think that's a nice benefit, not just for classes you may take on campus but for the possibility of doing and submitting some school work as well. -- In some occasions, I had to submit hard copies of ads by mail. Classmates that lived in the area had a few extra days to work as they didn't have to account for mail transit time.
That said, if you find another school with a program equal to that which you are seeing at Penn State at a lower cost, I wouldn't hesitate to consider it either. My above experience is just that, my experience, and it really wasn't that big a deal.

[chadbag]

My brother finished his MS CS (or maybe it was MS CIS) through Boston University online. He took the first 1/2 or 2/3s of the classes through their night school in Tyngsboro MA and then moved to AZ where he took a year or two of taking a class or two a semester online to finish up.


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[TehLlama]

CS seems to be a bit of an exception from the stigma of online degrees, it's actually what I'm working on right now, even though I'm actually focused on an SE MS.