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In my opinion, you get what you pay for -- payment meaning time, money, and other sacrifices. Online degrees are ok if you're already established in your field

by jolie 16y ago

In my opinion, you get what you pay for -- payment meaning time, money, and other sacrifices. Online degrees are ok if you're already established in your field and simply need a piece of paper for upward mobility. If you actually need to learn shit, I don't recommend online universities.

lsc 16y ago
hah. I'd give the same advice, but for the opposite reason. You can learn with or without school. However, if you don't go to school (I didn't) you will always be /different/ from your peers. I obviously don't understand what actually happens in school, as I didn't go, but I can tell you that it does change you socially. I am very different from my peers who do the same job for the same money I do. In many ways, I'm more different than the foreigners who were educated here. Also, if you are counting on the paper to be worth something, you need the paper to come from a university with a reputation. None of the online degrees get any respect. Sure, if you actually know your shit, you are fine either way. There's always work for people who know what they are doing. But if you know what you are doing, having an online degree on top of that gives you almost no advantage over just knowing what you are doing. So yeah, uh, my advice would be either to just buy the textbooks and teach yourself the relevant bits, ignoring the degree, or go all the way; go to a 4 year college that has a good reputation, live on or as close as possible to campus, and have the 'college experience'
kls 16y ago
Right I was one of those "need a piece of paper" guys and I still opted for in campus instead of on-line even at a school that offered both (University of Phoenix) and I do not regret opting for on campus. Before I went, I could not publicly speak or give a lecture and now I speak at industry events and trade shows all of the time, in front of thousands of people. That contact and connection of having to speak in front of the class almost weekly taught me how to let go of the note cards and be natural, I would not have had that opportunity online. Now as for tuition fees for these online schools that is another story. I went back when we had the dot-com bust in 2000 out of fear that I would not be competitive. Let me say this very clear, if you are considering going back to be competitive don't, it is a waste of money and that is what the education trap preys on. The only thing I got out of my experience was the ability to speak well publicly, was it worth $40,000, for me yes because my speaking engagements have returned that ten fold, but that is the fringe case not the norm. Most do not see a significant return on that debt if they are already established. Here is a steal my idea, someone should set up a foundation to open an online university (and then campuses later) using open-courseware and other free online courseware and offer degrees for free, the school could be funded out of donations and percentile ownership in technology it incubates with groups of students. you could segment the education levels by giving them a grading such as people that could have went to Harvard or MIT are in the Alpha grade and will receive and -Alpha degree, state school -Beta, 4 year community -Gamma that way it is inclusive but reflects the realities of the world, some of us just are not that smart and degrees should reflect at least on a group level who is where, yet everyone deserves the opportunity as well as the opportunity to transcend from one level to another.

by jolie 16y ago

lsc 16y ago

hah. I'd give the same advice, but for the opposite reason. You can learn with or without school. However, if you don't go to school (I didn't) you will always be /different/ from your peers. I obviously don't understand what actually happens in school, as I didn't go, but I can tell you that it does change you socially. I am very different from my peers who do the same job for the same money I do. In many ways, I'm more different than the foreigners who were educated here. Also, if you are counting on the paper to be worth something, you need the paper to come from a university with a reputation. None of the online degrees get any respect. Sure, if you actually know your shit, you are fine either way. There's always work for people who know what they are doing. But if you know what you are doing, having an online degree on top of that gives you almost no advantage over just knowing what you are doing. So yeah, uh, my advice would be either to just buy the textbooks and teach yourself the relevant bits, ignoring the degree, or go all the way; go to a 4 year college that has a good reputation, live on or as close as possible to campus, and have the 'college experience'

kls 16y ago

Right I was one of those "need a piece of paper" guys and I still opted for in campus instead of on-line even at a school that offered both (University of Phoenix) and I do not regret opting for on campus. Before I went, I could not publicly speak or give a lecture and now I speak at industry events and trade shows all of the time, in front of thousands of people. That contact and connection of having to speak in front of the class almost weekly taught me how to let go of the note cards and be natural, I would not have had that opportunity online. Now as for tuition fees for these online schools that is another story. I went back when we had the dot-com bust in 2000 out of fear that I would not be competitive. Let me say this very clear, if you are considering going back to be competitive don't, it is a waste of money and that is what the education trap preys on. The only thing I got out of my experience was the ability to speak well publicly, was it worth $40,000, for me yes because my speaking engagements have returned that ten fold, but that is the fringe case not the norm. Most do not see a significant return on that debt if they are already established. Here is a steal my idea, someone should set up a foundation to open an online university (and then campuses later) using open-courseware and other free online courseware and offer degrees for free, the school could be funded out of donations and percentile ownership in technology it incubates with groups of students. you could segment the education levels by giving them a grading such as people that could have went to Harvard or MIT are in the Alpha grade and will receive and -Alpha degree, state school -Beta, 4 year community -Gamma that way it is inclusive but reflects the realities of the world, some of us just are not that smart and degrees should reflect at least on a group level who is where, yet everyone deserves the opportunity as well as the opportunity to transcend from one level to another.