7 ms·

In looking at the CS curricilum this looks more like an extended bootcamp. Most regular university courses are not there, the credits/classes won't transfer to

In looking at the CS curricilum this looks more like an extended bootcamp. Most regular university courses are not there, the credits/classes won't transfer to full universities, and you're left with a "degree" that pales in comparison to a "regular" degree. Plus you've spent about $5,000 to get their paper. I guess "accredited degree" just doesn't mean the same thing to as what I was thinking.

m463 6y ago
accreditation has varied levels of shenanigans: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accreditation_mill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accreditation_mill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unaccredited_institutions_of_higher_education https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unaccredited_instituti...
traverseda 6y ago
But is it enough to get me a visa to work in the US? I'm already a self-taught programmer, 5k is cheap to have the option of working in the US.
- cy_hauser 6y ago
  I would speculate no. It's not a well recognized degree and has little history or experience to back it up.
  - traverseda 6y ago
    Presume that my accomplishments stand on my own, and the only thing getting in my way is that I don't qualify for a VISA under NAFTA. What I'd need would be a > Baccalaureate or Licenciatura degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post Secondary Certificate and three years' experience. Now you and I know this is pretty much just a sheet of paper, but what's the cheapest/easiest way for someone who already has professional accomplishments to get that sheet of paper?
    - non-entity 6y ago
      > but what's the cheapest/easiest way for someone who already has professional accomplishments to get that sheet of paper? WGU might be that. it can be incredibly cheap (compared to your average bachelors degree) if completed quickly and I believe it's regionally accredited, so I imagine it qualifies you. Now what a hiring manager will think of it is debatable.
      - alfonsodev 6y ago
        I'm reading in admission requeriments "Students must demonstrate math readiness through successful and verifiable completion of a pre-calculus, calculus, or higher-than-calculus math course from an accredited post-secondary academic institution or WGU-approved third-party provider." Do you know where to make those coures online ?
        Hitton 6y ago
        Possibly https://www.edx.org/course/precalculus https://www.edx.org/course/precalculus - it's supposed to be "credit-eligible". You would probably need to check to make sure it counts.
      - jzebedee 6y ago
        WGU only admits people already living in the United States. I'm not sure if it has a citizenship or residency requirement.
    - barry-cotter 6y ago
      > Now you and I know this is pretty much just a sheet of paper, but what's the cheapest/easiest way for someone who already has professional accomplishments to get that sheet of paper? degreeforum.net exists to answer this question. Their answer is ~ credit by examination, prior learning assessment and transfer of credit to Excelsior, Charter Oak or TESU.
- uopeoplestudent 6y ago
  Purely for work? Maybe. As the other poster noted, I would also lean to no. For study and eventually work? No. The school does not participate in the student visa program. It's purely online. Some students start at UoPeople and transfer to a better known school to finish. This saves a fair amount of money. So, that's a possible path. But, getting a work visa in the US might be a challenge even then.
deathgrips 6y ago
It doesn't have a compilers construction class. Analysis of Algorithms is an elective class. It's not a real computer science degree.
- enjoyyourlife 6y ago
  Algorithms is also an elective class at Berkeley
  - deathgrips 6y ago
    This gives more ammunition to my hot take that degrees from elite universities don't teach you anything special.
    - blackrock 6y ago
      Most university classes on Algorithms, is simply to build a Binary Search Tree. Or maybe a Red Black Tree, for the more advanced courses. The concept is easy enough. The challenge may lie in the part where you must write the code in an unfamiliar language to yourself, like C++, which has its own pitfalls in trying to understand how pointers work, and to code it out, while not destroying your program. Recall that the core language is easy enough to learn. Rather, it is all the libraries and standards around a language, that is challenging to a new programmer to learn, and this basically requires time spent to master it.
      - deathgrips 6y ago
        I think we're talking about different classes. Computer science 102 traditionally teaches data structures and algorithms coding. Analysis of algorithms teaches the mathematical techniques for evaluating algorithms by their time and space efficiency.

m463 6y ago

accreditation has varied levels of shenanigans: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accreditation_mill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accreditation_mill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unaccredited_institutions_of_higher_education https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unaccredited_instituti...

traverseda 6y ago

But is it enough to get me a visa to work in the US? I'm already a self-taught programmer, 5k is cheap to have the option of working in the US.

cy_hauser 6y ago
I would speculate no. It's not a well recognized degree and has little history or experience to back it up.
- traverseda 6y ago
  Presume that my accomplishments stand on my own, and the only thing getting in my way is that I don't qualify for a VISA under NAFTA. What I'd need would be a > Baccalaureate or Licenciatura degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post Secondary Certificate and three years' experience. Now you and I know this is pretty much just a sheet of paper, but what's the cheapest/easiest way for someone who already has professional accomplishments to get that sheet of paper?
  - non-entity 6y ago
    > but what's the cheapest/easiest way for someone who already has professional accomplishments to get that sheet of paper? WGU might be that. it can be incredibly cheap (compared to your average bachelors degree) if completed quickly and I believe it's regionally accredited, so I imagine it qualifies you. Now what a hiring manager will think of it is debatable.
    - alfonsodev 6y ago
      I'm reading in admission requeriments "Students must demonstrate math readiness through successful and verifiable completion of a pre-calculus, calculus, or higher-than-calculus math course from an accredited post-secondary academic institution or WGU-approved third-party provider." Do you know where to make those coures online ?
      - Hitton 6y ago
        Possibly https://www.edx.org/course/precalculus https://www.edx.org/course/precalculus - it's supposed to be "credit-eligible". You would probably need to check to make sure it counts.
    - jzebedee 6y ago
      WGU only admits people already living in the United States. I'm not sure if it has a citizenship or residency requirement.
  - barry-cotter 6y ago
    > Now you and I know this is pretty much just a sheet of paper, but what's the cheapest/easiest way for someone who already has professional accomplishments to get that sheet of paper? degreeforum.net exists to answer this question. Their answer is ~ credit by examination, prior learning assessment and transfer of credit to Excelsior, Charter Oak or TESU.
uopeoplestudent 6y ago
Purely for work? Maybe. As the other poster noted, I would also lean to no. For study and eventually work? No. The school does not participate in the student visa program. It's purely online. Some students start at UoPeople and transfer to a better known school to finish. This saves a fair amount of money. So, that's a possible path. But, getting a work visa in the US might be a challenge even then.

deathgrips 6y ago

It doesn't have a compilers construction class. Analysis of Algorithms is an elective class. It's not a real computer science degree.

enjoyyourlife 6y ago
Algorithms is also an elective class at Berkeley
- deathgrips 6y ago
  This gives more ammunition to my hot take that degrees from elite universities don't teach you anything special.
  - blackrock 6y ago
    Most university classes on Algorithms, is simply to build a Binary Search Tree. Or maybe a Red Black Tree, for the more advanced courses. The concept is easy enough. The challenge may lie in the part where you must write the code in an unfamiliar language to yourself, like C++, which has its own pitfalls in trying to understand how pointers work, and to code it out, while not destroying your program. Recall that the core language is easy enough to learn. Rather, it is all the libraries and standards around a language, that is challenging to a new programmer to learn, and this basically requires time spent to master it.
    - deathgrips 6y ago
      I think we're talking about different classes. Computer science 102 traditionally teaches data structures and algorithms coding. Analysis of algorithms teaches the mathematical techniques for evaluating algorithms by their time and space efficiency.