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Be careful in your assumptions here. Online degrees still carry a huge negative stigma with them (which is interesting given that all students in the current c

Be careful in your assumptions here. Online degrees still carry a huge negative stigma with them (which is interesting given that all students in the current cohorts at normal universities will have had several semesters of remote learning). Signalling of the college brand is also largely underappreciated by online students. You're getting a degree for a fraction of the cost of an in-person one, but it may or may not also carry a fraction of the job market value. Note: I do not know which school you are referring to. It might be Berkeley's $70k+ degree or one of the many lower-tier schools, so YMMV.

ckdarby 6y ago
I believe they're specifically talking about data science and fields related? I'm a prior software development manager and degrees in general in this kind of field don't carry much weight outside of academic hires and very select companies. While some companies or hiring managers might frown upon this it doesn't matter if there is an active hiring group that doesn't put any weight on them. I guess one could argue that the ones who frown upon the degree pay more competitive but I've only found the opposite to be true with my experience. (I'm ignoring FAANG because they're so unique that they're an exception to everything in the "real world")
- mdorazio 6y ago
  I'm specifically talking about data science as well. My experience has been pretty much the opposite of yours. Data science boot camps and online programs have been cranking out grads for a few years now, so the base credential isn't all that valuable anymore. The big companies I work with are specifically looking for traditional degrees from Top 20ish colleges. On the other hand, it's probably quite different with smaller companies and especially non-unicorn startups.
bllguo 6y ago
wow, berkeley has a $70k online DS program?? Does your comment change re: stigma if OP was in fact talking about said berkeley degree?
- mdorazio 6y ago
  I believe it's actually about $76k. Yes and no. The brand recognition is certainly more valuable than getting a degree from a cheap school and would open more doors, but I believe that like many schools, Berkeley still distinguishes the degree as different than if you got it in-person. In this case, the degree name is different even though it doesn't say "online" anywhere, so it will depend on whether the hiring manager is aware of its online nature or not.
Google234 6y ago
I personally don’t get the appeal of hiring someone that did a DS degree. Most of the data scientists I know are phds or former post docs in math, physics, statistics, or neuroscience. I feel like as long as these fields keep producing too many graduates then it will be hard to get into the field.

ckdarby 6y ago

I believe they're specifically talking about data science and fields related? I'm a prior software development manager and degrees in general in this kind of field don't carry much weight outside of academic hires and very select companies. While some companies or hiring managers might frown upon this it doesn't matter if there is an active hiring group that doesn't put any weight on them. I guess one could argue that the ones who frown upon the degree pay more competitive but I've only found the opposite to be true with my experience. (I'm ignoring FAANG because they're so unique that they're an exception to everything in the "real world")

mdorazio 6y ago
I'm specifically talking about data science as well. My experience has been pretty much the opposite of yours. Data science boot camps and online programs have been cranking out grads for a few years now, so the base credential isn't all that valuable anymore. The big companies I work with are specifically looking for traditional degrees from Top 20ish colleges. On the other hand, it's probably quite different with smaller companies and especially non-unicorn startups.

bllguo 6y ago

wow, berkeley has a $70k online DS program?? Does your comment change re: stigma if OP was in fact talking about said berkeley degree?

mdorazio 6y ago
I believe it's actually about $76k. Yes and no. The brand recognition is certainly more valuable than getting a degree from a cheap school and would open more doors, but I believe that like many schools, Berkeley still distinguishes the degree as different than if you got it in-person. In this case, the degree name is different even though it doesn't say "online" anywhere, so it will depend on whether the hiring manager is aware of its online nature or not.

Google234 6y ago

I personally don’t get the appeal of hiring someone that did a DS degree. Most of the data scientists I know are phds or former post docs in math, physics, statistics, or neuroscience. I feel like as long as these fields keep producing too many graduates then it will be hard to get into the field.