3 ms·

This material looks very cool, it’s great that it’s free and I’m sure the quality coming from MIT is high. But having now completed both a degree in-person and

This material looks very cool, it’s great that it’s free and I’m sure the quality coming from MIT is high. But having now completed both a degree in-person and a degree online… I have to question the value of online education if you’re serious about progressing in a field, not just casually interested in a subject. With in-person programs, even at a low-prestige local college, you gain a network of people who you can collaborate with in your community, and those relationships are at least half the value of the program (if not more). With an online program that just doesn’t happen. Of course some people will post exceptions, but I’ve done both and online is just not the same. I wonder what we’re expecting from online education. For casual exploration and self-learning, amazing! But for entry into a new profession, or serious career advancement? Not nearly as good as “traditional” schools.

HWR_14 3y ago
The value of the local college decreases dramatically if your goal isn't to stay local. If you want to move across the country, I'm would bet the MIT name outweighs the friend-of-a-friend introductions you could get.
- kube-system 3y ago
  That depends highly on the type of work you're looking for, your experience level, and the type of organization that is hiring.
admissionsguy 3y ago
I have also completed a degree online and another in-person. It's a different experience but I strongly disagree that the online one is not as good for starting a new career (in my case it led to a prestigious PhD program and it was not an unusual outcome among my peers, definitely not an exception). I suspect many people's impression of online degrees is coloured by the fact that a lot of online programmes are opportunistic money making schemes of poor quality, but that is not an intrinsic property of this mode of learning.

HWR_14 3y ago

The value of the local college decreases dramatically if your goal isn't to stay local. If you want to move across the country, I'm would bet the MIT name outweighs the friend-of-a-friend introductions you could get.

kube-system 3y ago
That depends highly on the type of work you're looking for, your experience level, and the type of organization that is hiring.

admissionsguy 3y ago

I have also completed a degree online and another in-person. It's a different experience but I strongly disagree that the online one is not as good for starting a new career (in my case it led to a prestigious PhD program and it was not an unusual outcome among my peers, definitely not an exception). I suspect many people's impression of online degrees is coloured by the fact that a lot of online programmes are opportunistic money making schemes of poor quality, but that is not an intrinsic property of this mode of learning.