Thinking of Getting a Degree

The schools promise in their advertising that employers won't care but it's not true. Nothing replaces hands on experience and learning that takes place through live examples and interactions in the classroom. Professionals know this and will judge accordingly- that is the unadulterated truth. And also, it depends what kind of degree. The more it has to do with people (sales, social work, etc.) the more it's important to be live schooling. IF it's a technical type training (reading sonograms, fixing computers) there is more leeway.

That being said, the best thing you can do if you are looking for a way to make this happen and can't commit the time of all live classes is to have a mix. Enroll in a school that can offer on-line classes for certain classes and live ones for others. So University of Phoenix is a horrible choice b/c everyone knows it to be primarily on-line. But, Fordham or a SUNY/CUNY school is pretty good b/c they have decent reputations and yet can offer you a variety of options that may include on-line. Good luck!

Hi M., I'm starting school on MOnday, all online classes with a local community college. I hope it is legit! Good luck, I think going to school is a great idea!

I know people who have gotten degree on line but you must
make sure it is an accredited school. Some are not real do your homework first Good luck

I recieved my Master's degree from the University of Phoenix. I am a teacher and NYS did except this college as accredited to recieve your permanent certification for teaching. Some of them are legit, you just need to do your homework.

Hi M.,

Wow, you have your hands full!! But, yes, it's achievable online. I'm currently enrolled in an online graduate degree progam, working toward my MBA with a concentration in healthcare. I once looked down upon online degrees, but it is more and more acceptable today. By trade I'm a healthcare executive, and I always wanted to further my education, but never had the time. I have three kids, 9, 7 and 4. I started to respect it when a collegue of mine was hired and offered a fabulous salary with an online degree (that clinched it for me). So, it is accepted. As everyone said, do you homework, and make sure the school is accredited. However, you must be sure this something you want to do. It certainly is not easy street. It's an exciting experience, but it's hard work (I think it's harder than sitting in a classroom, as you are forced to participate in "classroom" discussion--that's how they know you're there). It works for me because I'm a bit of an insomniac myself. I'm a SAHM as well, and I do my work when the kids are in camp during the day, and at night after they go to bed. You do get the social experience as you are required to perform group projects and work with people just as you would face-to-face. The dynamics are all the same, except you have the luxury of doing your work from your home or laptop. Another unique thing about online schooling is that your classmates are all throughout the nation, and you build a relationship with them. So, the networking opportunities are endless. All this to say, GO FOR IT!!, and much success! Send me a private note if you'd like. If you can't tell, I'm a proponent of online study.

M.

Hi M.:

I am currently enrolled in an online undergraduate degree program with Park University. They are regionally accredited and completely ligitimate. They are a university that offers onsite or online classrooms and the degree you earn does not differentiate whether you took classes in person or online, so employers really won't know the difference unless you tell them (and I don't see how it matters anyway). I got my associates degree in an offline classroom so I can speak from personal experience that online classes are much more difficult -- they require a certain intrinsic motivation because simply showing up (as most udergrad students tend to do) just won't cut it. I would highly recommend online classes to any stay at home. It has afforded me the opportunity to get an education with an infant (and now a toddler) at home, something that would have been delayed otherwise. My advice is to do your homework, and if you have any further questions for me feel free to send me a private message. Good luck! :)

You don't have to be a New Yorker to apply for the Empire State program. I have heard that that one is taken more seriously because it is an actual SUNY degree (State University of New York) as opposed to an "online" degree. I have a friend in Maryland who went that route. AND you can do both classroom and online courses (if you want), so no one would automatically assume that you did an online program. I would think that any program that offers both would be less "suspicious" to future employers.

If you are worried about potential employers looking at an online degree as substandard, I would suggest not looking into an online only school. Many schools now offer online degree which are not online only schools. When I had my daughter I wanted to stay home with her so I got my associate's degree completely online through the local community college. My degree says it is from OCC, and it doesn't say a thing about online studies on it. The only way an employer would know is if I told them. If I get my bachelor's(I'm taking a little break right now) it will be through another local school in the same format. I think the benefits of doing this are great, you get a degree from an already known local school, and the school is close if you do need something face to face such as tutoring, working with a professor, or if you want to pick your books up instead of ordering them, saving on shipping costs. I finished my degree last December and I would never go back to in classroom classes! Loved it!

Hi M.,

It all depends on what degree you are going after. As an employer - we take an online degree with a grain of salt honestly. It wouldn't push someone out of the running though. The main reason is we work directly with people (speech therapy) and it takes a lot of learning how to interact with others and an online degree does not really give the most well rounded approach (but neither do some onsite schools for that matter!!! LOL). BUT, if it's a good school and the program encompasses what it needs to, that does make a difference. So - to answer your question it depends what the degree is, employers may look at it differently depending on the actual degree, but I wholeheartedly agree with the others - make sure it is legit, accredited and in addition that you are doing work outside of just online classes to brush up your skills for the degree so you are applying what you've learned. Good luck!!

I have a friend who has gotten degrees (a MA and a PhD, I think) from the University of Phoenix online. They're legit. I am not sure how employers view them, but if you're in NY, Empire State does online courses in a variety of subjects.

Hi, I attended the University of Phoenix on-line. Although I really wanted to be in a classroom atmosphere, on-line was good for me because of my children. They were young like yours are, and it gave me a chance to go to school and also take care of my children. It was one of the best decision I made.

Give it a try!
C.

I was going to college before the birth of my second child and someday would like to finish. It is a local college but I was still able to take on line classes and save the time and gas of going to class. I had a 3 yo at the time and did homework and classwork mainly at night and it never interfered with her. I don't know how employers see it but I think that would depend on the place the degree is from and what type of degree it is. My friend got his Bachelors degree in computers on line and he got a job and a raise from it.

Research the "college" the degree comes from and see what accredidation(sorry about spelling) they have. It's a good way to get your degree "around" your everyday life and family without upsetting everything. Good Luck! A.

One of my friends is a pharmacist who got his degree back before the stipulation for being a phD was in place. He's currently taking all the courses needed to get his masters online. His suggestion was to pick an accredited college that had an actual building in addition to online courses. In his case he had to fly down to FL for 2 days to take exams at the end of each semester but that's due to the nature of the courses he's taking.

I'm in CT and many of the colleges have online courses. You should look into the colleges in your area to see what they offer.

All this with 4 kids including 3 three year olds? Man I wouldn't have had the energy to think of anything but sleep.

M.,
I'm not sure how you can check on how the college rates. I know that a local Institute here offers them, and they are certainly respectable, my SIL and brother graduated from a university in AZ.

I'm also not sure that the college reveals how you did all your credit work, or not. You may have to look into that.

I am going to hazard a guess that you will have to check the college's rating against other colleges, and see what you are looking for and how it all matches up with the job you want.

There are other things to check, too - essentially all the digging you would do for a university to attend classes, you have to do here.

Good Luck!
M.

Hi M.!
I would like to warn you of US Career Institute/McKinley College. I received my medical billing certificate through USCI and went on for my associates with McKinley. It was extremely expensive. I called my local community college to speak with them about the program. They said that USCI IS accredited nationally, but not regionally which means the most. I wish I had looked into this further before I spent so much money on it. I agree with all the other ladies, Phoenix University or community colleges are the smart way to go.
Good luck!!!!

Excellent!

University of Phoenix is well known but very expensive. I suggest you look into your local community college and see if they offer online courses. Its very inexpenive at community colleges and very often transferable to 4 year institutions. You may even be able to sneak in a Saturday am class on campus.

Employers do take online degrees seriously.

Good Luck

A little about me:

Married 15 yrs, Mother of 2 girls 10 and 4. Working on my degree in Health Sciences at local college. Works full time nearby.

I don't know about strictly online colleges, but I do know that pretty much every college and university in America does offer many courses online. Depending on what you are trying to get a degree in you may be able to do all your work online, or you may have to take a small fraction of classes in regular classrooms. All colleges do accept transfer credits from other colleges as well, so if you can't find a particular class at your chosen university you can take it at another one and transfer the credit in. You will recieve credit for the class towards the degree even though it was earn at another instution. Just be careful how many classes you take at another college, there is a limit and certain classes will not fully transfer. Your best bet is to talk to an academic advisor at the college or university of choice and they can give you all the specifics. But it is definately doable. I am doing just that myself. I stay at home with my 6 month of baby girl and have not stopped taking classes, even while pregnant and when giving birth. I chose to take classes online right now because I can not afford to pay a babysitter and she is too young for the college daycare program.
Online classes can be a wonderful tool if you have the dedication to set a schedule for yourself and can stick to it.

Let me try this again...comp problems..lol.

I am earning my second degree online from Kaplan University. What you need to look for when checking out online schools is that they are accredited. Search through the choices and read everything on their websites.

I started out at Univ. of Phoenix but had problems internally with financial aid the very first term. That was enough for me so I went to Kaplan...been there since 2003. I am thinking about getting another degree from there too...lol.

Doing homework in your time, wearing jammies attending class one hour a week is great. ~smiles

Good luck,
Nanc

My BFF just got her MA in library science with on-line courses. It was from an accredited NJU which has the exact same courses and degree at their physical setting. BFF 'walked' with all other students, campus and online, no difference. Her degree does not say courses were done online. It was tough and she had to blog with others in her class and the prof at a certain time each day. She had tons of papers and projects to do. There were many time consuming things to do for each course and she felt it would have been easier, but not convenient, to attend classes on campus. She could not keep up with the work for more than 2 classes a semester while raisng kids and working full time. And she has a husband who travels and is home maybe 2 weekends a month. Her saving grace was that she's an insomniac. She and I rarely got to see each other and she didn't do anything but work, raise kids and work on her courses for 3 years. You have to really want it but the rewards are v. good. She got a big raise and has a masters! Good luck. I hope this helps.

Just make sure it is an accredited, legimate on line program in your state, not a "diploma mill". Check it out with your state dept.of ed. to be sure.