Best path for getting a Ph.D?

QuantumPion

I currently have a bachelors in nuclear engineering and work for a utility company. For my career I would like to eventually get my masters and Ph.D and go on to work in research, at a university or national lab. What would be the best course of action for me? My job will reimburse me for college credits that I take while working here, so I would really like to take advantage of that opportunity.

I don't want to have to attend night classes while working full time, as I worked during college and really disliked not having any free time and being constantly stressed out. What I would prefer is a 100% online masters that I can work on just one or two classes per semester, and then after a few more years of work experience, go back to school full time to finish the Ph.D. I'm interested in computer science, applied math, engineering science, and possibly physics or electrical engineering.

I've looked at a few university programs, and most online-only masters programs in fields such as computer science offer a "Masters of computer science" degree, as opposed to 'real' MS degree. Would this be an impediment to getting a Ph.D? Is there a better option?

jammidactyl

The "best" path is the one that you'll stick with.

Don't know anything about it, but USC has a distance program for engineering.
http://den.usc.edu/prospectives/faq.htm