Angry Citizen said:I would say no, considering it's not an engineering program, and it's not accredited by ABET, and like you said, you'd be missing tons of math (and physics for that matter). Also, it's online, so that drops its worth significantly. Total waste of thirty grand.
deadsupra said:http://www.abet.org/AccredProgramSearch/AccreditationSearch.aspx
good luck finding your new engineering program and dropping the 30k online program
deadsupra said:No one is saying online degrees are rubbish. Well... actually, ABET is. Since they give the permission slip to work as an engineer, you must do as they say.
Sankaku said:My suggestion, if you are unable to take in-person classes at the moment, is to do the Math and CompSci courses you can from a distance, from a reputable school. You will not get an whole engineering degree this way, but you will have a number of the important courses done so that you can enter a proper engineering School at some point in the future. Math and CS are subjects that you can do at a distance, Physics and Engineering are not. However, any distance course that is not garbage will be much harder than a normal course.
I am more familiar with programs in Canada, but Athabasca is recognized in the US as well. They have some solid Math and CS courses, but you will need to double-check that your "institution of choice" in the future will accept the credits. This goes for any distance courses - do your research.
http://www2.athabascau.ca/course/ug_subject/cd.php#comp
Thompson Rivers in BC also has some solid Math courses:
http://www.tru.ca/distance/courses/math1141.html
http://www.tru.ca/distance/courses/math1241.html
http://www.tru.ca/distance/courses/math2111.html
http://www.tru.ca/distance/courses/math2121.html
I know of a few other non-scam distance programs, but I don't have any first-hand experience with them:
http://www.uccs.edu/~mathonline/reginfo.html
http://www.dcs.wisc.edu/lsa/indlearn/math.htm
http://netmath.uiuc.edu/
UCCS does have video lectures on the web, so that might be a plus for them.
deadsupra said:No one is saying online degrees are rubbish. Well... actually, ABET is. Since they give the permission slip to work as an engineer, you must do as they say.
I understand your situation, but you must understand: physical attendance is necessary in engineering classes and its pre-requisites (math and physics). Therefore, either pay the expensive tuition at devry or another online degree school.
The degrees you have linked all seem like telecommunication maintenance jobs given to Indians for tech support.
Look specifically for "Electrical Engineering BS" or whatever engineering field you choose. I think Devry offers Engineering BS, which seem too broad in my opinion. Seems like it won't prepare you enough for the FE or PE tests (remember, the degree isn't the only thing you must do).
Do yourself a favor and learn more about different types of engineering fields. Look more in detail at computer engineering, software engineering, electrical engineering, etc. Consider if you really want to go down this path and willing to pay the tuition. Ask yourself if you will be comfortable with this career.
I say this because so far, you are saying stuff like: Well whatever I can get, as long as I can tell people I'm an engineer...
jwxie said:Soon or later you would need to get into a physical class. I honestly don't see how it is to become an EE if you haven't done the laboratory part physically.
I am not sure how many EE companies will hire someone who obtain her degree from an online program.
Do you consider the web programmer a software engineer? No. But people who actually write the web framework are considered "software engineers"
Some schools DO offer software engineering degree over CS, and CS is only a common gateway to become a software engineer.
jwxie said:What about community college?
Soon or later you would need to get into a physical class. I honestly don't see how it is to become an EE if you haven't done the laboratory part physically.
I understand your situation - you have obligations which hinder you from going to a school. But if you really want to become an engineer (software engineer is a whole different story here), you should enrolled in a school physically. Furthermore, if you want to find a job you probably want to go to a school that can offer you some kinds of career assistance. You have to get a job later. I am not sure how many EE companies will hire someone who obtain her degree from an online program.
CpE is not always half CS half EE. If I am corrected, Georgia Tech, for example, is more EE-sided.
Where do you live? Maybe the members from your area can help you.
What kind of obligations?
Software engineering is a whole different story because it isn't fully CS. SE is a very misleading title. Do you consider the web programmer a software engineer? No. But people who actually write the web framework are considered "software engineers". It depends on what do you want to do. Do you want to write a web framework? Do you want to join Google / Facebook /Micosoft / IBM? Do you want to write hardware drivers? Are you more interested in mobile applications? What exactly is your interest? These things will lead to a decision of whether you should look for a software engineering degree or CS. Some schools DO offer software engineering degree over CS, and CS is only a common gateway to become a software engineer.
That being said, if OP has obligations that keep him from attending a class physically, what is the odd that he will be able to get an internship? I know internship is not all that necessary, but consider how many new EE graduates are added to the market each year. I'd say OP has to sort out the obligation. What kind? Raising a family?Since the HR people often get their degrees from online programs, I don't see this to be a problem. The big problem is how not to get ripped off. If you have a decent degree, people won't care where and how you got it.
Very true. MVC. The graphic and template one aren't "software engineers". You clarified my point. Thanks.And that can be quite justified. There are many different levels of web programming. There is create an html page on facebook, and then there is being part of a team that maintains ten million source code lines of code web applications for online banking or airline reservation systems.
What matter is what does he want out of the degree? Going to a traditional CS program may not interest him. Maybe he would find applied mathematics more interesting. Maybe he find CpE more promising than a regular CS. It is also very true that CS ABET is not necessary at all.On the other hand, the degree is merely a tool. The software industry tends not to care where you get your computer knowledge, only that you get your computer knowledge, and some of the best programmers I've met have are self-taught. ABET certification is important for some types of engineering, but I've never met an employer that cared if your CS degree was ABET accredited, or if you had a CS degree at all.
jonq1987 said:I am not saying anything like "Well whatever I can get, as long as I can tell people I'm an engineer" All I said was that I love computers so anything in either EE, CE, or SE will do.
twofish-quant said:SUNY has an EE degree under way
Sankaku said:If all you want to do is work with Computers, why the obsession with a degree that says Engineering in the title? As said by others above, you don't need ABET certification to get hired doing programming. Also, why do you need a Master's degree? Wouldn't one degree be enough if all you wanted to do was get into the field quickly?
If you don't have any experience with writing software yet, take one half-decent online programming course to get your feet wet and see what you are getting yourself into.
jwxie said:Your PhD won't make you rich. It's a miserable thing that so many people are going to PhD because they think it makes them smarter and more valuable.
Programmers don't really need BS. But if you want to work for a big company, yeah, sure you need a BS. It's a requirement.
I think for most people a master is good enough (non-thesis). PhD is really for someone who is interested in doing research (both academia and private) type of work. It is something that I am also worried about. Do I really want to pursue a PhD. I think for now I am going to explore my options and maybe work a year or two before deciding my graduate admission.
SUNY is a great system. Stony Brook is an excellent school. The tuition charge is still very affordable for non-resident... If you are NYS resident that's even better.
jonq1987 said:Well it wasn't so much that it had to say engineering in the title, but rather that it would transfer well to grad school.
It's just how I was raised, my mom always told me to go all the way. So if I get a BS and I see there's an MS I'm definitely going for it, and maybe even a PhD later on.
jwxie said:Programmers don't really need BS. But if you want to work for a big company, yeah, sure you need a BS. It's a requirement.
jonq1987 said:I'm not looking to be rich, I just want to have a complete education.
jonq1987 said:Aside from some math courses I would be missing, would this degree suffice to get me into an electric engineering prog or something similar?
http://www.apu.apus.edu/academic/programs/degree/1278/bachelor-of-science-in-information-technology
deadsupra said:No one is saying online degrees are rubbish. Well... actually, ABET is. Since they give the permission slip to work as an engineer, you must do as they say.
Geezer said:jonq1987, how old are your nieces and nephews? Do you live in a rural area or an urban area?
Geezer said:NO NO NO NO NO!
I would run as fast as you can from APU and for-profit "university" out there.
There are 186 Comments about DRU's undergraduate program: 84 negative, 63 positive.
MacLaddy said:
MacLaddy said:But let me tell you, online classes are not any easier than in-school classes. In fact, they may be even harder. My online algebra and trig classes hammered me every single night. Five days a week they assign homework, and more tests then you can imagine. It's when I finally went to class that I got a break.
jonq1987 said:I don't care about that, I learned a long time ago not to pay attention to those reviews. It's the same with university of phoenix but I went there and i loved it.
Geezer said:If it's not ABET accredited, THEN IT'S A WASTE OF MONEY!
twofish-quant said:Not true for electrical engineering and software engineering. No one cares if you are ABET accredited. In those fields, people actually don't care much how you got your knowledge. I've been able to get jobs as an application programmer, not withstanding the fact that I've only taken only one computer course in my life, and you can take it online if you want (google for MIT 6.001).
Credentials don't count for very much in the software world, because it's easy to test for knowledge, there are people with Ph.D.'s in CS that can't program and college dropouts that can (Bill Gates).
This can work both ways. You could spend massive amounts of money getting a EE/CS degree and then find it's useless because you don't have the skills to pass an interview and no one cares that you have a degree.
jonq1987 said:I can only speak on what I've seen but every software and electrical engineer job I have seen always says you need a degree. I have yet to come across someone who will hire on knowledge alone.
mege said:I'm currently working in a job that was posted as 'requires Computer Science Bachelors or similar degree' without having a college degree. But I also have a dozen years experience doing this, so they looked past it. I'm sure anyone with sufficient skills would have been evaluated, even without a degree.
jonq1987 said:well with that much work experience of course that makes sense. But today I feel a person my age would be hard pressed to find a job with no credentials. (I'm 23) But I come from the medical field so I guess I just look at it like that because of our requirements.
mege said:You do have to start somewhere, though, was more my point. Getting into a job that 'requires a degree' is a bit of a misnomer for (I think) most jobs out there. You will have to start somewhere though, with a little bit of experience, and work your way up.
Maybe I overlooked it, but what do you really want to do? What is your ideal career?
jonq1987 said:Well I would love to work for the government or big name private sector companies. Of course i can't just instantly work there without job experience, but that's what I'm aiming for.
mege said:Doing what? I'm sure they all hire janitors. :p (however, I'm guessing that's not your career goal)
jonq1987 said:lol well I don't have a clear picture of that just yet, but as I go through school i will learn what I enjoy more and I will decide then.
mege said:Then, unfortunately, I think that I can only parrot what some have already said: the online route may not be in your best interests. This esspecially if you're unsure what you want to do. Online degrees offered by (mainly) for profit schools have very tight curriculums that are non-transferable and may not even apply within their own school for a different (even though similar) degree. Not to mention they're incredibly expensive when compared to 2 years of community college and 2 years of traditional University. Most community colleges have a lot of 'online' classes that you can take which might make going to school easier. There will still be some classes, esspecially the more 'technical', that you'll need to take live, but any of the english, history, and other geneds can probably be taken online reducing your time away from home. Also, I know the community college near me has free day care for students - which is a huge perk and maybe something that can help you.
