Want to continue my Formal Education

[mark2142]

Hi everyone, I was a high school student back in 2010 and then I got problems in life where my studies were left behind. I do a lot of self study. But now I want to continue, do a Bs graduation degree but I don't know if any college in world allows a online physics degree. I searched for Arizona state university. Are there any better choices and what does ASU offer? How good is a ASU degree for jobs?

 

[berkeman]

If you are in the US, there are likely some 2-year community colleges near you that offer transfers to 4-year colleges after you get your 2-year degree. Have you looked into those options? Most likely they are in-person again now that the Pandemic has subsided...

 

[mark2142]

If you are in the US, there are likely some 2-year community colleges near you that offer transfers to 4-year colleges after you get your 2-year degree. Have you looked into those options?

Wow, i didn't know that. But I don't live in US. My focus is complete online education. Is it possible to get a degree from home?

 

[Vanadium 50]

My focus is complete online education. Is it possible to get a degree from home?

Yes. But it will be very, very,. very difficult to advance to a graduate program.

 

[mark2142]

Yes. But it will be very, very,. very difficult to advance to a graduate program.

What do you mean? Can you elaborate?
Its already very difficult :(

 

[Mark44]

What do you mean? Can you elaborate?
Its already very difficult :(

I think @Vanadium 50 might be alluding to the fact that undergrad physics programs require labs, which wouldn't be available in online-only courses.

 

[CrysPhys]

Hi everyone, I was a high school student back in 2010 and then I got problems in life where my studies were left behind. I do a lot of self study. But now I want to continue, do a Bs graduation degree but I don't know if any college in world allows a online physics degree. I searched for Arizona state university. Are there any better choices and what does ASU offer? How good is a ASU degree for jobs?

Please clarify your end goal. It sounds like you want to obtain your undergrad degree in physics online and then get a job. That is, you do not plan to continue on to a graduate degree in physics before getting a job. Is that correct?

If so, have you identified what job opportunities there are in your country (either current country or country in which you plan to seek employment) with an undergrad degree in physics? If it were me, I'd contact potential employers for their views on what value they consider an online ASU degree to have.

 

[CrysPhys]

I think @Vanadium 50 might be alluding to the fact that undergrad physics programs require labs, which wouldn't be available in online-only courses.

I'll leave it to V50 to clarify what he meant. At any rate, ASU purports to include labs as part of their online BS physics program (https://asuonline.asu.edu/online-degree-programs/undergraduate/physics-bs/):

"ASU is the first university to offer an online bachelor’s in physics with advanced laboratory coursework, which is vital for developing experimental skills. Our upper-division laboratory courses are designed to offer the same challenges that in-person students confront. You’ll have the opportunity to work with electronic kits at home and interact with simulated experiments online, handling equipment alignment protocols and noisy data."

They also offer an online BA physics program. How effective these labs are and how much value an ASU online degree offers, I haven't a clue. It is interesting that ASU doesn't designate that the degree is "online" in the transcript and diploma (https://asuonline.asu.edu/newsroom/asu-online-news/online-class-information/):

"Will it say "online" on my diploma?​

No. ASU Online graduates receive a diploma from Arizona State University, same as students who earn their degrees on campus. Neither your diploma nor transcripts will note that it’s an online degree."That is, potential employers won't know, unless they dig deeper.

 

[Vanadium 50]

• Labs are still an issue. "Simulated labs" are not the same as real labs. Further, labs are an elective, not a requirement,
• Faculty interaction is an issue. If all your letters say is "He got a good grade in my class" that is not competitive.
• Lack of other departmental interactions is an issue - no seminars, no colloqia, no informal tours of lab spaces, and so on.
• ASU themselves say their BA program does not prepare one as well for an advanced degree as a BS

If your goal is grad school, you could spend 4 years and discover you are still underprepared.

 

[CrysPhys]

• Labs are still an issue. "Simulated labs" are not the same as real labs. Further, labs are an elective, not a requirement,
• Faculty interaction is an issue. If all your letters say is "He got a good grade in my class" that is not competitive.
• Lack of other departmental interactions is an issue - no seminars, no colloqia, no informal tours of lab spaces, and so on.
• ASU themselves say their BA program does not prepare one as well for an advanced degree as a BS

If your goal is grad school, you could spend 4 years and discover you are still underprepared.

Just to clarify, ASU offers both a BA and a BS online physics program. They claim that the BA is suitable for students who do not plan to continue graduate studies in physics, whereas the the BS is suitable for students who do. Intro labs are required for both. Advanced labs are optional for BA, but required for BS. The OP has not clarified whether he intends to go to grad school or not.

But as I've said above, I have no clue as to what value (if any) these programs have. The OP should find out before committing time and money.

 

[berkeman]

If you are in the US, there are likely some 2-year community colleges near you that offer transfers to 4-year colleges after you get your 2-year degree. Have you looked into those options? Most likely they are in-person again now that the Pandemic has subsided...

Wow, i didn't know that. But I don't live in US. My focus is complete online education. Is it possible to get a degree from home?

This is really frustrating for me. When I checked your IP address location for your first post, you were about 20 miles away from me here in Silicon Valley, hence my suggstion. Your second post IP is on the other side of the planet. Do you really think you can get good advice without telling people where you are in the world? Please give us some idea of where you are, since it is hard to believe that you don't have communitiy college type resources near you.

 

[mark2142]

The OP has not clarified whether he intends to go to grad school or not.

Yes, I do want to...but I cannot do in person. If I could that would have made things very simple. That is why I have come here to get an advice.

Please clarify your end goal. It sounds like you want to obtain your undergrad degree in physics online and then get a job. That is, you do not plan to continue on to a graduate degree in physics before getting a job. Is that correct?

I want to study as much is possible online and then maybe get a job.

Intro labs are required for both. Advanced labs are optional for BA, but required for BS.

If your goal is grad school, you could spend 4 years and discover you are still underprepared.

How important are these labs for self improvement? What kind of practicals are conducted there? In which fields? Is it impossible to get it done online?
Getting a job is not a prime focus but to learn as much physics is.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Getting a job is not a prime focus but to learn as much physics is.

So why do you need a degree program? Why can't you just take classes? (And, to emphasize @berkeman 's point, why won't you tell us where the heck you are located?)

 

[CrysPhys]

Further to V50's reply above, some of your responses (as well as your location, apparently) are all over the map.

How good is a ASU degree for jobs?

Getting a job is not a prime focus but to learn as much physics is.

If getting a job is not a prime focus, why were you so concerned in your first post whether an ASU online degree is good for getting a job?

How much you can learn online, and how important hands-on lab work is, depend on your end goals. And I don't think you've thought those through. There are hybrid programs (even on the grad level) in which you take most of your courses online, supplemented by stints on campus. But the availability of such programs depends on where you are, which for some reason you don't wish to divulge.

 

[mark2142]

Guys I am from India. I want a degree because otherwise nobody takes you seriously where I live. Its a Life and death situation. And I love reading physics so why not get into that. ASU offers it. So I mentioned it but I was thinking are there any better options. Thank you.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Its a Life and death situation

I don't believe you. Are you seriously telling us if you don't get a degree you are going to die?

In that case, my advice to you is to get the easiest degree possible. You don't want to die, do you?

 

[Choppy]

If your primary concern is increasing your employment prospects, a physics degree alone (online or in person) may not be the best option. Physics degrees introduce you to physics and are generally geared toward preparing you for graduate school. The data suggests that physics BSc graduates are quite successful in gaining meaningful employment afterward, but with a physics BSc only it's extremely rare that they end up doing much in the way of the physics research they envisioned at the start. You can look up statistics on where US physics graduates in the US end up here:
https://www.aip.org/statistics/reso...sics-bachelors-and-phds-classes-2019-and-2020
I'm not sure how relevant this is for graduates in India though. But it's something to consider.

The next issue is online exclusivity. Here, I get the concerns. There may not be many local options for you to study in person and traveling for your education may not be realistic in your circumstances. So you want to seek out the best online option you can find. I think a lot has changed in recent years. Many schools rapidly switched to offering online options over the pandemic. Online studies have become much more mainstream.

That said, the concerns brought up above are very real. There's a practical skill set that comes with the study of physics, much of which is developed though labs and practical experimentation. There's the social aspect of studying and learning with other people. In person you develop an academic network of professors, post-docs, graduate students... people you can go to for help and advice and who may be able to help you out with reference letters or job connections at later points in time. And there are concerns with people cheating the system with online-only programs.

 

[CrysPhys]

Guys I am from India. I want a degree because otherwise nobody takes you seriously where I live. Its a Life and death situation. And I love reading physics so why not get into that. ASU offers it. So I mentioned it but I was thinking are there any better options. Thank you.

If a degree is truly a matter of life and death, then you should first ascertain which degrees the people who decide your fate consider to be valid degrees. If there is vetting, then you should find out whether ASU online (or any other online degree you contemplate) would be valid. If there is no vetting, then the most expedient path to getting a BS after your name would be via a diploma mill that gives you college credits for "life experience". The more you pay, the more credits you receive.

I understand how not getting a job could lead to dire straits (assuming no other source of support), but you previously posted: "Getting a job is not a prime focus but to learn as much physics is." So what are the consequences if you don't get a degree?