Just got accepted to DeVry University

[roguerower]

Hey, good luck. I got accepted to Virginia Tech for engineering. Rock on

 

[MikeMike]

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
See thread, coming soon. Diverting flamefest elsewhere.

this will be fun.

MIKE

 

[flot]

Ok, some comments.

1) Congrats on getting in. However, I like many of the other posters, was surprised to hear that you actually had to "get in." That's a big tip-off about the GENERAL reputation (deserved or not) of Devry and similar schools.

2) Education is what you make of it. You can be a complete retard and get a degree from an ivy league school. You can be very talented and get a degree from a mail order college. HOWEVER - the retard with the ivy league degree will have a better shot at getting an interview, period. He may not have a better shot at getting a job - but his resume will float to the top of the stack and he will get calls first. That is just life.

I do not have any direct experience with Devry at all. HOWEVER I can assure you that, in hiring for professional positions, candidates who come with a "name brand" degree will get preferential treatment.

Regardless of where you get a degree from - RELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCE is the most important thing you can bring when trying to land your first (or second, or third) "real job." Be sure to aggressively go after internships etc throughout your education.

You are doing 100% the right thing in persuing further education. Don't let anyone get you down about that. However, you SHOULD take a bit of caution from this thread, and do some serious research on your own as to whether or not you are going to get everything you want out of Devry, especially when it comes to job placement, etc.

Good luck!

<-- has a BS from a "name brand" school, and a good job, and does engineering interviews from time to time

 

[mzkhadir]

Before you take classes at devry, read the rate my professor.com website and find good professors.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: flot
Ok, some comments.

1) Congrats on getting in. However, I like many of the other posters, was surprised to hear that you actually had to "get in." That's a big tip-off about the GENERAL reputation (deserved or not) of Devry and similar schools.

2) Education is what you make of it. You can be a complete retard and get a degree from an ivy league school. You can be very talented and get a degree from a mail order college. HOWEVER - the retard with the ivy league degree will have a better shot at getting an interview, period. He may not have a better shot at getting a job - but his resume will float to the top of the stack and he will get calls first. That is just life.

I do not have any direct experience with Devry at all. HOWEVER I can assure you that, in hiring for professional positions, candidates who come with a "name brand" degree will get preferential treatment.

Regardless of where you get a degree from - RELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCE is the most important thing you can bring when trying to land your first (or second, or third) "real job." Be sure to aggressively go after internships etc throughout your education.

You are doing 100% the right thing in persuing further education. Don't let anyone get you down about that. However, you SHOULD take a bit of caution from this thread, and do some serious research on your own as to whether or not you are going to get everything you want out of Devry, especially when it comes to job placement, etc.

Good luck!

<-- has a BS from a "name brand" school, and a good job, and does engineering interviews from time to time

sorry, wrong. where you got the degree matters little.

 

[flot]

Originally posted by: spidey07
sorry, wrong. where you got the degree matters little.

As someone who has interviewed probably 50 software engineer candidates over the last couple of years, I respectfully disagree.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: flot

Originally posted by: spidey07
sorry, wrong. where you got the degree matters little.

As someone who has interviewed probably 50 software engineer candidates over the last couple of years, I respectfully disagree.

Those are entry level positions/interns. After that it doesn't matter.

 

[Spencer278]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: flot

Originally posted by: spidey07
sorry, wrong. where you got the degree matters little.

As someone who has interviewed probably 50 software engineer candidates over the last couple of years, I respectfully disagree.

Those are entry level positions/interns. After that it doesn't matter.

And what kind of a position do you think the OP is going to be applying for.

 

[flot]

Originally posted by: spidey07
As someone who has interviewed probably 50 software engineer candidates over the last couple of years, I respectfully disagree.

Those are entry level positions/interns. After that it doesn't matter.[/quote]
Not true.

Do you see a lot of press releases that say "...and Bob Smith was selected as the new CEO of Intel... ...graduated in 1988 from Devry..." ? Do you see a lot of internal company memos that talk about your new VP's University of Phoenix degree?

I am NOT arguing that it is a bad career move. However, unlike your job at McDonalds or your summer at CompUSA, the school you get your degree from stays on your resume for a very very long time. That is an important piece of information to think about.

If you are looking for a career as a professional in a field, having a degree from a recognized and well-thought-of school will open doors for you and help you along. That is NOT to say that you cannot work hard and prove yourself no matter what - but it is part of your "first impression" to a prospective employer.

 

[ScottMac]

First, congrats to the OP, good luck, study hard.

To the anti-DeVry nay-sayers: DeVry has a great reputation for technical certs / degrees. Their study program is generally more focused than the average college (at least on the technical subjects).

In the last couple places I've worked (three places, 26 years), there were many occasions where we selected Devry Grads/Cert holders over grads from "better" schools because they performed better on the technical interview, and presented themselves well / better during the interview. Their practical skills, even as an inexeprienced candidate, were superior.

Oh, and BTW: I've never been to college; I'm a HS grad that finished solidly in the middle of the lower third of the class. I'm making *significantly* more than the vast majority of college grads I work with or know, many with MBAs or a technical Masters degree.

The paper *might* get you in the door; after that you have to prove yourself as an asset (not a$$hat) and work to excel in your position by working above-and-beyond the expectation.

Many of the folks that I respect the most as outstanding techs came from DeVry. They are doing very well carrer-wise and monetarily.

As for the "They're a for-profit institution" .... you can't be so naive to believe that universities are operating at a loss (or even break-even)?? Institutions of higher learning are some of the biggest cash-whores in the country. Even the state colleges and universities are out pimping money every day .... from businesses, from alumni, "give us a good price, we're just a school" ..... gimme a break.

As previously stated, many of the negative comments are coming from folks that will find themsleves stuck in the mid-level or lower, because they expect the company to bow and scrape to their degrees from "respected" schools. It ain't gonna happen: if you don't perform, you're not going to get ahead.

The last point is the cost of school versus the return after employment. If it takes you 10, 20, or 30 years to pay off your degree, then your effective salary for that period is much less than stated on paper. For many, it would be better to enlist in the military, get some training, get some discipline, get some valid experience, and follow it up with some school to round-out their business knowledge.

That's my .02

Scott

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: flot

Originally posted by: spidey07
As someone who has interviewed probably 50 software engineer candidates over the last couple of years, I respectfully disagree.

Those are entry level positions/interns. After that it doesn't matter.

Not true.

You see a lot of press releases that say "...and Bob Smith was selected as the new CEO of Intel... ...graduated in 1988 from Devry..." ?

I am NOT arguing that it is a bad career move. However, unlike your job at McDonalds or your summer at CompUSA, the school you get your degree from stays on your resume for a very very long time. That is an important piece of information to think about.

If you are looking for a career as a professional in a field, having a degree from a recognized and well-thought-of school will open doors for you and help you along. That is NOT to say that you cannot work hard and prove yourself no matter what - but it is part of your "first impression" to a prospective employer.
[/quote]

Very true.

But I have seen more executives and CxOs with degrees from no name schools than I have from the big ones. In the big picture where you get your degree from means very, very little unless you're in education.

 

[CStan]

In Canada, DeVry doesn't meet the standards to be a university. So it's DeVry college or something. I don't know too much about this, so if anyone has any info, post on. From what I know, Canada (maybe only Ontario?) has pretty strict rules on what can be called a University. It would be interesting to know what parts DeVry "failed" to not be able to be called that.

 

[OulOat]

Congrats to the OP, but yeah, I'm surprised that they test you before admitting you. BTW OP, how much is it costing you and how much do you expect to make when you graduate?

 

[Skiguy411]

Hm...How do you guys feel about North Carolina State University?


I was accepted to their Engineering college...

By the way....congrats!

 

[thunderroller]

congrats

 

[isekii]

This isn't a Parody ?

 

[arcenite]

Originally posted by: isekii
This isn't a Parody ?

hmm... no...

And i was being sarcastic about the 40 year old thing at mcdonalds... I am 20, 2 years out of CC..

 

[Harvey]

Here's a clue for all you lamers who knock others for where they are trying to better themselves and their lives. It's what you know, not where you learn it.

My degree is in business, but I'm an electronic design engineer, self taught with a couple of patents and a decent number of successful product designs. I've met plenty of idiot kids with EE degrees who know something about zero and one, but they don't know squat about how to deal with the infinite number of points in between. They know all about the specs of chips, but they haven't a clue about what it takes to make them into a complete product that can be manufactured at a reasonable cost and won't self destruct over time.

Congrats to anyone going for more knowledge to help them to a better life.

 

[CanOWorms]

There would be two things that I'd be worried about: The DeVry name and getting a Computer Engineering Technology degree. Do they not offer a Computer Engineering degree?

 

[arcenite]

Originally posted by: CanOWorms
There would be two things that I'd be worried about: The DeVry name and getting a Computer Engineering Technology degree. Do they not offer a Computer Engineering degree?

I was under the impression it was the same thing

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: arcenite

Originally posted by: CanOWorms
There would be two things that I'd be worried about: The DeVry name and getting a Computer Engineering Technology degree. Do they not offer a Computer Engineering degree?

I was under the impression it was the same thing

Hmm... I'm under the impression that a Computer Engineering Technology degree is a 'dumbed down' version of a Computer Engineering degree. I've seen it like that at some schools. Perhaps it's different at other places.

 

[Pr0d1gy]

Originally posted by: newbiepcuser

Originally posted by: arcenite
Hey you can all make fun of the school if you want, but it's better then being made fun of when you're a 40 year old man working at mcdonalds. If you don't have something nice to say, just go away :|

Chill dude, I said congrats. I didn't know you had to apply. As long as your doing something to improve yourself in life, its all good.

Can DeVry actually improve anything? I'm not trying to be an ass, I just always thought DeVry was like one of those crappy technical schools that nobody in the professional world respects.

 

[arcenite]

Originally posted by: Pr0d1gy

Originally posted by: newbiepcuser

Originally posted by: arcenite
Hey you can all make fun of the school if you want, but it's better then being made fun of when you're a 40 year old man working at mcdonalds. If you don't have something nice to say, just go away :|

Chill dude, I said congrats. I didn't know you had to apply. As long as your doing something to improve yourself in life, its all good.

Can DeVry actually improve anything? I'm not trying to be an ass, I just always thought DeVry was like one of those crappy technical schools that nobody in the professional world respects.

apparently a lot of people are under that impression

 

[Pr0d1gy]

Well I hope it works out for you. There are people in the real world who could give two sh1ts about where you went to school if you can do the job.

 

[edro]

Originally posted by: CanOWorms

Originally posted by: arcenite

Originally posted by: CanOWorms
There would be two things that I'd be worried about: The DeVry name and getting a Computer Engineering Technology degree. Do they not offer a Computer Engineering degree?

I was under the impression it was the same thing

Hmm... I'm under the impression that a Computer Engineering Technology degree is a 'dumbed down' version of a Computer Engineering degree. I've seen it like that at some schools. Perhaps it's different at other places.

The amount of credit hours is the same, the main difference is the lab time. I have a few mechanical engineer friends who say they have very little lab time. At DeVry, every single core class has at least 2 hours of lab associated with it. A lot of my professors taught at Columbus State, Ohio State, Capital University, AND DeVry.

DeVry gets a bad name because people don't know anything about it. Most people don't even know you get bachelors degrees from DeVry.

Fair or not, I do understand why employers might discriminate against them.