would you ever look down on someone because he has an online graduate degree?

[Zeeky Boogy Doog]

I'm about to begin an online Masters program this fall. I wouldn't even have considered it, but one of my classes last fall was 400 level class (generally highest undergrad level and lowest grad level) where the professor had to set up every day for the online students. The class was literally recorded for them exactly as we saw it every day, so they weren't getting anything different, they just couldn't participate in class discussions or show up for labs (but they still had to do the labs, which were also recorded iirc). I'm CS though, so there's little difference in sitting in front of a computer no matter where it might be rather than actually not having access to equipment. FWIW, I am planning on going back to campus to finish the degree though.

Edit: The online degree is just a professional degree, though, rather than a full fledged M.S. degree with thesis, which is why I'm going back to campus.

 

[Gibson486]

Absolutely. At just a bit over 6'-1", I "look down" on most people anyway...It's the rare tall one that forces me to look up...

I suspect that an "on-line engineering degree" wouldn't be looked at too favorably. Some majors, sure; English, philosophy, etc...but not something that required tons of lab work like engineering or science majors.

not true. Lots of part time engineering programs are online only. AT my school, you still had to take the test on site. That means that if you are out of state, you have to find a way to get there to take the test.

 

[metalmania]

Even Master's degree has different meanings. A MS is definitely better than a ME. I am not talking about the work experience and other personal abilities, just the academic point of view.

 

[thepd7]

How would you get an online degree in something that requires a lot of lab work like engineering?

ABET accreditation for their undergrad program? or no?

imo if a graduate degree is all online how the fuck are you tested? multiple choice? i would laugh if so..

I've actually looked into the the online master's engineering program that Purdue offers through distance learning. It's the same courses taught by the same professors. You do the same homework and take the same tests which need to be administered by a designated proctor. The course catalog that's available is light on courses that require lab work and heavy on courses that are more theoretical because those can be done just without any additional equipment.

As far as I can tell Purdue does not make any distinction between a degree earned on their campus or through distance learning. Considering they have a great deal to lose if their name is diluted by a low quality online program it seemed like a completely respectable way to get a degree.

I would be concerned about a degree from a place that is not acredited by ABET or doesn't have a well known name for engineering. Schools with a valuable reputation aren't going to risk it by a bad program while schools that have nothing to lose will churn out degrees to make a few bucks.

Yeah, my only question is how are you tested?

If you have to go take the same test as a regular class 3-4 times a year then I won't look down on you at all. What I have seen from most online degrees though is since they can't test you they have you write a ton of papers, and that doesn't fly for engineering.

I have had a friend who did a masters at SMU in engineering via distance learning. They sent her the DVDs to watch every week and she had to do the same homework. For tests she would have to drive down there once a month or so. I respect that degree.

 

[qaa541]

Yeah, my only question is how are you tested?

If you have to go take the same test as a regular class 3-4 times a year then I won't look down on you at all. What I have seen from most online degrees though is since they can't test you they have you write a ton of papers, and that doesn't fly for engineering.

I have had a friend who did a masters at SMU in engineering via distance learning. They sent her the DVDs to watch every week and she had to do the same homework. For tests she would have to drive down there once a month or so. I respect that degree.

All the tests are proctored. There were strict guidelines about who could be proctors (no coworkers and especially no family or friends) and how they had to give the test. Pretty much the same thing as taking the SAT or any other test for that matter.

My experience at CU Boulder is that the tests are exactly the same as the on-campus folks... just proctored for me where I live. It is not financially feasible to fly to campus multiple times per semester (I live in California and went to school in Colorado), not to mention that not all classes line up midterms on the same week.

Another thing is that when I applied at CU Boulder, I had to basically fill out and win a spot in the department just like when I applied for grad school at UC Irvine on campus. It is not like CU Boulder just lets anyone with money attend the program online. I had to gain admission to the department the same as anyone else on campus with the only difference being a checkbox on the "distance learning" option.

Like I posted before, I can only speak for the school I attended through. I specifically looked for a school that had a good reputation in the on-campus world before considering their distance learning programs. I have no idea or basis to comment on other universities, especially the ones that are mainly online-based vs. established traditional state or private universities.

 

[edro]

I wouldn't bring it up unless it was asked.
There is zero benefit in announcing it is an online degree.

Let your work experience do the talking.

 

[zinfamous]

Degrees don't influence my opinion one way or the other. I've seen too many papered dumb asses to put too much stock in them. Quality work is what impresses me.

very good point.

But I'd still put less credence into an online degree of any sort.

 

[bobsmith1492]

You can get the same grad degree online as at the school; I've been looking into it recently. There are only a couple that offer the full range of courses in digital signal processing online, though - Illinois Institute of Technology and Purdue. They're both very good engineering schools, and it doesn't matter if you take the courses at a distance or on-campus.

Many engineers do distance learning while working full-time.

 

[Devilpapaya]

Degrees don't influence my opinion one way or the other. I've seen too many papered dumb asses to put too much stock in them. Quality work is what impresses me.

I like this.

Also I can't speak for college online courses, but I took an online course in HS to raise a grade above a C to get a scholarship.... Was the single easiest class I have ever taken in my life.

It was an english class (albeit freshman english) but the content was pre-middleshool by some standards (I live in AZ, I know low education standards).

 

[Chaotic42]

No. I want to go back to school, but the only way that is possible is online. Hopefully within a decade or so, it will be the norm. The whole physical university idea is outdated.

 

[sandorski]

If it's not LB U, it's Poo.

 

[Bignate603]

Yeah, my only question is how are you tested?

If you have to go take the same test as a regular class 3-4 times a year then I won't look down on you at all. What I have seen from most online degrees though is since they can't test you they have you write a ton of papers, and that doesn't fly for engineering.

I have had a friend who did a masters at SMU in engineering via distance learning. They sent her the DVDs to watch every week and she had to do the same homework. For tests she would have to drive down there once a month or so. I respect that degree.

It's the exact same tests, they are delivered to a proctor who has to meet certain requirements. It can be someone at your company but I believe their are requirements on how they can be associated with you. I'll be taking mine proctored by either someone from HR or my department secretary. They provide you with a copy of the test which then needs to be sealed and mailed directly back to the school.

If you don't have a company that will be able to proctor you they recommend contacting a local library because they often will proctor exams for people. there are also testing centers where you can pay a small fee to have them proctor the exam.

 

[vbuggy]

Absolutely you should dismiss online / postal degrees altogether if you're an employer. If you're learning for the sake of learning - as in a mature student type manner - then things are different, but in terms of a primary degree, I'd say online courses are completely worthless.

A large part of the benefit of a degree holder from my point of view in comparison to someone who's attended the 'school of life' *is* the physical university idea, unlike a previous poster. You can't get the related social experience and opportunities at the level of education any other way.

What you learn, in my view at least, is less important than how you learn - and make use of it.

I can guarantee you Facebook would not have started from online university graduates. Neither would Google - despite the fact that these are online products. They come from likeminded people meeting each other by chance in an environment condusive to such encounters and throwing ideas to and fro. Try that on a correspondence course.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Ehhh, I suppose it depends on the type of engineering, but I find it extremely difficult to believe that all the labs can be done in 2 weeks without massive watering down. Labs are important and make up a big chunk of time spent in class, and its easy to say that a program where lab work is significantly cut back isn't a good program.

Imagine if a soon-to-be doctor did all his hospital work in 2 weeks over summer. But again, it depends on what type of engineering or what the goal of the program is.

Now your being just plan goofy....stop being an idiot!

 

[mrjminer]

Pro-tip: Many degrees are worthless and mean nothing other than you took the time to get a piece of paper.
Proof: MBA
Supporting movie quote: "See, the sad thing about a guy like you is in 50 years you're gonna start doing some thinking on your own and you're gonna come up with the fact that there are two certainties in life. One, don't do that. And Two, you dropped a hundred and fifty grand on an education you could have gotten for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library."

Most of the fields I think are exempt from this rule are science/engineering (construction-type); you probably don't want someone without good training mixing chemicals no experience mixing a bunch of chemicals. Basically, anything where someone could die if the person wasn't well-trained. Otherwise, I'd say judge it by the person.

 

[Modelworks]

The biggest problem I see with online courses is lack of hands on experience in things like labs. Learning engineering by just reading about it has some bad consequences. You can usually tell the people that never left the classroom or never did labs they are the ones that make comments like "So thats what it looks like"
Other than that for things like math I see no problems with it.



I also think there is a difference in quality of online courses. Some are just recordings while others I have looked at require a webcam for each student and all the students appear on screen with each person appearing to everyone else when they ask a question. The teacher also gets to see that the student is attending the class. It is online in that you are not physically there but not like playing a recording.

 

[Bignate603]

Absolutely you should dismiss online / postal degrees altogether if you're an employer. If you're learning for the sake of learning - as in a mature student type manner - then things are different, but in terms of a primary degree, I'd say online courses are completely worthless.

A large part of the benefit of a degree holder from my point of view in comparison to someone who's attended the 'school of life' *is* the physical university idea, unlike a previous poster. You can't get the related social experience and opportunities at the level of education any other way.

What you learn, in my view at least, is less important than how you learn - and make use of it.

I can guarantee you Facebook would not have started from online university graduates. Neither would Google - despite the fact that these are online products. They come from likeminded people meeting each other by chance in an environment condusive to such encounters and throwing ideas to and fro. Try that on a correspondence course.

And you're missing the point of most of the online masters degrees for engineering students from respected. They aren't set up for people that are a full time student, they are people that are already working in the field and can't take the time off for a full time degree. They already are getting the social experience you're talking about 8 hours a day at their job.

 

[vbuggy]

They already are getting the social experience you're talking about 8 hours a day at their job.

No they're not. I'm surprised I even have to write that in response.

 

[Chaotic42]

Absolutely you should dismiss online / postal degrees altogether if you're an employer. If you're learning for the sake of learning - as in a mature student type manner - then things are different, but in terms of a primary degree, I'd say online courses are completely worthless.

A large part of the benefit of a degree holder from my point of view in comparison to someone who's attended the 'school of life' *is* the physical university idea, unlike a previous poster. You can't get the related social experience and opportunities at the level of education any other way.

What you learn, in my view at least, is less important than how you learn - and make use of it.

I can guarantee you Facebook would not have started from online university graduates. Neither would Google - despite the fact that these are online products. They come from likeminded people meeting each other by chance in an environment condusive to such encounters and throwing ideas to and fro. Try that on a correspondence course.

I don't really think that I could disagree with you more if I tried, but I'll just say this: Some people don't have access to physical universities. Should they then be shunned from intellectual society because they couldn't attend and build social relationships in that particular manner? That sounds like a great basis for forming oligarchies than anything especially useful.

I'm curious as to what you mean by "how you learn - and make use of it".

 

[AreaCode707]

Pro-tip: Many degrees are worthless and mean nothing other than you took the time to get a piece of paper.
Proof: MBA
Supporting movie quote: "See, the sad thing about a guy like you is in 50 years you're gonna start doing some thinking on your own and you're gonna come up with the fact that there are two certainties in life. One, don't do that. And Two, you dropped a hundred and fifty grand on an education you could have gotten for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library."

Most of the fields I think are exempt from this rule are science/engineering (construction-type); you probably don't want someone without good training mixing chemicals no experience mixing a bunch of chemicals. Basically, anything where someone could die if the person wasn't well-trained. Otherwise, I'd say judge it by the person.

It annoys the crap out of me that I would seriously increase my earning power and make myself eligible for jobs I'm otherwise qualified for just by listing an MBA on my resume.

 

[Chaotic42]

It annoys the crap out of me that I would seriously increase my earning power and make myself eligible for jobs I'm otherwise qualified for just by listing an MBA on my resume.

I agree. I'm lucky in that I'm in a small industry, so experience is important. Too much emphasis is placed on education and not enough is placed on intelligence and workmanship.

 

[Bignate603]

No they're not. I'm surprised I even have to write that in response.

Yes, because the social interaction they'll get in a class room teaches them far more how to actually get work done in the corporate world than actually working a real job.

Sorry, but you're wrong on that. The 'social experience' of college doesn't transfer to being succesful in the private sector once you get out. There are plenty of engineering students that do very well in school but can't succeed once they try to get a job because they don't have any experience working for a real company doing real work in their field. The social dynamic of most companies has nothing to do with the 'social experience' you get in the typical college classroom.

 

[TallBill]

The funny thing is that nowhere on any degree does it say "online". Hah

 

[Bignate603]

The funny thing is that nowhere on any degree does it say "online". Hah

Yes, but when your job history shows you were working the same year you got a degree from a school in another state they're going to ask.

 

[TallBill]

Yes, but when your job history shows you were working the same year you got a degree from a school in another state they're going to ask.

If you can work full time and go to school full time then clearly you're doing something right.