Blog :: by Wade Woolwine

1. A degree is less important than strong relationships with the people one is working with/hopes to work with. However, success will come *in spite of* not having a degree. In today's job market, having an undergrad degree is the neutral state. Not having a degree is a handicap, but not an insurmountable obstacle. It is possible to have a long rewarding career with no degree; we all know of people who have done this.

Consulting firms catering to federal contracts generally cannot be as flexible on this as private industry, because the contracts generally have a minimum level of degrees necessary.

2. I think if you are spending your own money on them, they are a waste of funds. They are not much less expensive than an in-state education, and the level of instruction is frequently terrible. I know several people who have worked at or gone to umuc, and haven't heard a single good thing about it. Even when, as umd employees, they were going for free.

Also, keep in mind that it is not a boolean question of degree or no degree. Much like a degreed state is neutral, having a degree from a traditional 4-year institution is neutral. Having a degree from a degree mill can be a negative handicap. (Having a degree from an Ivy League school is a boon.)

A degree mill is neutral in places where where they just need to check the degree box, but if people you do not know well are grilling you, they will be using *what* you got your degree in and *where* you got it as a metric to judge you; against themselves, and against other candidates.

Unless your employer is footing the bill while you maintain a solid employment history, an online school is going to raise more questions than it answers.

3. I had made my mind up to go back to school before I was laid off from $BORG. It has been difficult and has eaten into my savings considerably, going to school full-time and working part-time. (I dropped out as a freshman.) I feel a good deal of frustration at not being able to "test out" by waving my 15 years of experience around, but even the somewhat average education I am presently receiving is light-years better than what I would get across the campus. And as it happened, by taking classes here, I transitioned into a major that I find far more interesting than the work I've done before. I grumble, but I don't regret the process.

_k

Good questions... Ones I wonder about often... Here are my thoughts:

1) It depends where you want your career to go. I don't think it's too much of a problem to get a technical engineering job that pays well and gives you challenging work. You and I are examples of that. If you want to move into management, well that's another story. Lack of a degree might hurt significantly there.

2) I don't think there's really anything wrong with them. However, if I had to choose between two people who were otherwise equally qualified and one went to Strayer and the other to a more traditional school, I'd likely pick the traditional school. I don't know why and it may not be fair but I'm willing to bet a lot of employers are like that.

3) There is really nothing preventing me from going back to school except a full-time job. But, I have someone who would be willing to help support my decision to go back to school if I had to cut back on working or contribute less financially to the household. My main problem.. I'm lazy... I'll admit it. And, if I go back it won't be for IT stuff so, realistically, I'd probably have to go to a more traditional school instead of an online school that specializes in IT and Business.

One other thing I should add... I've been thinking of getting out of the IT industry and going full-time into photography/photojournalism. You know what one of my main fears is? If it doesn't work and I have to return to the IT industry, my lack of degree might make me less competitive and I'm afraid of not being able to return to the pay scale I currently enjoy. So it does impact me in more indirect ways rather than a direct liability to my career thus far.

Thank you guys for your comments. I think that even though I posed the question, I already knew that I wanted to go back to school. Now becomes the seemingly daunting task of selecting a university which will give me the most credit for on the job experience while still offering a respectable program. If you have any suggestions on good programs in the DC area, I'd love to hear from you. Thanks again for the comments!

Wade -
1) I feel that degree's will get the door to open and experience will get you a seat at the table. Also, once you are in a position getting a new degree has minimal impact on the current situation. You basically have to go get a new job to take advantage of the new degree.

2) I'll repeat a previous comment 'an education is an education' I started my education at Ohio State. I did not like the environment and dropped to rethink my life. I ended up going to a smaller university (Franklin in Columbus Ohio) and excelled. The smaller schools will cater to the local employers to make sure they are putting out a quality product that can be hired. Schools are constantly evolving to improve and change their eduction delivery. What would you think of a school that delivers classes using Second Life?

3)After dropping from OSU I got married and my wife was going to school. After she graduated I went back to school for my degrees while she taught. We had one child on the way at this time and I was working full time and going to school. I received my first degree (an associates in computer science) and changed jobs to take advantage of the new degree. I continued on with my education as I worked as a programmer (mainframe & pc assembler). I went to school at night and completed my BS in computer management in three years after which I changed jobs to take advantage of the new degree (still programming). I still continued on with my education and picked up my MBA in 2 years. I spent over 10 years going to school to receive the 3 degrees at the same time I was supporting a family, working fulltime and was a member of the Army Reserve. We had 2 children and built a new house during that timeframe as well. I did give up a lot of things but I put what I thought was important first and lived with a short term inbalance for a long term gain. And, yes I would do it again :)

1. I feel that in today's society a degree definitely has weight when applying for jobs. It shows that you not only have the practical life experience when doing a job, but it also shows that you have the discipline to go through the program and enrich your own knowledge by outside means.

2. I feel that colleges like Strayer are great - I for one am currently attending American Military University, which is an online degree program. Education is education whether you are sitting in a classroom and learning or doing it online. I will tell you however, I do miss the one on one interaction with a professor, to me that was something very valuable that you do not get with online courses. However, at the same time, as a working professional who literally does not have time to go to a class, I appreciate the fact that I can learn on my own time.

3. I first started attending grad school in Sacramento, where I was working 40+ hours a week and going to school full time. After one year I was completely burned out. Since attending AMU, I have been able to work full time and take 1-2 classes at a time and not feel the burden of having to trek to the classroom and I am able to do my homework and research papers on my own time. Being a working professional, especially in the Washington, D.C. area, I highly recommend going the route of alternative universities in order to persue higher education.

1. It depends. I don't think having a degree equates to technical proficiency but I do believe it can have an impact if you are trying to climb that career ladder within corporations. In the DC area, having a degree is a huge advantage as when companies bid on jobs, they need to include resumes of people who have degrees. To me, a degree tells me more about a person who is a "returning adult" than someone who got their degree right after high school. I went back to school and graduated when I was 27. I didn't go to school because my mom and dad said I had to. I went to school because I WANTED to. I WANTED to learn and WANTED to improve myself. Companies like people who want to improve themselves.

2. I have no issues with colleges like that. When you work full time and have to go to school, you have to balance what works with your schedule and your family life as well. Schools like these usually cater to returning adults.

3. I was in this position when I got my bachelor's degree. I worked about 30 hours a week and went to school. At times it was tough, but it was also very rewarding.