Higher Learning, Online?

provell writes "An ad for the U of Phoenix online education program caught my eye the other day. I know the concept of online education isn't a new one but it seems to be growing more prevalent with each passing year. As an IT consultant at the age of 18, I didn't give myself much chance for college and I don't get much time in town to take part time courses. With the burst of the E-Bubble, I'm starting to notice an increase in hiring standards. Is a BS a necessary bargaining chip for the IT industry and are online undergrad programs widely accepted/adequate? Any thoughts/experiences would be much appreciated."

Comments

I know people will disagree, but...

[afay]

From my experience, the most important thing you can have is a personal reference at the company you are trying to get a job with. Let me explain.

I don't have a degree and have had a very difficult time getting a job. My friends with degrees have had just as difficult time finding a job. The job market is tight right now and basically no matter what's on your resume it's going to be hard to find a job.

However, if you know someone in the company at the very least you will get an interview (try sending resumes to various companies and see how many get back to you) which is a big step and more than likely you will get a good recommendation from someone the hiring person knows. I can't stress the personal reference bit enough. All the jobs I've gotten comes from knowing someone in the company (except the bookstore job but that was not computer-related and only $7.25 an hour).

So, my suggestion: contact everyone you've previously worked with and find out where they're working. Ask them if the company is hiring and even if they aren't contact them again in a few months. Things change quite quickly in the job market.

Finally, good luck and I suggest at some point you get a degree anyway. Pay scales are often based on degrees. I plan to get mine starting next year.

You don't have to have a degree, but..

[agrounds]

Not having finished my degree yet has certainly held me back in more than one job. I'm a network admin with a strong *nix and NT background, but even with certification from Cisco, it is difficult to progress. One can always land a job based on what you know, and how well you present yourself in the interview, but my experience so far has shown repeatedly that the lack of degree will dampen your chances of rising beyond the daily grind. I work for a large utility now as the prime network admin for my department, but I will not be able to make the leap into management without a degree. My advice to anyone who jumped into the IT business too early (for whatever reason) is to make the time to get the degree from a respectable establishment. It'll cut into your personal time and, in my case, family time, but the ends will justify the means. No one really wants to retire a packet-jockey. Certainly not me. Thus I am making the economic and social sacrifices to get my degree. Even if it takes years, it's worth it.

Re:I'll let you know in about 2 years

[Deanasc]

I think you hit the nail on the head. Many people, and that unfortunately includes people in Human Resources, see the online degree as something that gets banged out during lunch. Until people really do get out into the workplace with such a degree and prove themselves this is probably always going to be the case.