Is it worth going for an online degree or certifications better

tonyg1

Okay, as I have a full time job, married and have two little girls, going to school full time is not an option for me. I also, have tried going to school at night but that did not work as I found out the school is a paper mill.

Then I started to try to get my A+ certification on my own except without someone holding a gun to my head I lack the discipline. I start out strong but then get lazy and forget everything.

Someone had mentioned to me why not try an online degree for computers. I thought to go for forensics or network security but before I go ahead and get my hopes up I wanted to see what anyone out there thought about the online degree vs. doing certifications on my own?

I was thinking of going through Devry's online degree program, they have a computer information systems BA which they also allow you to specialize in a specific field as well. One of them is computer forensics as well as information systems security.

My father went to Devry for engineering and I do know it is not cheap that is why I am asking before I contact them and get harrassed for the next two years lol.thanks

erpadmin

http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/51715-western-governors-university-questions-answers-threads-related-wgu.html

http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/52825-student-experiences-western-governors-university-wgu.html

That's all I'm gonna say about that.....you will find that I tend to use the gun-to-head statement a lot when discussing why I went to WGU (and will soon graduate)...

tonyg1

erpadmin, thank you for the links I am going to read them now and I think already you may have helped me out alot with decision making! Forget about Devry! Thanks again...

Devilry

WGU! End of story.No, there is no other options worth considering.

the_Grinch

If you want to do forensics, I would go to a local college that can provide hands on training. Following online would be difficult and you'd get a lot more out of it by being in a classroom environment. But definitely get a degree, because people look for those...

jakecitrix

i think certs r more better to get than degree

Devilry

jakecitrix wrote: »

i think certs r more better to get than degree

The combination of the two, and experience can never be beat.

tonyg1

One thing that is bothering me about this WGU is about the credits/papers.... How can i pay for this and have no type of diploma, paper work or certificate not to mention CREDITS?

What do you do when you go for interviews ? What do you present to the employer? Do you not think employers will not laugh at you with no type of paper or credits to prove to them you have that?

Is there a list of the Governors that put this together?

Devilry

You do have credits or CU's, you get an actual transcripts, and you get a real diploma just like any other school, you can even walk at the commencement ceremony. Where are you getting your information? You need to take some time and read EVERY single post in this thread:

http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/51715-western-governors-university-questions-answers-threads-related-wgu.html

And by the time you finish that, you will be convinced WGU is the school you want to attend.

demonfurbie

jakecitrix wrote: »

i think certs r more better to get than degree

wow, i know my grammar and spelling sucks but wow

anyway a combo of both is normally required, a degree to get the job and certs to show that you are upto date on current tech

tonyg1

Devilry, I just started to read on WGU last night, so yes I do have alot of reading to do. Last night I came across someone talking about WGU on an online search result it may have been from years ago but someone questioned what I had posted about credits and paper work. So i decided to ask on here to see if things have changed since then.

Not trying to knock WGU or anything like that it is just that I aleady tried to go to a trade school back in 08. I worked with a guy that was going to this school and talked highly of them. I decided to try it and boy was that a mistake, my father is a retired electronic engineer he had joined the airforce and then went to Devry so I thought I had a private tutor since I was going for electronic technician.

At first it seemed like a good move for me until the first class was coming to an end and there was still more than half the book left that we never go to or touched on. They had said oh, you can keep reading after the class. Though, that class ended on a Friday and the new class started Monday.... Not to mention the stuff that we never touched on was important and my father could not believe how we can continue to move on without knowing or at least touch on the rest of that...

He began to have second thoughts of the school. Turns out we both were right to be suspicious I had to cancel once I started a class and the teacher for the first hour of class just went to youtube.com and started to show us funny videos every day! Then the rest of the class became a stand up comedy routine... I pulled out before i paid in full not like all the others that took loans and paid in full right off the bat. I paid as I went, but as soon as I pulled out they tried to say that I owed them 1500 for cancelling early. But once i mentioned what happened in the class with that teacher they never called me again nor did i ever pay the 1500. I did a credit check to see if they tried to mess my credit up for not paying the 1500 and nothing!!!! I probably should have sued them that is why i think they left me alone and never sent a 1500 dollar bill to me... I still work with the guy that told me about this school, he finished it up and graduated and that was 3 years ago he still has not found a job! He is now going to truck driving school and i asked him if he remembers anything he learned from there and told me not a thing! He spent 12,000 on that lol.

Not saying that WGU is anything close to that just wanted to say I had a bad experience once which instead of having a 5% what if in the back of my head it is now more like a 25% what if in the back of my head... just being cautious now

Shoot I was even thinking of getting rid of my house and quiting my job for me and my family to move back in with my parents so i could go to school full time at a real college but the wife is not that thrilled on that idea so I told her let me look at options.

SilverGenius

There is no local technical college that you can go to? There is one in town and most of the classes are night classes or distance since people have full time jobs. It is a brick and mortar school and is part of the state university system.

Akaricloud

jakecitrix wrote: »

i think certs r more better to get than degree

Certs don't teach you things like proper english and grammar.

Personally I'd suggest that you go for an AA technical degree with as many relevant certifications as possible. If at a later date you want to pursue a 4-year degree then you'll already have about half out of the way.