TE Degree (BSc/MSc/PhD) applicants

TLeTourneau

the_Grinch wrote: »

In regards to point 4, N2, you are correct it doesn't matter a whole lot. I look at it from a networking stand point, but also some of the higher tier companies (thinking Google and the likes) it does hold some water.

If N2 is talking about the company I think he is it's one of the highest tier in its industry. Just saying.

Gabriele_S

University Name: Western Governors University

Degree type: MBA - IT Management

Type of attendance: Full-time and online

Starting Semester: March 2012

Link to the program: MBA in Technology Management | Online MBA | WGU College of Business Online

I have completed the first two courses so far and am now in the project management course.

ptilsen

TLeTourneau wrote: »

If N2 is talking ibout the company I think he is it's one of the highest tier in its industry. Just saying.

You and N2 work at the same company, and indeed, I would consider it the highest in its industry.

N2IT

TL I agree we work for a great company, I love it and feel very lucky to be apart of the organization. My role is not exactly where I want to be, but all the MS support I provide has boosted my MS office skills to a power user level no question. And to be able to assist high level professionals within their daily operations is a great honor.

I'm past the title phase, as long as I am bringing value to an organization in the form of service and operational support I am content.

Just for the record though TL is a super high level engineer while I am tier 3 application support. Big difference, in our roles, but TL is worthy of his position. Just being around TL and watching him work VMware and other engineering tools has been a great learning experience. Infact PT you have taught me a lot as well.

I'm just thankful to be apart of this well oiled machine that is consistently looking for ways to improve.

yazan84

University Name: Keller School of Management

Degree type: MS in Network and communication management

Type of attendance: Full time onsite/online

Starting Semester: Spring 12

Link to the program Master of Network & Communications Management | Keller Graduate School of Management

I hope it's worth it since Im not having the best luck landing a good job

eserfeliz

University Name: Florida Atlantic University

Degree type: Bachelor of Science Management Information Systems - Information Security

Type of attendance: First two years full-time, last two years part-time

Starting Semester: Fall 2008

Link to the program: MIS Degree Program and Coursework : Florida Atlantic University - College of Business

I graduate next week and I'm receiving some encouraging signs relating to new employment opportunities.

TLeTourneau

University Name: Western Governors University

Degree type: Bachelor of Science in Information Technology - Network Design & Management

Type of attendance: Online

Starting Semester: May 2011

Link to the program: Network Design Degree | Online IT Degree | WGU College of Information Technology

ahardinjr

University Name: Capitol College

Degree type: Doctor of Science (DSc) in Information Assurance

Type of attendance: Online with Yearly Residency Requirements

Starting Semester: April 30, 2012

Link to the program: Information Assurance (DSc) | Capitol College

UnixGuy

Aspiring MBAs, check this out:
The Ten Biggest Lies of B-School - Forbes

Asif Dasl

UnixGuy wrote: »

Aspiring MBAs, check this out:
The Ten Biggest Lies of B-School - Forbes

It's very true, if you've watched The Apprentice even those with MBAs can fail miserably, there are so many life skills to learn and an MBA can give you part of those skills but there are sooo many others that are not even covered. Learning is truely a life-long experience - and since you've got about 50 to 60 years after college to live (10% don't even make retirement but anyway) - it would benefit you to learn as much as you can as early as you can.

MickQ

University Name: Open University (UK)

Degree type: PGDip Advanced Networking, working towards MSc Advanced Networking

Type of attendance: Distance Learning

Starting Semester: May 2012 (taking two modules)

Link to the program: PGDip Advanced Networking and MSc Advanced Networking

erpadmin

Asif Dasl wrote: »

It's very true, if you've watched The Apprentice even those with MBAs can fail miserably, there are so many life skills to learn and an MBA can give you part of those skills but there are sooo many others that are not even covered. Learning is truely a life-long experience - and since you've got about 50 to 60 years after college to live (10% don't even make retirement but anyway) - it would benefit you to learn as much as you can as early as you can.

The reason why MBAs "fail" is because there are skills that an MBA (or any leader) has to have in order to be essential...leadership skills are had, not earned or learned. If you do not have these inherent skills, then you will fail as a leader...period.

No MBA from the best school in the UK or the US will change that.

N2IT

Great article.

That's why I am going through WGU and not giving a rats arse about a high dollar school. Quite frankly if it wasn't for the immediate return I will get once I obtain my MBA I wouldn't do it.

I can't STRESS how important real world experience is. I obtained one year of leadership experience, while being mentored by a top level Accenture alum. He had to relocate back to St. Louis because of personal reasons, but this guy was a true executive. It's a joke what I am learning out of these text books, compared to the information I gained from my boss. It became so clear that this is what I needed all along. A father figure in terms of mentorship in business.

I will never back down from my standpoint, that experience trumps text book knowledge. Together they can be leveraged into a powerful tool, but experience is the driver, not the school work.

@ ERP I agree with you 1000000% about the piece on having "it". You don't know you have "it" until you put "it" to use. I have put "it" to use and I have "it". It's a great feeling especially when you roll through life for 20+ years searching for your calling.

Asif Dasl

erpadmin wrote: »

The reason why MBAs "fail" is because there are skills that an MBA (or any leader) has to have in order to be essential...leadership skills are had, not earned or learned. If you do not have these inherent skills, then you will fail as a leader...period.

Mmm I'm not sure it can't be learnt, there are those who've got it from the starting blocks, no doubt. Lance Armstrong was not a leader until he got Cancer - life events can change you for the better or worse.

UnixGuy

This might sound negative, and I know that I haven't done any of those management classes, yet Management itself is a pseudoscience, and MBA schools are an invention of the 1960s. Leaders have always lead without taking any management classes. Sure, reading about management evolving best practices and working on practical problems, and learning few things about accounting/budgeting/finance/economy is helpful to a certain extent. Yet one has to keep an eye on the benefit/cost ratio when it comes to fancy MBAs.


My 2 cents.

erpadmin

Asif Dasl wrote: »

Mmm I'm not sure it can't be learnt, there are those who've got it from the starting blocks, no doubt. Lance Armstrong was not a leader until he got Cancer - life events can change you for the better or worse.

I'm sure you have known people throughout your life that were more followers instead of leaders. Give someone like that a book on leadership and see if he/she can "lead."

Leadership isn't just about command. It's about patience, listening, performing tasks no one else would want to do.....the command comes from being around people who will respect your presence enough to accept you as a leader. Those things can be taught at an MBA school, but only a true leader can put those things to practice.

WGUGeekGirl

University Name: Western Governors University

Degree type: Bachelor of Science Information Technology – Security

Type of attendance: Full-time and online

Starting Semester: March 2012

Link to the program: Bachelor of Science Information Technology – Security

So far I've completed the first two courses and hope & pray to have all tasks submitted for the third course this week. Thus far I absolutely love the program and am looking forward to accelerating as much as possible.

Asif Dasl

Yes there is a difference between book-smarts & real-world experience - experience is more important but book-smarts is valuable too. My point was, occasionally something happens which can turn a persons destination, determination, perception upside down - and maybe they didn't see the wood for the trees before but they become a different person - and they learnt (the hard way, which is usually how that works). Lance Armstrong was a regular team-member before he got Cancer, after that he was never the same person. But I know what you are saying, some people don't have it in them.

erpadmin

Asif Dasl wrote: »

Yes there is a difference between book-smarts & real-world experience - experience is more important but book-smarts is valuable too. My point was, occasionally something happens which can turn a persons destination, determination, perception upside down - and maybe they didn't see the wood for the trees before but they become a different person - and they learnt (the hard way, which is usually how that works).

My point too was it isn't even about real-world experience vs. book smarts...but rather inherent traits. Leadership isn't something that can be taught...you either have it or you don't. You can read up and write beautiful papers on what leadership best practices are...but in the end, it is all about how a person, personally, can be an effective leader, and no amount of schooling can make someone who is an ineffective leader an effective one.

Leadership can't be taught.

Asif Dasl

I'm not going to get in to a whole thing - I think it can be learned, but the majority just don't - but it's all about execution. If you've got anything that says it can't then I'd love to read it.

Can Leadership Be Learned? | Fast Company

http://www62.homepage.villanova.edu/jonathan.doh/leadership.15.doc

UnixGuy

That's problem, there's no end for such a debate. Articles doesn't prove anything, it's a matter of opinion. If one is given an opportunity to learn such skills through school, then there's no harm in that, but of course there's no guarantees of the outcome. Same thing with medicine or engineering school, you will be taught courses, but there's no guarantees that you will understand nor be able to apply them. It's a case by case thing.

erpadmin

UnixGuy is right...we could getting into a yelling match for days [not that I would want to] and still not convince the other. I could put up my leadership video lecture from my professor (a Ph.D in Org Behavior from a very well known school system in the states) where he mentions this himself on YouTube, but as I said, you would still not be convinced.

And that's fine, believe it or not. Some of the best leaders are those who motivate. If you can't motivate, you can't lead. That kind of stuff can't be learned in an MBA program. You learn that it takes motivation to lead, but you don't learn the how tos. Because it just can't be taught.

Asif Dasl

I'll do a little search myself - I wouldn't say that I could not be convinced, but we come from different parts of the world and perception can be different. Someone like Alan Sugar (UK The Apprentice) is NOT a motivator but he executes. That's why it's so important to get as many viewpoints and then make up your own mind as to what you believe.

erpadmin

Asif Dasl wrote: »

I'll do a little search myself - I wouldn't say that I could not be convinced, but we come from different parts of the world and perception can be different. Someone like Alan Sugar (UK The Apprentice) is NOT a motivator but he executes. That's why it's so important to get as many viewpoints and then make up your own mind as to what you believe.

I guess it is different over there. I watch the real Apprentice myself, and the ones who win Apprentice tend to be those who can motivate their team the best. Usually the team that works well on the task the best tends to win the boardroom because the other team was too dysfunctional. It takes a good leader to make sure the team doesn't fall into that dysfunction so that they can execute their task; even if their concept was worse than the other teams.

Asif Dasl

Well that's why I'm a little skeptical of the show - they all want the job and they are thrown together for a few weeks and looking at both the UK & US versions there is a huge difference in corporate culture. If you go to HMA and pick a UK proxy then you could check the BBC iPlayer out and see the difference yourself.

erpadmin

Asif Dasl wrote: »

Well that's why I'm a little skeptical of the show - they all want the job and they are thrown together for a few weeks and looking at both the UK & US versions there is a huge difference in corporate culture. If you go to HMA and pick a UK proxy then you could check the BBC iPlayer out and see the difference yourself.

I could use the laugh....I'll check them out when I'm home.

BTW, I saw that you guys (the Irish) have an Apprentice too. How is that one?

Asif Dasl

Avoid like the plague, Irish TV is awful, not that UK TV is much better outside of the BBC. Irish TV is designed to be different than UK TV cause we get that too - but when these remakes are done in Ireland they are universally awful. The TV station that do it (TV3) are an entertainment channel so that's their main slant on things and they hired a Z-list businessman - cause all the good ones wouldn't waste their time on it... i.e. They weren't paid enough money to do it.

But the formula is much the same, 4/5 good ones, 2/3 make-weights, 2/3 morons. If things are going well then some of the morons have stayed around by week 2/3, there is a bitching session between some of the teams and one falls apart cause they still have the moron left. You have so many candidates on the US version it's ridiculous though.

But at the end of the day it's a TV show - it's made for you to shout at the TV "I could do better than that!" and the reality is if you could you would, and you wouldn't be working for them. Profits are better than wages - Jim Rohn - there is a reason why Steve Jobs got a $1 salary.

Michelle Dewberry won the UK Apprentice and didn't stay around too long - she left and did her own thing.

alan2308

I actually just finished this past Monday, but here goes.


University Name: Eastern Michigan University

Degree Type: Bachelors of Science in Information Assurance, Applied IA concentration

Type of attendance: Full time

Starting Semester: Fall 2010

Link to the program: Information Assurance

UnixGuy

Any update? Did you start your degrees?


I have until 31/August/2012 to decide whether to take up the offer or not. The only thing holding me back is the COST. The total cost of the degree is roughly 13,000 GBP (= 20,000 USD).

Do you think the cost is worth it? How much is the total cost of your Masters degree?