WGU vs tradition school..

adamroya

will employers take the WGU degree as serious as a degree in a 4-year state university? thanks

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Nytrocide

I've often feared this too...not only a 4 year university, but any other 2 year program that's not online.

spicy ahi

Degrees and their acceptance are never an exact science. At the end of the day, it all falls on the person/people who are involved in the interview process. My degree is with U. of Phoenix, which has a terrible reputation, online or otherwise. So I can tell you right now that I've experienced the gamut of reactions. Nonetheless, as long as you concentrate on your IT skills and can answer most if not all of the technical questions cogently, then where you get your degree won't matter at all. As a hiring manager I looked at skill sets and certifications first (along with the appropriate clearance level in my case), then only used degrees to whittle down the candidate count if there were too many that made my screening test. My humble opinion, it's worthwhile as an affordable option to earn an accredited degree, and one that you will walk away from with a few certifications under your belt to boot. Combine that with a resume of progressive work/responsibility and you'll be ok. Will you hit jobs that you aren't considered for simply because of your degree? Yes. Will you interview with folks who look down on your degree? Count on it. But as you gain in experience and knowledge and enforce them with appropriate certifications, those "missed" chances will be fewer and farther between. Good luck with your choice!

phaneuf1

Employers don't care about where you got your degree. 80% of them won't know whether it's online or B&M (unless it's a well known university). All that counts is the degree name, if you have certs and, the most important, your experience. Don't worry about your undergrad university, only check whether it's regionally accredited or not.

YFZblu

Not to minimize this or offend anyone, but IMO the degree primarily helps put another green check next to position requirements, so you can get past the HR people and into the technical interview - where your value to the organization will be assessed.

I'm with the above, for the most part 'where' isn't a big deal as long as the University is regionally accredited.

YuckTheFankees

This is discussed every other week on this forum. There are numerous individuals on this board who have graduated from WGU and they have some damn good jobs. One thing you may need to look at, is if you plan to go on to graduate school. I myself plan to graduate from WGU next summer and I hope to get into a top 20-30 MBA program. That being said, since WGU is pass/fail, my GPA will only be 3.0 so I will need to kill the GMAT's and possibly take additional courses to pad my GPA to hopefully get accepeted into one of those programs.

Ivanjam

@YuckTheFankees - is there a top 30 MBA that is 100% online and relatively affordable out there?

YuckTheFankees

Top 30 MBA's and affordable do not really go together. At the min., youll probably spend 50-65k. If the school happens to be in your state, you could get in-state tuition, which would bring down the cost A LOT.

phaneuf1

@Yuck If you get into Ross school with your WGU degree, let us know!

YuckTheFankees

It's definitely on the list!

MiikeB

I have had 0 bad experiences with my undergrad being from WGU which played a big part in me decided to use them for my masters.

I fully expect to have people write it off as being worthless because its online at some point in my career but even with that the value cannot be beaten.

I think the best thing WGU has going for it is that it is relatively unknown compared to U of Phoenix or Devry. I do cringe though every time I see a WGU ad. I feel like it cheapens the schools perception.

demonfurbie

wgu is really made for those are ready in the work force ... if i could find a university that would let me do a semisters work in 4 weeks on my lunch hour and at 11pm id go there, but i dont think ya will find a school as flexible as wgu and to me thats the real selling point