WGU success stories

Some folks still think that a degree from a purely online university is a joke. You don't want to work for or with that kind of people. I personally think that the stigma (if any) about online education is slowly disappearing due to the fact that many managers nowadays actually got their degree from an online college, so I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread about graduates who currently have success in their career essentially because of their WGU degree.

I want to read your success stories where you think WGU helped you get job interviews, salary raises, promotions, better opportunities, enrolled to a Master, self satisfaction, etc... I want to read every positiveness that WGU brought into your life.

I just thought it would be nice to have all of them in one big thread. You can even copy your posts from other threads if you want to. I'm sure it will be huge motivation for future and currently enrolled students like me.

Thank you and I look forward to post MY success story!

PS: feel free to add your story even if you got your degree from a different online university

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Comments

jessica.gadd

I am looking forward to your (and others') success story (ies). I have been looking at WGU quite extensively and it seems like there are a lot of WGU fans out there (especially here on TE).

eansdad

You can do a search on LinkedIn and your favorite Fortune 500 company and see some interesting job titles. Not sure if a degree from WGU had a hand in those jobs but still uplifting.

YuckTheFankees

Here is what WGU has done for me:

*Allowed me to finish 90+ credits in two semesters (70 -1st semester, remaining credits during the second semester). This was a major selling point for me because I knew I could put the effort/time to finish the degree quickly.
*Once I get my degree next month, I will now be able to apply for most jobs because I will meet the bachelor degree requirement (I'm not saying I will start looking but it will help once I do start looking..maybe next year?)
*I will have obtained a B.S. without going into debt. Not too many people can say that.

If I was 18-21, I would of probably gone to a state school and have had the "college experience" but being in my mid 20's and already having a job I enjoy, WGU was perfect for me.

I will not be attending WGU for graduate school. I feel WGU served it's purpose for me but obtaining a graduate degree at a state school is a goal of mine. I'm fine with having a bachelors degree from a school that most people do not know about but I would like employers/people to know my graduate school.

spiderjericho

I'd say Iris The Angelic (lol) has had a lot of success post WGU. But I think the degree was just an enabler for the driven individual. She seems like a highly motivated person.

A lot of people on TE are the same.

Unfortunately, I'm in the military, so the B.S. I got from WGU will have nary a benefit, except for my next promotion board (3+ years away). I do plan on pursuing the MSISA, as I have 8 years remaining in the military before retirement and want to set myself properly afterward. And WGU provides the cheapest and quickest way to get a Masters degree. I do plan on a second masters later, possibly at a brick and mortar.

Iristheangel

I am far from Angelic.

I have too many wall of sheep stories from Defcon to qualify as angelic :P

I would say that my degree helped me out for my current job. It required a BS and I graduated about a month and a half before I found this job. I might have been able to get the job without the degree but I'm not 100% sure. Either way, it certainly made it easier to get the job and I did notice a LOT of responses when I updated my resume on the job sites out there.

spiderjericho

Iristheangel wrote: »

I am far from Angelic. I have too many wall of sheep stories from Defcon to qualify as angelic :P

Was talking about the face not the deviant behavior. What web sites did you post your résumé on, if you don't mind?

And do you think the Master's, despite how you feel about the education experience, will raise your stock?

Iristheangel

I'm sure the MS will raise my stock and open future management opportunities for me despite my personal value on the education or course content. As far as where I posted my resume, the regulars: Monster, Dice, Indeed, TheLadder

thisdudehenry

More please (:

Alif_Sadida_Ekin

I graduated with the BS in IT from WGU back in December 2010. I outlined my experience here:

http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/60354-finished-degree-one-semester-wgu.html

At the time I was working as a Systems Administrator while finishing my degree at WGU. A few months after graduating, I started at a very well known open source business intelligence software company as a Support Engineer. I was told that my degree helped me get the interview. After that, it's all been about experience that has moved me forward in my career.

I've moved up the ranks at this company and even left for a year to work at a startup as an ETL Developer and have come back recently as a Solutions Consultant where I now handle pre-sales and post-sales implementations, solutions architecture, and development for BI and Big Data solutions for our customers.

The degree helped me get through the door, but everything after that was all about becoming an expert in my chosen field.

olaHalo

I recently was promoted to a position that requires a BS. Its for a school district so they actually care about education in their employees.
I still have not finished at WGU but I am in my final term. They accepted that when I told them and I got the job.
So WGU helped me reach a minimum requirement at my current job

pixa241

Started my online WGU experience in 2012 with about 30 credits transferred in. I had a local mom and pop shop IT gig. In October 2013 I got my first IT job as a tech at a small hospital, February 2014 I got hired at a bigger hospital as a tech as well, but with more opportunity. I finished WGU and graduated in September 2014, and applied for a promotion, December 2014 I signed the papers and started my new job as IT Admin in January of 2015. That is my success story. Thank you WGU, and I am in my early 20's.

Danielm7

I used it to help get into the security field, have a good position in a great fortune 500 company with lots of growth potential. When my tuition reimbursement kicks in in 6 months or so I'm really considering jumping right into the MS program. One of the IT managers at my current job was in the process of going to WGU so it helped even more.

aderon

I haven't graduated yet, but I've gotten $8.30/hour worth of raises since I started at WGU about a year and a half ago. I'm positive my current job would not have interviewed me if I didn't have the certifications that I've earned while at WGU. Even if they had, I definitely wouldn't have been able to answer the questions. I feel like I've genuinely learned a lot while at WGU.

I'm also much happier with what I do at my current job than what I was doing before I started at WGU. I went from doing ISP technical support, taking literally back-to-back calls for 8 hours a day to working in a NOC where I get hands on experience with routers, switches, linux servers, and other cool things.

WGU has been worth every penny to me and I can't wait to see what the future holds for me once I finally do graduate. I would recommend WGU to anyone!

Mike-Mike

Iristheangel wrote: »

I would say that my degree helped me out for my current job. It required a BS and I graduated about a month and a half before I found this job. I might have been able to get the job without the degree but I'm not 100% sure. Either way, it certainly made it easier to get the job and I did notice a LOT of responses when I updated my resume on the job sites out there.

My experience is almost the same. I graduated a month before I got my job. However I had interviewed for the same job before and had an Associates, and did not get the job.

When I finished my B.S. and got the job, I got 10k more than we were talking about the first time around. Hard to tell if my work experience or the degree made the difference, but I am sure it helped.

I finished my Master's about a month ago, and I have been in talks with a few companies and my quote has gone up 20k to 30k.

Again my experience contributes a lot, but having WGU degrees to allow me to check those boxes really helps. Also all the certs I got via WGU really make my resume stand out. Almost every interview I have, someone mentions they have never seen someone with so many certs.

bmalin77

Great information and posts. Question. I have two non-tech degrees and work as an application consultant for a large tech company. In your opinion, would you go the certification route since the degree is already present? I've tossed around the idea of going back to school versus going for university-type programs (certifications and just program completion). I appreciate the input in advance.

Thanks

TomkoTech

If you already have a bachelors it doesn't make sense to get another one. I would go the cert route. If you are referring to getting a Master's in IT then go for it. It would open a lot more doors.

bmalin77

Thanks a lot Tomko.

SteveLord

I am hoping to take over for a colleague at a neighboring government agency o is to retire in the next few years/by the time I finish my WGU degree. Will be a nice change of scenery for most part. Same pay grade, some same systems, but different boss, different flexibility nd a few other things.

ITSpectre

TomkoTech wrote: »

If you already have a bachelors it doesn't make sense to get another one. I would go the cert route. If you are referring to getting a Master's in IT then go for it. It would open a lot more doors.

Even if you have a B.A. in Biblical Studies?

Literally I went and got a religious B.A. degree because I was into church and all that. But would it make sense for me to get another B.A. Degree only in IT this time?

EnderWiggin

ITSpectre wrote: »

Even if you have a B.A. in Biblical Studies?

Literally I went and got a religious B.A. degree because I was into church and all that. But would it make sense for me to get another B.A. Degree only in IT this time?

If you're going to spend the time on schoolwork, you might as well just go for the master's.

Clm

You should go grab your masters. Cause after you get your masters does it matter what your bachelors was in. when you get your bachelors does it matter what high school you went to?

bmalin77

good point. I guess for me it's also walking out with the hardcore skills. that's what I am afraid of NOT getting. So get the masters in IT and you really never did networking or OS or programming or security. same as I see some people walk out with something like the CISSP, but can't do more than press power. that's the battle I have in my mind. like you have to prove yourself at some point.

EnderWiggin

bmalin77 wrote: »

good point. I guess for me it's also walking out with the hardcore skills. that's what I am afraid of NOT getting. So get the masters in IT and you really never did networking or OS or programming or security. same as I see some people walk out with something like the CISSP, but can't do more than press power. that's the battle I have in my mind. like you have to prove yourself at some point.

Thing is, you still need the work experience before you can get a master's-level job. So you'll still be gaining those skills. If you apply yourself and are a dedicated worker, that is.

Christian.

Something really cool that Linkedin has, is the option to check where each student/graduate of a University is currently working. When you go into the linkedin page of a college, you can click in students/alumni tab and select a few filters if you want to narrow it down even further. You can see people with WGU degrees working at Google, Oracle, Microsoft, Amazon, NASA, etc. It's entirely possible than more than one person there might had some help by getting their online degree, even if they aren't sharing their story.