brad@sqwest.sq.com (Brad Might) (08/03/90)
I have been on the work force for several years and
have decided that it might be time to expand my
FORMAL education.
I am interested in getting a Masters degree
(and who knows, maybe Phd in the future) but have
found that there are obstacles in my way.
Local Universities require full time registration,
and/or have classes only during the daytime. This
makes it difficult if not impossible to carry on a
full time job at the same time. (For reasons that
are irrelevant to this discussion, I do not think
that I wish to give up full time work to go back
to school).
I am interested in other ways to obtain a Masters
degree. I had hoped that I could do it part time
by taking night courses or perhaps one course per
term during the day by shifting my work schedule
but at the moment it does not seem possible.
I have obtained information from an organization
called The American Institute for Computer Science
which offers a Masters degree in computer science
by mail.
They state that they are not an accredited school.
Questions:
What is the signifigance of being accredited.
What does it mean to get a degree from them,
did they have to meet some standards or can anyone
set themselves up to hand out degrees ?
Are they just a scam operation ? I would like to hear
from anyone who has dealt with them.
Are there other correspondence courses by which I could
obtain a Masters Degree ? What are they like.
Having looked at their curriculum for the Masters degree
from this institute,
it seems as though a lot (probably upwards of 75%) of
the content I have already covered via my Bachelor
degree, or through my own personal study.
It seems to be a general schooling for anyone interested
in computer science rather than something much more
advanced that what I have already taken. In fact
if I had had room in my schedule during my last year
of school I could have taken equivalent courses and thus
taking this Masters degree would have been meaningless
in terms of education except for perhaps being a formal
review.
If it was new and interesting (to me) material, then
I would be interested in it regardless of degree
conferred merely to further my education.
If I take this course of study then:
Can I say I have a Masters Degree in Computer Science ?
Is this recognized by other schools (for example to get
into a Phd program somewhere) or would I be laughed at ?
for misc.jobs
=============
Should I expect more compensation at work for being
"more qualified" ?
Would this help me in a job search,
ie. would I be looked upon favourably or for a higher
position or salary because of this "extra qualification" ?
respond by e-mail and I will summarize.
thank you.
brad
--
Brad Might brad@sq.sq.com
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