[Tfug] [OT] Thinking about getting an online degree

[Harry McGregor]

Eric Gearhart wrote:
> On Sat, Dec 27, 2008 at 7:54 PM, Harry McGregor <micros at osef.org> wrote:
>   
>> Hi,
>>
>> Well, I come at this from a few angles.
>>
>> I teach at the CC level (Pima), I was recently in the job market, and
>> have been a hiring manager for several positions.
>>     
>
> Interesting... you've seen both sides of the fence and the view from space :)
>   
Yep
>   
>> Knowing people and knowing how to write tends to help the most.
>>
>> My current employer actually found me, based on my resume online.
>>
>> I was turned down for a couple of positions, not even an interview, due
>> to the lack of degree.
>>
>> It seems that many places want a BS/BA no matter what field it is in.
>>     
>
> I agree... well at least I know how to write reasonably well...
>
>   
Oh, and to add to that, the Federal Government won't look at you unless
you are either too good for the position, or can lie through your teeth.

To make it to the local hiring managers, you have to answer every
question on the application perfectly.  Any sign that you can't answer
every question perfectly, and you don't make the list sent on from HR.

As a hiring manager, I think that's nuts.  You need to evaluate each
person's pluses and minuses, and figure out the best fit for the position.
>> I have been looking at U of A south's BAS in networking...
>>     
>
> Interesting! I had no idea a "public Ivy" like the U of A had a
> Bachelor's in Applied Science... a quick Google turned up this page:
> http://www.uas.arizona.edu/?p=acad_undergrad_Applied_Sci
>
> That actually looks really interesting... and having UofA on your
> resume can't hurt...
>   
Having worked for U of A, I would not call it a "Public Ivy", by any
stretch, and what they are doing to their technology people right now is
insane.

Working for the University used to have some semblance of stability to
it, now the Regents are pushing towards "centralized" IT for "cost
savings".  All of the possible cost savings will be made up by the time
it takes to figure out how to do this, and then the "underground" IT
infrastructure that will arise out of the ashes.  If your a researcher
pulling in a $500k grant, and you need XYZ technical services, are you
going to wait to get the centralized IT services to listen, and provide
them?  No, your going to hire some sort of "assistant" who knows what
you need, and does the work for you.

U of A has some really well run centralized services (the email for
one), but many of the services are not well advertised to campus (such
as email virtual hosting for departments), and others just don't exist
in a reasonable form.

Instead of pushing for centralized IT, they need to improve and reduce
the cost of centralized services, and get departmental IT to buy into
them. (CatNET, the Active Directory domain is a good example).
> My only concern with a BSAS would be academic future - having a
> bachelor's from TUI would allow me to step up to a masters at a later
> time if I chose to... there's no such thing as a Masters in Applied
> Science, so if you have a BSAS I wonder how that works...
>
>   
I have no clue on how the BSAS would move into a Masters program.  For a
long time the AAS at Pima had almost no where to move into, etc.
> Really what I'm looking for above all is to get a Bachelor's degree as
> painlessly as possible... as you said some employers want a degree no
> matter what, and the area of specialization doesn't even matter that
> much... it's as if they just want to see that you can touch out
> classes and get the piece of paper or something...
>   

I am looking for something similar, though based on my work schedules
right now (both teaching a couple of classes, and as a PFE for IBM), I
don't know where I could find the time, plus I really do like to have at
least some time to spend with the family...

                Harry
> --
> Eric
> http://nixwizard.net
>
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