Community College(2 years/transfer) vs University(All 4 years) vs Online Degree

[JJackson515]

work experience and networking > college in my experience. I attended college for a year and got lazy as i wasnt being challenged (probably my fault). Anyways i currently have a good job for my age in the finance sector and it was all from networking and the willingness to put in the work and work my way up. There's several people whom i work with that have degrees (including their masters), and well were in the same position with me making more than then, but i dont have the debt to go along with it. may it hinder me someday not having a degree? only time will tell.

 

[FIVEHOE]

I think it kind of depends of what major/career you're going for. If it is a highly desired job sector, such as engineering or IT, then sure if you have the skills, who cares what kind of degree you have or where you got your degree from? I know a guy who got his associates and then went to work for Intel and was getting paid over 200k a year after awhile (still in his 20's). He went back to university for the hell of it just to finish his degree, not like he needed to at all.

Some degrees I would suggest getting a complete university degree, mostly because a lot of CC classes do not transfer. Then other majors like business are always good to have a masters on, especially depending on what sector of business you plan on going into. All depends on what you wanna do, in my opinion

 

[HYBRED]

I did CC for the basics and graduated from Texas A&M (BSME). Yes I saved money, and time, BUT I had one major problem post-graduation. With job applications, they wanted my transcript. My A&M transcript included credit hours, but not grades, for my transfer courses. So my final GPA was around a 2.9, being solid upper level "just survive it for God's sake" engineering classes. Averaging in my CC credits, I had about a 3.6 GPA, but I couldn't say that because it wasn't on the transcript I handed in.

Oh, and online colleges like University of Phoenix are a huge waste of money. Your local CC will be cheaper, and will likely have very flexible/online options that will in the long run mean more.

 

[Vigilante]

I interview a lot of people and read a lot of resumes. I barely even look at the college they went to.

I look at work experience; and most importantly, talking to them. I can tell pretty quickly just having a 10 minute conversation.

For entry-level hires, I haven't even heard of most the universities. It barely matters for me in the software industry. We have debugging tests, and problem solving skill tests. For freshers, it's basically a trial anyway.

Does it matter if they are brick and mortar or online? I think that's the big one. More people are going for online degrees and it would suck if they are getting discriminated against even after spending all that money. They are usually more expensive too.

 

[Vigilante]

Another thing everyone always brings up, "Its not what you know, its who you know."

So for those who don't know anybody, what is the best way to start networking? I know there is LinkedIn, Monster and BranchOut, but how do you start making the worthwhile connections.

 

[VaporGT]

Don't ever get an online degree. I have a very good friend whose father works at GM. He is very high on the food chain. He has told us numerous times that he doesn't even take the time to read the resumes from people with online degree. Says they always turn out clueless and generally incompetent.

2+2 is way easier on the wallet and coursework. Wish I would've done that first time around.

 

[Riddla]

CC classes are usually way easier. That being said 4 University is better IMHO unless you don't have the means. A degree is better that none.

 

[capnkirk52]

Another thing everyone always brings up, "Its not what you know, its who you know."

So for those who don't know anybody, what is the best way to start networking? I know there is LinkedIn, Monster and BranchOut, but how do you start making the worthwhile connections.

Get off the computer and go meet people in bars, sporting events, dinners, etc.

 

[JMoraru]

It definitely matters what your career field is. Some hire primarily based on education, but networking has HUGE advantages in others.

I personally went to a community college and then transferred into a university. I think going to university all 4 years does have some advantages, but mainly due to the networking you can do. I think that is key where you go. Try to get involved and know people. Even consider an internship. I was pretty lucky and was able to land a pretty awesome summer internship making good money. In the end, I think getting involved in your career field is almost as important as the education you get. I would say my decisions have put me in a good place now.

I personally would never consider a degree from an online school.

 

[offroadkarter]

I started off at a CC but I didn't like the computer program they offered so I switched to DeVry and picked up an Associates in Network System Administration. I did apply to a 4 year school before CC but my grades in HS were too shit, they basically said "try again in 2 years if you aren't a **** up and we need slots filled".


I am actually surprised at how many people I work with (Tier 2 support @ a major telecom company) went to DeVry, hell one of the employees in the network operations center was actually in my VBScripting class 3 years ago.

I can only speak for the IT field, but I think they care more about experience and what you know over where you went to college. Not saying to get the cheapest online degree possible, but I feel I'm doing pretty well for my age so I can't say going to DeVry shafted me when it comes to finding a job.

I am planning on looking into the online program @ the new jersey institute of technology and seeing what they offer, a few of my co-workers both tier 2 and server admin side are working on online degrees from DeVry right now. I don't have time to go to class with my hours so its the only shot I have at getting a 4 year degree.

 

[Lambeau]

Research "Sheepskin Effect" and "Signalling"…

I voted "Yes, it is both prestigious and adds salary" from what I learned 30 years ago in my Collective Bargaining class. I think it still applies today, but I don't have the data to back it up.
I do have a 4 year college degree in Manufacturing Engineering and a buncha other stuff…

Bottom line: Perform your "due diligence", and whatever you decide, will be what's right for you…

Good luck!

(PS: continuing education is HUGE)

 

[Adower]

Check out your local CC's. Some of them have transfer agreement programs to local 4 year UC's. For example the CC i went to had a transfer agreement program to UC Davis if you kept up grades you were a guaranteed transfer.

 

[VerySneaky]

It entirely depends on the degree and where you are in life. If you don't know what you want to do, 2 yr@ CC and transfer is probably the best choice if your degree needs to be accredited (mostly because small class sizes, but you miss out on some research/internship opportunities that you might get at a 4year), 4 year only if you know what you want to do and if you feel the need to wave your peen. If it's gen ed, art, English, journalism, music and other liberal arts garbage, stay the **** home and save your(or your parent's) money unless you're a badass at any of those subjects. College is not for everyone.

 

[RedRocketMike]

University of Phoenix is a borderline scam. For pretty much anything you want to attend the best school you can and do the whole 4/5 years there with some online course filler from the same school if needed. Georgetown University wanted me in a program and agreed to let me take one upper level course online and man what a joke it was. Half of professors can't communicate effectively in an actual person to person environment, putting them online makes it much worse. Students don't participate, no one knows anyone, and the language barrier becomes an even bigger problem. All the indians in my class brought it to a screeching halt every time they spoke through the web portal. I would never pay to do online courses. The networking aspect is ruined and it is important, sometimes extremely important.

If I were to do college over I would go straight for the best school I could get into and then after a year start trying to get into an even better one.

 

[hb712]

Like most said, go to CC and transfer to a good 4-year institution. I did that, don't list the CC on my resume, and got into a great grad program.

Now I will say that many of my CC courses were more difficult in terms of grading than were my 4-yr courses. The CC GPA also probably won't matter for your university GPA. One issue there is that if you screw up while at a real university after transferring, you won't have substantial hours to offset a low grade.

I would not use an online college for anything.

All that said, I suggest considering a graduate degree if it is useful in your field. A BA/BS is fine, but nothing special.

Finally, often times your education really only gets you the first job.

 

[shurur]

I would consider an online degree if rated well in US News and World Report.

Also consider the best school for the money.

Lots of folks go to expensive schools, only to find it's who know.

So much for a meritocracy.

 

[Blackness03]

If it's a pointless degree then just don't even do it at all. Learn a trade and start working and getting experience.

 

[yelostang]

I'm actually glad schools like University of Phoenix showed the world you don't need to sit in a classroom to learn. I'm not saying I would have pursued a degree there, but there are tons of great schools that offer programs online. I agree that it's not for everyone but to have the option is nice. As a working professional it is nice to be able to further myself through education without having to fight traffic and sit in a class. You can also shift things around to make it work for your schedule.

Having lectures recorded is absolutely awesome as well. You can skip the stuff you don't want to listen to and keep going back to the stuff you need to listen to. I remember while doing my undergrad (BSEE) I had two options in class. The first was to write things down and the second was to try and understand them. I usually took notes. I wouldn't recommend online classes for people that are not good at keeping to a schedule on their own though.

 

[VaporGT]

I'm actually glad schools like University of Phoenix showed the world you don't need to sit in a classroom to learn. I'm not saying I would have pursued a degree there, but there are tons of great schools that offer programs online. I agree that it's not for everyone but to have the option is nice. As a working professional it is nice to be able to further myself through education without having to fight traffic and sit in a class. You can also shift things around to make it work for your schedule.

Having lectures recorded is absolutely awesome as well. You can skip the stuff you don't want to listen to and keep going back to the stuff you need to listen to. I remember while doing my undergrad (BSEE) I had two options in class. The first was to write things down and the second was to try and understand them. I usually took notes. I wouldn't recommend online classes for people that are not good at keeping to a schedule on their own though.

They also showed the world they can sell students a worthless education and make billions in the process. Look up some statistics about the graduates from these programs, its pathetic.

 

[yelostang]

They also showed the world they can sell students a worthless education and make billions in the process. Look up some statistics about the graduates from these programs, its pathetic.

Tons of people go to brick and mortar schools for a useless education as well.

My point was that quite a few major schools now offer online programs that are not useless. Just some quick searching shows that UF, Texas A&M, and Stanford offer online versions of the classes they teach on campus.