Ot:looking for a online engineering degree

[plcnewbie]

I am looking for a good completely online engineering degree as my time does not allow for a brick and mortar education. I currently hold an associates in electronics from a Penn State school and want to use my company benefit of paying for schooling.
I have found a school called Grantham www.grantham.edu and it looks good to me. Kennedy Western seems like it wont fit because they charge a set rate and not a by the class rate or semester and I dont want to finance it (too many loans already).

Thanks for the time.

 

[jstolaruk]

Do a search of the website; this has been discussed before.

 

[plcnewbie]

So has alot of other stuff. I did a search and want new info or I would not have asked. Maybe since then new people have become members that recently did it. Thanks for the helpful reply...

 

[rsdoran]

The problem is that "Online Education" is still in its infancy. I know several people that have started it but none that have finished it.

There are a few things to consider if you decide to go this route. The first is to talk to your companies HR or someone to verify what they will pay for and if they recognize the accreditation offered by Grantham or any online school. Another aspect is cost versus how much they will pay.

Another aspect to consider is cost of books and/or materials involved. Most companies just reimburse a fixed amount per year towards tuition but nothing for books and materials.

For a technical degree there will be LAB requirements associated with some subjects, this usually involves some form of hands on involvement. With that said you need to determine if you will have to duplicate the schools LAB experiment or what will be involved in those labs.

I would also investigate if any prior education credits are recognized and transferable.

Since you mentioned prior loans etc from your previous education you do realize that if you attend a local college you may be able to obtain financial aid and/or loans which will allow you to defer your existing financial obligations until completion of your courses. It may be possible to defer existing loans anyway if going at least half time and working, you would need to talk to a schools financial advisor to verify.

A major consideration when attempting to obtain a Bachelors degree is that you will be expected to take and pass classes involving English, History, Arts, and Social Sciences. If you did not take these (which is common for tech Associate degrees) then you may want to enroll in a single class to see how well you do, do not assume because you have fared well with technical subjects that these will be easy. The main thing to understand is that when you set a major in a technical field, like Electrical, then you may be expected to pass with a B or higher in some cases, a C will not always pass.

I am not sure if you noticed this or not but Grantham offers an Electronics Engineering Technology degree, this can be misleading because many companies expect the BS to be an Electrical Engineering degree. I am not sure of the differences but I am sure many companies will.

I would also investigate if the courses provided by an online college could be transfered to a "brick and mortar" college. This may allow an opportunity to take classes from either in an attempt to expand your education.

If you are young then you do not have to obtain a higher degree in a year or 2, you can develop a 4 or 5 year plan which could make financing easier and offer more time to make sure you pass each course.

I can say from experience that attempting to work full time and attempt full time classes, under any condition, will be very demanding.

 

[dale1627]

I can say from experience that attempting to work full time and attempt full time classes, under any condition, will be very demanding.

I'll second that. I went to school full-time for two semesters and was miserable. I was an inch from saying to heck with it all and dropping out. I wound up taking just one class the next semester to give my mind and body a break. I've now promised myself to never take more than 8 hrs per semester even if it adds a year or two.
I have taken several courses over the internet through the Tennessee Regents program thinking that it would be easier. Big misconception. All involved much more home work and research papers than their on-campus equivelant. I also made the fatal error of attempting to take Spanish 2 online. As hard as I tried, there was just no making up for the in-class interaction required for a foreign language class. I retook it this past semester on campus and did much, much better.

Dale

 

[plcnewbie]

The school I went to and prgram is here.
http://pct.edu/catalog/majors/ro.shtml
As you can see it is not just technical material, I had to take some other electives to graduate. I did it in a little under 2 years since I took a full load in the summer. I also worked very part-time andhad a 2 year old to take care of the rest of the time. My study time was close to none but I stilled pulled an honors graduation.

I dont know what you consider young enough to take my time but I am 29 and feel like I got a late start as I just graduated last year. I not have a year of work and the benefits of them paying for school up to a certain amount.

They have that electronics engineering degree where I went and I can tell you I heard it is only different in the power area.

 

[rsdoran]

I dont know what you consider young enough to take my time but I am 29 and feel like I got a late start as I just graduated last year.

I am now 53 with 5 kids and attempting to obtain an Electrical Engineering degree. I would consider you young compared to me.

I brought up the point about Electrical vs Electronic degree because it is not percieved as the same thing regardless how you interpret it. In many ways it is a perception that can hurt when trying attempting to obtain a better position.

Its up to you to decide what path you take, just be aware of what others deem appropriate or accept when looking at education and work experience.

All this is just advice from someone that is attempting, NOW, what you desire in the future. Look at all options, talk to all those concerned that you can, and investigate all possibilities. I am not convinced, yet, that online degrees are worth the paper you print them on BUT I may be wrong. I know my 2 year Associates degree is worthless which is why I am attempting to obtain a higher degree.

All I can say is I did not do what I could have when I was younger and now have to pay for that indecision.

Think about your education as a financial investment, in many cases you will divide investments into categories i.e. short term, mid-term, and long term goals. Investigate what you can do in those categories to fulfill your overall plans for the future. DO NOT jump on one option because it appears to fill the needs you see NOW...investigate if it will fulfill the needs NOW and the future.

If you have made up your mind then you have made up your mind, these are just suggestions so use them as needed or wanted.

NOTE: All degrees, whether technical or not, have differences in application. It is your choice what aspect of that field you want to obtain a specific education.

 

[plcnewbie]

I personally have a problem with going the online route myself which is why I am questioning it. My boss has an online degree and it is accepted at my company but how would I know if I waste my time and change jobs and they dont accept it.
I do think though that the engineering field is so big anyways to specialize like you would end up doing and it appears all brick and mortar schools only touch on a little of everything and alot of component level stuff which I have absolutely no desire to learn as much on. It is hard for me to even try and fit in 2 classes a semester and yet I can only delay the loans I believe if I go 12 credits or more?
In the end however, I think it is a matter of the skills you obtain on the job over a piece of paper. But 'they' sure do put a lot of emphasis on that piece of paper. Why, you are only required to learn the material for a short time for the tests and then you can bet most is forgot. Ask a 4th year student about how to do some things first year students are doing and I bet they couldnt tell you. I ran into this personally when I tried to go for a few tutoring sessions with so called Seniors.
And then yes the whole Electrical vs Electronics Engineering thing confuses me also. But, my local school only has the Electronics/Computer one.

I am not sure yet but do really appreciate all the input from you. Being that you are much older than me. I have a lot more to say but am afraid Ill have a book by the time I am don here so Ill cut it short.

 

[geniusintraining]

I still just don’t think that the online degree has the same clout with employers (at least not yet), if you want to just do it to get the knowledge then, I think it could be beneficial, but if you want it for the paper then (in my opinion), send me the money and I will print you one.

I have done a couple of Rockwell stuff with CD’s and online but that was just for my benefit, I don’t think that a employer would look at it.

my 2 cents

That being said with the interviews that I have done to-date, I still have not see one.

 

[Tark]

It is possible to obtain a degree from an accredited University on-line. This type of degree holds the same clout as if you went to the University itself because you are required to perform the same work in the on-line class as those students in the classroom. I am attending a University that has a main campus and also offers on-line classes. I take some of my classes on-line and others on campus. The University I am attending is accredited by one of the regional accrediting organizations of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The regional accrediting organizations are those who accredit the state universities and community colleges.

I see that Grantham University is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council. This Council is recognized member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

So the question is does a degree from a University accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Distance Education and Training Council hold as much clout as a University accredited by one of the regional accrediting organizations?