Good experiences with online masters programs?

[slackline]

Basically stay away unless the place started as a brick and mortar school. Otherwise you'll get a degree that won't be worth anything anywhere other than the military.

Disagree, my AMU graduate degree has served me well.  My company even paid for it, despite the fact that I already had one from active duty...

Disagree all you want. You're a GS/contractor working for the military somehow are you not? I'm honestly not sure, but if I'm right, then there's virtually no difference. Real companies, not one full of a bunch of retired military guys wouldn't look twice at AMU. You can tell yourself they're great all you want. It's still a for profit garbage school. YMMV, there are always exceptions to the rule...

[Fud]

16 hours ago, slackline said:

Disagree all you want. You're a GS/contractor working for the military somehow are you not? I'm honestly not sure, but if I'm right, then there's virtually no difference. Real companies, not one full of a bunch of retired military guys wouldn't look twice at AMU. You can tell yourself they're great all you want. It's still a for profit garbage school. YMMV, there are always exceptions to the rule...

I got my MBA online at a degree mill and there were no issues on the civilian side of the house when it came to looking for work.  I'm looking at getting a Doctor of Business Administration at a brick and mortar school, and the source of my MBA was not put into question.  If you want to work in a high paying job in NY, Chicago, LA, etc...it would probably help to have gone to Harvard, NYU, Stanford, etc.  The true answer in my mind is "it depends", and each case is different.  I hated the job hunt, and am fortunate to have landed something 6 months after separating. 

[M2]

21 hours ago, slackline said:

Disagree all you want. You're a GS/contractor working for the military somehow are you not? I'm honestly not sure, but if I'm right, then there's virtually no difference. Real companies, not one full of a bunch of retired military guys wouldn't look twice at AMU. You can tell yourself they're great all you want. It's still a for profit garbage school. YMMV, there are always exceptions to the rule...

Believe what you want.  People with AMU degrees are having no problems finding good jobs, whether in the defense industry or outside it.  And just because I work in that arena doesn't mean I am ignorant to the rest of the civilian sector...
 

[otsap]

On a related note, there is a (mostly) online law degree now, ABA accredited.  You spend one week a semester at the school (so 2 weeks a year).  I've heard folks ask about it before so thought I'd mention it.

[old crow]

Disagree all you want. You're a GS/contractor working for the military somehow are you not? I'm honestly not sure, but if I'm right, then there's virtually no difference. Real companies, not one full of a bunch of retired military guys wouldn't look twice at AMU. You can tell yourself they're great all you want. It's still a for profit garbage school. YMMV, there are always exceptions to the rule...

I got my MBA online at a degree mill and there were no issues on the civilian side of the house when it came to looking for work.  I'm looking at getting a Doctor of Business Administration at a brick and mortar school, and the source of my MBA was not put into question.  If you want to work in a high paying job in NY, Chicago, LA, etc...it would probably help to have gone to Harvard, NYU, Stanford, etc.  The true answer in my mind is "it depends", and each case is different.  I hated the job hunt, and am fortunate to have landed something 6 months after separating. 

Same here. I work for a Fortune 50, non-defense related, company and my AMU Masters isn't viewed negatively. If fact, I'm paid the same as my Harvard MBA peers. "It depends" is the real answer...that and "Haters gonna hate"

[Duck]

I got one question about my masters at my civilian interview. I explained it that although he hadn't heard of the school, I felt the program was good and I learned a lot. Then I mentioned I wanted to save my MBA for a brick and mortar school in the future and it obviously was good enough to get the job.

[08Dawg]

People knock it, but I've enjoyed my ERAU masters.  I specialized in aviation safety, and since I went to safety school, it was interesting and relevant. 

[Guardian]

On a related note, there is a (mostly) online law degree now, ABA accredited.  You spend one week a semester at the school (so 2 weeks a year).  I've heard folks ask about it before so thought I'd mention it.

And the details of this unicorn are.......?

[Rake47]

27 minutes ago, Guardian said:

And the details of this unicorn are.......?

I second that request

[otsap]

9 hours ago, Guardian said:

And the details of this unicorn are.......?

The school is called Mitchell/Hamline School of Law.  Apparently it used to be William Mitchell College of Law but they just merged with another law school and changed the name.  So, not Harvard.  It's four years, part-time, and it's done online except for the last week of each semester, which is on campus (St. Paul, Minnesota).  If you check out their website it's called the "Hybrid Program".  But, ABA approved.

[Guardian]

So if it's all online with the exception of one week a semester how do they expect to remove your heart and install a cash register in that small amount of time?

[Learjetter]

1 hour ago, Guardian said:

So if it's all online with the exception of one week a semester how do they expect to remove your heart and install a cash register in that small amount of time?

Some of us were born with that feature, some of us had our once-beloved USAF rip out said organ, so I think it'll work out just fine...

[Guardian]

Ah ha. It's a post OTS Air Force professional development course got it.

[PlanePhlyer]

My TUI degree was cheap and accredited (barely).  You can skate through or work hard and do the readings which are not difficult. People knock it, but it worked for me and my very hectic schedule. 

[pcola]

On February 29, 2016 at 9:45 PM, otsap said:

The school is called Mitchell/Hamline School of Law.  Apparently it used to be William Mitchell College of Law but they just merged with another law school and changed the name.  So, not Harvard.  It's four years, part-time, and it's done online except for the last week of each semester, which is on campus (St. Paul, Minnesota).  If you check out their website it's called the "Hybrid Program".  But, ABA approved.

Online law school...Sounds legit!

[Vetter]

University of Arkansas Master of Science in Operations Management.  All online, high school level work.  Pretty cheap.

I graduated in a year with a 4.0 and literally spent half an hour a week on each class.  2-3 classes per semester.

Edited March 9, 2016 by Vetter

[WheelsUp]

I had a good experience at AMU but I know other guys didn't, box checked and I'm glad it's over 

[Herkman]

Vetter, if only I would have known that...

[Azimuth]

https://www.ou.edu/cls/future_students/grad/maal.html

[Tank]

Norwich University

6 x 6 credit hour classes

Wide range of degrees but did have to pay out of pocket a little even after TA and the Montgomery GI Bill.  

[Spilfer]

There are still a lot of businesses that won't take you seriously with an online degree, even an advanced one. A lot of those schools are just debtors prisons with online course offerings. 

[Rake47]

On 4/2/2016 at 4:32 PM, Spilfer said:

There are still a lot of businesses that won't take you seriously with an online degree, even an advanced one. A lot of those schools are just debtors prisons with online course offerings. 

Care to elaborate? 

[Guest]

There are still a lot of businesses that won't take you seriously with an online degree, even an advanced one. A lot of those schools are just debtors prisons with online course offerings. 

Care to elaborate? 

IMHO, he's probably right. My dad has over 40 years experience in his field, but his PhD from Stanford is still relevant in interviews. In the legal community, it's even worse; going to a top 10 school opens doors that top grads from 2nd tier schools only imagined existing (3rd tier studs struggle to make ends meet and/or unsuccessfully sue their schools). If you're focused on the Air Force (or just want to ensure continued promotion prior to transitioning to the airlines), just check the box. Otherwise, don't waste your money on an online school.

[Spilfer]

On 4/9/2016 at 0:43 PM, DINO said:

Care to elaborate? 

I'm not saying it can't work out or that they're all illegitimate, just that jobs requiring an advanced degree tend to look more favorably on brick and mortar schools. Like ihtfp06 mentions, it still has some merit to have a degree from a name school, though to what extent is arguable. That stigma may be going away, but it's still very much a reality in the working world. 

[11F...]

I did an ASU "online" MBA from Tempe.  We had to go to campus for a 3 or 4 day inbrief thing, then the rest was virtual.  It took 2 years...crushed my life at times, but in the end I actually learned a shit ton.  Was it worth it?  Meh, probably not as I doubt I'm going to "use" that degree for anything other than personal finance decisions that I likely would have learned anyway.   That said, I took 1 ERAU class using TA and dumped that program down the shitter as it was the biggest waste of time, taxpayer money, etc. My 5th grade math class was more difficult I think.  

Most important question, as has been addressed many times, is what one is looking for from the degree.   Box checker?...lots of cheap, easy options that are likely very good options for what some folks are looking for.  If that's not what you're looking for, there's also a ton of brick and mortar schools that make a Masters program doable online, executive, weekends, etc.  FWIW, there were probably 15 active duty guys in my ASU program of maybe 100 or so students.  And many in my program were full time workers somewhere, traveling abroad all the time...so it was flexible enough to make work even with our schedule.  Feel free to PM me if anyone is looking for an "online" brick and mortar option and wants one man's experience.