Ask HN: Is there value in online degree?

[futurechange]

I work a $16 an hour job but constantly listen to podcasts on my phone while I work which is allowed I'm motivated and driven to be successful in life or just make a lot more than what I make now.

I work normal warehouse job and construction jobs but want more out life. My passion is CS degree more specifc Web development but my job gets in the way for physical school right now 40 hours of job.

I'm thinking online degree in CS or Business is it worth it? valuable? hireable ?

[vegetablepotpie]

A degree is a degree, online or not. The value of a degree is that it teaches you theoretical concepts you can use on the job and it's a permission slip to enter industry and go into a career. Go to a reputable university, I'm going to a state college to get my online masters. State colleges are generally cheaper than private universities and are generally seen by industry as "good". There are some drawbacks with online though. You need to be very motivated compared to traditional students. University professors don't consider online students first class citizens either, emailing them is your only viable communication method and it's easy to ignore emails. Regarding degree choice, you don't need CS to do web development. You could definitely learn HTML, CSS and JS with tutorials online. I think webdev is more of a marketing and customer interaction oriented profession than it is technical, so business would serve you better there. CS will teach you higher level computing concepts that will go far beyond web development. Management of Information Systems is another option you may want to look into because it's a technical degree taught in business colleges. Regardless, the best time to have planted this tree was 4 years ago, the next best time is now.

[brudgers]

Some people get better jobs from a degree. Some people don't finish. Some people make more money. Some people wind up with more debt. Some people perceive a social benefit from a degree. Some people gain psychological satisfaction. Some people find intellectual fulfillment.

Others don't. Predictions are hard. Especially about the future.

For online degrees, Western Governor's University is a public university with relatively low tuition and a long track record of not-for-profit online college education. It was designed to solve the problem of educational access not increasing revenues.

https://www.wgu.edu/

Good luck.

[futurechange → brudgers]

this looks so good is it legit? I'ma sign up soon for it noticed even bill gates donated $1 million to the site.

[brudgers → futurechange]

Western Governor's University is legitimate. When it has come up before on Hacker News, former students have shared their experiences. It might be worth searching HN.

[DoreenMichele]

Like with attending college in person, some online programs have a better track record and better reputation than others.

I was pursuing an online degree (never finished) back when that was pretty cutting edge. I liked it.

But I already had good study habits and didn't need the professor to explain much. So YMMV.