not much of an intro but .....

Hello. Long time member, first time poster here. After a year working in a data center, I've picked up all the engineers would throw at me and I want more. I'm leaning toward software development and robotics as an eventual career but currently at the level of support tech with massive cabling experience. Obviously I need more knowledge. Due to some complicated job demands I'm considering a computer science bachelors through a wholly online program. I'm sure that of the 958,130 members here, one and hopefully more, has done the same thing. I'm interested in hearing about your experience while in the program, how your degree was received during the job hunt and how well prepared you were upon completing your degree. If you have any recommendations, I'm all ears.

peace

[<M/>]

Welcome :)

[mike_2000_17]

I don't know much about online degrees, but I am a robotics engineer, so I might weight in a bit here.

First, you have to watch out when looking up online degrees because there are a lot of fake colleges or university, for-profit colleges and so on. Also, potential employers will be wary of any fishy-sounding degree, I know I would be.

But, there are respectable universities that do offer legitimate online / part-time degrees that would be as good as any. If you make sure of the legitimacy and quality of the online degree you pursue, there shouldn't be too much prejudice related to that, but I may be wrong.

In any case, having a lot of work experience, even at a "lower" level (technical tasks, etc.), is very valuable. Especially in robotics, there are hardware issues all the time and having people around that are very comfortable diving into that and solving those issues quickly is a huge bonus. In robotics, the bulk of the work is software, software, software, but when hardware issues hit (and they do very often) it is so nice to have people who are just as comfortable with a soldering iron as they are with a keyboard. The point that I'm making is that I would hire a guy (or gal) with an online degree and lots of hands on experience over a guy (or gal) with an honours degree (and immaculate record) and only short internship experiences, without even blinking. So, keep that in mind.

thanks for the information mike. I've found an online school, part of Uni of Maryland offering a CS degree. if anyone else is interested in this, here's the link: http://www.umuc.edu/undergrad/ugprograms/cmsc.cfm

good to know that hardware experience is valued as well. I've got lots of experience and a good understanding of mechanical, hydraulic and electrical systems.

[extr3mex]

Hey there, welcome! Btw, if you just want to learn and gain knowledge about computer science and programming (without any official certificate), check out the ones conducted by Prof. David Evans from Univeristy of Virgina at http://www.udacity.com . Its free and its very informative!
Personally, I have checked out these udacity training videos and learned a lot. Just vist the website and check and you will understand what it is. Remmember, this is not actually a degree course or anything like that and companies may not value this course as such or give any credit for taking this course but It would surely help you understand programming and learn about computer science from ground up. They also have a course on Artifical Intelligence conducted by Prof. Sebastin Thurn(the guy behind the Google's Driverless Car). In my personal opinion, I learned a lot and that all I wanted and I am satisfied! :D

Also check out youtube for MIT course materials, they are also very informative and helpfull in understanding a lot of concepts.

Hope this helps! CheerS! :D

thanks extr3meX the site looks very interesting and probably close.
UVA is in my backyard.

[ImZick]

Hello welcome :)
more members means more sharing of knowledge :D

[falkopartey]

welcome to daniweb!