OSU's online computer science program any good? (Portland: sales, 2014)

[Chris1917]

Hello,
I have a Bachelors in liberal arts and would like to go back to school soon. Do you think it would be a better career move to get another Bachelors, this time in computer science (I'm considering Oregon State University's online computer science program). I just left Portland and am now in Houston, but I could always move back for a job. My option would be to stay here in Houston and to get a Masters in Management Information Systems from U of Houston at Clear Lake. I'd really like to get a job as a business analyst and eventually project manager.

[Steve Pickering]

Online is tough. I was taking my Native American Law and Chicano Latino Studies duel minor online. You need the live classroom interaction. And if you are taking a Masters program at the same time, you will not do either one justice.

[Chris1917]

It does seem like it would be tougher online. Still trying to decide between the Bachelors program or the Masters program. I'd never attempt both at the same time. Too much for me!

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Do your Bachelors and Masters consecutively in the same or similar fields if you can.
Keep the continuity.

Then go get your other Bachelors if you still want it...

That's kind of how I did it.
I got my Bachelors in Electrical Enginering, then a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering, then my Masters in Mechanical Engineering.
If I had gone back for a Masters in EE, it would have been a lot rougher doing it in that disjointed order.

Ah, the good old days when I had dreams and ambitions and the energy to realize them.......
It was pretty rough for two of those degrees, I was working, starting a family and going to school at the same time.
I've been retired now for more than ten years.

Good Luck!

[khyron]

"Computer Science" is a very commonly misunderstood field, especially in the USA, and the contemporary IT industry is composed of an incredibly diverse collection of not-entirely-related skillsets...it's kind of impossible to answer your question (in a meaningful way) as posed.

Would you like to go into more detail as to what your goals might be? That will help people offer you some genuinely useful guidance here. Generalized answers are going to be useless guesswork.

[hamellr]

Not to mention that "Computer Science" degrees are barely worth the paper they're printed on. With no experience to back it up it's hard to get a job outside of minimum wage help desk. And you certainly will not be getting those high paying six figure jobs.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

I've been both a project engineer and a program manager.

It's not a fun job, a billion details to worry about, pie in the eye schedules to meet, and working with the gamut of corporate individuals from engineers to mid level managers to sales idiots that you need to have the skills to motivate, co-ordinate, plan, schedule and work with to complete your project from start to finish.

Sometimes you luck out with a good team, sometimes you think you are not getting paid near enough to babysit a bunch of idiots that call themselves "professionals".
Then there is the part about dealing with your customer(s), sometimes multiple customers at the same time, who have their own ideas about how you should use your conflicting resources.

It's an interesting job, sometimes you have to be a complete ahole and other times you have to be the most diplomatic SOB on earth..sometimes at the same time.

The best advice I can give you if you are going that route is to develop a thick hide emotionally, make sure you have an excellent poker face, never let them see you sweat, and most importantly of all, always think it out at least one inch further than the other guy, and develop a good team you can trust and have their backs and earn their trust 100%.
A good "bedside manner", and a talent in solving seemingly impossible puzzles will also work wonders...

You'll learn all the current new fancy management "tools" at school, but in the end, you'll find your people skills (charisma) to be the most important part.

[khyron]

Originally Posted by hamellr

Not to mention that "Computer Science" degrees are barely worth the paper they're printed on. With no experience to back it up it's hard to get a job outside of minimum wage help desk. And you certainly will not be getting those high paying six figure jobs.

This kind of conflation, that a CS degree would ever have anything to do with "tech support" is exactly what I mean...that makes absolutely zero sense. There is a tendency in the USA to get really confused about what all the different IT disciplines are and what they involve and how they work.

[Steve Pickering]

Originally Posted by hamellr

Not to mention that "Computer Science" degrees are barely worth the paper they're printed on. With no experience to back it up it's hard to get a job outside of minimum wage help desk. And you certainly will not be getting those high paying six figure jobs.

I started with computers and industrial automation so early (1976) that I had my six figure career first and then went for my degree after retirement. The education side of it was tough with only a previous 9th grade education and a dozen or so field related seminars and courses.

Don't count on getting the big dollars with out paying the dues. A diploma can not replace experience, and experience is not enough to understand the nuances.

You need both to get a real job.

[karlsch]

Originally Posted by hamellr

Not to mention that "Computer Science" degrees are barely worth the paper they're printed on. With no experience to back it up it's hard to get a job outside of minimum wage help desk. And you certainly will not be getting those high paying six figure jobs.

A computer science degree from a top university is very valuable: http://cdn.theatlantic.com/newsroom/...04.45%20AM.png

The whole article: Which College—and Which Major—Will Make You Richest? - Derek Thompson - The Atlantic