I've looking at Walden University. Here is the link to the Bachelor degree program that I am interested in.

http://www.waldenu.edu/Degree-Progra...Technology.htm

Do you think this is a good idea or a bad idea? I'm just worried that it won't be respected by a future employer if I do pick this university. I don't want my resume to be thrown away so quickly. Also not sure about learning the same way versus a traditional university.

I hope someone here can help me with this. Thank you.

According to the website they're regionally accredited, which is the most important thing. Last statistics I read were that today online students actually outnumber traditional students in the United States.

As for the degree, just from the descriptions it sounds like an alright program if you're wanting to be a sysadmin or something similar. It looks more of a general in-depth computer education with a bit of emphasis on the business management aspect of IT, which may be good or bad depending on how you look at it. I'd maybe look at other universities if you want more focus in a particular area.

Employers aren't as hesitant about online degrees as they used to be, so I wouldn't be too worried about not going to a traditional school. The important thing with IT jobs is that you have the ability to accomplish the mission. A degree will get you an interview, but its going to be you that proves to the boss that you know your stuff. This is more true with IT than with any other career field.

Just know that online learning takes more study and concentration than other schools require, because there is a lot less hand-holding and a lot more 'read the book and figure it out'. Not to say that the education will be any less effective, just that it won't be as easy. And of course you should look for reviews of the school - find out about others' experiences with the instructors and the school. This is not something you want to dive headfirst into.

Best of luck to you though! I say go for it, whether you stick with Walden or a different university

Be cautious of for-profit colleges. Some of them have been known to be more interested in the for-profit part than in the college part.

http://www.npr.org/2011/05/12/136238...e-who-cant-pay

Note I am not saying avoid them, but research them carefully.

In my view, the important thing is the examination process.

How would you convince a potential employer that the person who studied the exam and passed the course is really you. Also how will practical tests be conducted?

Also note that they are a pure on line university.

Check the accreditions:
http://www.waldenu.edu/About-Us/18870.htm

OK

If I were paying for it I would only go through a State Funded School. NYS has Empire State College.Associates of mine and myself mostly concluded that the real online Colleges where just as expensive as one you could also walk into or they resembled a joke. If someone else where paying for it who cares. I would first go the certificate route of LPI myself and see where my opinion lead me after that point. Schools and Colleges tend to only make you memorize how to manipulate data and not how to understand it.

I don't see any reason why not to start your quest at your local community college.

I have taught at such institutions part-time for many years, and I can therefore tell you that they are top-notch accredited schools ... and that they often are highly-concentrated sources of information because they don't waste time parking your butt in English Literature classes. You get the interaction that takes place in a traditional classroom setting, which I consider to be important.

Finally...

• Education is what y-o-u make it; nothing more and nothing less. If you are determined to become educated, you can educate yourself. If you are not determined, any amount of schooling and diplomas will be worthless (but very expensive).
• The one and only place in this world where there ever was "a Golden Ticket" is: Willy Wonka. Success, if it happens, does not happen to you by chance, except in the movies. That much I learned from a chocolate bar.

So ... don't go into mountains of debt trying to earn (buy...) some piece of paper that will open doorways for you. Computer work is fundamentally a craft, so perhaps you should be thinking more in terms of an apprenticeship. The very first job I had consisted of tearing pages off a line printer late at night and shoving the pages through the right slot. I was delighted to be on the inside, and I have been on the inside ever since.

Even the simplest-looking skills that "look easy" are difficult to obtain, as I once discovered when a lump of clay flew off the wheel and struck me in the gut with rather considerable force.

What if you decide you want to take a sememster in the classroom? A local college would be handy for that. I remember when I was going to school, I took some classes online, it wasn't as popular as online now days. But I felt for me, I needed to have the classroom setting to better learn and ask questions.

Plus you get to look at the babes in class.

Just some thoughts

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