Thankyou for shaking me out of this foolish move

I am not sure if this Board has received a Post like this before, but here goes.

I used instantdegrees.com to buy a fake Masters qualification, and when it arrived in the mail, it was from Buxton University. I had made a conscious and premeditated decision to acquire one in order to gain a little more respect and credibility amongst my peers, and then I stumbled onto this website and this Forum.

I have read a lot of posts on here over the past week - and I can only say one thing, you have managed to make me rethink my position and abandon my planned charade, and in doing so you have actually made me feel better about myself and keep my integrity intact, and I shudder to think about the pain I would have caused myself, my family, my work mates - not to mention the embarassment, humiliation and labels I would have attracted as a fraud.

The paperwork that arrived (the 'degree', the Postal Prospectus etc etc) looked fancy enough to more than likely fool enough people - but in the end, reading so many posts from the "regulars" on this Board - you have managed to stop me making one of the greatest mistakes of my life.

I will now use this Board and the site, and any expertise or opinions I can draw upon from what is obviously a talented and legitimately qualified group of Alumni and Distance Learners here to try and earn one for real. This posting is totally legit - I am so thankful that "Fate" guided me here first, and that I was able to see the light before I screwed up for good.

Thanks again - you have managed to save me from myself - which is not an easy task, I can assure you.

 

It takes guts to admit something like this!

You cannot be blamed for wanting to have a masters degree. Also, there must have been something in you that made you seek a forum like this; to find out whether you actually made a worthwhile investment. That's what is valuable in you as a person!

A masters degree is quite a catch, if it costs 135 dollars and takes 10 days to obtain. It sounds just too good to be true. The fact of the matter is that it actually is too good to be true. We have this unique ability as human beings (evolution?) to recognize that "there's no such thing as free lunch", and that's what made you try to find answers.

It takes guts to admit one's mistake, but in the end it only matters what you think about yourself. As for the degree, you now have it in your possession anyway, so keep it; it just might come in hand someday... who knows... If it is in something like History or Music, hey, go out and do some research on the subject. You may very well gain enough information to test your way through a second masters: This time the right way through an accredited school.

PS: What was the subject for which you got the degree?

 

Thans for the post, I had a similar experience-
from another post...

I agree it is interesting. When I started with all of this DL stuff, I only knew of California Pacific University and Thomas Edison State College. I saw an ad in USA Today (I think) for Columbia State University and requested information. They send me a large catalog with hundreds of schools and information about them. Of course, this book listed Columbia State and the best of all of them.

I started to contact schools and went with Columbia State because who could argue with a "28 day degree". I completed my Columbia State degree and put it on my resume. I even got an interview with IBM for their IT department. A couple of days later, the Tampa Bay news exposed a school that awarded a dog a degree in literature. Guess what school that was. I called IBM and cancelled the interview to save further humiliation. After Columbia State was exposed; I started to look at other schools that required some real work.

 

Welcome aboard and best wishes.

 

I have since thought about why I did this - was there a 'trigger event', was it just low self esteem, or is it because there is a slow awakening that even the most mundane roles in the workplace now seem to require/give preference to, applicants with some history of academic accomplishment.

Sometimes I feel like even the people who are asking me "do you want Fries with that Combo?" have Associate or Bachelor qualifications.

All I know is I'm glad I didn't start down this pathway now, and present a Testamer that would have then required me to pile lie upon lie to keep up the appearance - and as I said before, I am putting that decision down to you guys, a web search kept throwing up a John Bear name, and that led me to here and then I found James Hogan almost stating line for line what I would have to begin stating if I wanted to pull off the illusion that this "degree" was worth anything.

The one credit I will give myself is that when confronted with unarguable facts shown in this Forum, I dumped the diploma and the scam because you guys are right - better to earn it than buy it.

 

First of all, I must agree, you have guts to admit your mistake and I am happy for you that you haven;t gone with it.

You shouldn't feel bad because people at work claim that you have a "lesser" degree. I am one of thsoe who in the opinion that you go to study either to get a qualification that is required to do your job (i.e., you cannot get a good job as a teacher unless you have got a degree or certification); or because it is something that fascinates you (ever since "The Name of the Rose" and "Pope Joan" I have that rather stupid idea to study more about the Middle Ages. The only reason I don't do it yet is lack of time and money. My husband arrived to this forum because he wants to study law, more in order to broaden his horizons, and less because he wants to become a lawyer).

It seems to me, that your bosses are happy with you - unless they wouldn't have hired you and kept you. You're probably doing a good job - don't let your colleagues, who are probably envious that a "simple" person with lesser education does the same job just as good, bully you.

Do a degree (you can still do a "real" one) through evening classes or DL, but only if it will interest you or promote you in your professional life (higher position or salary), not because what some idiots think of you.

[You really think that someone who has already got a degree cannot be bullied by his colleagues? So they will find soemthing else...]

Tabea.

 

Good luck, keep us posted!

 

It's always good to say hello to an honest man, Austin. In the long term you'll not only be better off, you'll be happier. Let us know if we can help in your quest for a legitimate degree.
Jack

 

Thankyou Jack, although the "honesty" had to be "scared into me" by the logic I was seeing displayed by the Heavy Hitters in this forum - however the outcome of dropping the fallacy before it gained speed like a runaway train, is still the same. I have no idea what I was thinking, and having now surfed the Board for a good week or so, I am actually amazed at the sheer volume of people who are "buying" their way to pride, power, privilege and position.

The real eye opener for me has been checking out many of these virtual Uni's, and seeing that the Faculties are full of little more than people who got THEIR "degrees" at these places, and all of a sudden are spouting off about being Adjunct Professors and such shit.

Urrgghhh. To think had I gone ahead with this that I would have been in such poor company, God I'm glad you guys showed me the light, I feel like such a wanker for even considering it now - how quickly wisdom can hit you when faced with the Truth.

 

Welcome to the forum, many people do fall for these degree mill scams. The victims of the scam are the employers, the public that has earned real degrees, and the people that bought the bogus degrees who have to live with a time bomb and pile lie on top of lie. A reputation built on a bogus credential is like a building with a bad foundation. It can cause the whole thing to come tumbling down.

 

So, this is why I've never seen a degree mill offer a money-back guarantee.

 

But LORD! It IS tempting, isn't it? I mean, who is to know? Well, we have a candidate for a local office here here proudly claims a "master's" and a "doctorate" from a notorious degree mill...and I for one know. I am not particularly good at keeping a secret...

 

Hmmm....lawyer, Naval Officer...oh well.

 

Weeeeell...there are secrets and then there are secrets...

 

A real person with a real story...? Hmm... Perhaps.

Dave

 

Why so much skepticism? Its possible he learned his lesson....

 

NMTTD, we appreciate your enthusiasm, passion, and obvious interest in DL, but unless you have some new news or information about a thread that's almost 8 years old, it's best to just let it be.

 

Didnt realize I was hurting anything, but ok.

 

OMG - This is too funny.