Can people tell that you have an online degree?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by dudeman74, Apr 25, 2014.

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  1. dudeman74

    dudeman74 New Member

    For those who have already earned online degrees, can others tell that your degree was earned online (e.g. by looking at your resume or just the school name)? Also do you mention to them that you earned it online even if they do not ask?

    I earned my masters degree in little over a year from a well-recognized brick and mortar, and only a few people that interviewed me for jobs while I was in school asked if I was doing it online, since on my resume my home address was in a different state from my school.
     
  2. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    If you were working in Boston while earning your degree in North Dakota then anyone who cares can figure out that your degree is a DL degree.
     
  3. Koolcypher

    Koolcypher Member

    I agree with Kizmet, location plays an important role. Right now I'm living in Nicaragua, yet I'm attending a school that is located in the Baltimore area. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that I'm earning my degree online. :privateeye:
     
  4. dudeman74

    dudeman74 New Member

    Ok good point but do people such as those who interview you for jobs specifically ask if you earned it online? sometimes they will just be able to look at the school and assume it was earned online or not.

    I had a job listed on my resume listed in one state the same time I was in school at a university located in another state, I have graduated but no body since has questioned whether it was earned online (assumed I did it on campus)
     
  5. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    Both my graduate degree are offered on-line although I did mine on campus (classes held once a week or on weekends). No one has ever asked me how I earned my degrees.
    In my MAS degree classes there were students who flew in from various US locations and one student from Australia (these guys were either airline or USAF employees). So it is possible for a student to earn a distance degree while attending class on campus (I realize this is an exceptional case)
     
  6. Koolcypher

    Koolcypher Member

    Very good point. I know that the University of Miami offers an MBA program for Latin American Managers. The program is called: The Miami Executive MBA for the Americas. If I remember correctly it is a hybrid program (online & campus). Classes are held at the Coral Gables campus. These Latin American managers would fly in from all over Latin America. So you could live in Argentina and go to school in Miami. Kellogg School of Management offers a similar program in Miami as well. I believe that Thunderbird also offers a program similar to the one at the University of Miami. Therefore, it is indeed possible to earn a distance degree and still attend class on campus.
     
  7. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    Charles Sturt (Australia) has a campus in Ontario so it is not easy to figure out if a CS graduate living in Ontario did it on Campus or not.

    The OP is putting too much thought into this. At the end of the day is the reputation of the school that matters. If I have a MS from Stanford earned online, is worth a lot more than my average local state University that I can attend on campus.

    Most employers go with the reputation of the school rather than if you earned it part time, distance, on campus, hybrid, off-campus, blah blah.

    With so many new distance programs and hybrid degrees, I don't think people cares much about how it was earned but more from where it was earned.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 25, 2014
  8. Koolcypher

    Koolcypher Member

    I agree with you 100%. However, I think you mean the OP is putting too much thought into the delivery method.:laughing:
     
  9. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    But this is from Johns Hopkins University, I think people can care less if it was earned distance manly because this is a very well known school. As more schools offer programs by distance, the less relevant the delivery mode.
    The bottom line is the reputation of the school, a UoP graduate from an on campus program will be perceived less than a John Hopkins University graduated that attended online.
    (Sorry if I use UoP as a bottom school but I don't know any other school that is ranked lower than this one).
     
  10. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    All three of my graduate degrees were earned online. Nobody has ever asked or seemed to care how the degree was earned as long as they knew the schools were regionally accredited. There are certain fields where they are prejudiced against online degrees, fortunately, I work in none of those.
     
  11. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I lived in Massachusetts when I earned degrees from a school in New York. I lived in California when I earned a degree from a school in Alabama. I lived in Texas when I earned a degree from a school in California. I lived in Virginia when I earned a degree from a school in Ohio. And I lived in Virginia when I finished a degree in the U.K.

    No one ever questioned any of that. Ever.
     
  12. mattbrent

    mattbrent Well-Known Member

    No one has ever questioned me, either. While my MS from Walden doesn't scream a location, although if people have heard of it, they probably know it's online, but my MA from Western New Mexico University is a bit of a giveaway since I live in Virginia. But still, no one questioned me on it. I'll often admit I earned them online and bring that up as an advantage. Granted I teach at a community college that values distance learning, so it makes sense.

    -Matt
     
  13. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    It's come up for me because I've had a number of positions in online education, but as you can imagine from that it was hardly a drawback.

    The phrasing of the question seems to assume that it would be a bad thing. I think that would have been the case maybe even as recently as ten years ago, but these days it's pretty humdrum.
     
  14. Petedude

    Petedude New Member

    That, and don't indulge potential prejudices. If people ask where a school is, or ask if it was online, you can simply say "it was a distance learning program." If you feel the program was rigorous, you might try adding "they made me work for that degree."

    And that's all. I've not had those situations go past what I mentioned above yet. It's also been probably at least a year since I saw any visible hesitance over my bachelor's earned at Western Governors.
     
  15. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    In social situations where I am asked, including when chatting with co-workers, I preempt by giving a brief explanation. The feedback is usually extremely positive and I get a LOT of questions from people who want to follow my track to get their own degree.

    In the two situations where having a degree made a difference in how much I was paid (not whether or not I got the job- I was already well qualified for my career before I finished either of my degrees), I made no mention of it and was asked nothing about it. If I had made such a mention without having been asked, it would have been out of place. If I had been asked, I would have given them my killer explanation that usually leaves people in awe and used it as a way to show that I am an avid learner, deeply committed to personal and professional development whether or not there is a classroom for that to happen in. :fing02:
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 26, 2014
  16. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    Not from my resume, but once I completed my degree online, I got a permanent scarlet letter "A" on my chest....can't seem to get rid of it...

    okay, just kidding.

    When I was a teen attending school in New York, my permanent home address was Illinois, I've never been asked about that in 20+ years (I wasn't a distance student, I lived on campus) so back then, my resume showed work history in 2 states at the same time (I worked a part time job at home on breaks) but no one ever asked anything. Fast forward...
    All my degrees are from the east coast, my current work history from the midwest- so I don't list degree dates on my resume. Also, I have worked in New York years ago, so there is some cross-over between states. I'm not going to lie, the location of my grad school was a factor (small, but still) and I liked that it was in the same state as one of my earlier degrees for the reason you mention. I don't lie, but I also don't over share.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 26, 2014
  17. RAM PhD

    RAM PhD Member

    When it is necessary to list (CV/resume/etc.) my degrees, I simply list the degree title and the source. For example: BA, John Doe University. Three of my degrees (B, M, Professional D) were earned traditionally via B/M US institutions, two (Research M & PhD) were earned at a distance via non-US institutions. When listing them I make no distinction between any of them. If asked, I share the methodology of the latter two, but I've only been asked a few times.
     
  18. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    Dr. Bear posted this in another forum:

    "For whatever it's worth . . . Gallup Poll this week finds that 80% of students say that the school you choose is important for future employment. Comparable survey of 623 business leaders finds that only 8% say it is very important and 37% somewhat important. (Reported in this week's The Week magazine.) "
     
  19. TCord1964

    TCord1964 New Member

    I plan to earn my BBA from a college in India, so that's probably going to be a dead giveaway.
     
  20. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Well, fine. Even a guy like me had to choose between Excelsior or TESC- a decision that I thought was important for future employment :shrug: In hindsight, I think I would have been happier with Excelsior, but those are the kind of genius insights you come to understand AFTER you are done. :slap:
     

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