Edit: from elsewhere in the thread, I understand that a degree is more usually more expensive than 10k in the USA? I guess a lot more, since this is making headlines? Is that also the typical case for online degrees?
1) The degree earned is the same exact as what the on-campus students earn. Exact same diploma - no mention of 'online'
2) It is a top ranked program (the MS in CS is ranked #8 - not sure about this Cybersecurity one)
3) It is (relatively) cheap at under $10k
Well it objectively isn't, and 'relatively' doesn't help me in understanding how expensive a degree normally is in the USA.
(Not that I've ever had any experience on the receiving end of this... /s)
Worldwide it holds less prestige but in the USA for the major companies, GT is very highly regarded and the students are heavily recruited.
Job market for GT BSCS grads is the same bollocks as most anywhere else. I say, save your money and go someplace else (or self-teach) and then use a recruiter that knows wtf they're doing; that's what will make the difference.
The job market for GT grads is the same as everyone else, yes, because it's unlikely a job is going to magically open just for a GT grad. However, I guarantee saying you hold a GT BSCS catches the eye of recruiters more than a certificate from Udemy or no education but some experience.
I do in fact hold rigorous formal education in high regard. But I doubt that more than about 70% of GA Tech BSCS holders have actually received such a thing; and a result from a 70/30 binary distribution is not a very informative piece of evidence.
I don't doubt that a Udemy cert alone is as close to bubkes as you claim. I do doubt that an Anytown State University degree is in the same bucket as Udemy certs, rather than the same bucket as a BSCS from GA Tech. I have also seen recruiters that can very easily convert autodidacts' and Udemy grads' raw experience and competence into employer signals.
When I interned at Deloitte (here in the Netherlands), there were a lot of employees from two particular IT security studies. There was teasing and slight rivalry back and forth of course, but it definitely wasn't that one camp got paid more or was hired more easily than the other.
In fact, if you were to ask, most people would tell you that any vaguely relevant master's would do (and get paid similarly) since the company has to teach you the specifics anyway. Now I've noticed that's not entirely true, they will definitely frown upon a network engineering graduate applying for a security job, but you'll still get the job if you can convey your interest in the field.