Ask HN: Are online master degrees credible? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Are online master degrees credible?

24 pointsmoocthrow11 comments

I completed my BSc at a local University which isn't highly ranked in the University ranking lists and while I qualify for pursuing a MSc at some of the better ranked institutions in neighbouring countries, I don't want to quit my job and go there just to study. Recently the opportunity of taking an online masters program has presented itself. There are some options like Georgia Tech or UT Austin. Does anyone here have experience with either of those? The latter seems more rigorous and more promising to me. I have also found that there are options of pursuing a MSc from some of the even better ranked universities (though I doubt that I would be admitted). How much does it help with future job prospects, particularly at big tech companies? (Acing the interview isn't the hardest part, it's getting the offer from a recruiter). What is the admission process like? Thanks for all the info.

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If you are concerned more about raising your "ranking" rather than acquiring some specific knowledge, look for a school that doesn't label its only degrees "online".

I know that the University of Illinois provides degree programs online through coursera which are treated the same as non-online in that the diploma is the same, you can join the alumni association etc. I happen to know this somewhat randomly (from a coursera employee who worked on it) so I am sure there are others; I don't know if you can tell this by visiting Coursera or if the university does it and doesn't mention their platform provider.

As others have remarked in practice the education isn't the same, but in some cases I could imagine it could be better (depending on the student, quality of instructor, etc). For me the "cultural" aspects are quite important (discussions, people you meet, etc) but that may not be true for everyone.

Also if you are perfectly capable but feel you need to alter your "credibility brand" the actual quality of the education may not matter. I have a friend who enrolled in grad school entirely to meet people, ended dropping out part way through to start a company, and did fine. So there are many paths to "success".

The programs you mentioned and the ones that are similar all grant a degree that is the same as if you enrolled and showed up to on-campus classes. However, if you have a degree in computer science already, it doesn't really matter to recruiters if you also have a master's degree except for certain specific circumstances. Certainly Georgia Tech and UT Austin are good schools, but they are not top tier schools, so you're not going to get the name recognition benefit that you seem to be looking for anyway. If you're looking for a top job, what would help more is first getting some work experience, and then getting really good at interview questions.

They’re both top 10 (in US) in pretty much any ranking list you’d find for computer science, what do you consider top tier?

Just a thought — as far as I know, the degrees granted by online programs (like an MSc) are exactly the same degree as what’s granted by an in person program. You’re not required to disclose on your resume that the MSc was earned virtually. Also with most learning being virtual this year anyway, you’d be in the same boat as anyone else. All of this is to say someone reviewing your resume doesn’t necessarily have to know it was an online program unless they explicitly ask you.

I’d love to learn more about what you’re trying to get out of a masters and whether you could get the same thing by working professionally for 2 years.

Hi, thank for your answers. I'm already working professionally and it's very helpful to get proficient in some areas, but it's hard to force/motivate myself to study other non work related topics on my own. The main benefit is that by having a MSc from a reputable organization, I'd increase my future work prospects. Also there are subjects that aren't available as MOOCs, but also the fact that most MOOCs lack the rigour that I'd wish for, save for a select few, which sadly are about basic introductory topics.

Sure, as long as know one knows it was obtained online. Since the degree will be no different from one earned on campus it’s general not discernible from the degree alone. That being said, there’s still a level of stigma attached to online schooling vs on-campus from some people. When I asked around about people’s opinion on this sort of thing a while back I got mixed responses. I also imagine it depends on your field. I’ve heard from people in some fields that they’d never take an online degree seriously, but it’s probably a little better for CS.

I'm wrapping up my second to last class for Georgia Tech's OMSCS. Here are some thoughts from my experience in no particular order:

- The program is suppose to be the same as on-campus, so the degree is the same (MS).

- It's dirt cheap as far as master's degrees go. My employer is paying 2/3, so that sweetens the deal even more.

- Since it's online and inexpensive, the program is growing a lot. I think in a few years it would be safe to assume that if someone has an MSCS from GT that it was obtained online.

- I've learned a lot of things that I wouldn't have otherwise been exposed to.

- The workload hasn't been bad, but it definitely can be if you're not somewhat familiar with C, C++, and Python since most of the classes are project based. The workload exceptions have been ML and RL which are pretty time consuming. For context, I work full-time and have two toddlers.

- I honestly don't think the online program is the same as on-campus. Maybe the topics are the same, but I very rarely had to study anything outside of the lecture videos, which are almost always very high-level, and the classes have been much less rigorous than my undergraduate classes (from a different university). Additionally, the online demographic is substantially different than on-campus (I imagine anyway). I think this translates to less stimulating discussion and larger grade curves.

- Expanding on the previous thought, the program has definitely been a "what you put in is what you get out" type of thing. You can coast and still get decent grades, so getting the most out of the program requires some discipline to study stuff that isn't required to get the A.

- There is almost no interaction with the professors, but there is an instructor and TAs for each class who may or may not be helpful in answering your questions.

I'm glad I did the OMSCS program overall. I wish that I had the opportunity to get a master's in-person at a top school, but I don't want to quit my job, move, or pay out the nose, so I'll take what I can get. I don't think that the degree will result in higher compensation, but I've thought about maybe one day teaching at a community college or something like that and I figured I'd get the credential just in case.

I honestly don't think very many, if any, employers will care about the ranking of the school you got a course-based master's degree from. I think it matters more if you're doing a thesis based master's and want to do research.

If your goal is advancing your career at a FAANG company, I think it's a waste of time.

The online degree earned is the same as one in person. However I found the lectures to be much more "staged" online than the free-flowing in person lectures and discussions. So I would argue that the online lectures are of lower quality.

I disagree

Online lectures can be pre recorded, mistakes may be removed, content may be way better thought than going "on fly" in class

The pre-Covid 19 answer is "lol, no."

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