[SashaC]

I have one year left at the Univeristy of Phoenix. I am getting a degree in Software Engineering. Many people are saying that companies will not hire graduates from University of Phoenix (or related schools) because they prefer an employee with a degree from a traditional college. Is there anyone here that has (or knows someone with) a degree from University of Phoenix (or related schools)? Or they sucessful or having a hard time finding work? Facts only please!

Thanks for responding!

This post has been edited by SashaC: 17 September 2010 - 08:07 AM

[macosxnerd101]

Moved to Student Campus.

There are a couple of threads in the student campus that ask similar questions like "What College Should I go to" and "Tech school or university?" You should check them out.

I'm sure that people from all walks of life get hired on as programmers if they have the skills and can prove it (ie., a portfolio, fizz buzz test, etc.). If you want statistics, perhaps you should ask the University.

[tlhIn`toq]

Email notification said:

SashaC has just posted a new topic entitled "Does Univerity Of Phoenix graduates get hired?" in forum "Software Development".

I think it was very nice of someone to fix the title of your post.

But I think its worth noting that it doesn't matter *where* you graduate from if your grammar skills are lacking this badly. There are just too many people in the job market looking to get hired. Companies have the upper hand right now and can afford to be picky because they can hire the cream of the crop for the wages of mediocre staff. If we saw something like this in your resume/application you wouldn't even make it to an interview.

Sorry if that isn't all sunshine and rainbows but a person can't fix something if they aren't told its broken.

[SashaC]

tlhIn, on 17 September 2010 - 07:27 AM, said:

Email notification said:

SashaC has just posted a new topic entitled "Does Univerity Of Phoenix graduates get hired?" in forum "Software Development".

I think it was very nice of someone to fix the title of your post.

But I think its worth noting that it doesn't matter *where* you graduate from if your grammar skills are lacking this badly. There are just too many people in the job market looking to get hired. Companies have the upper hand right now and can afford to be picky because they can hire the cream of the crop for the wages of mediocre staff. If we saw something like this in your resume/application you wouldn't even make it to an interview.

Sorry if that isn't all sunshine and rainbows but a person can't fix something if they aren't told its broken.

Actually I changed the title. Maybe a few seconds after it was posted. It's called a mistake and this is not a resume or application. Thanks for comment!:-)

[auggiecc87]

I'm not sure of statistics, but it seems to me that it is easier to get hired coming from a "traditional" university simply because many Universities have well established connections with companies through job placement programs or career services type programs. Also, many brick-and-motar's have specific career fair days where companies come to you to hire you. That being said. You might want to start applying to companies online now. Marking your graduation as next May. Many companies run separate hiring campaigns for internships and recent college grads.

[rgfirefly24]

I've talked in length to my boss about online degrees vs Traditional ones. It's mostly an agreed upon assumption that Someone with a Degree from a Corporation like UoP will get overlooked over someone with a more traditional degree. This is the case because of the controversy over Corporation type schools. I wouldn't let that get you down though, because a good part of what true hiring managers are looking for is Personality. Skills can be taught, but Synergy can't.

[KYA]

I can't believe you used the word synergy in a serious sentence.

[tlhIn`toq]

KYA, on 17 September 2010 - 10:48 AM, said:

I can't believe you used the word synergy in a serious sentence.

http://www.synergydrinks.com/home.aspx

[xclite]

KYA, on 17 September 2010 - 02:48 PM, said:

I can't believe you used the word synergy in a serious sentence.

LEVERAGE your SYNERGY in the process of IDEATION to improve our KNOWLEDGE FLOW.

[Apokio]

auggiecc87, on 17 September 2010 - 08:20 AM, said:

I'm not sure of statistics, but it seems to me that it is easier to get hired coming from a "traditional" university simply because many Universities have well established connections with companies through job placement programs or career services type programs. Also, many brick-and-motar's have specific career fair days where companies come to you to hire you. That being said. You might want to start applying to companies online now. Marking your graduation as next May. Many companies run separate hiring campaigns for internships and recent college grads.

Why do most people assume that just because a school is for-profit and not "traditional" (I don't agree that UOP is not traditional, but that is another subject) that the school does not have any connections with companies or help you find a job once you graduate. I can't speak for other schools but UOP has a alumni association that helps with job placement and there are many UOP graduates in hiring manager positions and many hiring managers that work for the UOP as instructors. UOP also partners with many companies for educational purposes such Dell, Northrop Grumman, Chase Bank, HP, and many others. UOP also does have local campuses and they have career days and even you attend online you get event emails, and notifications when you log in from local campuses letting you know what is going on. Most people choose to go to UOP becaue they already have a full time job, maybe a family, or both and they want to make a change or futher their education. I can stand it when people assume that the education is less quality and it will be harder to get a job just because the school if for-profit.

To the OP just apply for jobs and don't downplay your degree. If you are planning on becoming a programmer of some type start working on a portfolio now and building a good body of work for the company to look. I would suggest to anyone graduating from anywhere. I got a job with the help of my Associates Degree from UOP and the company is picking up the rest of the costs for my Bachelor's Degree. I am also working on the Software Engineering program and I only have 5 classes to go. I have been working on my portfolio for about 6 months now and I am hoping to get a job as a programmer either with this company or another after I do the year of emploment after I graduate to clear all the costs that my company is picking up. I have also thought about the image of UOP before I started school with them and I researched and talked to companies and I was surprised at how many companies emailed me back saying they where a UOP graduate or they worked with UOP, or they had obtained a degree through an online program. Online programs are gaining respect and companies understand that we are just not playing games while clicking the mouse and getting a degree. We have to work hard, keep self motivated, work full time, take care of the family, and still get all of our work in on time.

[SashaC]

Apokio, on 20 September 2010 - 05:04 AM, said:

auggiecc87, on 17 September 2010 - 08:20 AM, said:

I'm not sure of statistics, but it seems to me that it is easier to get hired coming from a "traditional" university simply because many Universities have well established connections with companies through job placement programs or career services type programs. Also, many brick-and-motar's have specific career fair days where companies come to you to hire you. That being said. You might want to start applying to companies online now. Marking your graduation as next May. Many companies run separate hiring campaigns for internships and recent college grads.

Why do most people assume that just because a school is for-profit and not "traditional" (I don't agree that UOP is not traditional, but that is another subject) that the school does not have any connections with companies or help you find a job once you graduate. I can't speak for other schools but UOP has a alumni association that helps with job placement and there are many UOP graduates in hiring manager positions and many hiring managers that work for the UOP as instructors. UOP also partners with many companies for educational purposes such Dell, Northrop Grumman, Chase Bank, HP, and many others. UOP also does have local campuses and they have career days and even you attend online you get event emails, and notifications when you log in from local campuses letting you know what is going on. Most people choose to go to UOP becaue they already have a full time job, maybe a family, or both and they want to make a change or futher their education. I can stand it when people assume that the education is less quality and it will be harder to get a job just because the school if for-profit.

To the OP just apply for jobs and don't downplay your degree. If you are planning on becoming a programmer of some type start working on a portfolio now and building a good body of work for the company to look. I would suggest to anyone graduating from anywhere. I got a job with the help of my Associates Degree from UOP and the company is picking up the rest of the costs for my Bachelor's Degree. I am also working on the Software Engineering program and I only have 5 classes to go. I have been working on my portfolio for about 6 months now and I am hoping to get a job as a programmer either with this company or another after I do the year of emploment after I graduate to clear all the costs that my company is picking up. I have also thought about the image of UOP before I started school with them and I researched and talked to companies and I was surprised at how many companies emailed me back saying they where a UOP graduate or they worked with UOP, or they had obtained a degree through an online program. Online programs are gaining respect and companies understand that we are just not playing games while clicking the mouse and getting a degree. We have to work hard, keep self motivated, work full time, take care of the family, and still get all of our work in on time.

I thought about contacting companies to see how they felt about the degree. Thanks for the information :-)

[thinkdevcode]

I have a 2 year degree from UoP (online) and I am working on a Bachelors for Software Engineering now. I actually just recently got hired by a large corporation as a junior software developer where I am primarily working with .NET languages (C#/ASP/etc) as well as MS SQL servers and old AS400's (wow those are a pain!). That being said, I chose UoP because I can't stand normal classes. They are not challenging at all which led me to be extremely bored and lose interest. I'm self taught in programming and tech, where I started learning programming languages at a very young age.

My thoughts on UoP education:

Negatives:
UoP is easy. Plain and simple. The 5 week courses are practically a joke and thats why I double up on them (sometimes even triple if they are all "fluff" courses - which if youve done a few UoP you know which kind of classes im talking about). This is from my perspective though, and it may be different for you.

UoP ruins networking. One of the major benefits of going to a "traditional" college is meeting people either for personal reasons or for future professional relationships. This is the only major negative that UoP (or any other online education) has in my eyes.

Positives:
UoP is at your own pace. If I had to endure 5 month classes I don't think I would honestly ever get my degree. Work hard, do more than you think you can handle, and you'll be better off in the end.

UoP has regional accreditation. Unlike 99% of other online "schools" UoP is regionally accredited which means some/most of its credits can transfer to a state university (should you want to pursue a masters or PHD that UoP doesnt offer - like I will). Most online schools are "nationally accredited" which means their degrees aren't worth much more than toilet paper. Used toilet paper at that.

Now as far as education quality compared to a traditional university:
It's not the same.
It never was meant to be - and it never will be.
Online schooling, and work at your own pace programs are made for people who are either severely impatient or who work already (both of which ironically applies to me). Your technical education will not be as good as a traditional universities.

Is this a bad thing?
No.

The point is what YOU do on your own time - outside of work and school. Do you program any hobby projects? Are you building a portfolio? Do you fix bugs or work on open source software? Basically do you show initiative and a determination to become better. Don't build a portfolio just to get a job - build a portfolio because you love to program. If you don't love to program, wtf are you doing?

The interview I had with the company I now work for was a piece of cake. Every single question they asked me I had learned on my own outside of UoP and honestly thats the way it should be. When they asked me how far along I was in my classes after the technical interview they were shocked to find out I had only taken one programming/software course so far. I think that was the turning point where I thought I had a great shot to get hired. It's all about how much determination you have and how quickly you pick things up.

So OP, good luck to you, and know that it is possible to get a programming job even while still in school (at an OMG online college) so long as you show some damn effort. =)

This post has been edited by thinkdevcode: 24 September 2010 - 06:23 PM

[AlbuquerqueApache]

For the record, I used to think this way and tried to avoid going to school at tech schools.

However, I am learning that tech schools are actually better than traditional colleges in some regards such as actual hands on experience and in depth teaching of the technologies.

[Sethro117]

After High School I went to a Community College, then dropped out. I went to AIU, then dropped out and then I tried UoP and again dropped out. My main reasons were I didn't feel I was learning anything, the price was the same for an Associates that I'm now paying for a Bachelors. Online learning is gaining ground but do some research. If it's accredited by a the Higher Education Association or whatever they're called then chances are they are good.

However, Apollo Group who is the "business" behind UoP have had several financial fraud cases brought against them. I also didn't feel I was learning anything that 1. I didn't already know or 2. Employers would think I cheated to get to know.

I know go to WGU which is nationally and regionally accredited and it's considered private, it's won several Education awards by organizations that award them to even traditional campuses and the material is stuff that experts from MS, Google, Oracle, Sun and other big tech companies have a had in developing. Also, if I remember right the tests with AIU and UoP are all taken online and open book. I have to actually go in to a traditional campus to take my exams and tests which I think shows my potential employers that I didn't sit at home and have the opportunity to look at a book while testing.

Like someone said though, skills and the ability to show you know you're stuff is likely to get you hired instead of being tossed aside because you went to an online school.