June 16, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Chris, correct, it's undergrad stuff.
I was looking to go back for a math or applied math masters for fun and couldn't find a program (live or remote) for anywhere under $15k. And most were much more.
For undergrad, however, there is a lot of competition, so I think you could get by for much less. Even some community colleges can get you going for a few thousand $$ and then finish an undergrad for < $5k (guess).
June 17, 2009 at 1:12 am
Interesting.
I'm doing M.Sc at the moment and my study fees are R7000 per year. That's Masters by dissertation, so no course work involved.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
June 17, 2009 at 8:43 am
Thank you Steve.
Gail, I sent you a private message, but maybe others would like to know too. What is the name of the institution/program where you're working on your Masters (if you don't mind sharing)?
June 17, 2009 at 8:50 am
After reading some folks' stories, I'm glad that I decided to take that first computer science course (even if it was initially to get rid of some parental pressure to "go into computers...that's where all the jobs are") because I learned that I love the logic and the puzzle solving that comes with development. Thirteen years in and I haven't lost that love. I'm also extremely grateful that I've had several wonderful mentors as I've gone along; people who taught -- or taught me where to look to teach myself and helped me if I got stuck -- instead of doing it for me or keeping it to themselves as "job security".
I wish I'd been able to push for some kind of hardware training when I was in school so I wasn't as dependent on our Infrastructure team now. (We tried, but the hardware staff on campus was too busy to teach us and the profs in the department didn't see the need.)
I wish I'd kept up better with some of the current technologies as they were developing so I wouldn't be stuck playing catch-up now that they've become workplace standards.
I wish I'd been able to find some aspect of development that requires a little more creativity than what I'm currently doing.
I wish I'd gotten it ingrained earlier that this is a desk job and that I need to get up from my desk and be active for at least a little while every day. It's a lot harder trying to train yourself to do that after several years of being sedentary during business hours, and too exhausted afterwards to make up for it.
Jennifer Levy (@iffermonster)
June 17, 2009 at 8:56 am
Chris (6/17/2009)
Gail, I sent you a private message, but maybe others would like to know too. What is the name of the institution/program where you're working on your Masters (if you don't mind sharing)?
The University of South Africa (UNISA). It's their standard Masters in Computer Science degree.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
June 17, 2009 at 9:35 am
Thank you Gail. I'm sorry. I didn't notice that you're in South Africa. Personally, I'm hoping to find something a little closer to home, but maybe somebody will be inspired to check it out. It sounds like a great idea. Good luck with completing your degree.
June 17, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Jennifer Levy (6/17/2009)
After reading some folks' stories, I'm glad that I decided to take that first computer science course (even if it was initially to get rid of some parental pressure to "go into computers...that's where all the jobs are") because I learned that I love the logic and the puzzle solving that comes with development. Thirteen years in and I haven't lost that love.
That's great Jennifer. And for anyone who has ever wondered, this is the only right reason to get into computer scirence (or math for that matter). There is nothing in a career that's as valuable as enjoying what you do every day.
[font="Times New Roman"]-- RBarryYoung[/font], [font="Times New Roman"] (302)375-0451[/font] blog: MovingSQL.com, Twitter: @RBarryYoung[font="Arial Black"]
Proactive Performance Solutions, Inc. [/font][font="Verdana"] "Performance is our middle name."[/font]
June 17, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Chris (6/17/2009)
Thank you Gail. I'm sorry. I didn't notice that you're in South Africa. Personally, I'm hoping to find something a little closer to home, but maybe somebody will be inspired to check it out. It sounds like a great idea. Good luck with completing your degree.
If I look at the prices you and Steve mentioned and I look at the price Gail mentioned then this is a very cheap offer. R7000/8 average is +- US$ 900. I would jump for it because this is an correspondence institute as well so you can do the course via correspondence. The next question I would ask myself is: How would this course measure up with the ones offered in the USA? :w00t::-P
:-PManie Verster
Developer
Johannesburg
South Africa
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. - Holy Bible
I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be flexible at all times. - Everett Mckinley Dirkson (Well, I am trying. - Manie Verster)
June 17, 2009 at 11:26 pm
Well, listening to you all and hearing about the courses you attended I get jealous. I was lazy in school. I always just past every year and I just wanted to get done with school so I can go work. Today that might be one of my regrets on which I will not dwell too much. No use crying over spoilt milk, they say. What am I doing now to correct my error? That I must answer myself and as long as I know I am doing my best to correct it, I can live with myself.
I knoe of people who would have loved to study further when they finished school. Even just to finish school! My father, when he was sixteen was told that a real man does not go to university but he does a trade and was told to leave school and do a trade.
:w00t::w00t:
:-PManie Verster
Developer
Johannesburg
South Africa
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. - Holy Bible
I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be flexible at all times. - Everett Mckinley Dirkson (Well, I am trying. - Manie Verster)
June 17, 2009 at 11:37 pm
RBarryYoung (6/17/2009)
Jennifer Levy (6/17/2009)
After reading some folks' stories, I'm glad that I decided to take that first computer science course (even if it was initially to get rid of some parental pressure to "go into computers...that's where all the jobs are") because I learned that I love the logic and the puzzle solving that comes with development. Thirteen years in and I haven't lost that love.That's great Jennifer. And for anyone who has ever wondered, this is the only right reason to get into computer scirence (or math for that matter). There is nothing in a career that's as valuable as enjoying what you do every day.
Yes Barry, I fully agree with you. A person needs to enjoy what they do else I don't think you can really make a success of your career.
:-PManie Verster
Developer
Johannesburg
South Africa
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. - Holy Bible
I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be flexible at all times. - Everett Mckinley Dirkson (Well, I am trying. - Manie Verster)
June 18, 2009 at 1:27 am
Manie Verster (6/17/2009)
If I look at the prices you and Steve mentioned and I look at the price Gail mentioned then this is a very cheap offer. R7000/8 average is +- US$ 900. I would jump for it because this is an correspondence institute as well so you can do the course via correspondence.
It's mostly correspondence, but registration for M.Sc and Ph.D have to be done in person at one of the Unisa offices at the moment, there are some exams that has to be written at a Unisa exam center (There's a required course on research), and there may be other in-person requirements from time to time. So while it's cheap there are travel requirements that anyone living outside the Southern Africa area may find unpleasant. Plus I believe there's a limit on how far the library will send books.
The next question I would ask myself is: How would this course measure up with the ones offered in the USA? :w00t::-P
Well, it's a degree by dissertation, not coursework, so the only standards are those of the markers at the end.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
June 18, 2009 at 1:55 am
GilaMonster (6/18/2009)
Manie Verster (6/17/2009)
If I look at the prices you and Steve mentioned and I look at the price Gail mentioned then this is a very cheap offer. R7000/8 average is +- US$ 900. I would jump for it because this is an correspondence institute as well so you can do the course via correspondence.It's mostly correspondence, but registration for M.Sc and Ph.D have to be done in person at one of the Unisa offices at the moment, there are some exams that has to be written at a Unisa exam center (There's a required course on research), and there may be other in-person requirements from time to time. So while it's cheap there are travel requirements that anyone living outside the Southern Africa area may find unpleasant. Plus I believe there's a limit on how far the library will send books.
The next question I would ask myself is: How would this course measure up with the ones offered in the USA? :w00t::-P
Well, it's a degree by dissertation, not coursework, so the only standards are those of the markers at the end.
It's a pity because my brother did his M. Sc through the internet at a Boston institute, not sure about the name, and got his masters degree. Yes, and now I remember that it is not course work but as you say a degree by dissertation.
:-PManie Verster
Developer
Johannesburg
South Africa
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. - Holy Bible
I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be flexible at all times. - Everett Mckinley Dirkson (Well, I am trying. - Manie Verster)
June 18, 2009 at 3:18 pm
I wish I had paid more attention to education in my early years. While I was constantly tasked to put in the long hours cause I could accomplish the mission, several of my pears we left without a heavy workload so they were able to advance their education. While I did all the work - my pears progressed upwards in the management level even though they had little if no actual experience.
I did finally wake up and get a degree in MIS (wish it was in DBA now).
But overall - my experienced I has, throughout my careers, molded me into the person/professional I am today so on second thought - I would not change a thing as I like my current situation and do not want to initiate the butterfly effect.
Joe 😎
June 18, 2009 at 3:30 pm
This thread has, in part, inspired me to finally take the plunge. I was already thinking about it, and although I'm extremely skeptical about the enormous tuition costs of executive graduate programs, I went ahead and applied for a Masters of Science in Information Resource Management from Central Michigan University. No regrets, never too late, and all that. Thanks to Steve and the rest for the inspiration. Wish me luck.
June 18, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Chris,
You are welcome, and best of luck with that. I haven't met many people that didn't learn a lot from additional education. Even if it didn't directly help in their job, they usually are happy they finished.
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