[petercooper]

Related topic, different country. I discovered last week you can take a MSc in Software Development with the Open University (a partially government-funded distance learning university in the UK): http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/qualification/f26....

The really interesting part is if you have enough experience, you don't need to have an undergraduate degree to get into the prerequisite diploma course. So you get on to the diploma course which takes two years part time, then do the Masters project for a year.. no degree to Masters in 3 years. An education hack, if ever there were one. Who cares if you have an undergraduate degree when you have a Masters? (Genuine question - if there is a reason, let us know.)

The only downside, it's not cheap cheap. You're looking at about £1000 per unit and there are 8 units for the diploma. The Master's part is then £1900 ish. So that's about £10k ($16k) in all over 3 years. Still, only slightly more than a single year of undergraduate study in the UK from next year..

Note: Yes, this is really for people in the UK or Europe.

[nathansmith]

"Who cares if you have an undergraduate degree when you have a masters?"

I'd turn that around and ask: "Who cares if you have a masters, if you have requisite experience?"

Ultimately, undergraduate and masters level degrees are just pieces of paper without the career track record to show for it.

Personally, I'd hire the individual who's smart and can get stuff done, who spent a comparative amount of time building his/her skill-set, than someone who spent the same number of years in a classroom doing instructor-driven tasks.

And, for what it's worth, I have both an undergraduate and masters degree (though neither in software or CS).

[rudenoise]

I'd like a master's degree because I enjoy learning and learning makes you better at the tasks you apply it to. I can earn good money with or without it, but taking the time to truly expand my CS knowledge (at an age where I can truly appreciate it, not the case when I got my degree) would be fulfilling.

A course like this would suit me while I continue with a job that pays the mortgage.

Edit: having read the course description it does seem geared towards career development. A more academic approach would appeal more.

[zinssmeister]

Getting this master degree from the Open University would require you to fly to europe/uk to sit your exams. They let you study online but you must take the exams at one of their regional centers. They don't have one of those outside of europe

[rayboyd]

Another similar hack I discovered. You can get a full blown MSc with no attachments such as (open) from The University of Liverpool [1]. You can gain entry if you have enough experience to skip the prerequisites. Costs are similar. You could pull it off in 2 years if you worked like a champion.

[1] http://www.liv.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/taught_courses/softw...

[petercooper]

Someone I follow on Twitter said they're doing this course and that it's OK but the quality of the other participants is a little meh ;-)

On the (Open) suffix, I don't think there's any requirement to include that part. You've been conferred with that part of the title but I can't see any reason you have to use it - it's still an MSc. But perhaps someone with insider knowledge could correct me here ;-)

[alnayyir]

Can you do this from the US as a non-EU/UK citizen/resident? This is quite fascinating.

[bhofmann]

When I see CVs with masters degrees I can't help thinking "this person has been more interested in academic study than real world experience". I value the latter more. Some formal education is good to see, but I've seen too many masters students who can't cut it in a real world situation.

[StudyAnimal]

Well these part time, distance learning postgraduate degrees are usually professional degrees, so intended for those wanting to use the knowledge in their work rather than academic degrees, for those wishing to study further. They actually require and are normally integrated with actual real world experience.

My professional masters required me to actually do things at work, things that I wouldn't have done otherwise, and write about it, and turn it into a project etc.

Sure academics with academic Masters degrees look down on them, but then there are a lot of people, like you, who recognize that academic achievement is not an indicator of being able to get things done.

These professional masters are an ideal middle ground.

To be honest though, if I could have gotten interesting real world experience in the field I was interested in, I probably would not have considered the degree, but it was a chicken and egg situation for me unfortunately. In order to get a job where I could get experience, I had to have experience. So I started the degree, then switched to a job that was half way towards the area I wanted, and because I needed to do a project my employers were more willing to let me take on some work in the interesting area I wanted to work in. By the end of it, I had both real world experience, and a degree recognizing that experience. Without starting that course I still don't see how I could have broken in to either area.

[dagw]

I think it depends very much on what position you are hiring for. If you just need someone who can hack out RoR apps, then sure a Masters degree might be unnecessary, but if you need someone to do work on cutting edge engineering or science problems, and actually solve new problems, then a relevant Masters degree is a very valuable background to have.

[pgbovine]

wow, i hope no Ph.D.'s apply for a job at your organization, or else their resume will probably be thrown directly into the trash bin ;)

[petercooper]

Would someone who quit school at 16 with A-grade experience catch your eye more than a postgraduate with C-grade experience?