Requesting some thoughts on Devry

[rocketkidd777]

I have been going to a Devry campus in Philadelphia for 1 semester now studying networking. I've taken 5 classes so far. I love the computer field. I've always had a fascination for technology. I'm pretty sure that its what I want to do for a living.

I'm VERY undecided about staying. Devry is very expensive. Including financial aid and scholarships my tuition, books, and rent through the school has cost me $6,000 for 1 semester. There are 3 semesters in one year. My NCM (Networking Communications and Management) bachelors degree will take 3 years. That's a total of nine semesters costing me $54,000. I must also keep in mind other expenses including gas, food etc. Also, tuition will be increasing every year. I've worked a part-time job here for the semester making about $2,500. It ends in a few weeks, however. Basically I am freaked out about $50,000+ in debt.

I have read A LOT of rebuttal online about Devry. Anything from criticizing the price (due to it being a for-profit company) to the terrible teachers. My one professor even told me that Devry has a terrible reputation; not respected in its field, or by the general public. THIS freaked me out. However in MY experience with Devry I have felt that that my teachers are actually pretty good. They stay after class to talk with me and for the most part know what they are talking about. Financial aid and the people at Devry's corporate office aren't to swift, though.

My indecision to stay has stressed me about majorly. Its interfering with my studying and focus in class. I'm considering going to a state school here in PA to save money and have a real social life. My Devry campus is mainly composed of nerdy gamers. period. This fact bothers me more than you can imagine. I'm trying to develop a social life outside of the school, and slow progress is showing.

I must have my decision about staying or transferring to another school made in only 2 weeks. Ive been going back and forth for several weeks now. Ive talked to people in the field, and with other schools about transferring my credits.

I apologize for the long post.

Any input would be GREATLY appreciated!

P.S. I'm a passionate, hardworking 19 year-old guy who can live on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches if that's the only way to afford an education.

 

[PaulBricker]

So, what we've learned so far is that people named Paul are old.
And "experienced"

Best laugh I've had all week. Thanks, I needed it.

Paul

 

[Bandenjamin]

One thing I haven't really seen mentioned here that is a major positive of a degree. It shows you can begin an incredibly long project and finish through to completion.

Were I a hiring manager and had my choice between two people who have a good deal amount of experience but one of them has a degree, that will give them a big leg up over the other one. In the course of earning a degree there are many life events that attempt to deter you. Showing you can perserve through and complete that degree shows a great deal about your charachter and how you handle tough challenges (which you will undoubtedly face in any company).

--Dan
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
Mark Twain

 

[RiverGuy]

Here's another thought--save your money by going to the state school, and think about investing what you would have spent at DeVry for a master's degree--if you're interested in that. If I could go back again to when I was 18 or 19 (knowing what I know now), I'd opt for my undergraduate and then my graduate degree right afterwards. It's probably going to be a lot easier to go to graduate school before you're employed full time than waiting 10 years down the road.

 

[Dollie]

Wow Paul! I wish I could work where you do! Experience has only gotten me so far in life, and without a continuing education learning new technologies and trends so I can keep up with recent graduates, I would be left far behind with my University of The Streets degree.

I started at a community college after a 20 year "break" after high school, and it's the best decision I've ever made. It's more affordable than any other option I've found. I take night classes and have found many of my teachers are full time professors at local universities, so I'm getting the great professors on a community college budget. I'm also going to be able to take every single credit and transfer it to a Major University to complete my bachelor's degree.

I'm also learning some really cool sh... um, stuff. An old dog is learning new tricks.

 

[MDXer]

For me not having a degree doesn't mean I don't study and learn. I keep up with the technologies in my area and don't stop at learning how to use them but go for the deep knowledge in how things work to make sure that what I deliver is accurate and optimized.

I once worked with a web app that my company had purchased the SDK. The method the app used for caching reports were far from what we needed. We had approached the company about so assistance and was informed that they had tried to do what we were asking but R&D could not make it work. After about a week of walking through Classic ASP and and 4 hours of code I had completely rewritten the caching method to the point that the company wanted our code.

The same holds true with a degree. If you have a degree but you don't practice and continue in the field you simply have an expensive piece of paper.



Paul
---------------------------------------
Shoot Me! Shoot Me NOW!!!
- Daffy Duck

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> If you have a degree but you don't practice and continue in the field you simply have an expensive piece of paper.
Although bits and pieces of knowledge may be forgotten, neither education nor experience is ever lost. And let's not forget that a four-year college degree program is experience in and of itself, both in academia, technology, and in life.

--------------
Good Luck
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read
FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[rocketkidd777]

Wow, thank you all so much for the thoughts on college education!

I'm tempted to wait a year before going back to school. I graduated high school a few months ago, and I'm 19. I have a decent paying job, and a bargain on rent. My only concern is that I would somehow fall behind on technology or simply lose my focus etc. I may end up deciding to not get into the computer field, and take up photography (something I also enjoy greatly). Is finding ones bearings for a year a bad idea?

The current economy is quite unsettling as well I might add. Does anyone have some thoughts on how the unstable economy affects the computer industry?

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> Is finding ones bearings for a year a bad idea?
No, that's not a bad idea at all.

Nothing can be more valuable to your overall health and well-being than enjoying your work.

--------------
Good Luck
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read
FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[Thargy]

I'm with CC on this one rocket. A gap year is excellent, as having to work for a living shows you the importance of getting a degree, so that you don't have to do your gap year job for the rest of your life.

Regards

T

 

[ousoonerjoe]

while i'm not opposed to the gap (i took 10 years off), I will add that each year you are away from the school, the harder it gets. Especially if you plan to go to a 4 year university. Universities also increase and change the number of credits required to graduate every year or so. That being said, it is more important to find your nitch. Otherwise, you'll be miserable and hate working.

My first degree in college was photo-journalism (i didn't want to take all the art classes in the Arts degree program.) I found it to be a VERY difficult field to find work in. It is a cut-throat business where you truly are only as good as the last shot you took. Not to discourage you, but to give you a heads-up. Computers are a steady satisfying field (for me at least) that still allow for some contract photo work on the side.

The point is... go find what fits you, before you get into something that's too hard to get out of later.

"If I were to wake up with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn't be more surprised than I am right now.

 

[flapeyre]

Way back in 1990, at the age of 35, I quit a nine-year job with a company I loved to go back to college and get a BS in Computer Science, at a 4-year university about 25 miles from home.

First programming course I took was Pascal. No biggie - I aced it with an A. The second Pascal course was with a different instructor who didn't really teach anything - he told us to write a graphical Wheel of Fortune game, which was way beyond my abilities (or anyone else's) at the time. I dropped the course. I heard later that only one student (an uber-geek gamer type) remained in the class for the whole semester. I wasn't there to write games; I was there to learn business programming. Waste of time.

Petty stuff such as that (plus pouring tuition money down the rabbit hole) made me completely drop out. So I happened to see a newspaper ad for a free programming course offered by a state-run technical college. I jumped at it. No Mickey Mouse stuff there; it got me in the door at my first job in programming and I've been moving up the ladder ever since. My lack of a four-year degree has not hurt (except that I probably will just be a worker bee - never to be a manager, but that's okay - I don't need that kind of stress in my life).

Nullum gratuitum prandium.
--Sleipinir214