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USC pushed a $115k online degree – graduates got low salaries, huge debts

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Re: USC pushed a $115k online degree – graduates got low salaries, huge debts

#41

Post by namelessoracle »

echelon wrote: post #34
namelessoracle wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The failure rate is very high from what I hear. Which i guess is the best way to tell if a program is legit.

It is. It's a legitimate degree and they won't let you slack off. Some of the classes have a metric ton of homework and projects, and the deadlines can be pretty rough. I know my coworker was sweating after work a few times (this was pre-pandemic) and told me they'd be spending a few evenings implementing project work.

I remember a coworker telling me he had to learn assembly in a week for a major assignment his very first semester. And that caused a good chunk of his cohort to drop the program.

Re: USC pushed a $115k online degree – graduates got low salaries, huge debts

#43

Post by aidenn0 »

jdavis703 wrote: post #35
vondur wrote: post #31

Just a casual looks shows that salaries in the Social Work field don't pay that well. I'm not sure how getting a Masters Degree will help someone. I see this in some other fields here at the University I work at. Students will get a degree that has a limited job outlook, and in order to actually get a job in that field, they believe getting a Masters will help them out in the long run, but often times does not. If I…

I’m sure there’s value in a masters social work degree, but not for anyone who wants to do hands-on work. If folks feel they want to do higher level work (i.e. addressing systemic issues that are behind the day-to-day issues social workers help with), then the degree could be useful.

Pretty sure that an MSW is required to be a social worker in my county; not sure if it's a statewide requirement in CA.

Re: USC pushed a $115k online degree – graduates got low salaries, huge debts

#44

Post by stagger87 »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #26
vgeek wrote: post #5

Colleges have been quietly expanding the last 10-15 years with programs like these. They do it discreetly, sometimes with different campuses across town or simply online. From what I've seen, they may be an entirely separate school so as to not be reported on the same way (a 7% acceptance rate and high job placement rates at blue chip firms makes a difference when the major currency of universities is prestige), sinc…

All non-thesis CS master degrees are a bit suspect. They are basically a few more courses, usually at night for professional students, but increasingly online. I'm not really sure what kind of value they add beyond looking good on a resume. Thesis masters are increasingly rare these days as American schools allow you to jump straight to a PhD program (Europe is a bit more rigid here). The other kind of Masters degree…

Why does a 5th year undergrad extension make sense but not a non-thesis masters? They are effectively the same thing right? Additional classes?

Re: USC pushed a $115k online degree – graduates got low salaries, huge debts

#45

Post by mrandolph »

echelon wrote: post #23
m0lecules wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OTOH, you have schools like (the actual) Georgia Tech offering an online MS in CS for an affordable price: https://omscs.gatech.edu/

This is the university that started it all. They've had the program for about a decade now, and they do a ridiculously good job. [1] It's a rigorous degree, they only admit a limited number of students (so your application has to be reasonable), and it's completely affordable. It's also indistinguishable from their on-campus MS in CS. It doesn't say you took it "online" after you graduate. Georgia Tech is a pretty ou…

about halfway through it myself. I spend about 20-30 hours a week on it. It's definitely a challenging program but the value is ridiculously good.

I've learned an incredible amount of incredible things. While it's difficult to manage both the program and other life obligations, I'll be a bit sad once it's over.

Re: USC pushed a $115k online degree – graduates got low salaries, huge debts

#46

Post by snarf21 »

bluedevil2k wrote: post #7

And almost all got loans backed by the US government that they won’t be able to repay and will fall on the US taxpayer to cover. Essentially USC bilked the US taxpayers out of millions, with these poor students serving as the unfortunate middlemen. Solution: make the universities have some skin the game - cover 20% of the principal on defaulted loans.

I agree but I think the government should set a max on the amount they will guarantee. The colleges are smart and will set tuition at the max guarantee because they don't want risk. They can cut social programs and stop building Taj Mahal dorms to get the price back in line.

Re: USC pushed a $115k online degree – graduates got low salaries, huge debts

#48

Post by jdavis703 »

aidenn0 wrote: post #43
jdavis703 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m sure there’s value in a masters social work degree, but not for anyone who wants to do hands-on work. If folks feel they want to do higher level work (i.e. addressing systemic issues that are behind the day-to-day issues social workers help with), then the degree could be useful.

Pretty sure that an MSW is required to be a social worker in my county; not sure if it's a statewide requirement in CA.

What’s the reasoning behind this? Like librarians, firefighters and cops often serve as de-facto social workers… And sure they can’t handle the most complex cases. But a lot of times someone’s problem might boil down to something simple, like they just need shoes or a meal.

Re: USC pushed a $115k online degree – graduates got low salaries, huge debts

#50

Post by aidenn0 »

paulpauper wrote: post #42

Low-ranking but expensive private colleges are such a racket, overall. Paying $100k for Brown has a way higher ROI than paying $100k for No-name U.

I think the biggest difference in college since I went to school is that the gap between the cost of an elite school and a random state-school has narrowed significantly.

I had a friend who paid his way through college with summer construction jobs and graduated with about $10k in debt.

People who were willing to work part-time during the school year could graduate debt free. Tuition at an exclusive liberal arts school was 5-10x the cost of tuition at a state school in-state and almost double the cost of a state school out-of-state.

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