Ask Hacker News: Online BS in Comp Sci?

Look into DePaul University. They do use Blackboard, but most of their CS, SE courses use their own software which isn't quite as painful.

I defined it as "mostly coding database apps, doing tech support, and some sysadmin type duties."

That means coding the hell out of SQL... and then taking that SQL and dressing it up in ways that users can benefit from it without bothering me. Which means coming up with little cutsey applications that dish up a variety of "stupid spreadsheet tricks". I code these sorts of apps start to finish by myself, deploy them, and design them to require a minimal amount of maintenance. The language/system used is whatever is currently in use in the business environment-- except maybe something newer/better if the situation justifies it.

As a system administrator, I write perl scripts and put them up on the server to run on a schedule. I write little perl scripts for users to create new system commands for anything they ask me to do more than once. I know where to look to see if people can do their jobs or not... and I know the 5 most common things that need to be done when things don't work. Mostly this is starting and stopping services and/or killing bad processes.

I solve math problems. I'm the only person in the factory that will admit to knowing Trigonometry-- and as we're in manufacturing that actually comes up occasionally.

I talk with users to find out that they need. I actually care about them sometimes. I work with CPA's to find the missing eleven cents. I am sort of tangential to a lot of activity. If I don't fix something, I know who the go-to-person is. I often have to be the go-to-person anyway if the other guy is out sick.

90% of my job is actually social. I talk to people and use basic deductive reasoning to pin down what should be done. Then, when I don't know everything to do it, I coordinate with the people that do to make sure everything works out. I say 90% because I don't actually have to think much about the SQL, Perl, Blub, etc code anymore. The hard part is figuring out what people need as opposed to what they think they need.

I don't consider this to be "real" computer work. I'm just the "IT Guy". I don't believe I have to credentials to do "real" computer work. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't feel that there's much interesting stuff to learn in these particular trenches. I'm not sure that people in more interesting trenches would actually give a #$%*(#@ about what I know and do.

Hence the interest in maybe a certificate that amounts to half a Master's Degree.

Most are going to be pricey. Also, you should probably get a better idea of what you want and what programs are good before investing the time and money, because it will likely be a large investment of both.

UIUC has one of the top ranked CS departments. You should already be aware of the rankings and each program's specialization before making this kind of investment, otherwise you might end up spending a lot money and time on something that you'll regret.

The last time I checked, there were a number of highly ranked CS departments that offered online courses, the UIUC program being among them. Sometimes they only offered a special degree, others only offer online classes for a certain specialization. The acceptance rates also vary dramatically, but they'll always act like they are highly selective. There have been multiple times that I've learned of supposedly selective programs (in CS and other fields) that actually have extremely high acceptance rates. Other times a program might have extremely low acceptance rates, though, so it's hard to tell.

FWIW, I was in an MS program that was mostly paid for by my employer, but decided to do startup work instead, partially because I wasn't happy with the program. I'm glad I took the classes I did, but I wouldn't have been happy had I paid the full tuition.

Some things to consider are the dominant platforms and languages in a particular program. Some schools will teach coursework in something like python, but it's much more common to find schools dominated by Java, C++ and Windows (with profs/instructors refusing to deal with anything else), so if you don't like those environments, you'll need to be more selective.

Just a fyi, I've considered this program in past. They offer a MCS degree, not MS in CS. Hence, you cannot pursue a PhD after this MCS from UIUC. Not sure if you plan to do a PhD but just thought I should share this with you.

Just to insert my 2 cents - you are doing "real" computer work. I have a friend (neighbor actually) who has degrees in geology, but is clearly a top notch developer. He runs a very successful small software shop (doing custom development for small to medium businesses, usually on the Microsoft stack) - when you mentioned the 90% social, "pin down what should be done" angle, I immediately thought of what this guy does. His customers could care less that he doesn't have a CS degree.

What he does that really sets him apart (in my view) is that he sits down with the people who are doing the work in these small to medium size businesses and then designs the tools that he feels would make him most productive if he had to do the job of that person.

BTW, I have a MS in CS and spend my days hacking SQL. I really enjoyed getting both my BS and MS in comp sci. Having them was pretty key in kick-starting my career. I started at a huge IT company and the degrees mattered there. They have mattered much less since leaving that company. Don't worry so much about having the magic credentials to actually do "real" computer work, I think of the credentials as being door openers mostly.