Continuing Education
My employer has an education benefit that I have decided to take advantage of: tuition reimbursement. My employer will reimburse any tuition and mandatory fees that I pay for outside education that meets the following criteria:
- The training or education cannot be completed in house with resources we already have.
- The training or education must be related to my field of work or my career within the company.
It has been a long standing goal of mine to pursue advanced education and ultimately obtain a Ph.D. or a Doctorate and pursue a career in academia. This was, in fact, my original career aspiration. Life, quite often, takes us down roads we were not expecting, and my career goal was not to be; instead I ended up working in I.T.
I’ve come some distance in my new career field, for better or worse, and seem to be entrenched in it. However I’ve never lost sight, no matter how far it might seem, of my desire to return to academics. The time as come to return to school.
I already have two degrees – a Bachelor and Master of Arts – so my initial thought was to look for a suitable Doctoral level program. However, I do have a family, and the best that I could do is a part time program. The vast majority of part time programs I have seen in my field or a related field are on-line programs from such places as the University of Phoenix, Argosy, Capella University, and such. These are not necessarily bad schools – I suspect that I would learn quite a deal from them, in fact – but my biggest concern is about their respectability. I do not doubt the feasibility of an online education; I do doubt the respectability of many of the institutions.
That said, I continue to look. The “industry” as a whole does acknowledge and respect an online degree from a well-established institution such as Boston University. This helps, since Boston University has a very nice looking Master of Science in Computer Information Systems. And as I continued to look some more, I decided to look further into my local university to see what they have. They do indeed have some programs I am interested in and, after a great deal of reflection, have narrowed the field down to three:
Master of Science in Computer Information Systems
School: Boston University
Delivery: Online
Timeframe: 16-18 months
Thesis: No
Boston University is a well respected university and offers this degree in the same field I have been working in the last 12 years.This degree would enable me to take the next step(s) forward in my current career field and further cement my place in it.
Pros:
- I’m familiar with much of a subject material already.
- Online, work at my own pace after the children have gone to bed.
- Relatively quick: finish in less that two years.
- One class at a time, at 7 weeks in duration.
Cons:
- Puts me further into I.T.
- Does not open doors to a doctoral-level program, being that there is no thesis or research project.
- Only 7 weeks off per year until completion.
MBA/Master of Science in Organization Effectiveness, Development and Change
School: University of Delaware
Delivery: Part-time evening class
Timeframe: 4-5 years
Thesis: Yes (or Professional Project)
This dual-degree program is two degrees in one, focused on Business and being an agent of positive change.
Pros:
- A thesis would keep the door to doctoral level studies open.
- Actual classes would create a feeling of camaraderie, with group projects and such.
- Would open up new career fields for me.
- Summer off.
Cons:
- Length of time. Up to 5 years.
- Classes would require I be there in person.
- Would need to take 1 winter semester class per year.
MBA/Master of Science in Information Systems & Technology Management
School: University of Delaware
Delivery: Part-time evening class
Timeframe: 4-5 years
Thesis: No
This dual-degree program is two degrees in one, focused on Business and Information Technology
Pros:
- I’m familiar with much of a subject material already.
- Actual classes would create a feeling of camaraderie , with group projects and such.
- Would open up a management career field for me.
- Summer off.
Cons:
- Puts me further into I.T.
- Does not open doors to a doctoral-level program, being that there is no thesis or research project.
- Would need to take 1 winter semester class per year.
So these three programs are what I am currently debating. A lot of the debate centers around if I want to remain in I.T. or if I want to attempt a career shift entirely. I am having a hard time with that decision.