Affordable computer science education for a non-traditional student

College Search & Selection
1

<p>This may not be the right forum to pose this question (mods, please feel free to move as appropriate), but hopefully someone here can point me in the right direction.</p>

<p>I'm a mid-30's, junior executive whose spent most of his career in management positions in consumer packaged goods and retail. Most recently I've held a general management post in my employers eCommerce business. Long story short, I've fallen in love with the space and want to make a career shift away from the traditional customer industries and into consumer internet and/or consumer technology. I'm especially interested in working with early stage companies.</p>

<p>In order to facilitate this shift, I'd like to gain a better understanding of both computer science itself (algorithms, data structures, software architecture, etc), and project management in technical settings (agile development, scrum, etc). Given, my current career trajectory, resume, and network, it is very unlikely that I'll ever actually do any of these things as part of my day to day job responsibilities, but I would like to be able to "speak the language" at a high level.</p>

<p>I'm looking for educational programs (degree, certificate, or otherwise, as long as there is some tangible proof of completion and performance available) that would allow me to gain these skills, and that are available in part-time or online format. Additionally, this will be a self financed endeavour, so I'm looking for something with a total cost well south of $10,000. It's safe to assume that I would qualify for zero need based financial aid. Finally, I'm looking for a program that is selective and/or rigorous, and which is recognized as such by potential employers. At the risk of sounding boastful, I already hold a BS and MS in another engineering discipline from an MIT/Stanford/Berkeley level school and an MBA from a top 7 business school, and I'd like any further education to carry a level of credibility in line with my current CV. Quite frankly, the MITx courses sounds like exactly what I'm looking for, but won't be up and running for a year or two.</p>

<p>Open to any suggestions. I've already completed all of the Javascript lessons on Codecademy (definitely worth checking out), and am open to non-traditional options as long as they carry some level of credibility.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>[Web</a> Development Courses | Web Development Certificate](<a href=“http://www.extension.harvard.edu/degrees-certificates/professional-certificates/web-technologies-certificate]Web”>Web Technologies Graduate Certificate (Retiring) | Harvard Extension School)</p>

<p>If you can tolerate the Harvard name, it seems pretty good.</p>

3

<p>You don’t want computer science, you want software engineering or information systems.</p>

<p>PSU World Campus offers a UG certificate in information systems & technology for about $7k all in: [Penn</a> State | Online Certificate in Information Sciences and Technology | Overview](<a href=“http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/degrees-and-certificates/information-sciences-and-technology-certificate/overview]Penn”>http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/degrees-and-certificates/information-sciences-and-technology-certificate/overview)</p>

4

<p>Thank you ClassicRockerDad and lynxinsider. Both the PSU and Harvard Extension programs look like good options. I’ll have to dig a little on the cost of the Harvard program, but the PSU one looks to be inline with my goals.</p>

<p>Also, having re-read my original post I just wanted to clarify that my comments about selectivity and/or rigor were not meant to imply that I was only interested in programs from “prestigious” private schools. I’m well aware that most of the best engineering and science departments are housed a large public research universities. All I was trying to say is that I’m looking for a program with a good reputation for actually teaching challenging material, requiring real mastery, and having competent students. I feel like there has been a proliferation of for-profit and other “cash cow” type programs. The kinds of places that are more than happy to take your money and hand you back a worthless piece of paper with little or no effort on your part. I’m trying to avoid those types of places. </p>

<p>Thanks again</p>

5

<p>The good thing about computer science is that it is relatively easy to self-educate by a motivated person (computers are inexpensive compared to the equipment needed in engineering or science labs). There are also more avenues to get recognition of competency besides formal degrees and certifications, such as being a significant contributor to an open source software project, or proven experience in the field backed up by ability to answer technical questions in interviews. However, it is likely more difficult to get an interview for a first job in the field without a computer science degree and after working in unrelated fields for a while.</p>

6

<p>Additionally, this will be a self financed endeavour, so I’m looking for something with a total cost well south of $10,000. It’s safe to assume that I would qualify for zero need based financial aid. Finally, I’m looking for a program that is selective and/or rigorous, and which is recognized as such by potential employers. At the risk of sounding boastful, I already hold a BS and MS in another engineering discipline from an MIT/Stanford/Berkeley level school and an MBA from a top 7 business school</p>

<p>???</p>

<p>You want tuition below $10k per year? </p>

<p>Since you already have degrees, then starting at a CC won’t be needed. Where do you live? It would see that you’d need to go to your local public and commute in order to pay less than $10k.</p>

7

<p>I came here to say the exact thing that M2CK just said. Where do you live? Are you within commuting distance of a public university? You can probably take a few software engineering or information systems classes on a part-time basis at your state’s local public, and it may offer a certificate program or a program designed especially for working adults - a lot of publics do, especially in high demand fields.</p>