Harvard Extension School - Software Engineering ALM. Alumni/current student feedback.

Hi,

I wanted to get some feedback/tips from current students or alumni of the Harvard Extension School’s ALM in Software Engineering. Any feedback would be great but here are some that came to mind:

-How challenging are the courses?
-What was the biggest hurdle?
-What do you wish you knew before you started the program?
-Did you feel it was worth the ROI?
-Did the degree greatly improve employment opportunities, or were employers mainly focused on the technologies listed on your resume?
-How did the degree impact your income?
-Do you come across any negative inference to HES from the “traditional” Ivy leaguers?

A bit of background on me:
I have been in the web development field for 15 years (started as a graphic designer and now primarily doing front-end development). I was almost done at Rutgers for a BA in Communication but left to join a startup as a graphic designer and have been working since. I am currently working for a major consumer technology company as a web developer. I always felt not having a technical degree on my resume was a road block in getting through the HR filter for upper tier positions. I am currently in the process of finishing up my last few credits at Thomas Edison State College for a BA in Communications, since I have met most of the degree requirements already, and focused on getting a masters in CS or similar field to help with future employment.

And information you can share is greatly appreciated!

To be completely honest this is a very tough degree, even for people who already have CS and deep programming knowledge. You can expect to spend 20 or more! hours per week on EACH course. There is one professor who aims for 40.
I graduated with another masters in IT here with better than a 3.9 and am considering the software engineering masters and am still fearful.
Advice to anyone. Try some representative edx courses such as Harvard’s CS 50 or some from MIT or Stanford online free and see what you think if you want an idea.

Btw i am also in NJ