<p>I'm currently contemplating getting my Master's in Bioinformatics and found the online Master's program at JHU that seems perfect for my full-time work schedule. However, I'm wondering if the whole online aspect of this program is a detractor to some employers. The program doesn't require the GRE, letters of recommendation or a Thesis once the program has begun, which all seem like necessary evils to me. Basically, I'm hoping to get an idea of the benefits a degree such as this will provide once completed as I don't want to waste 2 years & $45000 if I'll still be making the same salary I'm currently making. Any information would be beneficial, especially from someone who has completed the program. Thanks!</p>
<p>It’s my sense that employers are becoming less wary about online degrees, especially if they are at respected brick and mortar institutions like JHU (especially for anything biomedical). Data-driven fields seem particularly unfazed; a lot of big respected national universities run online programs in statistics and bioinformatics these days. It’s also not uncommon for professional master’s programs (even ones done in person) to not require a thesis. Theses are often not really reflective of the work that you’ll do in the field, and often times students are best served with another capstone project - in statistics, for example, it’s often a two-semester consulting seminar, in which statisticians learn how to consult with clients.</p>
<p>I haven’t completed the program myself so no comment on that. I do know that usually online programs don’t give any indication of the fact that they are online on the diploma or anything, and you’re not obligated to write that on your resume, so unless you live very far from Baltimore your future employer may not even know it’s online (not that I feel you should deliberately hide or lie about it, but I don’t think it’s necessary to disclose either).</p>
<p>As far as salaries go - the BLS doesn’t have a separate listing for bioinformaticians, but people in related fields make an average anywhere from $75,000 to $100,000+ per year. I think a new master’s-educated bioinformatician could reasonably expect to be compensated at least at $65,000, perhaps more in certain highly-paid areas of the country or in bigger companies. It really just depends.</p>
<p>Do you know any people with bioinformatics degrees or who would hire a bioinformatician? Perhaps do some informational interviews to get information about your employability with this degree. Also, you could call JHU’s admissions officers and ask some questions about the placement of their former students in career fields, and what kinds of jobs they often do.</p>