Are there any decent ones offered by an in-state university (meaning, not $texas)?

My buddy did some looking, and the closest he found were one from ECU and one from UNCG, but they're both through the business school and aren't actually computer science (concentration in information systems).

Basically he needs some type of 4 year tech-related degree he can obtain mostly online during evenings/weekends.

Any ideas outside of those above?

11/16/2016 10:16:15 AM

Depends on what he want's to do with it. If this is just a supplement to an existing job like say statistics or some sort of position where you need some basic scripting a full online program would be overkill. Personally if you just want to learn to code there are plenty of online tutorials and resources that you can stumble through and get the basics enough to handle the core competancy. Stanford has an intro course online actually that used to be completely free (don't know if it still is) that would be a good chance to see if that's what he wants to do.

If you are talking about a 4 year degree worth an actual damn I don't know that you can part time that as easily. A real computer science education is an engineering discipline when done properly. You learn some programming basics but you are focused as much or more on the number theory and mechanics of designing things than just hacking. The things that separate a developer from an engineer or an architect is understanding how the underlying computer actually works and not just the specifics of a language or API. If he isn't looking to be an engineer it would be too much and I would say actually look at like a 2 year program from a community college.

11/16/2016 11:12:23 AM

Quote :

"Personally if you just want to learn to code there are plenty of online tutorials and resources that you can stumble through and get the basics enough to handle the core competancy."

He's finishing up a 2 year computer programming program at WTCC so he's covered there, but lacks a bachelor's degree, so he's looking to get a 4 year degree to qualify for more jobs, and wants it to be tech focused. I'm not sure "worth a damn" is too high up in the rankings.

11/16/2016 11:55:30 AM

Gotcha, was just trying to get an idea there and genuinely not trying to be condescending just realistic.

All I am saying if you want to get a job say as a Java developer you can go bootcamp it and get a certification and that will be enough to get you a job at certain shops. There are plenty of competent good people doing this and making good livings but it is limited long term because you just know the one thing.

If you want to work at SAS, Microsoft, IBM, etc. or move into a more management focused position I doubt an online degree or something from a technical school is going to be anything other than a red flag even if you are smart and good. Now this is mostly at the entry level to be clear, once you've got a few years working on projects your prospects open up because there isn't the same sort of classical education as the discipline is very young.

Check with FSU because they have a ton of online offerings in general
https://distance.fsu.edu/students/computer-science-bs
ODU has one that might be good too.
https://online.odu.edu/programs/computer-science

Both these probably require some on campus time now and again though, but any program worth it's salt will.

11/16/2016 12:09:30 PM

The real advantage of the FSU program is that you'll have an excuse to root for a decent football program since you'd be an alumni by proxy.

11/16/2016 12:46:30 PM

FSU is $texas...ODU looks much more reasonable, but he was trying to stay in-state if possible.

Quote :

"If you want to work at SAS, Microsoft, IBM"

He doesn't necessarily want to work at a tech company.

Boot camps are definitely an option, but he's pretty set on getting a bachelor's degree, not just for the door opening but that's a part of it.

[Edited on November 16, 2016 at 4:23 PM. Reason : thanks for the feedback everyone]

11/16/2016 4:21:56 PM

Last time I checked, NC state has an online BS in CSC... just saying...

woops, looks like they no longer offer it. They just offer most of the CSC courses online. Still, wouldn't be a bad idea to ask

[Edited on November 16, 2016 at 11:20 PM. Reason : ]

11/16/2016 11:17:54 PM

Quote :

"Still, wouldn't be a bad idea to ask"

That's a good idea. Thx

11/17/2016 5:58:26 PM

This website has all of the online programs from the UNC system.

https://online.northcarolina.edu/

11/17/2016 8:03:44 PM