How easy is it to find a job with a degree from Big 3?

[Helen003]

Hi! I couldn't find any success stories of people who got a job after graduating. How easy is it to do? What is the general employers' reaction to people getting a degree this way? Is a certificate from Big 3 similar to the certificates from other universities?

I know employers also need experience but graduating with Big 3 means no access to internships and actual classes in which you get to practice.

Another question I have is not about education but rather networking skills. Universities give you not only a degree but also a network of people. Do you have any suggestions on how to build it without attending a college?

[Life Long Learning]

85% of Excelsior College students have careers and jobs (Nursing/Military students).  The Big 3 were not originally designed for kids and young students without experience.  They were designed as credentialing degrees for working adults with credits from often many B&M colleges, but no degree.

The Federal government hires without prejudice. They just care about the degree being accredited. My first career (DOD) only cared about being RA.  The FBI is now hiring EC grads (they did NOT 30-years ago).  

Go to LinkedIn and look at what the alumni of the big 3 do.

[timblackwell]

Never had a problem in my career along the way, and correct federal employment only care about being accredited. No one really question them anymore. experience carried more weight.

[ChilliDawg]

It really depends on your degree and career field. Honestly, how do you expect most employers to know you got your degree "this way"?

The Big 3 are Regionally Accredited, like most other brick and mortar schools.

In my situation, I have worked in my career field of I.T. for over 25 years. I have not had a degree, of any sort, until 2017. With what I do, it is mostly about whether or not you know what you are doing, and can demonstrate it in an interview. I am simply getting my degree to check a box in on an application in the future. It will change nothing at my job, and I do not expect it to really do anything for me. I am doing it mostly for self-satisfaction, and honestly I am having fun doing it.

Unless you are pursuing a Medical, law, or engineering career, I am not so sure how much hiring managers really scrutinize your school. I know of very few managers or HR departments that are going to go far enough to dissect your transcript and look for transfer credits or alternative credits. Again, I simply consider it a check box. Most people want to know if you can do the job.

[MNomadic]

Agree with the above. I already have experience from military so I'm really just getting a degree to have one and to get into a graduate program. Online schools may not have career fairs to network at and look for internships but you do have complete access to the internet. Depending on your current/prospective field, there may be many opportunities available, you just have to be proactive about seeking them out. Often times, you may find job/career fairs being run in your community which are worth looking into. I would start by making a LinkedIn profile and networking from there.

[dfrecore]

If I was giving advice to a young person (even my own kids), I would not advise them to go to one of the Big 3, for many reasons, including the one you are asking about. Many people beginning their life don't know what they want to do, so there is not a huge rush to get just any degree; I'd rather they spend time taking courses, investigating majors/jobs, working, volunteering, etc.

For anyone else, especially if you need a check-the-box degree, I would highly recommend the Big 3, WGU, and a few others. Get it done as quickly and cheaply as possible.

[fork]

Might depend where you are. A friend here has a BSBA CIS degree from TESU. Since we have a university in our town that offers the same degree some prospective employers have wondered about it when he has interviewed with them. He just explains that the school is accredited and the TESU scheduling allowed him to complete it around his work schedule where the university here didn't (all true).

[originalamyj]

If I was giving advice to a young person (even my own kids), I would not advise them to go to one of the Big 3, for many reasons, including the one you are asking about.  Many people beginning their life don't know what they want to do, so there is not a huge rush to get just any degree; I'd rather they spend time taking courses, investigating majors/jobs, working, volunteering, etc.

For anyone else, especially if you need a check-the-box degree, I would highly recommend the Big 3, WGU, and a few others.  Get it done as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Sure, except that most of us don't have the cash to send our kids to a state school costing $20k/year much less private college at 3 times that, just to let them take courses and figure things out. That worked when I was in college 25 years ago, but not now. 

Maybe my kids is weird but she's a super motivated homeschooler. She wants her bachelors out of the way so she can do the real fun stuff of a masters and PhD. Big 3 is great path for her. Her chosen field requires a masters so she won't have to worry about networking until that level anyway.

Not only that we are seeing the sob stories of so many young adults graduating with a boatload of debt and no job.  The degree doesn't guarantee anything no matter where you went to school.

[dfrecore]

If I was giving advice to a young person (even my own kids), I would not advise them to go to one of the Big 3, for many reasons, including the one you are asking about.  Many people beginning their life don't know what they want to do, so there is not a huge rush to get just any degree; I'd rather they spend time taking courses, investigating majors/jobs, working, volunteering, etc.

For anyone else, especially if you need a check-the-box degree, I would highly recommend the Big 3, WGU, and a few others.  Get it done as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Sure, except that most of us don't have the cash to send our kids to a state school costing $20k/year much less private college at 3 times that, just to let them take courses and figure things out. That worked when I was in college 25 years ago, but not now. 

Maybe my kids is weird but she's a super motivated homeschooler. She wants her bachelors out of the way so she can do the real fun stuff of a masters and PhD. Big 3 is great path for her. Her chosen field requires a masters so she won't have to worry about networking until that level anyway.

Not only that we are seeing the sob stories of so many young adults graduating with a boatload of debt and no job.  The degree doesn't guarantee anything no matter where you went to school.

First, obviously this doesn't apply to YOUR kid, as she already knows what she wants, and wouldn't be asking my advice in the first place.  Second, our local CC only costs $750 a semester for a full load (and the local 4-yr state school costs $3,750 per semester).  So nowhere even close to $20k a year.

But as I said, for young people who don't know what they want to do, and asked my advice, I wouldn't tell them to just get any old degree and hope for the best.  I would want them to have some more direction, and that might not come from school but from the other things I mentioned like volunteering or working, or a variety of other things.  CC is a great place to figure out what classes interest you as well.

For a young person who DOES know what they want to do, and can live at home and work and go to school, then I would highly recommend a nearby 4-yr school that is reasonably well priced, and where they could network.  That implies that there is a school nearby, that they're willing to work their way through school, that they're going to be networking, etc.  Again, obviously this doesn't apply to everyone on earth, but it's the advice I would give if asked to an 18-yo where I lived.

[Life Long Learning]

I admire the young taking AP, CLEP, DSST, UExcel exams.

I would recommend that they get a local B&M Community College AS degree then add the Big 3.