ms better from rutgers or tesc?

[bawhitsett]

Perception means a lot, however. For your undergrad a school like TESC is fine, but if your first grad degree is your terminal degree I'd go with a B&M school that has name recognition. People get the warm and fuzzies from names they recognize, followed by names that don't make them smirk or cringe. Rutgers falls into that "recognize" category; TESC, into the "don't smirk or cringe" category.

[Jason800]

If you are worried about having the time to do a MS or MBA degree there are a number of higher ranked schools that offer affordable programs. The two highest ranked I believe are Indiana (they offer their Kelley MBA as well as a number of MS degrees) and Arizona State (Carey MBA). You are fully immersed in their recruitment process as well though you would have to travel to campus for interviews if you choose to do that. In the NE area UMass, Marist, NJIT, Quinnipiac, Suffolk, Drexel, Temple, and Western New England College all offer distance based MBAs and/or MS degrees in various subjects. I think Rutgers even offers an online MS in one of the accounting disciplines.

[taylor]

Perception means a lot, however. For your undergrad a school like TESC is fine, but if your first grad degree is your terminal degree I'd go with a B&M school that has name recognition. People get the warm and fuzzies from names they recognize, followed by names that don't make them smirk or cringe. Rutgers falls into that "recognize" category; TESC, into the "don't smirk or cringe" category.

I agree. My vote is for a B&M. But even with a B&M MBA, I don't think MBA's have the same "Wow" factor it once did in this job market. I know a couple of people with MBA's from really good schools that a)don't make a lot of money or b)going back to school, primarily law school (probably because their MBA's weren't paying out). But socially, they love talking about their MBA's whenever they get a chance.

[bawhitsett]

I agree. My vote is for a B&M. But even with a B&M MBA, I don't think MBA's have the same "Wow" factor it once did in this job market. I know a couple of people with MBA's from really good schools that a)don't make a lot of money or b)going back to school, primarily law school (probably because their MBA's weren't paying out). But socially, they love talking about their MBA's whenever they get a chance.

The problem is, so many schools offer MBA's these days that unless you're coming from a top 10-20 program your degree is going to get lumped in with all the others from Podunk State U, Sally's Barber College, etc.

Plus, right or wrong, a lot of middle America blames the current economic situation on greedy, out-of-touch executives and politicians who typically have an MBA yet have no concept of fiscal and ethical responsibility.

[TMW2010]

The problem is, so many schools offer MBA's these days that unless you're coming from a top 10-20 program your degree is going to get lumped in with all the others from Podunk State U, Sally's Barber College, etc.

If you're tied to your area (planning on living there/working there beyond the time of your MBA), check out your local state universities. Even if they don't have top 10-20 programs, if you've got a good state uni (or two) in the area, you'll run into tons of people who are alumni and will tend to favor other alumni. Its all about group dynamics and membership.

Unless, of course, you're in a locality like mine, which has two state universities that have a big enough rivalry that can influence a highering manager enough if he's an alumnus of a rival school - it does happen.

[bawhitsett]

Absolutely TMW, I was taking into account distance learning degrees. You can't overestimate the value of alumni connections when attending a local program.

[TMW2010]

Absolutely TMW, I was taking into account distance learning degrees. You can't overestimate the value of alumni connections when attending a local program.

Many of these local programs are branching out into DL as well. The DL (and hybrid) programs offered by state universities have a lot of pros and few cons, as compared to DL programs from Internet Only institutions. Especially if your transcript or diploma doesn't 'out you' for being an Online Student.

As sad as it is, there's a lot of anti-DL sentiment out there. But, if you're savy enough, you can get where you want to be, even with distance learning.

I know that DL is the format I personally prefer after going through both in-seat and DL. Nothing like being able to do everything you to need to do for the week for class at 3am when battling boredom or insomnia.

[taylor]

bawhittset,

U of Illinois Springfield is a good complement to your TESC bachelors. Certain hiring managers may give you a perplexed look when they see TESC on your resume (Yes, it happened to me twice) but when they see you received a masters from UIS, those looks quickly change to "never mind". I think you played that right.

[bawhitsett]

For some job applications I've actually been dropping the MS and just listing the BSBA. The reason being, an MS would likely flag me as overqualified when I'm just trying to get a foot in the door. Later, the MS will come out when I'm trying to advance. I'd still like to add a credential, possibly an MBA, from a tier 1 school to my resume. But that won't be for a while.

In the job market, I haven't witnessed first hand any negative bias towards TESC. Most just want a completed bachelor's and consider the box checked by the degree.

[taylor]

For some job applications I've actually been dropping the MS and just listing the BSBA. The reason being, an MS would likely flag me as overqualified when I'm just trying to get a foot in the door. Later, the MS will come out when I'm trying to advance. I'd still like to add a credential, possibly an MBA, from a tier 1 school to my resume. But that won't be for a while.

Personally, I would leave the MS on all my job applications if I had one, overqualified or not. I'm sure you put a lot of time, money, and effort in attaining the degree, why hide it? But that's just my opinion.

In the job market, I haven't witnessed first hand any negative bias towards TESC. Most just want a completed bachelor's and consider the box checked by the degree.

I'm content with my TESC degree, don't get me wrong. I wouldn't have got my current job without it. But it definitely is just a check mark on an application. However, there were 2 interviews I did with 2 different Fortune 100 companies where they did ask me about TESC towards the end of the interview as if the school was a figment of my imagination.