Possibly the most important initial decision that one has to make today is whether to pursue a degree through traditional means, or through one of the rapidly growing number of online or limited-residency programs. Available across the country, many nontraditional degree programs are unlike the mail-order diploma mills of the past. Not just accredited, they're also as comprehensive as programs found in some of the better universities. Many of these degree programs are actually offered by the better universities.
In general, these degree programs and on-campus degrees share the same application processes. The school evaluates your previous coursework and experience and recommends a course of study for you. Individual courses may consist of individual work with e-mail access to the instructor, group projects performed using e-mail or videoconferencing, or even entire multicasted classroom sessions.
Those distance-learning programs offered by established universities are almost always fully accredited. Plus, they carry the same weight as an on-campus degree from that school. Rarely, if ever, is a distinction made between the diplomas. The most often-cited advantage of a traditional degree program is contact with other students. Most distance programs, though, provide limited residencies (often two or three weeks in the summer months), and ample opportunities for interaction through e-mail and videoconferencing.
There exist nonaccredited universities that offer distance degree programs too. Some of these schools are similar in quality to established accredited universities but aren't accredited due to the slow pace of accreditation agencies. While degrees from such schools are professionally enhancing, they are in many cases accorded second-class status by other schools when students try to continue their education further. Additionally, students of these programs usually aren't eligible for either government or company financial assistance.
Pursuing a distance-learning degree requires different skills than pursuing a traditional degree program. If you're deadline-driven in your job, doing your best work when working against the clock, then you may do well with a distance-learning de-gree. Regularly sched-uled "classroom" sessions are infrequent, but the course work has to be completed by the end of the term.
On the other hand, if you tend to be more regimented at work, keeping a regular schedule and accomplishing about the same amount of work every day, then you might be more successful in a traditional classroom. Classes typically meet on the same days and times, and often coursework is parceled out throughout the term. There's a better opportunity to pace yourself when you're going to class every week.
What does it take to return to school, especially if you're already a working engineer and you plan to remain employed while enrolled? It doesn't require exceptional intelligence, but it does require dedication and a willingness to forego many leisure activities while taking classes. On weekends, when friends are taking day trips, having cookouts, or watching football games, you will be hitting the books.
If you have a family, the burden is even greater. Your spouse and children have to buy into your education plan and accept the fact that you may not be available for many family activities. This is one reason why most engineers attempt graduate work at a young age, when they tend to have fewer family responsibilities. In addition to having more energy, it's frequently easier to focus that energy on a specific task over a period of time.
Just because you're older doesn't mean that you can't go back to school. But if you are thinking about it in your twenties, your timing couldn't be better. If it's possible, try to integrate your schoolwork into the things that the rest of your family does on a regular basis. For example, if your children are school-aged, it would be worthwhile to reinforce their own study habits with yours, making schoolwork a family project.
If you remain employed while working on a degree, you also must get your employer to buy into your plans. Most employers say they readily support off-duty education programs, and have tuition-reimbursement programs. But in practice, many managers have little sympathy with education needs that conflict with real or perceived work requirements. Although most companies would like to employ engineers with advanced degrees, at least some offer little or no day-to-day support with the process.
Depending on your employer and your individual managers, this could end up being a constant tug-of-war that you have to face in order to achieve your learning objectives. Gauge your employer's and manager's attitudes toward a flexible work schedule, and talk with co-workers who have already juggled work and school.
Before embarking on the process of continuing your education, you should be honest with yourself on the reasons why you're doing so. Additional credentials offer a boost to even the most conservative ego, and you almost certainly will command a higher salary.
But neither of those benefits will see you through two or more years of study and discipline. It's only when you can enjoy learning new things and broadening your horizons for your own sake that you can make the commitment to be successful by going back to school.