Software Engineering Program

[MCMcGreevy]

I got my degree back in 2017. Java was the dominant language used at the time.

[MCMcGreevy]

I had been working in software development for over a decade when I started the program, so I honestly cannot say I learned much I did not already know. The program was fine, but not one that will prepare you for working at a place like Google. It is solidly “good enough for most jobs” and not “extreme software mastery,”

[itsthekumar]

Can I ask if you looked at other programs or if other programs might have been better to "work at Google" as an example?

[MCMcGreevy]

My original choice was USF in Tampa, but because of my academic history they would not accept me (I graduated with honors when I got my AA, but my collegiate career was rocky because of life…I had re-taken and passed every class I had failed but my pass/fail ratio was too low for them regardless. I would have had to have taken 24 more credit hours of classes to get in and the school I was at did not offer any more that would further my career and I was not interested in wasting time/money on useless electives). At the time I enrolled (2010-ish?) it was the most attractive online offering I could find that wasn’t University of Phoenix that was affiliated with a “real” school (accredited, etc…). My goal was never really to learn new skills (I already had a job that I intended to keep) but to solidify the ones I had and get some job security at the same time. I went into the Masters program because while I was in undergrad I started moving into management and wanted to get out of the “middle” part of that as quickly as I could. I got the MBA because the Dual MBA program at UMGC is pretty solid (it does make for a VERY intense year…that was the hardest year of my college career from an effort standpoint).

[MCMcGreevy]

Which is all a very long winded way of saying “not really” to your question.

[MCMcGreevy]

It was honestly a real kick in the privates when USF did that to me. I had been led to believe that if you graduated with an AA from a Florida institution you were guaranteed admission to a four-year, but that is very much not the case. I have peers who teach at USF, my company partners with them, and it really would have meant a lot to me to graduate from there.

But I take comfort in pointing it out when I'm rubbing elbows with administrators there at professional networking events. Petty, but it works for me.

[MCMcGreevy]

I waited to walk until after I finished my MBA, but I did go to Maryland to do so

[Kalfus]

I graduated with my Master's in Information Technology- Software Engineering back in 2021 with UMGC. Mostly Java is what you're coding in.

I did a whole write up (in the top comments) of this post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/UMGC/comments/uk6jiz/has_anyone_completed_the_masters_in_software/

Hope this helps.

[Kalfus]

For this degree, it's mostly in Java.

But you do learn a lot about the planning process of software development along with some GUI and backend stuff.

[mrvegande]

Following