Degree Advice

[JArody07]

Your Location: Los Angeles, California
Your Age:  21
What kind of degree do you want? Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering
Current ACE Credits: 3 (Study.com) 3 (Sophia)
Current Regional Accredited Credits: None
Any certifications or military experience? None


Hello, I’m kind of new here so bear with me. To keep it short, I already work in industrial manufacturing at a more technical level if you can say, my company is opening a new position however it would require me to obtain a degree per management’s decision, hence my decision to look for ways to obtain a BS in Industrial Engineering. As far as I know, I’m sure it is not common specifically for engineering degrees, I did my research and all I could find at first was CS, IT or SE degrees that were 100% online. I was still not convinced and basically went over 250 institutions to see what kind of degrees they offered that were accredited specifically ABET, because I did find some options but unfortunately they were not ABET accredited. From those 250 institutions my options at first were narrowed down to Indiana Institute of Technology, Kennesaw State University, & University of Southern Mississippi. Those 2 institutions offered Industrial Engineering Technology degrees that were also accredited, I was still not convinced so I kept digging and finally found Mississippi State University offering an ABET accredited BS in Industrial Engineering, same aspects as to how ASU grants a similar degree from their brick and mortar option. I contacted MSU and they told me they do accept ACE credits but it would benefit me more in terms of speed, having an associates degree that would cover the entire general ed (of course they would need to evaluate what courses would be applicable to the ones offered at MSU). My question here would be what options do I have here in terms of achieving an associates degree as fast as possible since my biggest concern here would be the cost. What are some recommended institutions? What are some recommendations if any in terms of just continuing doing ACE credit or obtaining an associates first? Thanks, like I said I’m kind of new here so apologies for any mistakes.

[rachel83az]

For an Associate degree, you've got Pierpont: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pierpont_C%26TC If you start immediately and put in sufficient effort, you should be able to have everything completed in time for May graduation. You've got about a month to complete 54 Sophia credits + 1 ASU Universal Learner credit. It's doable if you avoid courses with more than one or two Touchstones. You can see which ones have Touchstones here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/So...lency_List

Officially, MSU doesn't seem to accept ACE credit. If/when they do, it can only be up to 30 credits (25% of the degree). http://www.catalog.msstate.edu/undergrad...amination/ I do not know if this will change if you "block transfer" in an AAS or if they'll even accept an AAS as being a valid degree for this kind of thing. Even if they do accept the AAS for the full 60 credits, I don't believe you can get the MSU degree any faster than 2+ years from now. Will your job even leave the position open for that long?

Question: does it need to be a degree in Industrial Engineering specifically or would a degree in something like Management work? If possible, you might want to get a degree in something fast/easy-ish and then go on to Industrial Engineering later. A business degree from UMPI could be pretty quick and obtained within 8-10 months. Or, if business doesn't interest you, maybe a degree in Mathematics from TESU. That one can be obtained in 10-12 months and would have some useful overlap with Industrial Engineering, though not so much as to inhibit your ability to get an Industrial Engineering degree later.

[JArody07]

For an Associate degree, you've got Pierpont: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pierpont_C%26TC If you start immediately and put in sufficient effort, you should be able to have everything completed in time for May graduation. You've got about a month to complete 54 Sophia credits + 1 ASU Universal Learner credit. It's doable if you avoid courses with more than one or two Touchstones. You can see which ones have Touchstones here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/So...lency_List

Officially, MSU doesn't seem to accept ACE credit. If/when they do, it can only be up to 30 credits (25% of the degree). http://www.catalog.msstate.edu/undergrad...amination/ I do not know if this will change if you "block transfer" in an AAS or if they'll even accept an AAS as being a valid degree for this kind of thing. Even if they do accept the AAS for the full 60 credits, I don't believe you can get the MSU degree any faster than 2+ years from now. Will your job even leave the position open for that long?

Question: does it need to be a degree in Industrial Engineering specifically or would a degree in something like Management work? If possible, you might want to get a degree in something fast/easy-ish and then go on to Industrial Engineering later. A business degree from UMPI could be pretty quick and obtained within 8-10 months. Or, if business doesn't interest you, maybe a degree in Mathematics from TESU. That one can be obtained in 10-12 months and would have some useful overlap with Industrial Engineering, though not so much as to inhibit your ability to get an Industrial Engineering degree later.

Hi Rachel, thanks for the response, my biggest goal as of now is to basically finish/get rid of gen ed as fast as I can, as I’m aware I would need to take the core classes at MSU and I know that would take at least 2+ years as you said. The reason they ask for an IE degree is because the position they ask is Engineering related for manufacturing, although I would need to ask to see if anything else could work since I already do pretty much 70% of the work that they’re asking for with the new position, and if available, I would look to see what options I have such as the one you listed in order to get a Bachelors. As for the Associate Degree from Pierpoint, just to clarify I would pretty much need to complete it by taking the 54 Sophia credits + 1 ASU Learner Credit? Also I’ve been reading on the forum that you pay a $300 fee, correct? Thanks again!

[rachel83az]

A Pierpont degree is 100% free except for the cost of the Sophia and ASU classes. The $300 fee is if you want to PLA credits. PLA is longer, more difficult, and more expensive than just taking credits from elsewhere (such as Sophia).

[JArody07]

A Pierpont degree is 100% free except for the cost of the Sophia and ASU classes. The $300 fee is if you want to PLA credits. PLA is longer, more difficult, and more expensive than just taking credits from elsewhere (such as Sophia).

Aww makes sense, question: Wouldn't an associates from Golden Gate University be also a viable option if I want to transfer since that one is an aa degree and they seem to offer options for a transfer path or would it also be just better to also take courses at ASU for college credit? I've seen people on the forum saying that ASU's route is cheaper.

[allvia]

The Pierpont AAS degree can be completed from no credit for as little as a few hundred dollars total - in case that wasn't clear in Rachel's post.

[JArody07]

The Pierpont AAS degree can be completed from no credit for as little as a few hundred dollars total - in case that wasn't clear in Rachel's post.

Hello, yes it was but thank you! I'm just trying to see what options I have in regards to finishing gen ed basically, then transfer to complete the core classes at MSU, I already contacted MSU in regards to that but they have not replied back so I'm waiting on what they say.

[rachel83az]

ASU's 1-credit course is $25. Sophia is $99/mo. and you can get sufficient credits in just 1-2 months, depending on how hard/fast you work through the classes.

I don't know about the cost of GGU, but it's definitely going to be more than that.

The next fastest/cheapest Associate degree is probably from PUG. Some of the information has changed, but you can see the basic premise here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...ity-Global

[JArody07]

ASU's 1-credit course is $25. Sophia is $99/mo. and you can get sufficient credits in just 1-2 months, depending on how hard/fast you work through the classes.

I don't know about the cost of GGU, but it's definitely going to be more than that.

The next fastest/cheapest Associate degree is probably from PUG. Some of the information has changed, but you can see the basic premise here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...ity-Global

Thanks rachel, I'll definitely check PUG.

[davewill]

Hi Rachel, thanks for the response, my biggest goal as of now is to basically finish/get rid of gen ed as fast as I can, as I’m aware I would need to take the core classes at MSU and I know that would take at least 2+ years as you said. The reason they ask for an IE degree is because the position they ask is Engineering related for manufacturing, although I would need to ask to see if anything else could work since I already do pretty much 70% of the work that they’re asking for with the new position, and if available, I would look to see what options I have such as the one you listed in order to get a Bachelors. As for the Associate Degree from Pierpoint, just to clarify I would pretty much need to complete it by taking the 54 Sophia credits + 1 ASU Learner Credit? Also I’ve been reading on the forum that you pay a $300 fee, correct? Thanks again!

I've seen people with Electrical Engineering degrees in manufacturing engineer positions, but that's even harder to find online. Also, doublecheck with MSU that an AAS will work. They may insist on an AA or AS degree.