PhD IT, $383 PCH, Bachelors entry, thoughts!?

[armstrongsubero]

@bluebogger did you read my post? I will pursue that path because with my experience, current job position and the difficulties associated with doing an ABET degree in Electrical Engineering it would be cheaper to get a higher paying job in IT and then fund my studies for electrical engineering best advice I received. 

Even if I don't get an H1B in time, I will be able to move up in my career locally, and hopefully get enough money to take some time and do a proper ABET accredited engineering degree. The PhD at Little Rock is quite affordable as they have a nice payment plan structure.

And yes it is worth it for the prices 75*383 = $28 725. That is a total of TT $185 276.25 over the course of 5 years that works out to $37 055 a year or roughly a third of my current salary paying out of pocket. I can manage that.

In contrast the EE program I wanted to do could find online is the Arizona State University ABET accredited bachelors in EE costs $6499 for 10 credits. For a 120 credit program, this is 6499 * 12 = $77 988. That is a total of TT $503 022.60. I could buy a house with that much money and over the cost of 5 years would take an entire year's salary to pay for each year! How will I live?.

Now when I finish the PhD I can see an increase of over TT $30 000 in earnings over the cost of a year, assuming I don't get promoted, if I do then that number can go up a lot. And hopefully if I earn a masters in the process, I will get  an increase and promotion during the process. Additionally I think publishers would be very happy to publish books written by a PhD. I like writing, and this degree would help boost my bio.

Assuming I do the EE degree I get nothing because I would already have completed the BALS. I will have to apply for those positions I want and hope I get sponsorship and an H1B, it's much riskier.

It's a cost to benefit ratio, and based on the information I received from this thread, it may be the best option:

https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...ing+choice

From that post the advice was basically get a job in software (very easy for me, working with a charity as a software/fullstack developer plus previous experience) and use that to fund my EE studies. A PhD in Computer and Information Sciences may get me a door in the company doing something else and then I may be able to branch across into the position I want. It's worth a shot, worst case I still have a career to fall back on.

And yes it means that much to me as my aim is to be self actualized. Having a career I enjoy and being called doctor are two pieces of the puzzle. More attainable than saying I want to be the next Elon or Zukerberg.

If you have a better idea I would love to hear it. but the path from liberal arts to engineering online is expensive and time consuming.

@postabsolute yep Northcentral is a lot! the CS aspect would be a better resume booster, Computer and Information Sciences sounds better than Information Systems or Information Technology.