Do employers prefer an employee with a traditional degree than online degree?

kingslayer

I was just wondering, do big companies find a traditional degree more desirable than an online degree? What are your opinions on this, and do any of you had problems finding work with an online degree?

Marktheshark

I think most prefer someone who wants the Job rather than "a job" .
It's harder to get a Driving licence these days than a Degree .

getmore4less

Where you get your degree can be very influential in your job prospects.

especially for grads, second jobbers with little experience.

When I was recruiting for people the standard of candidates from some places was consistently higher than others.

I am sure we were not getting the pick of the crop from the good ones as the demand is very high from the leading employers for the top UNIS output.

GothicStirling

I'm studying for a second degree at the University of Leicester. The degree will say it is awarded by the University of Leicester, no-one will know its DL unless I tell them (and from the employers and potential postgraduate options for university, they don't particularly care).

PlymouthMaid

I would think that so long as it is accredited by a reputable University then it would not matter and, as above, I doubt it would even be obvious. Those degrees which can be purchased from strange foreign institutions would not be considered worthy I imagine.

paddyrg

The reputation of the university for a particular course may be of some influence. For an engineering degree you'd not expect to see SOAS as the institution for instance ;-) Or a medical degree by post!

makeyourdaddyproud

For some posts, yes.

Many high profile institutions will only accept prospects from a red brick university.

However, the scope of their desirability has changed in recent years, and since performance tables are in constant state of flux, it remains to be seen if the old school habit of choosing from the aforementioned 'club' has yet to die hard.

Not sure about DL degrees; I have a friend who went to an interview armed with a 1st from a modular DL course. When they touched on the method of study, the interviewer wondered if they were taking the 'mick', and promptly ended the interview.

Old colonian bigotry remains steadfast; espy all the top military officers and you will see they are nearly all knighted, and most likely attended Sandhurst too.

Don't be offended by it, that's just how it is. The Glass Ceiling remains intact to all but the most institutionally well-bred and those connected by money, power and influence.

Dan

Mrs_Ryan

I'm studying with the Open University and there's always massive debate on the forums/Facebook pages about whether brick uni degrees are better. Some say yes, some say no. I have my eye on a certain PGCE course at a certain uni and will be quite upset if they don't want to take my degree. My marks are pretty good but when I tried going to a brick uni they were awful. However I note it's harder to get a first from the OU. I suppose it depends on where you apply to- different employers have different viewpoints.

GothicStirling

Mrs_Ryan wrote: »

I'm studying with the Open University and there's always massive debate on the forums/Facebook pages about whether brick uni degrees are better. Some say yes, some say no. I have my eye on a certain PGCE course at a certain uni and will be quite upset if they don't want to take my degree. My marks are pretty good but when I tried going to a brick uni they were awful. However I note it's harder to get a first from the OU. I suppose it depends on where you apply to- different employers have different viewpoints.

I don't see any reason why a university wouldn't take the OU degree, if Oxford University could accept that student with a degree from the OU for a Masters in Economics (the one that was taking them to court for removing the offer because he intended to work part-time to pay living costs) I don't see what excuse any other university has.


I've studied at a 'brick' university and DL, and I think by far that the DL degree is far more rigorous.

InsideInsurance

PlymouthMaid wrote: »

I would think that so long as it is accredited by a reputable University then it would not matter

It would more be the awarding university than an accrediting one.

If you can say you went to Oxford or Edinburgh etc as thats whats on your certificate then its great. The Mrs did a course through a uni that is accredited by LSE but the certificate comes in the name of the uni she studied at so she cannot legitimately claim to have been at LSE on her CV.

How much a potential employer will put on where you studied will depend on where you are in your career, how technical/academic your career is and down to the individual manager and their bias.

I doubt if anyone would notice if I forgot to put my education on my CV but then I've a job that doesnt have vocational degrees and have over a decades experience with a number of big name employers/ clients. Things were different when I first started out though.