Is a degree through a Technical College respectable?

tripthelightfantastick

There is a local Technical College that offers an AS specifically in what I am looking to get an AS in. They offer more night corses than the Community College I am currently attending (plus the community college doesn't offer as many courses in the carreer path I'm looking at) so I would be able to (for most of the time) keep working full time. I don't know how well looked on a degree from a technical college is though.

I know the pros and cons about earning a degree for one specific carreer vs. a more general degree that you can take into different vocations.

savannahsmommy09

yess i think it is

Cityplanner

I think it really depends on the field. Can you talk to their career services department and see how many people they place? Or, can you have an informational I interview with someone doing the job you want who attended each school and ask about their job search?

Scooter359

Sometimes I think they are better. Most people with blanket degrees from a university have no idea what to do with it, and they are having a hard time finding jobs. It's more cost and time effective, and it gets you to where you need to go. I'd say go for it.

tripthelightfantastick

Cityplanner:

I think it really depends on the field. Can you talk to their career services department and see how many people they place? Or, can you have an informational I interview with someone doing the job you want who attended each school and ask about their job search?

It'll be in construction/engineering and fortunately I work for a construction company, so I think I'll be able to find someone to ask. I plan on attending a prgram information seminar they are having on the campus in a couple weeks for the program I want to do.

war_eagle

A lot of people with Tech degrees are in industries making lots more money than those with a university degree.

peachypear

For-profit, no. Non-profit (typical), yes!

A friend of mine used to work in career services for a major for-profit technical school. She had to leave after a couple of years because it was making her sick. The school was just out to make money and churn out as many degrees as possible. Their students paid way too much relative to similar programs at other schools and the salaries they got afterwards. She also saw that many graduating students were incompetent, which portrayed poorly on the skilled students. Since she was placing students in jobs and saw the jobs they got, she knew their degree was complete BS, even though the school cited a stellar job placement rate.

But I know our regional state-affiliated technical college is well-respected. My friend said so, and I've seen it in hiring in the places that I've worked.

tripthelightfantastick

peachypear:

For-profit, no. Non-profit (typical), yes!

A friend of mine used to work in career services for a major for-profit technical school. She had to leave after a couple of years because it was making her sick. The school was just out to make money and churn out as many degrees as possible. Their students paid way too much relative to similar programs at other schools and the salaries they got afterwards. She also saw that many graduating students were incompetent, which portrayed poorly on the skilled students. Since she was placing students in jobs and saw the jobs they got, she knew their degree was complete BS, even though the school cited a stellar job placement rate.

But I know our regional state-affiliated technical college is well-respected. My friend said so, and I've seen it in hiring in the places that I've worked.

I had to check and

Yay

It is a public, not for profit technical school.

etude de la vie

I can only give an academic perceptive as a former professor at a State University and community college. 

Typically technical schools are not respectable for a couple of reasons.

First, they will all say they are accredited but non of the units you earn can actually be transferred to "real" university. All "real" universities are accredited by WASC for example (western association of schools and colleges) This would include UCLA, Stanford, Berkley, any state university, community college, and so on (public and private schools) in the western part of the United States. Most technical universities are accredited but not by a national organization but often by a 3rd party accreditation they they often own themselves. This national accreditation is important because it grants a contracts between schools so your units and/or degree is recognized.  It is really unfortunate because  students often pay 3x more per unit for these universities and graduate with an AA but when they want to go on and get their bachelors at a university other than where they went they realize their AA only counts at that school and if they want to go to a different university they have to start all over again. Had they gone to a community college, they would have paid much less and there are accreditation agreements between all community colleges and universities. 

Also many of these technical schools are not eligible for public funding and grants.  They offer their own private funding for students but not at government rates and even if you qualify for government grants or loans you won't qualify because they are not a accredited university. I know our community college is less than $30 a unit and offer many of the same AA degrees the online and technical schools offer for much much more money. 

If you plan to go to school for the AA and will stop at that degree, receive a pay increase and you can afford it, I say go for it... especially if you don't have a community college near by that offers something similar. If you plan to create a career and may want to continue your education I highly discourage this option. 

I hope this helps! I could go on forever so sorry this is long.  Also sorry for any writing errors DD was trying to push the keyboard the entire time. I am typing as fast as I can since she needs my attention. 

Emilia0101

Here is my take. I worked at a technical school as an instructor for about 2 years so take this for what it is worth. So like the PP said the admission rep's are sales people. I use to get so frustrated because in my law courses they would place kids that were open about having felony records etc. knowing full well those kids could never get a job in the legal field. So take what they tell you as a jumping off point and do your own research. Second, credits will not transfer to other schools in almost 99% of the cases so make sure you will be in the area to finish your degree and that you see yourself finishing. Ask about career services after graduation and what the percentage of grad's that are working in their field of study. Next, it cost more for tech schools in almost all cases, but I feel that most people can justify the cost because of the fast paced learning and flexible course options (nights, weekends, etc).  Overall I think tech programs are best for adult learners already established in a career that are looking for a degree to give them that advantage. Good luck!

totally trying

I have a associates degree as a registered nurse from a tech school in WI.  I had no problem getting a job and where I work it doesn't mater if you have a degree from a tech school or 4 yr college at this point.  I tech school I went to was cheaper then the community college we have here and almost all of my credits will transfer to a WI college if I would like to get my BS in nursing. 

I would check it all out, there are pro and cons to both.

judyb3ll

If it?s providing you the education you need to enter your chosen field, then I would say yes. But why don?t you also explore comparable Associate degrees at four-year colleges and universities? They might open more doors for you. There are many four-year institutions that offer career-focused programs. One such school is California College San Diego. It offers a wide range of college degree programs that train graduates for specific vocations like respiratory therapy, accounting, and computer programming.