Self taught MBA? (1 Viewer)

[RedmondLonghorn]

I am considering going back and getting a graduate certificate in Business Analytics. Big Data seems like a good place to hide when the driverless, ownerless cars try to put me on the streets.

I have an MBA in finance, but have been looking at doing certificate programs (online or at night) in either/both Data Science and Computational Finance.

I started a certificate program in Data Science last year. I breezed through the overview course without breaking a sweat, but ended up having to abandon the R programming course. It was tough. I've never programmed before and the lectures and lecture notes weren't close to detailed enough for me to be able to catch on.

Not sure if you are doing the Coursera program or something else (Coursera provides a platform but doesn't hold much weight amongst HR...but that may be what you are looking for). But if you are not looking for a full degree Stanford has a certificate that runs ~ $10k to $12k last I checked. I got my masters in predictive analytics from Northwestern (online program) and Berkeley also has an online program. If you are looking to learn R, I can recommend several books and programs (Georgia R school). I am also a finance guy(and CPA) and am not a programmer. However, R is very intuitive once the light bulb turns on. Stay with it and you will get it.

The program I started on was actually from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. I am about as far away from health sciences as you can get in terms of industry, but it looks like a good, rigorous data science program.

I am certainly open to looking at others.

I would love to do Stanford or one at University of Washington (local to me), but I need to fit it around my regular job and the night program at UW has a waiting list that appears to be over a year long.

Johns Hopkins is part of Coursera. Not sure the amount it overlaps with what you are/were doing. If you are interested in the fied, I would suggest getting on the wait list and doing some introductory reading to see if you like it. "Making Sense of Data" (1, 2, 3) are good, easy to follow reads, that explain many concepts and uses of data.

I have lots of questions. Do you mind if I contact you directly via PM?

 

[xulf]

I am considering going back and getting a graduate certificate in Business Analytics. Big Data seems like a good place to hide when the driverless, ownerless cars try to put me on the streets.

I have an MBA in finance, but have been looking at doing certificate programs (online or at night) in either/both Data Science and Computational Finance.

I started a certificate program in Data Science last year. I breezed through the overview course without breaking a sweat, but ended up having to abandon the R programming course. It was tough. I've never programmed before and the lectures and lecture notes weren't close to detailed enough for me to be able to catch on.

Not sure if you are doing the Coursera program or something else (Coursera provides a platform but doesn't hold much weight amongst HR...but that may be what you are looking for). But if you are not looking for a full degree Stanford has a certificate that runs ~ $10k to $12k last I checked. I got my masters in predictive analytics from Northwestern (online program) and Berkeley also has an online program. If you are looking to learn R, I can recommend several books and programs (Georgia R school). I am also a finance guy(and CPA) and am not a programmer. However, R is very intuitive once the light bulb turns on. Stay with it and you will get it.

The program I started on was actually from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. I am about as far away from health sciences as you can get in terms of industry, but it looks like a good, rigorous data science program.

I am certainly open to looking at others.

I would love to do Stanford or one at University of Washington (local to me), but I need to fit it around my regular job and the night program at UW has a waiting list that appears to be over a year long.

Johns Hopkins is part of Coursera. Not sure the amount it overlaps with what you are/were doing. If you are interested in the fied, I would suggest getting on the wait list and doing some introductory reading to see if you like it. "Making Sense of Data" (1, 2, 3) are good, easy to follow reads, that explain many concepts and uses of data.

I have lots of questions. Do you mind if I contact you directly via PM?

Hit me up. Always happy to talk about this stuff.

 

[(HULK)]

I think less of people with online degrees than people with no degrees at all. I just can't help it, my experiences have been nothing but unfavorable with the online folk.

The world is changing. More and more places that are not online only meet once a month...what's the difference? Sure, some schools are ####ty whether online or not. I never would have had the opportunity to get a Master's from Northwestern if it didn't have an online program that I could do part time (20 hrs a week) while working full time. Are degrees from top institutions gotten online lesser to you? And if so, how do you know its an online degree? Mine says Northwestern...

It's more a for profit online school thing.

 

[tri-man 47]

I think less of people with online degrees than people with no degrees at all. I just can't help it, my experiences have been nothing but unfavorable with the online folk.

lol ...I finished my DBA (Doctor in Business Administration (in accounting) last year at Argosy University ...one of the for-profits. I really could only do it on-line due to heavy work commitments, and Argosy's program was faster than traditional Ph.Ds. The program itself was great for me - a ton of researching and writing. But: The quality of 80-90% of my classmates was awful. Many had done their masters on-line (often through Phoenix). Their ability to write and communicate was generally embarrassing. When I tell people I have an Argosy degree, I always feel like I need to explain myself or apologize for it. It's what you make of it, though - and in four weeks, I switch from being the Controller and adjunct faculty at my university to a full-time faculty gig.

 

[(HULK)]

Not saying it can't work for people. The federal government makes zero distinction between Harvard and U of Phoenix, so I work around a lot of government workers with online degrees... They all suck, every last one. So, that colors my perception of it obviously.

Some people learn super advanced math and create wild theorems that never occurred to anyone with no schooling, living in some backwater part of the world. It happens. But it is the exception, not the rule.