For the most part, "Life Experience Degrees," are issued by degree mills - unaccredited institutions and universities. Fake degrees are illegal in some states; thus, you want to stay far away from them.

As a long time distance learner, I can tell you that there are many accredited universities that offer online and correspondence courses. In fact, all of my postsecondary education has been acquired via distance learning (DL).

If you find that your career has stagnated because of the lack of a degree, look at your local community colleges and universities - most major universities offer online classes, and in some cases entire degree programs via DL.

Also, there are many accredited DL schools (online) which offer many degree options. When looking at a school your primary concern should be accreditation. Follow these links to learn about accreditation as well as a list of which accrediting agencies are approved by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and the Department of Education:

http://www.chea.org/default.asp

http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accr....html#Overview

A good starting point in your search for an accredited DL degree is this website:

http://www.elearners.com/online-degrees/index.asp

I would not be too concerned about DL degree acceptance as long as it is properly accredited.

Good luck,

P

 

Maybe when students finish at ATP they should mail you a life experience degree for an additional 5 thousand dollars.

 

Actually, there are schools that will award college credit for FAA certificates. In many cases a student can get up to 36 credits for his/her flying experience.

Embry Riddle, Thomas Edison State College, Utah Valley State College, and California Coast University are some of the schools that will award academic credit for FAA certificates. So technically, your statement is partially correct; after finishing at "ATP," one can enter college with a healthy number of credits.

http://www.erau.edu/ec/wwc/awarding-credit.html/#asc

http://www.uvscaviation.com/

http://www.tesc.edu/716.php

http://www.calcoast.edu/specialized_training.php

Take care,

P

 

There's a huge difference between 'Life Experience' degrees and awarding college credit for formal training and test taking.

 

Life experience degree= Bull**it. Plain and simple. Education is a way to improve yourself- not just get a better paying job. Once you have actually improved yourself, the job thing will come as a direct result of you being a more well rounded human being. It does not matter where you go to school. 4yr univ., comm. college, correspondence course (distance learning). All education is self inflicted, especially beyond high school. If you don't want to do it- you don't have to. Obtaining an advanced degree tells a potential employer that you are capable of working without direct supervision (e.g.- someone standing over you with a proverbial bullwhip to make sure you do what you're supposed to). The only exceptions to the above rule would apply to very specialized regimes of study (Law school, accounting, etc.). I applaud anyone who takes the step of furthering their education later in life- but do it for the right reason- to improve yourself. Also, make sure you study something you're actually interested in- you'll get a lot more out of it. Studying something just because you THINK the HR person will like it is a waste of your time and money.

 

I agree. That's why I said to maximaman that he was partially correct. My comment was in response to his sarcasm.

Take care,

P

 

Whats even worse is that some of those individuals refer to themselves as Dr once the "honorary" degree has been bestowed.

 

I think everyone has the wrong idea about the "honorary degree". An honorary degree is like the mayor giving you the key to the city. It doesn't actually open any doors, at least in a literal sense anyway. It doesn't mean you have carte blanche to do whatever you want, run amok, etc. All it means is that you are always welcome, and that you're accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. Most certainly, an honorary degree is in no way recognized as any sort of educational achievment.

I apologize in advance if the preceeding discussion about honorary degrees was entirely satirical in nature- but it really seemed like no one understood the concept. I've never heard anyone with an honorary actually refer to themselves as a Ph.D/M.D./etc. unless they actually were one to begin with. That would be pretty laughable.

 

I think the only thing they will accept is the fact that you sent in for the degree. Then they will look for your degree from an accredited university.

 

If you apply and interview with a major airline claiming a life experience degree you very quickly acquire even more "Life Experience".