There have been articles popping up lately on one year masters degree programs that lure desperate people into debt simply to make money for the institution, not to impart a truly useful set of knowledge or a viable career path. This has always existed in some form, but the internet has allowed universities to enroll vast numbers of students and cheapen those degrees to practically worthless in the real world, even though the tuition prices have only increased. Library science was one of the early adopters of this model, despite so many retiring librarians not being replaced by professional MLS holders that the value of the diploma was dwindling twenty years ago. With competition for the few remaining jobs augmented with virtual graduates, it's literally impossible to guarantee a job in the library field.

In some ways I'm getting the same vibe from the online Python course I attended. The full-time program that costs $15,000 sounded intimidating, with dubious returns since the amount of material covered in three months could in no way stand up to a full degree in comp sci, so I decided it wasn't necessarily worth the investment. Initially I indicated my decision to not continue, and that was that as far as I was concerned. 

Now the full court press is on. I've received five emails and corresponded with admissions about my application being incomplete despite never even formally applying for the program. I left the door open, granted, and planned on reevaluating the part-time program if it started in September or later, but despite the class sizes being 30 or so students they seem to be doing everything in their power to secure participants. If they're this hard up to fill classes, how serious is their admissions process? Is this a diploma mill under another name, plus it's not even a full degree? Another red flag is the almost total lack of scholarships to defray the costs besides promising them a percentage of your salary if you graduate and do end up as a developer.

I've fallen for the trap of assuming education = job potential before and don't want to repeat the past, but also don't want to pass up an opportunity to open a door that might lead to a better career. I can't ask my family for advice as they always advocate for educational opportunities without the healthy dose of skepticism I hold, and it would just start another fight about how I'm being negative, etc, etc. I see warning signs that are making me increasingly uneasy, but the growing fear that I'll never land another decent job is pushing me towards enrolling just to do something to advance myself, even if it doesn't pan out in the end.

I wish my old job hadn't gone back to the office. I wish I had some connections where it counted, and where I could know this would be worth it. Life is just never that easy.