Guide to Online Education > Online Education In-Depth > Meet Real Online Students > David I., Master of Science in Forensic Studies
After trying a few online programs, David, 44, who is married with one stepson, chose Villa Julie College to complete his master's degree online.
Name: David Ingram
Age: 44
Marital Status: Married
Children: One stepson
Current Occupation: Dockworker & Yardman
School: Villa Julie College
Target: M.S. in Forensic Studies, 2008
Many people rely on a master's degree to help them navigate and break into a new career—David Ingram is one of them. He's hoping that his graduate degree will enable him to switch from his job in the trucking industry into a career in investigations.
Already there have been positive results, and he's not yet done with the program.
"I have been interviewing with the IRS and a third-party claims provider. The fact that I am working on a master's degree has really helped my chances to land both positions," says David.
He currently works as a dockworker and yardman. "I have been in the trucking industry for 25 years and the uncertainties—within the industry as well as the failures of organized labor—have shown me the writing is on the wall for job security within the industry."
The Difficulties of Degrees
This isn't the first online education program for David. The Ohio resident earned his Bachelor's degree in Information Technology from AIU Online in 2005. But that didn't come easy.
"I have attended four different online universities and have had some rough experiences at all of them," David says. He earned his A.S. in Business Administration and his A.A.S. in Accounting from Sinclair Community College.
He also attended classes and participated in programs at Utica College online and Ellis College of the NYIT online. He recalls taking a finance class at Utica, where the 17-person class had dropped to five students within four weeks of the eight-week course. When he inquired about the course and questioned the administrator, David was told that the class had run successfully in the past.
While attending AIU Online, he submitted a program written in Visual Basic for his programming class.
"The program was working fine on my computer, but I had trouble submitting the project. I even noted this in the 'Comments' section when I turned it into the professor through the course drop box," he says.
When David approached the instructor about his grade, a "D", the professor said the program wasn't working when he opened it, and said a project could only be turned in once. Even though David appealed, the dean sided with the instructor.
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