Scott Esmond
BIT - Programming

Meet Scott Esmond: Great Mentoring + a College Degree = Your Best Bet

After Scott Esmond was discharged from the Navy - he had signed on for five years immediately following high school - he was fortunate to land a job in tech support with a small company. His bosses were eager to share their knowledge and act as a mentor to him. A few years ago however, Scott realized that, while on-the-job training and mentoring were great, he still wanted a college degree.

With years of life experience as well as class credits earned while in the Navy, Scott was able to enroll in an Associate's degree completion program through AIU Online. Within days of graduating, Scott started on his Bachelor of Information Technology with a concentration in Programming. He is scheduled to graduate with his Bachelor's degree in November.

"I appreciate all the time and energy my bosses spent sharing their knowledge with me and I certainly learned a lot from them. The time they gave me made me realize a college degree, on top of what they had taught me, would expand my knowledge as well as my professional career. I have a great job now (nn the six years since starting with his current company, Scott has risen to Vice President of Technical Support), but if I ever do have to go back out into the job market, it will give me a leg up to put a Bachelor's degree on my resume."

Before enrolling through AIU Online, Scott tried a community college near his home. He enrolled in an Associate's degree program thinking he would be able to take all the required classes at night, after work. Then he found out that wasn't the case. "Once I learned it wouldn't be possible to get my degree at the community college without going during the day, I withdrew. There was no way I could be out of the office a few days each week to take the classes I needed to."

While this experience was disheartening, Scott didn't give up. "I heard about online universities and began to look into those." Scott says he spent about one year researching various online universities before deciding on AIU Online. Some of the factors Scott based his decision on were cost, the accelerated nature of the program, and curriculum.

"AIU Online moved at the speed I wanted to, I felt I would get my money's worth from it, and the IT curriculum was exactly what I needed to learn so that I could apply it at work."

Now, almost finished with his time at AIU Online, Scott says he wouldn't change a thing. "All-around, it's been a great experience. I can't think of one negative thing to say about any instructor and I have learned things I have immediately been able to incorporate into what I do on a daily basis at work."

Scott's bosses have noticed the new things he has been learning too. "My job hasn't changed much since I've started at AIU Online, but still my bosses have commented that they have noticed an improved work ethic and more well-rounded management skills. They love the fact I'm getting my degree."

Even though Scott initially tried a traditional program, he says he doesn't think he missed out on anything by ending up online. "In fact, I think I learned more than I would have in a classroom. Sometimes being in a classroom can be distracting and my experience hasn't been that traditional classrooms require as much interaction and group projects with classmates as AIU Online does. The group projects, discussion boards, and chats added so much to what I learned from the textbooks and instructors. Like I said, I really wouldn't change a thing."

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