As I stated earlier, I’m not a very good book learner.  I need the threat of a bad grade to force me into practicing the material.  So I chose the guided study route, after a couple of years of unsuccessful unguided study.

I started looking on-line for accredited on-line classes through a university.  Fortunately for me two things were in place: 1) my company has a tuition reimbursement plan.  2) Major universities offer certificates for computer programming.  Harvard, Illinois and Stanford, among others I’m sure, offer Software Engineering/Computer Programming certificates.  Harvard’s Extension school was the best fit for me due to the cost of the classes, which was less than Illinois and Stanford, and the fact that they have a certificate plan.

The Harvard program is phenomenal! All of the lectures are online and you can watch them whenever you want.  There is a syllabus with assignments due so I would typically watch the lectures as soon as they were available so as to keep up with the course work.  If you are looking for a flexible way to start taking classes again I would recommend looking into one of the programs offered by a major university starting with Harvard.

Plus it’s cool to say you go to Harvard… even though it is technically the Harvard Extension