So, here's my scenario... any information or advice would be greatly appreciated!
I'll be graduating from an accredited online university with a degree in Information Technology fairly soon (Western Governors). I chose to go through Western Governors because I need to keep my full time job while getting my initial degree (responsibilities and all that good stuff). It's also allowed me to save up some money so I can pursue my PhD while not abandoning my responsibilities (which require a house, no dorm living or apartments). It'll likely be very tight, but it's doable.
Unfortunately with Western Governors I don't really get any research experience. They also grade with a pass/fail grading system (where a pass is a B or better).
I realize both of those issues, combined with the fact that it's an online only school probably will hurt my chances getting into a doctoral program. I'm determined to find a way to make this work though.
I do have extensive work experience, which I'm hoping will somewhat make up for the above issues. I've worked in I.T. for over 12 years, many of those as a Linux systems administrator for a fairly large company, and have honestly been working with computers since back in the early 90s in high school. It's been a passion of mine since I got my first computer.
I'm very concerned that the work experience I have will not help much to make up for the fact that I'm lacking research experience, and getting a degree from an online school. I do realize that IT work, while related, isn't going to be nearly as good on an application as actual computer science related research.
I'm looking for any advice or tips on what I can do to help my chances of getting into a good program, preferably one with either robotics or artificial intelligence as a research topic.
Thanks ahead of time for any information and advice!
