Students are turning to online degrees for one simple reason: flexibility. If you already have a job, or want to start working as soon as possible, studying online lets you do both. It also helps you avoid extra costs like accommodation or travel.
But that flexibility comes with a trade-off. Studying at your own rhythm requires a level of discipline and motivation many underestimate.
Valerie Berger is one of the students who made it work and is happy with her decision. She completed a Computer Science Master’s at the University of Bath Online in 2025 while building her career. She has a job she loves in the Bregenz Festival team, in Austria, where she focuses on improving how teams and departments work together. It’s a role that blends creativity with structured, system-based thinking.
With a background in Business, her Master’s at Bath was a natural next step. It was a conversion degree, designed for students coming from other fields who want to build new technical skills on top of their existing background.
In this conversation with Studyportals, Valerie explains how she chose a programme that was 100% worth it, what helped her stay on track, and shares some tips on how to both spot the degrees that are right for you and the red flags on those who aren’t.
If you are considering an online Master’s, her perspective offers a clear, honest look at what really matters before you commit.
Studyportals: After doing your BA in Business Administration and your first MA in International Management, why did you go for an online Master’s in Computer Science? How does it help you now?
Valerie Berger: The Computer Science Master’s I chose is more high-level. Its not about becoming a top programmer for me, but more about understanding systems and how people interact with them. This second degree gave me a better understanding of technical structures, which helps me design and improve internal systems and workflows. This matters in my line of work because our festival has a core team of about 100 people, and in summer, over 1,000, which requires a very smooth operation. We also have about 240,000 visitors during the summer.
With so many people involved, it’s important that systems support people effectively. The Master’s helped a lot. I also learned about the back end, which is important because we develop solutions with internal and external developers tailored to our festival. I learned to speak their language. I understand what is feasible, can question decisions, and what to consider when planning projects.
Studyportals: How did you decide on this specific Master’s in the UK?
Valerie Berger: I graduated from my first Master’s in 2021, but I wrote my dissertation in 2020, during COVID. I only had that left and no courses, and I felt like I wanted to keep learning. During my first Master’s, I had a statistics course with some light programming, which I found really interesting. I played around a bit on my own and realised I wanted to learn more.
What really mattered to me was finding a conversion Master’s. I didn’t want to go back to a Bachelor’s level. I wanted something more demanding right away, and a conversion Master’s allows you to switch fields with a previous degree.
At the same time, I wanted to start working after five years of full-time study, earn my own money, and get into working life.
I remember that I was Googling a lot, like what my opportunities were, whether a Udemy course would be enough, or if I should go for a full-on degree. I just kind of played around with all that in my head.
What really mattered to me was finding a conversion Master’s. I didn’t want to go back to a Bachelor’s level. I wanted something more demanding right away, and a conversion Master’s allows you to switch fields with a previous degree.
The other key thing was that it was online. After narrowing it down, I had about three options at the time. I chose the UK over the US because I thought it would be easier as a European to have the degree recognised wherever I am in the EU.
Then I chose the University of Bath over another university I shortlisted in the UK because I went through online forums, looked for reviews, and checked what people said. Bath had much better reviews, and students were much happier. I’m really happy I went there.
What students should know before choosing an online degree
Studyportals: What advice would you give to a student who’s looking for online degrees? What are the red flags, and what should they be careful about?
Valerie Berger: If you have never studied before, like if it’s a Bachelor’s you want to study online, I don’t know if I would recommend that because you probably don’t have your own study systems yet. Some people can do that, sure, but for me the online degree needed a lot more self-discipline than the in-person degree did.
I feel like this is something you need to know about yourself before you commit to such a degree, because you pay a lot of money and invest a lot of time, and it would be unfortunate to drop out after just a couple of months.
For me, it was also really important that I could be responsible for my own time-management. What I liked was that I could study whenever I wanted, however I wanted.
We didn’t have set lecture times. It’s not the kind of degree where you have webinars in the evening from 9:00 to 10:00 or something, because it’s designed to work internationally. So we didn’t have that, and I really appreciated it.
I could decide, for example, that one weekend I was very busy, so I would study every evening, or the other way around, that I was too tired in the evenings but would get up early on Saturday and Sunday.
The only fixed element was that we had deadlines that everyone had to follow.
Studyportals: What was the most important thing that convinced you to pursue this Master’s?
Valerie Berger: For me, at that point, the most important thing was the online forum feedback because those were real student experiences.
What the University of Bath has done in the meantime is offer open online student days. I didn’t have them back then, but I would recommend attending. It’s basically a half-day or a few hours event where teachers and counsellors talk about how to become a student and what challenges and opportunities exist.
I really, really think the most important thing is to hear from fellow students. They will honestly tell you how the experience is, whereas staff at the university also have the role to promote it.
The university also made sure at the beginning that there was some connection between the students, and then the rest was up to us. That was really great, and that’s something I would personally say to look out for: the community among students.
The other thing is to look for lecturers who respond to you. Because you cannot go to their office and knock on the door, they need to respond to emails. I’m not sure how much you can know in advance, but maybe you can see it in reviews.
I was lucky at Bath. I only had professors who responded to emails, engaged in the online forum, and interacted with us. They also came to the graduation ceremony and made sure we connected with each other.
I think that’s super important, because I do think human connection is necessary to complete a degree.
Why online degrees still matter today
Studyportals:In the context of the COVID pandemic, online degrees became very popular. Why do you believe online degrees are still relevant today, now that all that has ended?
Valerie Berger: I didn’t start an online degree because of the pandemic. Maybe that made it easier for me to find the right degree, but I would have gone online regardless.
I wanted to start working. It was super important to me to get some work experience and not just stay in a theoretical bubble. The online degree was the easiest way for me to combine the two.
Another reason why I would personally do it all over again is that, in general, when people work alongside their degree, in different fields, they share diverse experiences.
I wanted to start working. It was super important to me to get some work experience and not just stay in a theoretical bubble. The online degree was the easiest way for me to combine the two.
Everyone would say things like, “Oh, in my workplace we do it this way or that way.” Some people were already working in IT or Computer Science-related jobs, others weren’t. We had doctors and teachers in our degree, for instance, so they brought really interesting and relevant perspectives.
This was the most diverse group I studied with. I studied in a lot of international and different kinds of settings, but this was definitely the most interesting group in that regard because I learned so much from my cohort.
To me, that is quite distinct from an online degree. In other scenarios, people are often only students or are based in one city, so it reduces the diversity profile.
One thing I really appreciated is that people build Discord groups or WhatsApp chats. I had both in my cohort to stay in touch with one another.
We would do what is called pair programming. I would program, and my classmate would look at my screen and give comments and tips. Then we would switch roles. That was so useful.
To do that over distance is something I find quite special for a distance learning course. Obviously, this was student-generated, but I think the University of Bath gave us the space to do that. They also encouraged it.
We would do what is called pair programming. I would program, and my classmate would look at my screen and give comments and tips. Then we would switch roles. That was so useful.
Studyportals: What did you gain from this type of experience, from people coming from such diverse environments?
Valerie Berger: My favourite area in Computer Science has become human-computer interaction, which has everything to do with including diverse user profiles in our products.
For instance, you build a product and someone says, “Yeah, but what if someone cannot hear? Can they use it?” And you’re like, oh my God, I never thought of that, because in my bubble, everyone can hear.
That’s maybe a simple example, and something you should have thought of yourself, but even if you didn’t, it’s great that someone points it out.
Then there are other things. I’ve never been to India, even though I had Indian students in my cohort. I’m also not a doctor. I’m not a mother. There are so many things that I’m not and never will be. This is completely fine, but I need to include those perspectives in my work, especially if I want to build a system that works for others. Having these diverse people around really helps.
In my International Management studies, we were very diverse in terms of nationality. People came from Russia, India, China, Egypt, and so on. That was great, I really liked that. But we were all business students, all approximately the same age and social background. In the end, we were quite homogeneous. We can pretend to be diverse, but we weren’t really.
This time it was different. These were perspectives I had never thought of before. That’s what made this group so valuable to me. During my studies, I didn’t just put my own perspective on the task at hand, but I immediately had others as well.
What the university did was that for every assignment, we had forums where we presented our solutions. We were always required to comment on other people’s solutions. So you always got to see the way other people think. It wasn’t a situation where everyone does their work and nobody really knows what others are doing. You always got to see what everyone else’s thoughts were.
Going through that, I honestly think it broadened my perspective on things.
How to choose between countries, universities, and programmes
Studyportals:Did you manage to actually visit Bath during or after your studies? It is a very beautiful place.
Valerie Berger: It is. I did. I actually went to Bath three times. I went for my graduation in January, which was the only time I officially went there for university. It’s not a requirement, but it’s nice if you can go. It’s something I wanted to do for myself. I worked so hard for it, so I felt like I had to.
I also went twice before that because I met friends I made during the Master’s. One was in my cohort, the other one actually wasn’t.
One of them became a very good friend. I see her at least once a year, if not more often, and I spent time with her in Bath and visited the university, but without telling anyone from my teaching staff.
Studyportals: When you went there for your graduation, how was it to see the professors and your colleagues in person?
Valerie Berger: It was lovely, but it was so weird. I got to see the actual person behind the screen for the first time. I didn’t actually see any of my colleagues because I didn’t graduate with them due to my study break. When I came back for my dissertation, I didn’t really get to know anyone anymore.
But I did get to see at least two of my teachers, and it was still very nice to connect with other people who had taken that degree.
The one colleague I met before, that was lovely as well, meeting in person and just feeling like we went through that together. That was absolutely lovely.
Studyportals:Can you give some advice on how a student about to start their international journey online should choose between a country, a university, or a programme?
Valerie Berger: Yes, I think first of all it is a financial question. You need to look at the finances. For instance, if you’re an EU citizen, studying within the EU is often at the same cost for everyone. So, for example, Finland can be free, while the UK will cost you a lot. That’s unfortunately the reality.
So look at the finances. I went to the UK for my second degree when I could afford it. I couldn’t do it the first time.
If you are moving to the place, look at how easy it is to integrate. What kind of student unions are there? Especially if you’re moving away from home and don’t know anyone, which is usually the case when you go abroad, it’s important to check whether there are good systems to help people connect. Making friends and building connections is very important.
Studying is much easier when you fit the system, and much harder when you don’t. So choosing something that aligns with your style will make your experience much more enjoyable.
Look at the city as well, not just the country. There is a big difference between places like Bath and London and it really depends on what suits you.
When it comes to universities, once you’ve narrowed it down to a few options, look at the system. How do they teach? How do they grade? If you can find that out, it helps a lot. I don’t mean specific percentages, but what kind of grading approach they value. That differs from country to country.
Try to find a system that matches your way of working. Studying is much easier when you fit the system, and much harder when you don’t. So choosing something that aligns with your style will make your experience much more enjoyable.
I also look at the university’s website and the general vibe it gives. It’s more intuitive, more of a gut feeling, but it has worked well for me.
For example, I don’t like things that feel too rigid or overly polished, but also not chaotic. I check how the website feels, whether links work properly, and whether everything is organised. If many links are broken, I assume the administration might not work very well, and that could make studying there more difficult. Especially, as a distance student.
So I click around, look at pictures, explore different pages, and try to get a general feeling for the place.
First impressions matter. And yes, this is something that, as you said, is not the standard way of making decisions, but it’s 100% valid and very relevant.
