Going Back, Getting Better: Cassie on Earning Her Master’s Degree Online

For Cassie Mills, returning to school for a master’s degree in project management meant more than earning another credential. It gave her a fresh perspective, new skills she could apply at work, and challenges she hadn’t expected.

CSU Global’s online Master of Project Management program focuses on the skills needed to plan, lead, and manage complex projects. Through coursework in project planning, risk management, operations, organizational change, and performance measurement, students learn to evaluate challenges, make informed decisions, and develop practical solutions.

For Cassie, the experience was also a lesson in what earning a degree online really requires: independence, discipline, problem-solving, and sometimes a determined search for enough airport Wi-Fi to submit an assignment.

In this Q&A, Cassie reflects on what she learned, the misconception that online degrees are easier, the people who helped her succeed, and why she believes the time and effort were worth it.

What does earning your master’s degree from CSU Global mean to you?

Earning my master’s degree from CSU Global means a second chance to revisit and reflect on my undergraduate experience. At 20, I think you never really know what you want to do for the rest of your life. You especially don’t necessarily know what interests you enough to stick with it long enough to translate it into a career later. I don’t know many undergraduate students who have that experience.

Academically, it was really about upskilling myself. Two years isn’t much to ask for concentrated upskilling, and it covered a wide range of skills, from writing and reading to translating information into a solution.

Many of my classes essentially asked: If you were in A, B, and C circumstances, how would you use the tools we’ve taught you to create a solution that makes sense for your team and your project?

We also kept circling back to fundamental skill sets and tools, like integration and change management. So it was about growing myself intellectually and professionally, which honestly translates into other areas of your life. You don’t use one tool for one thing. Ultimately, it was a versatile experience that also had a positive impact in other areas.

CSU Global note: The Master of Project Management curriculum emphasizes practical problem-solving and decision-making. Students learn to develop project plans, manage budgets and schedules, assess risks, monitor performance, and lead teams through organizational change. Coursework also covers operations management, including forecasting, quality management, and resource planning. In the capstone course, students apply these skills to develop a comprehensive implementation plan for a major project.

What do you think people misunderstand about earning a degree online?

The misconception about online degrees is unfortunate because I can see where it comes from. No one wants to go to a wedding and have somebody say, “Did you just pay for your degree online? Did you just get that on the easy track?”

But there are elements of distance learning that I think a lot of people don’t realize and underestimate.

One of those is just technology. There were days when I was chasing the internet to make sure I was connected long enough to upload an assignment. When I was traveling for work, that was sometimes really difficult. I’d be running to the other end of the airport trying to find the right spot where there was enough internet to upload a document.

But I also think people underestimate the time commitment and the concentrated nature of eight-week courses. You have to have pretty significant discipline to sit down, think through the material, drive yourself when you don’t want to, and create an assignment that reflects the work you’ve done and the growth you’ve gone through from week one to week eight.

When you don’t have somebody looking over your shoulder saying, “Gosh, is this due?” it’s on you.

Distance learning can be a big reality check for people who aren’t ready for that setting. It’s a lot of responsibility.

Did you ever feel like you were on your own because you were studying online?

I think one of the hardest things about getting a degree online is something you can experience in a brick-and-mortar setting, too, and that’s missing the personal touch sometimes.

I’ve had professors in brick-and-mortar settings with whom I had almost no dialogue, and I think that can happen online, too.

For me, a really good replacement for that, and a gut check to make sure I was on the right path, was my success counselor. I could set up a meeting with her and say, “Look, this is the experience I’m having. Is this common among students? Is it just me? And if it is just me, what solutions can I use to solve it?”

Can you give an example of how your success counselor helped you?

At one point, I was having a really hard time getting through the material fast enough. It was my operations class.

So I scheduled a meeting with Megan. She was the first person I went to, and I was like, “How do I get through three chapters? That’s 130 pages in five days. How do I do that?”

Through brainstorming and dialogue, she talked me into a solution I ultimately came up with myself.

That was one of the things I loved about her and that experience. She was my first-line phone-a-friend when I just couldn’t make sense of the volume sometimes.

A huge piece of my success is owed to my success counselor. I could call her or email her, set up an appointment, and she would walk me through the things I was struggling with and help me create solutions I could use to succeed.

Without her, I wouldn’t be talking to you today.

What about your professors? Could you reach them when you needed help?

Yes. Through Canvas, I could shoot them a quick note and say, “Hey, what the heck do you mean by this?” And I would get a quick note back that clarified it.

Then I was on my way. I was unstuck.

I loved those pieces. They were very helpful.

What do you tell people who ask you about CSU Global?

I think I’ve said it on LinkedIn before: CSU Global is the right place to be for this program.

If you want to be a project manager, CSU Global is the right place to be and the right place to spend your time getting better and working on those things.

Sometimes people ask me, “Where did you go to school? CSU Global? What does ‘Global’ mean? Is that somehow a cheapening of the overarching CSU reputation?”

And really, no. It’s the online university within the CSU System, and my experience was every bit as valuable as what you would expect from a CSU education.

You’ll be a better professional for it.

What would you tell someone who is trying to decide whether to commit to a master’s degree?

You’re going to spend your time doing something anyway.

It might as well be learning, growing, doing better, and creating a pathway with a credentialed school that gives you the right toolsets to succeed.

You either watch TV, or you go to school.

Was earning the degree worth the investment?

In project management, we talk a lot about a project’s financial aspect. What was the monetary value versus the expenditure? What was your capital expenditure versus the value delivered?

When you’re thinking about graduate school, you’re thinking about the time, the money, and sometimes even the effect on your relationships.

But the value that I received from this program at CSU Global cannot be quantified.

I realized so many things about myself and my ability to succeed where, before, there was so much I wasn’t sure about. This experience with CSU Global really solidified some things that I didn’t know I could be good at.

I don’t know if you can put a price tag on that.

I would say to any student who is wondering the same thing about themselves, “Can I do this?” It’s really not about how much time you’re going to spend, or how much time you’re not going to spend on other things. And it’s not about the money that you’re ultimately going to put forward for this.

It’s about how much you’re going to change.

Oftentimes, we go on these journeys and wonder, “Will I come back?” You’ll come back to the same desk, in the same house, maybe even in the same circumstances, but you’ll come back different.

What I love about this experience is that I’ve returned to my job every day better and different than I was a month ago, or two years ago.

More Than a Credential

For Cassie, earning a master’s degree wasn’t about finding an “easy track.” It required time, discipline, persistence, and a willingness to ask for help when she needed it.

But the payoff was bigger than completing assignments or earning a credential. It was seeing what she was capable of, building skills she could carry back to work immediately, and finishing with greater confidence in what she could do next.

As Cassie put it, you may return to the same desk when the journey is over.

You just won’t be quite the same person sitting there.