Picking a Degree Track at CC

taketheblack

I am a 20 year old guy who floundered for a while after high school, wasn't ready for college, and basically picked my classes at CC by flinging darts around the administration building. I feel ready to do better now, and luckily I have most of my college prepaid hours intact. The only wrinkle at this point is that I am not sure what I want to do, but feel that it is time to buckle down and decide upon an education that will lead me to a possible career.

http://www.palmbeachstate.edu/

The Health industry is huge in south florida, and there is also a burgeoning biotechnology market with major players like Scripps setting up shop. Other big programs are Wildlife management and agricultural. I have also heard decent things about the schools IT program, I don't really know anything about programming but I have always been interested in it and I have a good store of layman computer knowledge.

Mostly right now I am just looking through those programs and seeing where I fit it.

I am not particularly smart or talented. No distinguishing passions where it comes to the trades. I am a decently imaginative writer and a fan of history but I see more value in a stable career path. My mid-term goal is to achieve financial independence.

I also have dreams of moving to a big city one day soon, while I am still young, and possibly traveling and taking my work with me.

The 2 biggest things that stand out to me are the biotech and CS programs. Biotechnology just sounds darn interesting and the courseload seems fairly challenging. The CS stuff is comfortable territory and I can definitely see the advantage in a computer trade when it comes to job security/mobility.

What do you guys think? What questions should I be asking? If you wouldn't mind, maybe you could even poke through the website and see what occurs to you?

Thanks in advance.

Esh

This is something you need to figure out for yourself, not have other people decide.

It took me 15 years after graduating high school to figure out what I wanted to do in college. Don't feel pressured to go back right now. If you're not sure, don't waste the money only to drop out.

taketheblack

My concern is I can't even find an entry level job at this point. To be frank I am sick of mooching off my parents and I want to do something with my life. I figure there is less harm in having a degree in something I don't absolutely love than wasting away for minimum wage another 5 years.

Fagatron

That's just the times. I've got an AAS (better than an AS, not as good as a BS) in Computer Science and several years professional and freelance experience in IT and I'm only just now picking up some contract work from recruiters after a stint of almost two years unemployed.

It's rough, there's lots of wildly overqualified people willing to take entry level jobs. Last interview I had the recruiter who connected me with the client informed me I was beat by someone with 9 years of experience after the fact.

Hopefully I can find something permanent and resume my education soon but right now I'm not going to sweat it, more than half my friends that are in my age bracket are unemployed.

For reference I just turned 23 in May if it helps you feel better.

Teth

Go health industry and IT at the same time. Learn the procedures and laws related to the health care industry, and also the technology (especially emerging digital records, things like Epic/Hyperspace). Find a job in that field as quickly as you can while studying so that you build experience while attaining a degree. You will always be able to find work after all of that. Especially as any myriad of business or system analyst type roles within a health care organization. And since your primary vocation will be IT, you'll always be able to use those skills elsewhere if needs be.

But be quick about.

EDIT: database programming and *nix administration in relation to health care related jobs are valuable in many markets right now. But they're filling up quickly. So take my advice with a grain of salt.

Noxy

Hmm, this is always a tough one. You might want to see if you can job shadow some people or talk to a career advisor of sorts.

I wanted to go into medicine so I chose the degree that interested me, History. It won't matter because I plan on going to med-school. If that does not work out then I can use a History degree to get into grad-school for business or whatever really. I tried a lot of things before I figured out what I wanted to do. Business, psychology, biology were my decided majors but I took classes outside of that range.

If you are interested in healthcare then you should explore the options available to you in that field and find what interests you. After that you would have a better idea of what you could take.

I took a CNA course over the summer and now work on the surgical floor of a hospital and love my job. I could go to school for two years and be a nurse and make pretty decent money with a fairly secure job market. From there I could specialize to increase income. That is just an example. There are tons of options in healthcare and computers.

Kias

Teth wrote: »

. Find a job in that field as quickly as you can while studying so that you build experience while attaining a degree.

This is a pretty sound piece of advice, once you get a general idea of what you are aiming for. A degree in the right field is important, but work experience is equally important, if not more so in some work environments.

As far as picking a career, it is a personal choice that is sort of hard to give feedback on without knowing you. Think in terms of versatility though, as in, "If I get this degree, what else can I do if my primary occupation plans don't work out?"

One thing about being in college as a non-traditional student, which are the sorts of folks I work with every day, don't let yourself feel rushed to the finish line if you are still unsure about what to do. There is this mentality where folks go to college just because they are "supposed to," and waste their time and money going through the motions. Work a few jobs while doing a part time load until you feel more confidence in which direction to go. Also, don't overlook any services and job advising service your CC offers, as most two year schools these days have opened up departments for people in your position. Job fairs are another option, anything that exposes you to ideas and options.

Esh

Kias wrote: »

Teth wrote: »

. Find a job in that field as quickly as you can while studying so that you build experience while attaining a degree.

This is a pretty sound piece of advice, once you get a general idea of what you are aiming for. A degree in the right field is important, but work experience is equally important, if not more so in some work environments.

As far as picking a career, it is a personal choice that is sort of hard to give feedback on without knowing you. Think in terms of versatility though, as in, "If I get this degree, what else can I do if my primary occupation plans don't work out?"

One thing about being in college as a non-traditional student, which are the sorts of folks I work with every day, don't let yourself feel rushed to the finish line if you are still unsure about what to do. There is this mentality where folks go to college just because they are "supposed to," and waste their time and money going through the motions. Work a few jobs while doing a part time load until you feel more confidence in which direction to go. Also, don't overlook any services and job advising service your CC offers, as most two year schools these days have opened up departments for people in your position. Job fairs are another option, anything that exposes you to ideas and options.

Is 20 considered "non-traditional"?

Fagatron

Esh wrote: »

Kias wrote: »

Teth wrote: »

. Find a job in that field as quickly as you can while studying so that you build experience while attaining a degree.

This is a pretty sound piece of advice, once you get a general idea of what you are aiming for. A degree in the right field is important, but work experience is equally important, if not more so in some work environments.

As far as picking a career, it is a personal choice that is sort of hard to give feedback on without knowing you. Think in terms of versatility though, as in, "If I get this degree, what else can I do if my primary occupation plans don't work out?"

One thing about being in college as a non-traditional student, which are the sorts of folks I work with every day, don't let yourself feel rushed to the finish line if you are still unsure about what to do. There is this mentality where folks go to college just because they are "supposed to," and waste their time and money going through the motions. Work a few jobs while doing a part time load until you feel more confidence in which direction to go. Also, don't overlook any services and job advising service your CC offers, as most two year schools these days have opened up departments for people in your position. Job fairs are another option, anything that exposes you to ideas and options.

Is 20 considered "non-traditional"?

If it is I am going to be so non-traditional when I go back to school.

Unknown

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