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Higher Education Choices/Problems
arcath
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I am trying to go back and finish my degree so that I can take advantage of my GI Bill before I lose it.
I am trying to decide what to do and what my options currently are.
A little history:
I am 3 years into a CS degree that I started at a two year community college(1998) and transfered to a major uni(2000) before I ran out of cash. Not wanting to go into student loan debt I joined the military and earned my GI Bill along with tons of CCAF credits not related to CS that are probably useless(2001-2005).
I then made the horrible mistake of ITT Tech(2006) in which I switched to information systems security and went into student loan debt on top of using some of my GI Bill. Yeah, dumb mistake I know and I got out quick with only a small amount of debt compared to some of the for profit horror stories I have read about.
My problem(s):
My main problem is that I work a civil service job where my schedule rotates every 6-8 weeks. I rotate from days to evenings to graveyards to evenings/graveyards and finally back to days again. I can't really just quit this job as I am a single parent with a mortgage nor can I just go and sit down at the local four year and take classes.
Just thinking off the top of my head, my old CS requirement was Calc 1-4 and I finished 1-3. There is like no way I would be able to jump into Calc 4 with being out of school for so long. It's just general junk like that which is making me want to switch from CS to something more in line with general IT. Let alone starting fresh out of the gate with a CS degree at 32-33 or whenever I graduate.
I am really bummed as those online schools seem to be my only option at this point and they have left a real bad taste in my mouth already. After looking at my local uni unless I want to do Nursing, Psychology, or Border Patrol, my choices are not looking all that great.
I just have no clue what to do right now and any advice/options you can offer would be awesome.
I am trying to decide what to do and what my options currently are.
A little history:
I am 3 years into a CS degree that I started at a two year community college(1998) and transfered to a major uni(2000) before I ran out of cash. Not wanting to go into student loan debt I joined the military and earned my GI Bill along with tons of CCAF credits not related to CS that are probably useless(2001-2005).
I then made the horrible mistake of ITT Tech(2006) in which I switched to information systems security and went into student loan debt on top of using some of my GI Bill. Yeah, dumb mistake I know and I got out quick with only a small amount of debt compared to some of the for profit horror stories I have read about.
My problem(s):
My main problem is that I work a civil service job where my schedule rotates every 6-8 weeks. I rotate from days to evenings to graveyards to evenings/graveyards and finally back to days again. I can't really just quit this job as I am a single parent with a mortgage nor can I just go and sit down at the local four year and take classes.
Just thinking off the top of my head, my old CS requirement was Calc 1-4 and I finished 1-3. There is like no way I would be able to jump into Calc 4 with being out of school for so long. It's just general junk like that which is making me want to switch from CS to something more in line with general IT. Let alone starting fresh out of the gate with a CS degree at 32-33 or whenever I graduate.
I am really bummed as those online schools seem to be my only option at this point and they have left a real bad taste in my mouth already. After looking at my local uni unless I want to do Nursing, Psychology, or Border Patrol, my choices are not looking all that great.
I just have no clue what to do right now and any advice/options you can offer would be awesome.
arcath on
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How many years do you have towards retirement benefits between your military and civil service? Are you anywhere close to 20 years?
Is the mom out of the picture? Can she help with taking care of the child while you're in class?
Unfortunately the mom is a out of the picture.
Looking back I probably should have rented a place instead of buying because I am pretty much stuck here now with a mortgage and a job I cant really afford to leave now because of it. Let alone the joys that single parenting adds to the mix.
Anything I can think of to make this work seems to be too extreme considering the fact that I need to do it AND provide for my son at the same time.
EDIT: Is there any kind of online school that isn't for profit that offers a online only program for anything computer related?
No.
Everyone has to agree to a change or it doesn't happen. Two people here like to rotate, two people don't really care, and then there is me who really needs a set schedule.
One place to look for more help (and which I don't really know much about) is veteran's organizations. They might be able to offer programs or opportunities to you which simply aren't available to the general public.That all applies if you're really planning on staying in place.
If you really want to switch to the IT field, it's going to mean taking some risks. It might mean reducing your quality of life for a year or two. Many colleges offer special opportunities for veterans (financial aid, work-study, etc.) which you should look into. You almost certainly will not be able to attend school with your current job. If you can't find another full time job, that might mean the only way to swing finishing your education is selling the house, even if it's at a loss. I would take a good hard look at the future economic benefits of a career change before you do that.
I don't know all of the details, but our calculus curriculum had only three courses, and each one of these was different enough from the previous one that you could forget most of what you had learned and still do OK in the next class. Also, the third one was generally considered the easiest of the three. While I'm not a big fan of how it keeps you from really building your knowledge, it might work in your favor. Have you checked to see what would really be required for you to pass Calc 4?
If you really think you couldn't do it, have you considered either picking up the calc book and trying to re-teach certain parts of it to yourself to prepare for taking the last course? In my experience, returning students often blow the doors off kids that are only 1-2 years out of high school because they have learned to responsibly balance many more obligations.
How old is your son? If he's school age, maybe you could study and do homework together. It would be a bonding time as well as helping you work toward a degree. I'm just trying to think of ways that you can make the best of your situation.
Calc 1
Calc 2
Multivariate
Differential equations
Now, I'm not particularly familar with the requirements for CS degrees, so I'm not 100% sure that's what you need.
I do think handling your son will be easier than handling your job. This may only be because I have no children.
But seems WAY cheaper than ITT though but probably equally worthless?