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Bachelors Degree Decision
jungleroomx
It's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovelsRegistered User regular
It's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovelsRegistered User regular
I'm currently serving in the US Army, and my time with them is getting short. I have (Unless I'm medically discharged/retired, which will probably happen) until September of next year in the military, and then it's off to what will probably be full time school and full time work with a family of 3 kids and my wife. So my retraining period is going to be hellish.
Here's the rub: I have absolutely no idea what to do.
I've gone to college once before, for networking security, but found the actual work in the IT field to be completely not my thing. As a result of hating the degree and other poor decisions I ended up just dropping out after one semester with some pretty lackluster grades. My current university is going to put me on a "forgiveness" program which will take away all the bad marks on my transcript (just for that school, mind you) so I can still graduate with honors and be eligible for all those lovely things that a high GPA gets you. So far I'm in my 2nd semester, currently taking college level algebra, american government, and intro to sociology. I aced my first two classes (Public speaking and intro to tech, both required for any degree program in the college).
I went in as a tech major (pretty much by default), switched my major to medical technology this semester, and now I'm pretty unsure I even want to do that. The pay is decent, but the opportunities for advancement are almost non-existent. Due to my current injuries, standing at a lab table for an extended period of time is pretty much out of the question: I can't even stand to do a load of dishes without my back acting up.
I've looked into other degree programs, and the sociology and criminal justice programs look enticing. I'm just not sure of the applications that these degrees would have in the outside world (as well as career sustainability, one of my big foibles with tech-based industry careers and the rate of change/automation of those fields... which is probably just paranoia), or the amount of pay I'd be looking at.
Keep in mind that pay isn't everything, but with three kids comes certain requirements. In the area of 50k a year is what I'm looking at for some basic sustainability.
I'm just completely lost. I understand that this isn't exactly out of the ordinary, and I'm meeting with some career advisers as soon as I go on leave later this month. However, I'm currently surrounded by a bunch of smart people and I've learned to utilize any and every resource possible.
Any help? I'm not looking for someone to tell me what job to get, but maybe how I can approach deciding which career to take?
Here's the rub: I have absolutely no idea what to do.
I've gone to college once before, for networking security, but found the actual work in the IT field to be completely not my thing. As a result of hating the degree and other poor decisions I ended up just dropping out after one semester with some pretty lackluster grades. My current university is going to put me on a "forgiveness" program which will take away all the bad marks on my transcript (just for that school, mind you) so I can still graduate with honors and be eligible for all those lovely things that a high GPA gets you. So far I'm in my 2nd semester, currently taking college level algebra, american government, and intro to sociology. I aced my first two classes (Public speaking and intro to tech, both required for any degree program in the college).
I went in as a tech major (pretty much by default), switched my major to medical technology this semester, and now I'm pretty unsure I even want to do that. The pay is decent, but the opportunities for advancement are almost non-existent. Due to my current injuries, standing at a lab table for an extended period of time is pretty much out of the question: I can't even stand to do a load of dishes without my back acting up.
I've looked into other degree programs, and the sociology and criminal justice programs look enticing. I'm just not sure of the applications that these degrees would have in the outside world (as well as career sustainability, one of my big foibles with tech-based industry careers and the rate of change/automation of those fields... which is probably just paranoia), or the amount of pay I'd be looking at.
Keep in mind that pay isn't everything, but with three kids comes certain requirements. In the area of 50k a year is what I'm looking at for some basic sustainability.
I'm just completely lost. I understand that this isn't exactly out of the ordinary, and I'm meeting with some career advisers as soon as I go on leave later this month. However, I'm currently surrounded by a bunch of smart people and I've learned to utilize any and every resource possible.
Any help? I'm not looking for someone to tell me what job to get, but maybe how I can approach deciding which career to take?
jungleroomx on
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I am just graduating with my Geography degree and I got a job with a $45k starting salary (though there IS competition out there; some of my classmates started out in crappy contract jobs from Google and Expedia. But I think you will have some advantages getting "serious" jobs due to being older than the average college grad.)
I'd recommend using your GI Bill as hard as possible. Pack in as much school/CLEPs as you can right now. CLEP anything you can, it's freebie credits in classes that frequently are kind of time-wasters. Look into a generic business degree, and then consider specializing (accounting/finance/marketing). These are good degrees to have; not amazing, but good. With that you could head into something like law school afterwards if you want to, otherwise, you can get out of school and be making over $40,000 with double that very achievable in a few years.
Use GI Bill though! You probably know this, but it will HOOK YOU UP. It will pay you roughly $1000/month for housing, plus cover tuitiion/fees, and you can still take out loans/qualify for grants if you need extra beyond what you're making at work.
TylerJ on League of Legends (it's free and fun!)
You better have a 10point disability though, it seems like from my experience.
TylerJ on League of Legends (it's free and fun!)
Nah, I was passed over for my FTE position three times because a veteran kept applying and being put in the list above me, despite having weaker qualifications. It wasn't until he got hired to a different position I was able to make it through.
Just being a veteran is a huge amount of points towards your total score with OPM.
5-10 basically afaik.
TylerJ on League of Legends (it's free and fun!)
I'm a 25U, basically all radio/IT/Signal Chain/Troubleshooting.
Also, I will likely be getting out >30% disabled, so I'll have VA Retraining funding as well. School, in its entirety, will be free for me. Thankfully.
Oh, then your road is simple; get some sort of computer science/programming/IT admin degree, apply for work at a local tech company (if you know where you're moving to or staying when you seperate, we might have some places you don't think of off the top of your head) based on your years of experience in tech in the military, go to the nearest college (for free), and then get a sweet government programming job with the Air Force/Army/whoever after you finish the degree!
That's overly simplified, and you don't have to do any of it, but you have a very accomplishable goal!
TylerJ on League of Legends (it's free and fun!)
The arts and humanities make it much harder to get a well paying career in my experience.
If I knew I was going to work in front of computers the rest of my life I'd end up walking off of a building.
Hyperbole, yes, but an IT based career (despite it being something I'm fairly good at) would make me absolutely batshit crazy.
That's probably your best bet at making 50k right after graduation.
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
You also need something like a Masters or PhD to break into that field. It's so new. I went to a Biomedical Engineering conference last year, and the entire Q&A was students and graduates asking how to get a job. The problem? It's so broad. You need to be an expert in mechanics, electronics, and have basically an entire knowledge of biology, which almost no other engineering field even touches. If you really want BME, go for that Masters/PhD after doing ME, EE, or Bio. No one said you couldn't get a job in a biotech company with one of those anyway...
If you want a pretty solid chance to get a good job quickly with just a B.S. then I'd go for a well-established field in engineering. Metallurgy hasn't changed a whole lot in the last 100 years, and companies are chomping at the bit to get to them (in the non-zombie sort of way).
It's hard as fuck, but not impossible.
If you do get through it, and have some semblance of social interaction, you'll probably wind up as a manager making bank after a few years.
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
Electrical engineer jobs are a-plenty here in OK, especially considering this place is turning into a fair hotbed of energy-producing companies.
If you go from an associates in electrical tech to a bachelors in electrical engineering, I want to say the transition may be less... jolting... but it's still going to... shock you... the complexity of what would seem to be above your... current... level of math.
However, it would definitely put you above the purely theoretical EE students who have never picked up a soldering gun or wired an electrical outlet because they're there because it's the thing "really really smart" people do. An EE from OU would give you an incredible amount of... power...
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
Ohm.
Assuming you can get your school to accept your college/military time for some electives and stuff, you're looking at ~2.5 years of school to finish. Again, assuming you've got a ton of tech school, etc time in, the tricky CPA requirements (150 credits to test compared to 120 to graduate) will be taken care of already, so you can sit for your CPA immediately after graduation (well, as soon as YOU want to at least).
A CPA makes ~your desired salary as well.
TylerJ on League of Legends (it's free and fun!)
I've decided to look into electrical engineering most definitely. One unexpected consequence of going back to school (again) is that not only is algebra just clicking like it never has before in my life, I actually... enjoy it. Maybe it's being a bit older and more focused, maybe it's due to a clear head (No more "party days" for this guy, if you get my drift. I don't even drink more than once a month), but whatever it is I've made more progress in 2 weeks of college algebra than I did with an entire semester of intermediate algebra a few years ago.
If trigonometry comes to me the same way algebra is, I've been told that the higher level maths should be no problem (And by no problem, I still mean studying hard and doing extra problems on my own)
Listen to that guy. America is overrun with kids who have arts and humanities degrees and no jobs.
Do you have an active TS or SCI level security clearance? Because if you can maintain it and get a degree you can score all kinds of great jobs working for defense contractors.