What Degree Should I Pursue?
For a long time, I didn't know what I wanted to be when I 'grew up' in a manner of speaking. One of the many reasons why I joined the Marines was because I did not yet know what career I wanted to pursue or how to get there. I had some college credits through the local community college by taking advanced classes in high school when I first joined the Marines, and I had my military training, much of which was recommended for college credit by the American Council on Education (ACE). I began going to Central Texas College and started on a 'general studies' associates degree. I was within three classes of graduating when I decided I didn't really need an associates degree at the moment and transferred to Liberty University, which accepted all of my other previous credits, including my military training. Liberty is a full-fledged University accredited to award associates, bachelors, masters and doctoral-level degrees. I began to pursue my baccalaureate when I knew I was interested in psychology and helping people surmount obstacles to reach success in life. This decision was spurred by my becoming a Career Retention Specialist in the United States Marine Corps where I started helping Marines build a vision for their future and helping them accomplish goals. An interesting anecdote, at this point is that I wrote the Wikipedia page for Marine Corps Career Retention Specialist.
When you first start college and don't know what degree you want to end up getting, I suggest pursuing a degree in general studies or a related field so you make sure you get all the basic required classes completed that are relevant to most degrees. In almost every instance at a regionally accredited institution, you will be able to change your major. Most degree plans require a substantial amount of electives, which gives a student a chance to take classes they are interested in and see if they want to make a career out of one of the subjects of those classes. Another strategy to implement when trying to decide on a major is job shadow someone in the profession you are interested in. Many organizations, especially nonprofits, will jump at the opportunity to have another volunteer intern (This is also a good strategy for getting a job).
You do not usually need an associates degree in order to pursue your bachelors degree, however, you usually need a bachelors degree in order to pursue a masters-level degree and usually need a masters degree to go for a doctoral degree. There are many exceptions to these rules, though. The average time commitments for degrees with the student attending full time are as follows: associates, two years; bachelors, four years, masters, two to three years and doctoral-level, two to three more years. Exceptions to this, though, are always the rule and you will generally find that every school has different requirements. Keep in mind that masters and doctoral-level degrees tend to be more specialized and a bachelors degree most often has you complete a more varied education. ***Handy Note*** A bachelor's degree is often called a baccalaureate, pronounced 'backa-lore-et'. See Merriam-Webster's definition if you don't believe me :-)
If you are one of the few who know what they want to do right after high school, congratulations; you are on a set course and will hopefully be pursuing your life's work shortly after graduation. In my own personal experience, females more often than males know what degree and occupation they want to pursue right away. Do yourself a favor: don't pursue a degree just because of the money you will make if you complete it. Pick an area that you are interested in and a degree that you can foreseeably make a good income at, as well. It wouldn't make much sense to become an architect if you hated drafting in high school or pursue a medical degree if you're squeamish around bodily fluids. Follow your dreams and develop a good plan to get there.
Online, On Campus, Blended?
Keep in mind that I am biased in favor of online education or blended formats because that is where the majority of my college education comes from. I have attended many on campus classes in such subjects as American Government, Writing 121,122 and 123, Introduction to Probability and Statistics, Introduction to Mass Communication, etc. I do enjoy on-campus classes, but I don't have the most time in the world, and I think I learn better in an online format.
With online classes, missing a lecture is irrelevant. You have all the material you need when you order your course material and the instructor or school adds the content of the course. I also don't like spending gas money to get to and from campus and having that block time commitment. I can do my online classes at 10:30 PM at my desk in my underwear. In addition to this, I am a working adult with a family so to have the extra time commitment of on-campus classes is not very realistic during this current stage of life.
The benefits of an on campus college education are many, however. Some people may view this as a detractor, but at an actual college campus you can have a complex and interesting social life and get to interact with students, staff and faculty from all walks of life. In addition to this, you can play sports at the campus and do scholastic activities. Some people collectively refer to this as 'the college experience.' It's something that, for the most part, I missed out on and replaced it with 'the Marine Corps experience', having to get my college here and there.
My point is, you can get a quality, accredited education in an online, on campus, or blended format. Different occupations require different formats of college courses, so do some research into occupations you are interested in before getting your heart set on a particular format. You may also want to ask a potential future employer to see if they prefer to hire candidates that graduate from online or brick and mortar institutions. Many times, it does not matter, but to some employers and in some professions, it does matter. An important thing to note is that most colleges do not specify if the degree was earned on campus or online on the actual diploma if they maintain both an online and brick and mortar campus.
Conclusion
I believe you, the reader, now have enough information to successfully pursue a college education. It's never too late to get more education. If you would like additional information, please leave a comment on my blog or shoot me a message. Anytime you notice errors on my blog, please let me know and I will investigate.
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