College Degree/Career advice questions

[thtadthtshldntbe]

This forum seems to have a large member base in a variety of different fields, despite its techcentric nature.

I usually come over here to lurk in the tech forums or ask a bit of advice or gain some amusement out of the political subforum.

However I thought that I would through this out there and see if anyone has gone further down the path that I am choosing, ie im looking for multiple sounding boards, as it were.

I am 38 years old. My first attempt at college at 18 failed largely due to ultimately spending 10 years or so being mentally ill, until I finally found treatment. I did complete almost 2 years towards computer engineering back then.

Then when I got things together in my early 30s thanks to psychiatric treatment and getting friends and family outside of my immediate dysfuncational family, though my mom deserves a lot of thanks and credit for supporting my when I was more or less a delusional zombie in my 20s, I naturally took a second shot at college and was interested in EET for a two year degree and shifting to pure EE as my 4 year degree with possibly some sort of engineering management as a masters.

I was doing great until I broke my leg, which led to about 5 or 6 years of a downward health spiral until I finally had another barriatric procedure 5 months ago (first one, done as a result of weight gain due to broken leg.. my body just reacted badly to, so I had the band taken out and had a new procedure sleeve gastrectomy done and its working great, this past 4 months have been the healthiest for any period of time that I have been for almost 6 years, and I have lost probably half of the weight I gained since I broke my leg).

So now I am 38 and probably have one decent chance at a college degree and therefore a better job than I have now. I am probably going online, my corportation has a 10 to 25% discount per credit with Drexel online, and I will get at least 1 good year of financial aid due to losing over 10k of income last year (dropped from 28kish to 18kish due to missing at least half a year of work due to illness).

While I still find technology interesting and in my dreams I would like to be involved, I have to be realistic and think about practicalities. So. I have thought about getting a degree in psychology, which would be enough to advance higher if I were to stick in management (I am an administrative assistant at this point and have blatently been told by upper administrators that if I had any degree at all behind my name, my talents and skillset and work ethic would allow them to move me up the chain) or potentially with a bs in psychology, I could move over to being say an intake work in our psych ER, if I were to stay there, while I pursue a masters in something, etc and hopefully all this would be sorted out by the time I was late 40s, and then if I live long enough I could have 15 to 20 decently productive better salaried years.

I could also move into social work (though that is not much higher paying now).

Frankly so long as I have a degree behind my name, I am certain that if I stuck with this manangement situation I can advance to a higher salary.

I am just looking to see if anyone has had a similar situation and trying to get some general advice. Any input appreciated.

 

[classy]

When you are older, I was 35 when I switched careers, choose what you are good at first, with what you like doing second. The rest should fall into place. At 40 you shouldn't be experimenting with different job fields. Hope that helps.

 

[shortylickens]

When you are older, I was 35 when I switched careers, choose what you are good at first, with what you like doing second. The rest should fall into place. At 40 you shouldn't be experimenting with different job fields. Hope that helps.

Thats me.
32.
Started with electronics cuz I was good at it.
Going for my MBA now cuz thats where I think I'll make money.

 

[gophins72]

if you have little/no debt and no responsibilities like a family to support, then i would say it is not too late to "do what you want" first, then "what you are good at" second.

However, engineering(and management) currently seems to be the fastest route to lots of money returned for money spent (on degree).

Keep in mind, as you get older, health insurance and your overall health will matter more. Until (or if ever) America gets the healthcare system reformed, as you age your best bet will be to get it through a company rather than pay it on your own.

If you have a company willing to pay for your education, you are in the best scenario possible, but the only thing you are sacrificing is your (free) time.

 

[thtadthtshldntbe]

thanks for your thoughts so far.

well what im getting at is this. The BS in psychology seems like a decent completely online degree that I can get, even given the delays due to lack of money and having to work full time.

Im just looking to not make a mistake with this I suppose it kind of feels like a last chance.

 

[Skillet49]

If getting any bachelor's degree will help you move up in management, I would recommend going business since it would relate to what you're doing.

As far as getting a b.s. in psychology (or any social science for that matter), I would not recommend it unless you plan on pursuing a master's degree. I have a B.S. in Psychology and an M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy. I can tell you that I see job openings for bachelor level's in social work, psychology, etc but the pay is crap (not that having a master's is much better). Even then, it is very difficult to get those positions.

Another thing to think about if you go psychology is that where you go for bachelor's probably doesn't matter, but if you were to pursue a master where you need to become licensed eventually, where you go to school does matter. What I have heard from people that don't go to accredited schools (by professional organizations) that they are often missing courses that they have to take elsewhere and then have to prove the other courses met the specific requirements, which can be a pain. So I would definitely recommend going to an accredited school that ultimately helps you get your license (usually you can find your state's licensing requirements online and they will say what educational requirements you need).

And if you consider going into social work/psychology, do internships. At least from the counseling perspective, doing counseling versus what I learned in classes felt very different. I can't imagine how difficult it would have been if I hadn't had all the clinical experiences I did before I graduated. And don't expect to get paid at your internships (unless you are very lucky). Agencies can barely afford to pay their employees!

Sorry about the long response. I just wanted to share my experience with you.