How did you end up here?

[eriehiker]

My wife and I had twins. I was sitting in the recliner with one girl on my left arm and another girl on my right. San Jose State University was piloting for-credit online courses with Udemy and I decided that since I was staying up all night anyway, that I would take a SJSU programming course. I ended up working extremely hard and finished half the class before I realized I was getting no sleep. So I quit the class, but learned later that very few actually completed these courses and the program went defunct. This was 2013.

I really kind of struggled internally with being a dad. I am a great dad. My kids are great. My wife is great. However, I am a very curious guy and have traveled a lot. I felt that being stuck at home all the time was completely stifling and depressing. So, by about 2015, the girls were old enough that things were just tough rather than impossible. I started to work on these classes because they were a challenge, created a pathway for a potential alternative career and gave me something ambitious to do while stuck at home.

When Trump was elected president, I decided that instead of becoming angry and following everything bad that was going on, I would just focus on these classes. That is when I picked up the multiple bachelor's and associate's degrees from TESU.

Covid kind of extended everything because lockdown happened when my family would have hit its stride in terms of traveling. I just did a bunch more classes.

My wife and I will retire from teaching at the end of this year. I am using the degrees I earned here to find a new job in Wisconsin. We are moving everyone back to my wife's area. With two pensions, we should be able to live with one job and the family pressures might be less. We'll see.

[LibertyJane]

I'm the third kid of eight, two older brothers and then five sisters with another boy thrown in. So naturally we aren't big on money, unless we get it ourselves. My oldest brother did CLEP and had his bachelor's degree before he turned 19. I'm only 14 and have already completed two CLEP exams and am working on two more. I have a special CLEP planner that had me come here for one of my assignments. That's basically it.
God bless,
Anabelle

[tallpilot]

I dropped out of a B&M college in my 20s. Now I'm in my 40s. I thought I was going to lose my job as an airline pilot because of COVID. Fortunately that didn't happen but it lit a fire under me to finally finish my degree. I enrolled in TESU because they had a special deal with the pilot's union that made it way cheaper than other options. Some Googling led me here and I am glad it did. This forum helped me get a double major (IT) instead of just an aviation degree and I was able to do it very fast and cheap using SDC and Sophia.

These forums are fantastic and alternative credit is amazing.

[Vle045]

I think I was searching for information about Sophia courses and their connection to Capella. Believe it or not, I found out about Sophia and Capella because it was being offered as a benefit to Avon Reps. I “sell” Avon, but really only to myself and my mom. LOL. As I was looking, COVID hit, my job was reduced, I was feeling pretty unaccomplished with a Bachelors in Sociology, so I started thinking about an MBA. Then realized I am nowhere near ready for an MBA - too much paper writing. Of course, then I found a full time work from home job… and still keeping my original job on a very part time basis. So… now I am still in the same spot for my education. Still considering it down the line, but now I am not sure. Life is sooo busy.

[freeloader]

I went to college the conventional way, earning a BA in history, got an MA in history, and spent 8 years working on a PhD. During my doctoral studies, my advisor died. I liked the person who “inherited” me, but I didn’t have the time or energy to do the additional research and make the revisions he wanted for my dissertation. I also had become totally disillusioned with becoming a history professor after seeing friends with PhDs, many of them much smarter, better teachers, and better researchers than myself being underemployed for years. I worked in museums, libraries, and historic sites for years and dealt with terrible pay and very poor job prospects. I made the decision to leave that world and try to find something that I would enjoy more and that would, frankly, pay a decent wage.

After doing a bunch of different jobs, I ended up in a position where I joined the union and started taking classes through EGCC with the UnionPlus free college benefit. I also prepared taxes with the VITA program and for H&R Block and fell in love with tax. I was lucky enough to get hired a few years ago with a great organization doing accounting work, but needed an accounting degree to move into the job that I really wanted and to improve my long term job prospects. I took some classes through University of the Cumberlands and a local state university, but it was too slow and too difficult with my job and family commitments. This board clued me in to UMPI and the rest is history. Just a few days ago my degree (BA in Accounting and BA in Business Administration/M&L Concentration) was awarded. Can’t wait for the piece of paper to arrive!

[thecontrarian]

I went to college the conventional way, earning a BA in history, got an MA in history, and spent 8 years working on a PhD. During my doctoral studies, my advisor died. I liked the person who “inherited” me, but I didn’t have the time or energy to do the additional research and make the revisions he wanted for my dissertation.  I also had become totally disillusioned with becoming a history professor after seeing friends with PhDs, many of them much smarter, better teachers, and better researchers than myself being underemployed for years.  I worked in museums, libraries, and historic sites for years and dealt with terrible pay and very poor job prospects.  I made the decision to leave that world and try to find something that I would enjoy more and that would, frankly, pay a decent wage.

After doing a bunch of different jobs, I ended up in a position where I joined the union and started taking classes through EGCC with the UnionPlus free college benefit. I also prepared taxes with the VITA program and for H&R Block and fell in love with tax.  I was lucky enough to get hired a few years ago with a great organization doing accounting work, but needed an accounting degree to move into the job that I really wanted and to improve my long term job prospects. I took some classes through University of the Cumberlands and a local state university, but it was too slow and too difficult with my job and family commitments. This board clued me in to UMPI and the rest is history. Just a few days ago my degree (BA in Accounting and BA in Business Administration/M&L Concentration) was awarded. Can’t wait for the piece of paper to arrive!

What a story! u get anything for that 8 year spent on the PhD?

I'm doing accounting at TESU to become a CPA. Is that what you are after?

[freeloader]

What a story! u get anything for that 8 year spent on the PhD?

I'm doing accounting at TESU to become a CPA. Is that what you are after?

Haha, not really. I could have gotten an MA after having my dissertation proposal accepted, but I didn’t since I already had one. Who needs 2 MAs in history?  Honestly, I have been told that I was overqualified for jobs because of that is on my resume. 

I probably will end up getting my CPA. It isn’t necessary for my current employer, but it is my backup plan if I end up leaving my current organization. I also would like to do some adjunct teaching and many schools ask for the CPA and accounting experience.

[ArielB74]

I never finished my degree (started in the early 90's). I did try going back to B&M schools a couple of times but couldn't find the motivation to finish while working. Fast forward to now, I have a VP-level position in tech with no degree... however, I have all of these credits from going to college before, and now that online education is so much more prevalent, I figured I should just go ahead and finish for the fun of it. Originally, I came here because I was exploring the "Big 3" route, but I ended up deciding to go to Arizona State (online) instead. I started Jan of 2021 and have one more semester to go to finish my BA in History.

I'm on such a roll that I figure I'll go to get a MS next (looking at the MS - Leadership program at Johns Hopkins) and then on to a PhD (looking at the PhD - Leadership from Gonzaga).

Doing this in my late 40's with a big job has been tough but very rewarding.