Online Degree for self-employed person

[butterkniefe]

Hi everyone,

I've been self-employed as a cost consultant for most of my 10+ year career. I'm tired of my work and looking to sell my business and start my career over again but I'm having a ton of trouble even getting entry level interviews. I finished high school and have 1 year of college coursework completed but I feel my self employment and lack of a professional degree make me look less than credible. so I am looking to get a bachelors degree in the realm of business or data. I really just want a degree that will add credibility to my resume.

In my current role I use python, SQL and excel extensively. 

Seeking Degree: Any

Completed College Coursework: (attached)

Location: Illinois, USA

I'd really like some help in identifying the shortest and least expensive path to an online bachelors degree. I don't really care what the area or study is, but I'd like it to be marketable and optimally applicable to my future career. Ideally some of my previous coursework is transferable.

I appreciate everyone's input and would be happy to add any additional information if needed or put the my prior credits in a more accessible format if that helps.

Thanks in advance.

------------ Edit:

Location: Illinois, USA
Age: 31
Degree: Any (areas of interest are business and the data vertical (analytics, science and engineering)

Current Regional Acreddited Credits:

Eastern Arizona College - Total Credits = 41

0514 THC105 INTRO TO THEATRE HUM 3.00 B
1414 ENG101 WRITTEN COMMUN I ENG 3.00 B
1555 HIS101 U. S. HISTORY I SS 3.00 A
1658 HPE101C BEG BODY CONDITION I AAS 1.00 A
1676 HPE101I BEGINNING JOGGING I AAS 1.00 A
1741 HPE104 PHYS COND/ASSESS I AAS 2.00 A
6034 HPE101AA BEGINNING BASEBALL I AAS 1.00 A
6037 HPE101BB BEG STR & FLEX TRN I AAS 1.00 A
6108 CSL109 ORIENT STUDENT SUCCS 1.00 A
9033 ENG110 WRITTEN COMMUN I LAB 1.00 A
1969 PSY101 INTRO TO PSYCHOLOGY SS 3.00 B
1746 HPE165 THRY&PRACT OF BASEBL AAS 2.00 A
1810 MAT154 COLLEGE ALGEBRA MAT 4.00 W
1707 HPE101Y BEGINNING WEIGHTS I AAS 1.00 A
1566 HPE101AB BEG VARS BASEBALL I AAS 1.00 A
1835 BIO100G LB BIOLOGY CONCEPTS 0.00 W
1841 BIO100 BIOLOGY CONCEPTS L/S 4.00 W
1435 HPE102I BEGINNING JOGGING II AAS 1.00 A
1436 HPE102C BG BODY CONDITION II AAS 1.00 A
1659 EDU200 INTRO TO EDUCATION 3.00 B
7148 HPE102BB BEG STR & FLEX TR II AAS 1.00 A
7156 HPE102AA BEGIN BASEBALL II AAS 1.00 A
1451 HPE102AB BEG VARS BASEBALL II AAS 1.00 A
1484 HPE100 PERSONAL HEALTH 3.00 A
1585 ENG102 WRITTEN COMMUN II ENG 3.00 B
1419 HPE105 PHYS COND/ASSESS II AAS 2.00 A
1430 HPE102Y BEGINNING WEIGHTS II AAS 1.00 A

Current ACE, CLEP or NCRSS Credits: 0

Budget: Primary motive is the credential: seeking cheapest/shortest route: No budget allocated but can spend up to $30,000 if necessary
Commitments: kids/spouse and work
Dedicated time to study: Estimated 15-25 hours/week
Timeline: As fast as possible (can adjust study time to optimize), I would like to finish within 2 years.
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: N/a

Relevant Details:
- I prefer competency based education but have no issues with taking tests
- Prefer test/assignment based vs. long form written assessments
- Open to taking outside credits to transfer into an education provider (sophia?)

Please let me know if there are any additional details that may be helpful in understanding my situation and goals.

Thanks again for all of your input.

[bjcheung77]

@butterkniefe, Welcome to the board, a great first intro post! It's best to provide a tad more info as you haven't completed the template or last post addendum here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

With the limited info provided... My recommendation is exactly the same as what I recommended this person, UMPI BABA PM&IS or UMPI BLS with MIS minor, you can add another minor in PM or Management. https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...ice--43533

[butterkniefe]

@butterkniefe, Welcome to the board, a great first intro post! It's best to provide a tad more info as you haven't completed the template or last post addendum here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

With the limited info provided... My recommendation is exactly the same as what I recommended this person, UMPI BABA PM&IS or UMPI BLS with MIS minor, you can add another minor in PM or Management. https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...ice--43533

Hi bjcheung,

thanks for your response and sorry for my lack of formatting in my original post. I've updated my post with your suggested formatting, let me know if that helps or if additional information is needed.

Does any of my added information change your original suggestion (UMPI BABA PM&IS or UMPI BLS with MIS minor)? I apologize for my ignorance I'm just trying to wrap my head around this whole world of optimizing online education and don't know all the providers and options for course transfer.

- Is sophia an advisable option to start with to build transferable credits?
- Generally speaking do coursera specializations offered by universities provide any value towards bachelors degree. I've completed Deeplearning ai/Stanfords machine learning course and Duke Universities Data Engineering coursework. but they are just ceritification courses.

[allvia]

If you want speed then UMPI is a great low cost option. The BLS would likely use more of your existing credits, but with Sophia being quick to work through you might be better off with one of the BABA options (more marketable vs just check the box) the PM is a good choice, but for speed the management and leadership has been reported to be the quickest.  Another option might be TESU for a BSBA-CIS (a bit slower and cost a bit more than UMPI, but still under 10k - UMPI probably about 5k). Since your time line and max budget is a bit longer than most here - if I were you I'd probably do a UMPI BLS (get it done) and then move right on into the MS in Data Science at Eastern for under 15k total for both degrees. This aligns with your professional interests as well and you could complete both in less than your two year target.

[rachel83az]

These are the Coursera certificates that are worth credits and their currently known equivalencies: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Coursera

Unless there is a good reason to choose otherwise, I would strongly recommend the BABA and not the BLS. A BABA is going to look "more respectable" in the business world than a Liberal Studies degree.

- Is sophia an advisable option to start with to build transferable credits?

Yes. Looking at what you have, you have Biology but you will need a physical science. Sophia has Environmental Science, or you can take Intro to Chemistry. You don't need a lab; your Biology already has a lab.

You also need a foreign language. If you're fluent in something aside from Spanish, you can take an ACTFL exam for credits. Otherwise, take Spanish I at Sophia.

There are degree plans for UMPI here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:UMPI You can start matching up what you have with what UMPI wants and filling in the gaps with Sophia.

[butterkniefe]

If you want speed then UMPI is a great low cost option. The BLS would likely use more of your existing credits, but with Sophia being quick to work through you might be better off with one of the BABA options (more marketable vs just check the box) the PM is a good choice, but for speed the management and leadership has been reported to be the quickest.  Another option might be TESU for a BSBA-CIS (a bit slower and cost a bit more than UMPI, but still under 10k - UMPI probably about 5k). Since your time line and max budget is a bit longer than most here - if I were you I'd probably do a UMPI BLS (get it done) and then move right on into the MS in Data Science at Eastern for under 15k total for both degrees. This aligns with your professional interests as well and you could complete both in less than your two year target.

Thanks for your input, it seems like the one constant across all posts is the BABA-PM or Management & Leadership. The low price tag and speed are really appealing with this option.

Thanks for suggesting  BLS + MS in Data Science, in the back of my mind I keep thinking about how to best set my self up for a masters program to help evolve my career and this looks like a really affordable and streamlined way to go after a masters degree in an area of study I'm actually interested in.

---

These are the Coursera certificates that are worth credits and their currently known equivalencies: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Coursera

Unless there is a good reason to choose otherwise, I would strongly recommend the BABA and not the BLS. A BABA is going to look "more respectable" in the business world than a Liberal Studies degree.

- Is sophia an advisable option to start with to build transferable credits?

Yes. Looking at what you have, you have Biology but you will need a physical science. Sophia has Environmental Science, or you can take Intro to Chemistry. You don't need a lab; your Biology already has a lab.

You also need a foreign language. If you're fluent in something aside from Spanish, you can take an ACTFL exam for credits. Otherwise, take Spanish I at Sophia.

There are degree plans for UMPI here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:UMPI You can start matching up what you have with what UMPI wants and filling in the gaps with Sophia.

That's awesome, thanks for all the references. It doesn't look like any of my coursera certs are transferable to UMPI but that's a really good reference for any future courses I may take at coursera.

I think I withdrew from the bio lab, so that is somthing I will probably need to cover off at UMPI/other provider.

I really appreciate all the references provided.

[rachel83az]

Whatever you do, do NOT take UMPI's science! From Sophia, either take Chemistry w/ lab (assuming you finished the Biology credits) OR take Human Biology w/ lab AND Environmental Science.

[dfrecore]

If you are having trouble getting jobs even though you have 10 years of experience, then I think having a "piece of paper" is not going to cut it for you.  You most likely need a specific degree.

So, my question is, when you're looking at jobs, what is the degree(s) they are looking for?  Because this is important for you in particular.  Sometimes, just "any" degree is not enough.

--------------------------------

EDIT: leave off any credits you did not earn.  If you got a W or F, delete those courses.

[butterkniefe]

If you are having trouble getting jobs even though you have 10 years of experience, then I think having a "piece of paper" is not going to cut it for you.  You most likely need a specific degree.

So, my question is, when you're looking at jobs, what is the degree(s) they are looking for?  Because this is important for you in particular.  Sometimes, just "any" degree is not enough.

--------------------------------

EDIT: leave off any credits you did not earn.  If you got a W or F, delete those courses.

I'm filtering all of my searches for jobs with no degree requirement, and filtering on technical skills that I utilize in my day to day role (SQL, Python and excel/sheets) which typically filters down to a data analyst role or something in the data vertical not requiring an extensive engineering background. I have a portfolio of projects relevant to the jobs I'm applying to but I'm not getting any bites.

I've reached out to and had 2 conversations with recruiters to discuss -- in a general sense -- my employ-ability and what I can do to make my self a more appealing candidate and both brought up the concern about limited employment history aside from my own business and a lack of degree.

I'm in an uncomfortable position where I think a more junior candidate without industry experience but more educational experience is more appealing and mid level candidates with 1 or 2 years of easily verifiable experience and no college degree are more appealing to hiring managers and recruiters.

In summary I don't think the piece of paper will solve all my problems immediately but I think it will level the playing field and open up more opportunities down the road.

[bjcheung77]

@butterkniefe, From what you have provided us so far, I think UMPI PM & IS laddering up to the WGU MS Data Analytics would be a good combo. You can always decide on the Masters later, but technically, if you have two years to get things done, why not get a Masters in that time frame.

Depending on what you need/want, focus on three things, Certs, Degree, Experience, I suggest spending a month or two of Sophia.org to get all the required transferable credits into the UMPI PM & IS, optionally - since you have 10+ years experience, take the Coursera/TADA certificates that interest you (even if it doesn't transfer to your degree).

Rachel83AZ provided you the links to Coursera/TADA and the UMPI degree plan list, create a spreadsheet for the PM&IS degree and start plugging in your credits you need/have completed in there, link us to your one/google drive and make the file viewable not editable. We can provide you recommendations on what to take for the remaining courses.

Work on Sophia.org credits first, and if you want the extra Coursera certs/experience, complete the TADA offerings for free, lastly, work on the remaining UMPI courses. I suggest working one provider at a time and not paying for extra subscriptions if you multiple providers.