Saying hello

[Becksabec]

I've been reading posts and wanted to drop in and say hello. I'm hoping to attend one of the Big 3 (not sure which one yet) and I've been researching things. I dropped out of my local state university when I became pregnant with my first child, and now I'm established in my career, I need to finish my bachelors in order to advance/make more money. I would much prefer to finish at the school I started, however they don't have much in terms of night and online classes, and I work Monday-Friday 8-4 so that doesn't go too well with my schedule. I'm currently trying to decide on a major. I work as a Pharmacy Technician, and I want something complementary or even something in a related healthcare field. Healthcare Management and Business have been suggested to me, though I'm unsure if those things would appeal to me enough to complete a degree in them. My husband tells me that the actual degree is more important, not the subject matter. If thats the case, I would probably choose Psychology or English.

[Dr John]

What school did you start with? More and more schools are getting in on the online degree plan. Texas A&M University, a really big name school here in Texas is now on the online game for graduate degrees, I suspect they will offer an undergrad in the coming years.

Your husband is absolutely right, in most cases it does not matter what your undergrad degree is in. I have a sister who's an MD who's undergrad is in History, two others who are Attorneys and neither studied anything having to do with prep for law school, one has an english degree. I say study something you are interested in doing but also gives you an inside track to graduate school if that is where you want to go. In other words, if you want an MBA, you don't have to study business, just make sure you have the pre-req courses for an MBA somewhere in your degree plan.

What are your career goals? that will probably shed some light on things as to what to possibly study, but as your husband said, just having a bachelors degree from a regionally accredited school is what matters most and is half the battle. Just far stay away from the for-profit ones like University of Phoenix.

[Becksabec]

What school did you start with? More and more schools are getting in on the online degree plan. Texas A&M University, a really big name school here in Texas is now on the online game for graduate degrees, I suspect they will offer an undergrad in the coming years.

Your husband is absolutely right, in most cases it does not matter what your undergrad degree is in. I have a sister who's an MD who's undergrad is in History, two others who are Attorneys and neither studied anything having to do with prep for law school, one has an english degree. I say study something you are interested in doing but also gives you an inside track to graduate school if that is where you want to go. In other words, if you want an MBA, you don't have to study business, just make sure you have the pre-req courses for an MBA somewhere in your degree plan.

What are your career goals? that will probably shed some light on things as to what to possibly study, but as your husband said, just having a bachelors degree from a regionally accredited school is what matters most and is half the battle. Just far stay away from the for-profit ones like University of Phoenix.

I went to the University of Missouri - St. Louis. They have a selection of online classes, but not a lot. They advertise that they have several online degrees, but they can't be done 100% online. If I were to do Psychology or English, I could finish my General Education requirements online, but the major classes are all in the middle of the day.

I'm not real sure on my career goals right now. Like I said I work as a Pharmacy Tech and I love the field, but there is not a whole lot of room for advancement unless you go to pharmacy school (which I don't want to do). I do have a lot of interest in the healthcare field, but I don't much care for needles and that kind of thing, so nursing is out. I wouldn't mind going for counseling, however Missouri requires you do your graduate degree in-person so I would have to look into programs for that here.

[clep3705]

In addition to considering the three schools you mentioned, there are two other things to consider. Some community colleges have extensive online offerings and liberal credit by examination policies. You could take 18 hours of online courses and test out of 42 hours for an inexpensive A.A. or A.S. degree. Life could unexpectedly get in the way again. I strongly urge people who want a bachelor's degree to first obtain an associate's degree. That way you have something to show for the first half of your quest for a bachelor's degree.

New Mexico Junior College is a low cost way to obtain an associate's degree even if you live in another state. Some state universities charge in state tuition to all 100% online students regardless of where they live.

[bluebooger]

... I'm currently trying to decide on a major. I work as a Pharmacy Technician, and I want something complementary or even something in a related healthcare field. Healthcare Management and Business have been suggested to me, though I'm unsure if those things would appeal to me enough to complete a degree in them. My husband tells me that the actual degree is more important, not the subject matter. If thats the case, I would probably choose Psychology or English.

...Like I said I work as a Pharmacy Tech and I love the field, but there is not a whole lot of room for advancement unless you go to pharmacy school (which I don't want to do). I do have a lot of interest in the healthcare field, but I don't much care for needles and that kind of thing, so nursing is out. I wouldn't mind going for counseling, ..

what is it you like about being a pharmacy tech ? -- the work environment -- moving around instead of sitting all day -- working with people -- not working with people -- the same ol, same ol daily routine

where do you work ? hospital ? drug store ?
what do you like/dislike about your place of work

why does an english degree appeal to you
why does a psychology degree appeal to you

how do you feel about computers ? excel / word / access

[Dr John]

If you wanted to stay with a Missouri school, you could look into Southeastern Missouri State University. They offer online degrees at the baccalaureate and graduate level. Cost per credit hour isn't too bad either, not sure what their CLEP or DSST credit acceptance is but that can be looked up.

I have to disagree with our esteemed colleague, Clep 3705 in his urging for an AS or AA degree, I think if you are doing the work anyway, it might as well be with the intent of a bachelors degree. I have seen too many people get side tracked or lose out on some credit hours because they pursued the AA, AS or AAS first.

However, an important fact was stated in that many community colleges offer lower cost per credit hour rates which may allow you to complete some of the courses you would rather have face to face at a cheaper rate.

COSC offers a couple of degrees in health management type of positions, these do not require direct patient care, often you would be doing data managing, checking patients in to facilities, ect. The added bonus is that these might also give you some of the courses you would need for a good MBA or Organizational Management masters program.

[Becksabec]

what is it you like about being a pharmacy tech ? -- the work environment -- moving around instead of sitting all day -- working with people -- not working with people -- the same ol, same ol daily routine

where do you work ? hospital ? drug store ?
what do you like/dislike about your place of work

why does an english degree appeal to you
why does a psychology degree appeal to you

how do you feel about computers ? excel / word / access

I work in long-term care. I fill prescriptions, do data entry, do a little with billing but zero contact with patients. I worked in retail pharmacy for a while, but had to end up leaving that area. I was constantly getting sick after being exposed to illness so much. To be honest, I love the science of pharmacy ... knowing what drugs treat certain illnesses, drug action, the math involved. I completed a Certificate in Pharmacy Technology and I love the biology and anatomy I had to take. I would love to do a degree in Biology but it seems difficult to do online. What I dislike? It's pretty repetitive. The problem with my job is that I can see myself getting bored with it in a couple years. I may be more suited to a hospital job where there are more things to do, but the hours will be a lot different. Finding a job with M-F day hours is rare in my field.

English - I love to write, and i find that I'm good at it. My mother was a medical editor and she taught me everything she knew. I also love British Lit.
Psych - Learning about what motivates thought and behavior is fascinating. I took a Psych. class in high school and I was instantly hooked. I do have several classes in Psych. already, so that may make the most sense in terms of completing a degree quicker.

Computers - I'm good with Word, Excel, Powerpoint. I haven't had experience with Access. I know my way around a PC and a Mac. I know a lot about software/hardware, but perhaps not enough to fix major problems. When I was younger, I worked in the computer dept. of Best Buy and that taught me a lot.

[sanantone]

COSC does offer a health studies concentration that will probably give you credit for your pharmacy tech license, but I'm not sure what you could do with a health studies degree. It's not even close to being a healthcare administration/management program. They do offer health care administration and health information management, but these aren't test friendly degrees, and COSC's non-resident tuition rate isn't the best. Excelsior gives credits for the pharmacy tech credential that can either be applied to the health science or health care management program. If you're into paper pushing and administration/management, then you might want to consider a healthcare management/administration program. The problem with these two programs at Excelsior is that there are a lot of courses you can't test out of, and Excelsior's tuition is expensive. WGU is a lot more affordable and self-paced. They offer a bachelor's degree in health informatics that includes IT certifications in the cost of tuition.

Missouri does allow for programs completed by distance if they are either CACREP or CORE accredited.
http://pr.mo.gov/boards/counselors/lpcsl...ebsite.pdf

If you go the route of becoming a licensed professional counselor, then I recommend TESC's BA in Psychology or Social Science.
Sanantone's BA in Social Science - Degree Forum Wiki
Sanantone's BA in Psychology - Degree Forum Wiki
Sanantone's General Education Options - Degree Forum Wiki

If and when you do continue to a masters program, CACREP makes it easy to search for online programs.
Directory - CACREP

It's a lot easier to become a substance abuse counselor in Missouri and just about every other state. Also, IC&RC credentials are transferable across many states.
http://www.msapcb.com/careerladder.pdf

I don't see anything on Missouri's website that says a social work degree can't be completed online. CSWE accreditation is required, and CSWE gives a list of available online programs.
Committee for Social Workers
Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) - Distance Education

[sanantone]

I work in long-term care. I fill prescriptions, do data entry, do a little with billing but zero contact with patients. I worked in retail pharmacy for a while, but had to end up leaving that area. I was constantly getting sick after being exposed to illness so much. To be honest, I love the science of pharmacy ... knowing what drugs treat certain illnesses, drug action, the math involved. I completed a Certificate in Pharmacy Technology and I love the biology and anatomy I had to take. I would love to do a degree in Biology but it seems difficult to do online. What I dislike? It's pretty repetitive. The problem with my job is that I can see myself getting bored with it in a couple years. I may be more suited to a hospital job where there are more things to do, but the hours will be a lot different. Finding a job with M-F day hours is rare in my field.

English - I love to write, and i find that I'm good at it. My mother was a medical editor and she taught me everything she knew. I also love British Lit.
Psych - Learning about what motivates thought and behavior is fascinating. I took a Psych. class in high school and I was instantly hooked. I do have several classes in Psych. already, so that may make the most sense in terms of completing a degree quicker.

Computers - I'm good with Word, Excel, Powerpoint. I haven't had experience with Access. I know my way around a PC and a Mac. I know a lot about software/hardware, but perhaps not enough to fix major problems. When I was younger, I worked in the computer dept. of Best Buy and that taught me a lot.

TESC's BA in Natural Science and Mathematics is test friendly; but, a bachelors in this, biology, or a similar field will mostly just qualify you for lab work. Biology majors are some of the most underemployed.
Sanantone's BA in Natural Sciences and Mathematics - Degree Forum Wiki

[clep3705]

Dr. John, I think we are actually in agreement after all. I want people to get a bachelor's degree. Ignoring cost, the bachelor's degree candidate at TESC can obtain an associate's degree from TESC on the path to a bachelor's degree. If an unexpected life event delays the last half of the bachelor's degree, the associate's degree makes the person more marketable than a person with two years of college and no degree. Considering cost, the associate's degree from a community college may be the lowest cost option for the first half of a bachelor's degree. I would never advocate an associate's degree with a loss of hours - that would be a waste of time and money. Proper planning can ensure there is no loss of hours.

For those getting degrees from Texas public institutions, another option is to become Texas Academic Core Complete (about 42 hours) at a community college and transferring to a Texas university immediately after that. By state law, there will be absolutely no loss of transferred hours. Other states have similar rules and regulations on core curriculum transferability. Proper planning is the key.

Get the bachelor's degree, but if you can pick up an associate's degree along the way for no more incremental cost than the cost of a graduation fee ($10 at my community college), why not? It might improve your chances of getting a job while finishing the last half of the bachelor's degree. Recruiters have told me this is a good strategy.