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Have any younger people found a career with their degree from "The Big3" - ironheadjack - 09-03-2013
Hey all,
My curiosity has gotten the better of me, and I am interested to know how many 18-25 year-olds earned a degree from one of the big 3 and were able to start a career with said degree.
*The reason I ask is because the majority of stories you read on here involve 30+ year-olds, who already have an established career but the degree helped push them up the ladder.
When I say "found a career with their degree", I mean direct correlation between degree received and current occupation. (Not using your degree as a "check here" on job applications).
Has anyone, for example, earned a BA in psychology from TESC, COSC, or EC. And gone on to receive a PhD. and become a psychologist?
~Jack
Have any younger people found a career with their degree from "The Big3" - sanantone - 09-03-2013
I think that's a poor example. It's easy to get into a decent graduate school after graduating from the Big 3. There is not a direct correlation between the Big 3 and becoming a psychologist. The school you get your doctorate from is what will matter. A better example would be someone getting a BA in psychology and going directly into a social service job.
Have any younger people found a career with their degree from "The Big3" - publius2k4 - 09-03-2013
I agree with Sanantone.
In the following link, scroll down until you see an individual named Doctor Sam Hirtle. He graduated from Excelsior College with a degree in General Studies. And now he is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, and is a resident physician of the program noted on the webpage.
Central Washington Family Medicine - Residency Program
On this site, You will note that Doctor Kathryn Boling also graduated from Excelsior College.
Medstar Franklin Square Medical Center
Where your degree takes you has nothing to do with your age. It's all in how you apply yourself, and how you use the programs that are available to you.
Have any younger people found a career with their degree from "The Big3" - Daithi - 09-03-2013
I've actually wondered about this question myself, not becoming a psychologist, but starting a career with a Big 3 degree.
I imagine it would be difficult to quantify because we would need to compare it against students of traditional schools. And, what do we mean by traditional school? There is a big difference between a top tier school and the vast majority of colleges. Keep in mind that there are around 4,000 colleges in the U.S., and there are 50 to 100 or so in the top tier and maybe another 150 or so that aren't top tier but have well known names (I'm thinking flagship state universities and a few others). Once you get beyond these bigger name schools, most of the remaining schools have about as much name recognition as the Big 3 (i.e. very little). It is these schools with which the Big 3 are best compared. I'm only guessing, but I believe that the Big 3 have just as much value as any of these non-top tier schools (or near top tier schools). I'm guessing that the path to a career is very similar for a graduate from one of the Big 3 and a graduate from a school that isn't one of the top tier schools.
Below are the main areas people find employment and the way I think most people begin careers in these fields---
Social/Public Affairs
Since the original poster mentioned a psychology degree, we will start with this area of employment. A psychology degree is usually just a stepping stone to a graduate degree, but it does provide an opportunity to find employment in a variety of positions within the government or in the private sector that deals with social issues. Landing your very first job with a psychology degree (or similar degree), and nothing but a degree, will be hard. The younger you are the harder it will be. However, this is not because the degree is from one of the Big 3. It is just hard landing that first job, and it doesn't matter if you went to the Big 3 or if you went to Podunk College. It will be just as tough either way. Most employers want to see some experience. However, your degree might be just enough to land you that entry level position somewhere. More likely, it will help you land a first job that doesn't even require a degree. The job will probably suck. And, the job will probably be barely related to your field if at all. However, it is the degree that lands you this job, and it is this job along with the degree that lands you your next "real" job. For example, your psychology degree might land you a job working as a clerk at the Department of Motor Vehicles. You work there for 18 months and start an online Masters program. This gives you experience working in the government, and with your educational background, you are now able to apply for a job in the local government working with foster kids, placing them in homes, and making sure they are safe. Then you complete your Masters and are promoted to working as a counselor with these kids. Now your looking at getting your doctorate, and you are well on your way to a career.
Education
To become a teacher your best route is to get a teaching credential. The Big 3 don't offer this, but WGU does, and I'd rank it as a kind of sister school to the Big 3. It is also possible to get into teaching by getting a bachelors degree and then going through a state's alternative teaching certificate program, but it is easier to get your first teaching job if you have an actual teaching certificate. Assuming you get your teaching certificate and find yourself a job, you'll start working on getting your masters, and if you are an alum from one of the Big 3, you'll transition to an online masters far easier than a traditional school alum. There are also programs such as "Teach For America," but they prefer to recruit from the top tier schools, and they have lots of applicants because the TFA can provide a path into top graduate schools or into job opportunities with companies like Google. To teach at the college level, requires graduate school, and plenty of students have used the Big 3 to help them get into graduate school. Over all, I'd say that the Big 3 are just as good as the vast majority of colleges.
Engineering
Most engineering jobs require a specific engineering degree and these aren't offered by the Big 3 (e.g. civil, mechanical, electrical, chemical, and other engineering). However, the Big 3 do provide paths to computer science degrees. Once again, a computer science degree from one of the Big 3 doesn't stack up against a computer science degree from one of the top tier schools, but it is every bit as valuable as a degree from Podunk college. It's just a lot cheaper and quicker to earn. Landing your first computer programming job with just a degree, and nothing but a degree, from the Big 3 won't be easy. However, the same applies if your degree is from Podunk college. A BS in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University could land you a job at Google right out of school, but a BSCS from a non-top tier school will require some extra work. However, there is a shortage of computer programmers, and once you have some experience you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a job. Even better, there is a simple way to get experience in computer programming when you have zero experience --- start your own software company. Start coding and selling your programs on Google Play and the iStore. Your company doesn't have to make any money, but it gives you a portfolio you can point to when trying to land your first "real" job.
Continued below...
Have any younger people found a career with their degree from "The Big3" - Daithi - 09-03-2013
Too many characters in my post, so this is part 2.
Law
When most people think about law as a career they envision becoming an attorney. To become an attorney requires graduate school, and the Big 3 are just as effective at getting into grad school as are the vast majority of colleges (top tier undergrad schools excluded). In one respect, the Big 3 have a decided advantage. Most of us here use the Big 3 because they accept so many CBEs, so we get very good at studying for and taking exams. To get into a good law school, especially if you didn't go to a top tier undergrad school, absolutely requires a high score on the LSAT, so you must be good at taking tests. Students from top tier undergraduate schools have an advantage over everyone else, but most other colleges don't have an advantage over the Big 3. Also, when it comes to law school there are 14 schools known as the T-14 from which prestigious law firms recruit. If you don't get into one of these T-14 schools then the smartest thing you can do is look for the cheapest school you can find. Law school is very expensive and if you can't land one of the prestige jobs then you want to earn your degree as cheaply as possible. Going to one of the Big 3 helps put you into a mindset of looking for educational bargains. Lastly, there are jobs in law that don't require a graduate degree. You could become a paralegal, police officer, probation officer, homeland security (i.e. TSA supervisor), truant officer, etc. Landing one of these jobs as a first job with nothing but a degree could be tough (some tougher than others), but look at the entry on Social/Public Affairs above because the path to a career is similar. Your degree may land you a crappy job working for the TSA, and a year later your TSA job and bachelors in criminal justice is enough to get you into the police academy for your state. A couple years later you've earned an online Masters and are up for Detective, and well on your way to a career.
Business
Business is really no different from the any of the above. In a nutshell, top tier schools (including flagship state universities) will have an advantage over all other colleges. However, there are a lot more businesses, and positions within businesses, than there are graduates from these top tier universities, but these jobs do want to see some experience. You might start out with a job at a small company assisting an office manager by helping them figure out Quicken Books, and dealing irate customers, or trying to get dead beat customers to pay up. Or maybe you start with a job as a "tax expert" at H&R Block, or as a Rental Car clerk, or helping to fill out contracts as a property manager for a large apartment complex. The job sucks, but your degree landed you that first job. You then use that first job, along with your degree, to get your next "real" job. If you went to Podunk college you might get discouraged when you start seeing the jobs that are available to you without any experience. However, if you went to one of the Big 3, you have little, if any, debt; you recognize that you are just starting out and have more realistic expectations (hopefully); you also realize the advantages of an education combined with experience, so you start that online MBA program while you're working that crappy job. Are you going to be recruited by investment banking firms with your degree from one of the Big 3? Are top business consulting firms going to offer you six figure internships? Um, probably not, but neither is the guy from Podunk college who spent five times as much earning their degree and who took three years longer than you did to earn yours. Could you use your degree from one of the Big 3 to get your foot in the door, and to eventually land a job traveling overseas and buying products for a big cocoa company, or with a French multinational, or a U.S. fashion company, or running a bank in your local home town? Absolutely. Could you use your degree from one of the Big 3, along with a great score on the GMAT, to get into a graduate program with a top tier school that could lead to a great job? You bet you can.
Healthcare
Lots of people use the Big 3 to get into the healthcare field. Once again, the scenario is pretty similar to all of the scenarios described above. A degree from one of the Big 3, without any experience at all, is probably not going to land you a $70,000 a year job as a registered nurse. However, it could land you a $35,000 job as a Licensed Practical Nurse or an EMT position. You won't be there long however, because once you have the experience under your belt it will be a lot easier to get that next job. Yet, you probably wouldn't have landed that first job without the degree. By the time you take that first "real" job, you will also be pursuing further education for an even higher paying job (right?). I've mentioned Nursing as a healthcare career, but of course this all applies to many different career paths in the healthcare field and not just nursing (i.e. physician's assistant, dental, psychology, etc). A degree from one of the Big 3, along with a great MCAT score, also gives you just as much a chance of getting into medical school as someone from Podunk college.
Military
The military is generally not thought of as one of the big six career fields, but I mention it here because it is a truly outstanding source of experience when you don't have any. If you have a bachelors degree you can enter the service as an officer (you have to pass Officer Candidate School). A career as an officer in the military is nothing to look down on either, and it pays more than you might think. An O-1 (2nd Lieutenant) starts out making $34,000 a year, an O-3 (Captain) with 5 years service makes $60,000 a year, and an O-5 (Lieutenant Colonel) with 12 years in is making over $80,000. However, this is only part of the story, because that is their base pay. You also get to add Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), which for an O-1 ranges from about $750 to $2,600 a month depending on where they are stationed (e.g. $750 for Idaho Falls and $2,640 for San Francisco). This is another $9,000 to $31,680 a year and it's not taxed, and that is just for a lowly O-1. An O-3 would make $1,098 in Idaho Falls and $3,093 in San Francisco (an extra $13,176 to $37,116). An O-5 would make even more, and once again, this is tax free on top of their base pay. There are also additional allowances as well, such as Submarine Duty Pay, Hazardous Duty, Combat Pay, Sea Pay, aircrew-flight pay, Special Duty Pay, Cost of living Allowances (COLA), and Clothing Allowances. Physicians in the military are paid some huge bonuses. The military is also a phenomenal way to get things like law school and medical school paid for. You want to use that psychology degree? Use it by helping some of our service members. Careers in healthcare, engineering, law, etc., can all be launched in the service. Top tier grad schools also look very favorably on officers, and the military is also given preference for government positions. It all starts with getting that Bachelors from one of the Big 3.
Have any younger people found a career with their degree from "The Big3" - ironheadjack - 09-03-2013
Daithi understood what I was asking. As I said in my OP, I read a lot of people on here who are 30+years old, and use their degree to help them climb the ladder(in their current career) or to make a lateral transfer into a different field.
I used becoming a psychologist as an example because it showed the correlation I was talking about. Getting a degree in (XYZ) and finding a career working in (XYZ).
I was curious to hear stories of younger students who opted for the faster, cheaper alternative that is the Big 3. And found a career from it.
As Daithi said, starting a career(as opposed to finding a job) with a degree from the Big 3.
Have any younger people found a career with their degree from "The Big3" - sanantone - 09-03-2013
Your example does not show a direct correlation because you can't become a psychologist with an undergraduate degree from any school. When you ask about becoming a psychologist, you're really asking about getting into graduate school. A BA in psychology from any school is not going to get you a career in psychology; it will get you into graduate school. There is no direct relation between your undergraduate school and starting a career that requires a doctorate, masters, or juris doctorate. There are plenty of careers that don't require a graduate degree. As I said, a Big 3 degree will get you into graduate school. It has almost no bearing on a career that requires a graduate degree. I'm in my 20s and got a job as a criminal justice instructor, but it has nothing to do with my BA from TESC because the job requires a masters degree. As far as the masters program, anyone from a regionally accredited school with a 3.0 or higher could have gotten in.
Have any younger people found a career with their degree from "The Big3" - cookderosa - 09-03-2013
I think it's a reasonable question, but I think there are a few things getting lumped into one question when they really are in different piles.
In one pile you have hands-on jobs. Having come from a trade occupation, I tend to think of career training as something you "do" as opposed to something you "study." Meaning, you put the chicken in the pan, you don't read about putting chicken in a pan.
So, for trade occupations, you can't really just look at "big 3 --> trade occupations" you have to consider how distance learning can work against everyone seeking a job in a trade occupation. So, in the case of a trade, I think anyone doing strictly online/distance career training might not get the full employment reward than if they'd attended a hands on program or apprenticeship. You'll notice that TESC's trade programs are for "after" you have the skills/credentials. In other words, they are allowing a person already qualified to add a credential. (this falls under the disqualification of your original question)The second pile is the liberal arts majors. These are the non-trade occupations. Now, what career does a degree in philosophy prepare you for? Exactly, it doesn't. I'm not saying you shouldn't get a degree in philosophy, but I think across the board, liberal arts majors are always going to work outside their fields. These degrees give you soft skills, like critical thinking and appreciation of culture, not teaching you how to take blood pressure. In this case, I don't see big 3 graduates to be any more disadvantaged than any other liberal arts graduate. These guys are going to have a hard time unless no matter what.
What other piles are left? Business would be one. I think big name schools are always trump in business. BUT, only 1% of business degree holders attend a big name school, so you're in good company. I think your no more disadvantaged than those who attended a vanilla business program, but significantly more disadvantaged than those who attended a butt-in-seat. The reason is that business is "the" notorious field in which acumen and networking mean life or death. You don't get the full advantage unless you put in some face time. (maybe a hybrid program would be a good compromise)
Another pile is NA vs RA. All of the big 3 are RA schools, which trumps NA schools every time. Sorry, but it does.
Another pile is 2 year vs 4 year school. All 3 of the big 3 offer both, and graduating with an AA from a 4 year school trumps an AA from a 2 year school. Graduating with a BA trumps both. So, again, no disadvantage.
All of this being said, my personal opinion is that a young person doesn't have life experience, and the only way to get it is to do the time. For those without experience, there are always barriers that someone with a few years under their belt might not have. So, building the most into your college experience - on the ground or on the internet- is important! I don't care if you're an online student testing or taking classes or down at the community college. You should be working, volunteering, meeting people, and joining clubs or groups. Getting involved, and stepping up is ALWAYS what puts one guy ahead of the next. I'd put THAT guy with a big 3 degree up against a wet noodle with a brand name any day.
Have any younger people found a career with their degree from "The Big3" - burbuja0512 - 09-03-2013
I also think it's a very good question. I chose a Big 3 option because I already had an established career and the degree was a piece of paper that I needed for advancement, not a starting point.
My DS is 18 and has no idea what he wants to do with his life.. he thinks a career in healthcare, but isn't sure. Rather than waste thousands of dollars at State U, it makes sense for him to work towards a CLEP degree. Once he figures out his plan, the education he obtains can only benefit him. On the plus side, he's spending a few hundred dollars here and there, not thousands.
My DD is 14 and wants to be an engineer. I don't know if she'll change her mind, but right now she's taking advanced courses with a singular focus. I am not going to suggest that she does the CLEP/DSST option if she continues down this path because she may get accepted to a top school - in this case, she'll see a strong ROI on her university expenses.
So.. is a big 3 degree good for a younger learner? It depends on the situation. I don't see why not in almost all cases - after all, if you can get your undergraduate degree young, then spend your real money on a masters and get more bang for your buck. That being said, no single choice is going to be the best in all cases.
Lastly, how many people are out there that have State U (or worse, Private U) degrees with loads of student debt and no serious job prospects that are significantly above minimum wage? At the very least, a Big 3 degree can be paid off quickly and it's unlikely that any significant debt has been incurred. So, perhaps the Big 3 don't land you a perfect position, but do the alternatives? It's all about ROI... what you do with your degree is likely up to you and your ambition, regardless of age, so why spend more?
Have any younger people found a career with their degree from "The Big3" - Ubuntu_user - 09-04-2013
Well, I guess you could say that I'm an example of what you're asking about... I'm within your specified age range, just finished up my first degree from TESC and got a job in my field a few months before I was even finished.
This was what happened for me, this spring I was called up cold turkey by an investing company and was asked if I would allow them to consider me for their financial analyst position. Thinking I had nothing to lose, I said "yes." A few weeks later I had a phone interview and submitted my résumé, and shortly after that they said that they wanted to hire me. They knew before they hired me that I wasn't even quite done with school, and technically the position required me to have my degree done, but they chose to overlook that.
I would say what got me in the door, or what made them come after me, was that I kind of knew a couple of their employees. So I somewhat had internal recommendations.
The most crucial thing in any situation is who you know... not what you know. That's what will land you a job every time, whether you graduated from one school or another. And if you show self-motivation, then you don't even have to necessarily be done with your degree before you land an amazing job (like what happened to me).