Degree Completion Advice Pierpont/TESU

[shadowgem]

The way I see it, always - always- always bring the goalpost closer.  
Once you dig in, you see all these opportunities, but instead of doing it all - focus on bringing the goalpost closer.
If you have extra time and money, a master's degree is preferable over a handful of associate degrees, but in any event, bring the goalpost closer.  
Until you are 100% sure of his long-term goals, bring the goalpost closer.  

We absolutely agree! 

There must be some confusion as he has no interest in "a handful of associate degrees" lol I think he already has met the requirements for the ASNSM in CS, but that would be pointless unless he opts to complete the BS Technical Studies degree instead of the BACS. The ASNSM in Biology in addition to either Bachelor's degree however, definitely could be useful in both his short and long term career goals. I think once he figures out just how many additional courses he needs for his Bachelors degree, he can better evaluate whether completing a few extra self paced courses/exams would be worth it to him or not. He just was more curious if this was even an option, in case he decides to complete only the BS Tech Studies, then adding the ASNSM CS he has already completed may be worthwhile in lieu of completing the BACS right now. 

His immediate goal was to identify which courses he would be missing from completing either the BS Tech Studies or the BACS while he waited for TESU to do their evaluation. That way he could better determine whether one would be faster or cheaper than the other to complete, or if it would be possible to just complete both simultaneously and be completely done. He didn't want to waste time while TESU is completing an official evaluation when he could be knocking out any missing courses instead. Once he knows for sure which degree he can knock out sooner, he can get started. That was why we were hoping someone here could help us confirm and identify the faster path. I think it would be the BS Technical Studies but I'm not positive about that at all. He was ready to start on something now, but he definitely doesn't want to waste any more time or money. So I guess the best thing to do is just wait for TESU to finish their evaluation for now.

His short term goal is to be a valid candidate for an opening within his current field, which requires a degree preferably in math/science/technology. Candidates with science and technology majors and backgrounds are ideal to make the cut and get past HR. This is why he originally applied for the BOG AAS but Nancy could not give him any idea as to what concentration that degree would have until the final evaluation was completed. They should have all of his transcripts, but so far it does not appear anything has been evaluated. 

His long term goal is to work in the computer science field (which is entirely different from how he makes his living today), and whether that will be in a research or development capacity is what he is still determining. That will take some time still though as we live in a very rural area (population under 1k) and career opportunities are sparse. He would need to travel 2+ hours just to complete the required internship in his current Software Development program. This is another motivating factor in applying for this new position since it is a forced relocation to an area that has an abundance of jobs in both his current field and where he hopes to be in the future. He views this opportunity as a step towards his future goals.

He was just hoping to "bring the goal post closer" while he waited the month or so for TESU to process his application and transcripts.  Since that isn't possible just yet I guess he's just going to have to spend all that time meanwhile doting on me instead