Crippling self doubt! (aka starting college at 40!)

[Tedium]

It sounds like you have a plan going already, so I hope what I’m about to suggest doesn’t muddy the waters, so to speak. The BALS is probably your fastest route to any sort of degree, but I know that you were concerned about getting a degree in your field and using the 30 FEMA credits you already have.

Have you thought about going to FCC for the AAS or certificate in Emergency Management while you were completing all your credits for the TESU degree? The FCC programs are designed around the FEMA IS courses. You take a set group of FEMA IS courses, then you take a Module from FCC that ties together the FEMA courses. The difference between the AAS and the certificate are a few Gen Ed courses (which you are taking now) and an Emergency Management internship. Being that you’re a Maryland resident and already working in the field, the internship should be simple to set up, and not require you to miss any work, since you should be able to use your current employer.

I still haven’t given up the idea of getting the Certificate myself. Only reason I wouldn’t try for the AAS is that it would be hard for me to get an internship since I work full-time. I know FCC is respected in the field and it would give you a good use for all those FEMA credits you have sitting, especially since you were thinking about transferring them through FCC anyway.

Even though the degree or certificate wouldn’t be necessary for you, I don’t think it would be too far out of your way at all with your current plan and would be a nice way to proceed in your field academically while you’re knocking out all these unrelated credits. Just a thought. Take a look and see if it works for you. Either way, good luck and I’m really enjoying following all your progress!

https://www.frederick.edu/programs/publi...nline.aspx

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I was wrong about the internship. Can’t use curent or past employers. But, the certificate is still an option. Like I said, you’d be using FCC to transfer them anyway, so it’s not too far out of the way for you. Just cost you a little extra money, but it would look good for grad programs, etc. combined with the BALS and your work experience.