Expert: Bruce - 3/31/2007

Question
QUESTION: To my knowledge I have no college credits, I was offered a scholarship at my local community college at the time when I took my GED, but I was 17 and had no way to attend unfortuneately. I have no dependants, just my girlfriend.
Currently I am a auto sales advisor, but it's not something I enjoy, everybody just said it was the highest paying career that doesn't require a college education. But I have worked in retail for 4 years now at different employers. Academically, I was always good at mathenatics and science. I still excel in math, I enjoy it, especially when it involves money. As far as interests...I like the automotive industry, but for some reason I think I would be best in a math related field. There are community colleges in my area, along with a few state recognized colleges. Reading...well...I enjoy it as long as it is interesting, I'm a very good reader. I have an extensive attention span compared to most my age, and I try to make the best of whatever I do. I am just so frustrated with my past employment choices that I intend to do something about it. I want to make my time and effort count.
ANSWER: Justin,

Is your current job something such that you would be able to set your schedule to accomodate a college class schedule?

Is there any particular subject area in which you have enough knowledge that you could test for some college credit?

Sorry to respond with just more questions!

I'll be away for a few days and not sure if I'll be able to reply til after the weekend. If I can, I will.

In the mean time, I suggest you call the counseling center at the local community college and see if you would be able to go in and take a career interest inventory, like the Strong-Campbell, and perhaps with this the long or abbreviated version of the Myers - Briggs. These will suggest to you some general career directions that would be good for you to think about.

I think a good start for you would be to sign up for a couple of classes at the local community college, if your work will allow for it. Also, begin to look for online possibilities. May I ask what your home state is? Most have some public college type online programs available. Here in NY, for example, we have SUNY Online, which offers a lot of different online classes.

Bruce
Bruce

Hope this helps for starters.

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QUESTION: Well I just moved here to GA, and at the moment I work 50+ hour weeks so...I will try to find a counseling instructor who might be able to give me more options.
ANSWER: Justin,

Here's a couple ideas to get you started.

Identify an area that you would enjoy studying on your own and read up on it a lot; then take the CLEP exam for college credit. You can go to the college board Web site and see what subject areas you can pursue by CLEP (CLEP gives you credit for knwledge you've acquired on your own). It is not costly to take the CLEP exam and many colleges will take the credit.

Take some online classes, even just one to start. Check outthe corresoondence program offered via Louisiana State, and search your in state public colleges for their online offerings.

Once you have been able to accumulate 30-40 credits you may find it viable to go to school full time. With a degree and the biz experience you already have, it seems like you would be well positioned careerwise.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I'm considering enrolling in a local technical college. However I have heard that community colleges and technical colleges don't offer as intense education as well known universities do. Is this true? And what certificates are available and what are the differences among them? I truly appreciate your help.
ANSWER: Justin,

That perception was widespread years ago, but is not so prevalent anymore. Increasingly, community & tech colleges are enrolling top notch high school students who are looking for value. You should not have a problem transfering credit from a two year school as long as you schedule carefully.

If you want to eventually transfer to a four year school, you should look for an AA or AS program, and these should be transfer oriented, like humanities or liberal arts. If your eventual goal is a business degree, don't take too many business courses at the 2 year college, as your 4 yr school will want you totake theirs.

Most 2 year schools also offer an AAS (assoc of applied science) degree. This is more terminal in nature and can be difficult to transfer sometimes.

Certificates are typically programs that are less than degrees, more like job training, and can be good for that purpose but not for transfer. An example would be a program in Web design. It might not merit a full feldged course, but could be offered in a 4-6 week time frame.

I hope this helps.

Bruce

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Well Bruce, I think what I'm getting at is this. I want to be able to get into a respected company of my choosing that may require a college education, and I was wondering if a technical college in general would qualify and be recognized. Also, what are the differences among a bachelor's degree, associate's degree, master's degree, etc. I apologize for being so vague, I'm just completely new.

Answer
Justin,

Think of the degrees like this:

Asociates degree  - 60 credits; two years full time
Bachelors degree - 125 credits; 4 years full time
Master's degree - anywhere from 30 - 60 credits beyond the bachelors degree. May be taken full or part time.

An associates degree can be terminally and vocationally oriented, or it can be geared toward transfer to the last two years of a bachelors degree.

The Associates can be a good foot in the door for a company, but if its a terminal associates (AAS degree) it may eventually limit you.

What you might do is work on the associates degree and see if you can find an employer that will help you pay for it. Many companies will do this for employees they like.

I have heard that the best degree for initial employment in business is accounting. It can be especially good if combined with a second concentration in finance or management, allowing you more opportunity to move up and around in a company.

Example for you: Let's say you get a job with Coca-Cola as an accounting clerk while you also take classes. Eventually you earn your degree while also becoming more familiar with the organization. When you get the bachelors degree you have alreaqdy moved up tp accounting asst, and once the Bachelors is done, you become a full-fledged staff accountant. Now you start on your MBA, eventually getting that and moving to an accounting supervisor spot. This sort of thing is possible.  You need to reallize that it will take some time.

It might be possible, too, that in the scenario above your employer would grant you some kind of study leave so you could do school full time for a semester or two and finish up, while they hold a position for you.

The tech school is not necesarily a problem, but make sure it is regionally accredited and that the credits you take their will transfer to a 4 year program. This is pretty important.

Is this helpful?