<p>Hello all,</p>
<p>I hope I am posting in the right forum, this is my first time on this site. This is my same handle as on physicsforums.</p>
<p>A quick background:</p>
<p>I am 23. I was working in banking, making around 85k, and was on track to make 120k next year, and about 500k in 2 years when my boss was handing on giving me her business. Then I got fired this week over a ridiculous code of conduct violation (doing a transfer for a friend...not sure why this is illegal as nobody complained).</p>
<p>So, now I am doing some thinking. I have a 3.13 in economics from temple. I was lucky as hell to be making the money I did with that kind of degree and nothing else really jumping out on my resume.</p>
<p>For years, I have had really bad OCD. I have finally started taking medication for it. Most of my obsessive thoughts revolved around the fact that although I knew business and banking pretty well, I have no real understanding of science or how the world works. I am a smart individual (was always in advance programs, my IQ was like top 3% or something like that) and succeed at whatever I do for the most part when I actually try (which until a year or two ago was almost never). However I always am so curious about everything, and it bothered me that I did not know a lot about the world. I don't know why. I would hate that I would sit around and wonder how cell phones worked, how air conditioners worked, how medicine worked, etc. So much so that it led to depression.</p>
<p>Instead of tackling the problem head on, I just let it bother me. Stupid. I tried to teach myself many difference areas of science, but it failed. When trying to self teach myself it failed because 1) I had no curriculum so I was trying to learn some things and I would realize I didn't know some other things and I would not know where to start 2) It is hard to stay disciplined when you are self studying 3) There is no testing of my knowledge. </p>
<p>I was considering going back to school for physics because that was what I was really interested in, but I know there is not a lot of money to be made there, and money is important to me (although not so important to me that I would become an investment banker).</p>
<p>One area which always intrigued me was genetic engineering. Although the thought of genetically modifying humans makes me very uneasy and makes me wonder what the real point of life is, or how anybody could really be considered beautiful if all beauty will be in the future is "how beautiful can I afford to be", I figured, what the hell, 1) I am athiest so I have no moral objection 2) if people are going to do it anyway, I want to be on the forefront. Also I am very into fitness and this somewhat plays into it, knowing how the body works.</p>
<p>Anyway, if you read so far for some reason, here is my real question. I am in no financial position to go back and get another undergrad degree. I have rent and bills and food to pay for. I wanted to go to night school, but that does not exist for science in NYC (science classes at CUNY end at 4). So my ideal option would be to have 3 possible career paths</p>
<p>1) Get another finance job, and take biology/chem/whatever leads to genetic engineering classes at night for 5-6 years. If in 5-6 years I am satisfied with finance, I abandon genetics, and just appreciate the knowledge I have accumulated along the way.
2) Get another finance job, and take biology/chem/whatever leads to genetic engineering classes at night for 5-6 years. If in 5-6 years I am unsatisfied with finance but don't think genetics is for me, go get my MBA, and then start making a lot of money.
3) Get another finance job, and take biology/chem/whatever leads to genetic engineering classes at night for 5-6 years. If in 5-6 years I don't want anything to do with business, go get a PhD in genetics, and then try to get into personalized medicine.</p>
<p>All three of these paths lead me to knowledge and money, and it leads me open to flexibility.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, as I said I cannot find night classes for science. So i was thinking of getting an online degree at TESC, or OU, or something similiar. My question is....if I do take these online classes, and do very well in them, and also do good on GRE, 1) Will a PhD program even look at me, even if I have a 4.0 and a very high GRE, or will they automatically shoot me down for having an online degree 2) Is it even possible to really learn science online, without a lab?</p>
<p>Man, that was long, but if you can help me out, it will be much appreciated.</p>