<p>Hi all. This is my first post here. I'm not sure if this is the right place to put it, but here goes anyway. First a little background.</p>
<p>I'm 28 and will be married for 7 years this year. We have a year and a half old daughter. My wife works full time during the week and I work full time on the weekends so we don't have to have daycare (my mother-in-law watches our daughter on Mondays as this is the only day we both work). </p>
<p>My wife and I both are planning on going back to school soon. She knows what she wants to get into and already has it all planned out. I, on the other hand, have no idea what to do. There are things that I'm interested in, but nothing that I'm "passionate" about.</p>
<p>What are some versatile degrees out there? I don't want to get into something that I'm going to end up not liking and waste a bunch of time (I've already done that twice). I do physical labor now and make decent money for only having a high school diploma, but I've had a bad back for several years and don't know if I can do the physical stuff forever. Plus, with the exception of annual raises, I'm topped out in my current position. There is always the possibility of promotion to management, but I'm not really the management type.</p>
<p>I'm just sort of rambling now, so back to the original question. What are some of the more versatile degrees that one can go for? I've never been good in math (other than the basics), but I did well in most other areas of school. Thanks for any advice. I'll take about anything right now.</p>
<p>Moderator note:Hello, parent posters. I have moved Dan's thread from the College Confidential Cafe to this forum, as I feel confident there will be many parents with insight, experience and ideas to offer to Dan.</p>
<p>Dan, if there's an area that your are very interested in - history, biology, English, whatever - you can always select one of those and think about teaching. Not knowing you, where you're located, or if you're willing to relocate - stuff like that, really makes it difficult to come up with recommendations. Sorry I couldn't be more help.</p>
<p>Dan, you might be able to tell us a little more about what interests you and where you live. Which might help us identify interesting degree programs in your area.</p>
<p>One thought I would have: if you wish to return to college - which is a great idea in my opinion, and will give you so many options in life - you don't actually have to decide what field you will major in at this point.</p>
<p>Talking to others and asking a lot of questions, as you are doing here, might help you pinpoint your interest. But, even if it doesn't, that first year (or even first two years) at college could be where you explore different fields and THEN choose. I don't know the exact statistics, but common wisdom is that about 50% of college-bound students who think they know what degree and major they want change their mind anyway.</p>
<p>BTW, you do not have to be math-inclined to get a business degree, if that interests you. Likely you would need to take some accounting, some economics and a bit of finance. But those do not necessarily have to be math-intensive (depending on school and course). Beyond those, a business degree can involve lots of courses in marketing, advertising, entrepreneurship, strategic planning, organizational behavior and so on. So don't rule out that particular possibility if business interests you. You did say you don't see yourself in management in your current field, but I'm just pointing out that lack of math interest or talent rules out only a few fields (such as, I would say, Engineering and physics).</p>
<p>I don't feel like I know nearly enough. I gather you've been to college before, but dropped out. What didn't you like? What things do you enjoy doing? Why do you think you wouldn't like management? What are you good at? </p>
<p>There are so many possible professions it's hard to even know where to begin. You need to think of some ways to narrow it down.</p>
<p>Some questions you might start with.</p>
<p>Would I like to be my own boss or work for someone else?
Do I like working with children?
Do I like meeting new people?
Am I good at visualizing things?
Do I like seeing physical results of my labor?
Do I need a regular salary?
Am I detail oriented?
Do I get other people enthusiastic about things?
Am I good at selling things?
Do I like solving puzzles?
What jobs that friends have seem like fun? What seems attractive about them? What other jobs might be similar?</p>
<p>A BS in nursing is an incredibly flexible degree and you can get a good job anywhere. Lots of men are going into it now. When I was a hospital nurse, I did need a good grasp of algebra to calculate dosages and had to get through inorganic chemistry to get into the nursing program. Bedside nursing in hospitals is hard on the back, but there are many, many areas of nursing that require no heavy lifting. It's very satisfying work if you like working with people. My brother's wife is a nurse practitioner and he says she can earn $80-100K in the Minneapolis area. This does require an extra degree. Another great thing about nursing is that if you decide to go on for a graduate degree (as I did in psychology) you can work part time as a nurse to help with expenses while you do it.</p>
<p>Er... I'm not sure if posts 2 and 3 were meant to be serious, but if they are their ideas are seriously flawed.</p>
<p>I'm going to assume that you require a steady salaried job, since you have a family. This doesn't entirely rule out entrepreneurial pursuits, but might make it harder to stomach the risk involved. Also, finance is a far cry from what post #2 makes it sound as, and writing, painting and photography are pretty much out of the question if you're aiming to be the primary bread-winner.</p>
<p>Humanities majors aren't useless either, there's plenty of successful people with liberal arts degrees. For the majority of people they're a very good fit with few limitations. Also, economics is the most flexible of business-y majors.</p>
<p>^^ Posts #2 and 3 were made before I moved this thread from College Confidential Cafe here to the Parents Forum. A little different perspective from the Cafe denizens, no?</p>
<p>Yes, Dan, a little more background could be helpful.
Are you trying to decide where to enroll or are you limited to the one local option?
If there is only one option, just start by fulfilling the general education (or core curriculum) requirements. Seek out the Career services department once you enroll. They often have tools and tests to help discern strengths and weaknesses.</p>
<p>I think attending a local school part-time at a community college or 4-year college is the best path for you. I know you will still need to work to pay the bills. Definitely pursue and complete the general core requirements. This should also enable you to experience what is your best subject(s).</p>
<p>I think Mathmom has the right idea. First you need to decide what type of work makes you happy.</p>
<p>I think her questions boil down to what I see as the major dividing line of professions, people vs. techincal.</p>
<p>That is do you want to spend your time working with people on people issues where the results are measured in client satisfaction or more on physical/logical/commercial things where the results are measured more quantitatively?</p>
<p>There are great professions in both areas that can be financially and personally satisfying, while not taxing your back.</p>
<p>@collectivsynergy
lol im sorry! i'm just 17 i don't know much about college majors. that's just what ive been hearing my whole life that if you major in humanities you can just be a teacher or like be homeless</p>
<p>Eh, I should apologize for being a bit harsh, plus I forgot that this was originally in the cafe. But my post was slightly hypocritical because I'm in a pre-professional school. The majority of my friends are humanities majors though, and I'm sure most of them will do quite well with those.</p>
<p>Besides, there's nothing ignoble about being a teacher, albeit you'll never be rolling stacks of money.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies so far. A little more about myself. For the past 3 or 4 years I've been trying to get into firefighting. I've been a volunteer with our local department for 6 years. The reason that I've decided not to get into this field is, after 3 years as an EMT, I've found that I really do not like the medical aspect of the job.</p>
<p>When I said that I'm not good in math, I was talking about more of the advanced stuff. I don't have much problems with basic adding and subtracting, things of that nature, and I've found over the years that I seem to be getting better at doing them in my head. Where I run into trouble is when it gets to decimals, fractions, and more advanced things like geometry and what not.</p>
<p>When I was in school I was always interested in the sciences (especially anything to do with animals), history, social studies, and those were always the classes that I got good grades in. Those are still things that interest me. </p>
<p>My problem is that I have a severe case of "stage fright". I hate getting in front of people and my communication skills are horrible, unless I know someone really well. That is why I said what I did about a management position. I don't like telling people what to do either.</p>
<p>I live in a small community (about 3000) so I'd have to commute to work. That's what I do now so it's not a big deal. I'm also not willing to relocate (we feel it's important for our daughter to grow up surrounded by family), otherwise I'd be in Colorado as a wildland firefighter.</p>
<p>I'm definately going to start getting the required classes out of the way first. I'm a planner, so I was just trying to get a plan in place for what I want to do with school. Maybe that's something that I shouldn't be doing yet. Anyway, thanks again for all the great advice so far. And thanks, Andale, for moving my thread.</p>
<p>You don't get a versatile college degree, unlike the general curriculum of HS you get knowledge in depth in one, possibly two fields. Some fields will lead you to specific jobs (eg nursing, teaching, engineering fields), others are not job oriented; but as you probably have already figured out they carry weight in the working world as having a bachelor's degree. Regardless of your major you will need to meet core requirements in different areas, if you haven't settled on a specific field you can use these to explore different areas to see which most appeals to you. You will have advisors to help you choose courses. Many college students will change their major after starting school, if they even had one when entering. Don't worry too much and make use of the career counseling center at your college, they can give you tests to help you decide your best fit. Good luck.</p>
<p>I don't think I quite agree with that wis is saying, although I understand her intention. Some degrees, as she says, are preparing you for a job in a particular field - nursing, engineering, journalism. But others are "versatile" in that they don't lead you into a particular field but do give you that college degree which makes a huge difference in your opportunities and potential for advancement.</p>
<p>Also, for some majors, the coursework you do in your major doesn't take up more than half of your college coursework, so while you get the indepth knowledge wis speaks of in that field, you can explore broadly with the rest of your courses. Each school is a little different in how they allow you to do that exploration. Most want you to explore at least one other field in some depth (like getting to at least one 300-level course in that field).</p>
<p>An English degree might be considered "versatile", for example, because it could lead to teaching, could lead to work in the publishing arena, but can also be a "generalist" degree from which someone jumps off into a career in business (whether it be marketing, advertising, management trainee) in government or whatever. Of course, degrees like this which don't lead to a given career raise the worry in some people's minds that you will be asking "Would you like fries with that?" in your future. Other people feel that a sound education in liberal arts is a very valuable way to spend your college years.</p>
<p>I think you might find it helpful to go to this site - which looks at different college majors and what careers they might lead to (I'm linking the specific example of Zoology, since you said you have always been interested in animals, but you can navigate around the site and explore any field you like).</p>
<p>BTW, Dan, I wanted to mention that your written communication skills are really quite excellent. We can tell that just based on your posts here.</p>
<p>So you might take that into account as you think about what you'd like to do. I wouldn't want to pressure you about the issues you feel you have about oral communication and large group presentations. But you might use your college years to help get over that. There are lots of resources these days.</p>
<p>But know that one of your strengths does seem to be your written communication.</p>
<p>I would second the opinion of jmmom, that your written communication skills are quite good. You just need to take a class like the Dale Carnegie course or join something like the Toastmasters to get over your stage fright by practicing. Also, if you are "a planner" as you say, then the next time you have to give a public presentation you should practice it many, many times before the real thing. You don't need to memorize what you will say. Just be prepared. You should practice giving a talk to your wife or your kids, maybe about wildland firefighting. Very few people are naturally great public speakers. You already have the written communication part down, which means you have the ability to organize your thoughts and express them well. Fear of speaking in public can definitely be overcome.</p>