Help 47 yr old man decide on degree?

Last year I went back to local community college for

1st time ever at age 47

I took 3 hrs per semester. Just stuck my "toe" in it to see how it felt.

It felt "good".

I took Accounting 101... and then Econ 101. Got "A" in both.

This semester I hope to take 6-9 hrs per semester. But its getting down to the wire and I must make a decision as to where I'm going with this. So I need some opinions and advice on what to take class wise.

My "ultimate" goal in life would be to work for myself. To have assets that make me an income. But until then I need to add "value" to myself so that when I sell my "time" to someone else I can make a decent wage.

I view a college degree as just another "tool" in the "toolbox" that I can use if needed. And not something that guarantees me big wages. Heck I know people who mow grass for a living making big money and have no degree at all. Still going back to school is something I "want" to do in case this "working for myself" fails and I must return to the "work for someone else world".

Altho I currently work in the engineering dept as a "CAD tech"..... sometimes I wonder if engineering is all its cracked up to be. I see my bosses who are engineers working long hours with very little "respect" for their expertise.

I also have a STRONG interest in computers and networking.

My original thoughts abt going back to school was to get a combo business and IT degree. Something I could "sell" to the "man".... but also something that would benefit me and my ultimate goal of owning my own business.

But lately I've been "waffling". It was a remark made to me by an older retired man who got an accounting degree in his younger days. He told me that he originally was going for a business degree but the counselor said he should get an accounting degree instead. When he asked why he was told" cause an accountant can be a business man..... but a business man cant necessarily be an accountant".

Well..... I'm wondering if that's true of engineering as well. Can an engineer just as easily be a production manager but a production manager cant be an engineer?

Bottom line..... I'm leaning towards taking all the math and accounting classes I can. To cover BOTH fields for the next two years until I make up my mind.

I would forget the english and humanities and social studies until last. Altho I like these subject I have to put myself on a fast track since I'm 47 yrs old. And I feel I could easily take those classes when things "firm up" in my mind where I'm going with this "life adventure".

I'm going back to school one way or another. I've made up my mind I'm doing this if I have to take one class per semester forever! But I cant afford any dead end turns on this path.

So what say all? Is my logic flawed or does it make any sense? That is to study accounting and engineering rather than business and IT?

Reply to
me
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If you do you'll find yourself with a lot of credits and no degree. While some degrees have a lot of "elective" courses you can use as filler, a good accounting degree will leave you little room for study outside of core business classes that build a foundation and upper level accounting courses. As you mentioned a sprinkling of liberal arts classes will also be required, so you really won't be able to take classes that are outside the business/accounting curriculum.

I started school at 39 and went full time until I got my degree. Like you I was very unsure at first but really enjoyed it once I started. It does take an enormous amount of time though, so you need to pick a degree and focus all your energy on it. I agree with your earlier advisor.. accounting is the way to go.

A
Reply to
Harry

...

Depends on what the production manager's background is...but you'll not get very far on your own as engineer w/o an engineering degree and a PE license as most (all?) states will not let you even call yourself an engineer for independent hire w/o the license. At 47, just starting part-time, you've got a long way to go to get there--not that it Bottom line..... I'm leaning towards taking all the

I think you have to make a decision on your own as to what you want to do...suggestions on the basis of a usenet group or some one individual are pretty flimsy bases for such choices. I do believe that your only hope of getting an actual degree and getting through will be to take a particular degree track and start knocking out the lower-level electives asap so you can then concentrate on the core curriculum as that's where the hard work will really be...

Reply to
Duane Bozarth

Is accounting the way to go over say engineering?

And again I'm just focusing on the first two years of classes..... the Associate degree

Hopefully by end of 2nd year Ill know what I'm doing here

Reply to
me

So you didn't have ANY degree before age 39? Not even a two year degree?

If yes.... what prompted you to go back to school?

Reply to
me

Agree

So that's why I'm taking college algebra and accounting

101 and econ 102 this fall

None of these classes really lock me into anything at the moment, right?

Reply to
me

On Mon, 11 Jul 2005 20:08:06 -0500, in alt.accounting snipped-for-privacy@privacy.net wrote in :

Engineering in the first two years would be primarily prerequisites, calculus and things like that. Because states now require 150 credits to sit for a CPA, there have been some interesting programs that people have done with the extra credits, though a double major in accounting and any discipline of engineering would not be one of them. That would take 160 credits, if you're lucky.

Reply to
David Jensen

Well, college won't even count as an elective in any engineering degree program I'm aware of...whether you could count it as an elective somewhere else is another question...

If you're really serious about this, you should get w/ advisors who know the four-year school you plan to finish through and check very carefully that courses you're taking at the CC will transfer--it's not at all uncommon to find that many courses you may expect to be able to use will not...the courses don't "lock you in" to anything, but depending on the school(s) and the degree, they may or may not do you any good...

Reply to
Duane Bozarth

Nope, I worked in a family business for 15 years that hit hard times... and I knew even with 15 years experience in accounting, marketing, finance, etc.(you wear all these hats in a privately held company) it meant nothing because it was in a family business with no "formal" education. So I started school and maintained a 4.0 GPA for 4 years. I too was not sure what degree to pursue because I had a heavy background in electronics, but decided first on business and then on accounting.

A
Reply to
Harry

Duane Bozarth wrote: ...

"Good" in this case being defined as being directly useful in counting credits towards a degree--of course, as in the case of the algebra class, it's quite likely it was/is necessary prerequisite to get prepared for the calculus, etc.

Reply to
Duane Bozarth

I see

Kind of same situation here

Lost of real work experience but no degree

Was it scary going back at such late age?

Did you work any at all while going back school full time?

Reply to
me

yep algebra is a requisite for higher engineering math

Reply to
me

That goes w/o saying...the point I am trying to make is that your "straight ahead, no wasted effort" concept is only as good as your planning and course selection to try ensure no unpleasant surprises down the road when you expect to transfer courses to a four-year institution, particularly in a department other than a general "non-professional" degree.

Reply to
Duane Bozarth

It was scary at first but it didn't take long to see 1) I was not the only person my age and older attending college 2) my experience and knowledge put me way ahead of the younger students, most of who didn't have a clue!

I continued working in the family business which gave me plenty of time to study "on the job", without that it would have been much more difficult.

A
Reply to
Harry

That would be an advantage

Did you go to school at day and work during second shift?

Or vise versa?

Bottom line.... what "logistics" did you have to do to make this happen?

Reply to
me

...

For anyone over twenty-five that seems to be the best option these days.

...

Well....... One of the most important facets of college is that it instills in one the base for continued learning and advancing through life. Once it also "finished" people so they could fit into polite society, but those days are long gone.

...

IMHO, that is a decision that every man has to make for himself.

  1. You have to know your market.

  1. You have to know your limitations.

  2. You have to know what you can put up with.

  1. You have to realize there hasn't been a labor shortage for over three decades. There is a quality shortage and it gets worse every year. The income is from trading on the existing shortage.

Good luck.

Reply to
Ron Todd

95% of my classes were at night, I did take a few classes during the day because it was the only time they were offered. But classroom time is only a small part... most of the work is done out of class! A
Reply to
Harry

I find the above remark interesting

Can you expand on it a bit? Why you feel that way as well?

Reply to
me

It is not "feel," it is observation.

Reply to
Ron Todd

No examples?

Reply to
me

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