Serious answers please, what am I to do about college?

Question

O.K. I am 26 years old and entering my second year at a decent community college. I work full time.I am currently an English major(GPA 4.0). I very much enjoy literature, writing, and history. I am good at basic math and very elementry algebra but I do not excell in the subject in general. Some careers I'm drawn to are teaching (any grade, maybe even college), librarian, and nursing. A friend of mine mentioned that the A.A. degree I'm currently shooting for would be great for the bottom of my bird cage. Ha ha. I don't expect any specific career advice, but I entered college late and with little idea of what I was doing. So, can someone explain the difference between different degrees and how to best put them to use? I'd appreciate any kind, serious information. Thanks.

Answer 1

A.A or A.S. -two year degrees, also known as Associates,
B.A. or B.S - four year degrees, also known as Bachelors,
M.A. or M.S. - also known as Masters, usually two more years after getting the Bachelors.
Of the careers you mention, you will need a Bachelors to teach in any grade. You will need a Masters to teach in most colleges.
You can be a nurse with either an Associates or a Bachelors.

If you are drawn to literature and writing, I'd go with the teaching.

Answer 2

You'll be recieving an Associates degree from your community college [At least I believe so]. This, my dear, is worthless, unless you want to substitute teach.

You NEED to go to a 4 year school and get a Bachelors degree if you want to become a teacher. If you want to major in either English or History [Or both! It would look very good] then it would be called a B.A [Bachelor of Arts]. You won't need to take much math in these majors....You'll probably need a college algebra class or two, but that's it [it might depend on the school, though.] However, you can always pick a 4 yr school the will require the least amount of math for your major.

Good luck :]

That's all you need for a teaching job, and in some states you could easily make a great living for yourself.


Oh, and for the record: Nurses are terribly exploited. In hopitals, they work 12 hr days. I wouldn't do it, even though they're in demand. But it's your choice,, if you like it better you like it better.

Answer 3

Speech pathology is also big. You need good English skills, linguistics, some math (like you have), anatomy and physiology, biology, some psychology courses. Those are for undergrad requirements. You need a GPA of 3.0 minimum to get into a Master's Degree. You also need to take communication disorder undergrad classes like Phonetics, Phonology, Audiology, Language Disorders, etc. It's huge, and it's growing. The demand will be bigger, b/c the Baby Boomer generation are retiring and also b/c they are having strokes, and will need speech language pathology to aid their recovery. With your two years undergrad, it seems like you'll need at least 2 more years undergrad,then 2 years after that for a Masters Degree. I know it seems long, but it really isn't. An investment in your future is worth it. Time goes by anyways. Then you can write your own ticket, go see a career counsellor, and they can help you with figuring out exactly what you'll need. You have to go to a regular university though. Nursing is good too, or physiotherapy.
I mean these type of degrees are good b/c there's a job market for them...vs. just English Degree, which in all honesty you'll have to get a PH.D, if you really want to make a good career choice. Maybe 20-40 years, an English Degree rocked, but now, it's just not "functional". But, if that is what you love, go for it. Types of jobs would include working for a newspaper, magazine, editor, etc. But it's not "high demand". Do some research about "projected job market demands". Anything in healthcare and its affiliates are HOT, and will be, b/c of the BabyBoom thing. Good Luck and see a career counsellor.

Answer 4

An AA degree will not impress too many people, and will not get you consideration for a position in academics (teaching, esp. not in college, where you'll need at least a Masters). Generally an AA will only get you a job in a technical field. Now, those jobs are nothing to sneeze at - we need people in those positions more than we need most "higher" jobs, but with an English major, you're not going to get one of 'em.

A Bachelors degree is moderately more useful, but again, unless you've prepared yourself for some specific position, it's far from a guarantee of employment.

A Masters degree is moderately better than that, but still no guarantee.

If I were you I'd ask myself what I'm interested in doing, and then figure out some way to become the kind of person who does some element of that career better than others do. Take on the difficult challenges, master them, and brag about having done so. If you can't do things that others can't do, you're not valuable.

Right now you write reasonably well - certainly better than most of the people here. Perhaps you should develop that math skill so that you can honestly say that you're better at both writing and math than most people.

Answer 5

Becoming a "media specialist" aka Librarian is actually a great idea. In the school systems they are being used for many things and their role is very important....schools, after all, still have books in their libraries. The program that I'm familiar with is quite challenging and I loved the one class that I took. If you love literature and writing, this might be a great avenue for you. In nursing you will have quite a bit of math to take and the sciences are pretty hard to get through and that is just if you make it into the program. It is booming right now, but that is partly because there is a great shortage of them....long hours, lack of respect, etc. Teaching will depend on your state and how they pay and what kind of school district you would be working in. If you are looking to be comfortable financially, teaching is not a good place to go. Good luck in whatever you choose!

Answer 6

If you are thinking about nursing, why not go for an LPN which is less than two years if you go full time. You can get to work and attend school simultaneously if you aspire to be an RN or do something besides that for your long term career.

If you aspire to teach English look into secondary education classes or even teaching English as a second language to make yourself more valuable.

If you want to work with your AA while you attend school for the rest of it consider jobs like teacher's assistant (special ed classes and kindergarten classes always have an assistant) or a social worker's assistant. There are things you can do with the two years of school under your belt. Depending on your area. some states will let you substitute teach with just an associates degree.

Answer 7

As a person with a degree in English, I can tell you for certain that a degree in English is valuable. Don't let your friend convince you otherwise. Take a look at this article from Monster.com. I think you'll agree that the author has a more thoughtful reply than your friend: http://campus.monster.com.hk/articles/7342/

Honestly, I'd recommend that you visit the career/guidance counseling office at your school. They can explain the options available to you and compare the different types of degrees. Best of luck in your college career!

Answer 8

It is great that you are going to college in the first place. I will be 40 this year and still wanting to go to college but feel it is too late. I wanted to teach elementary or be a nurse too. Just get a degree and stick with a subject you like and don't waste precious time. You will be so proud of yourself and glad when your done. Shoot for a career not just schooling.

Answer 9

People spend their entire life trying to figure out what they want to do. There is nothing wrong with trying different career paths throughout your lifetime.

Teaching and Nursing both seem like great places to start. Nurses are going to be in extremely high demand for the next 20 years or more. My brother's fiance' is one and she had several job offers in Ohio for RN jobs right out of school.

Teaching on the other hand can be very rewarding and most of the teaching jobs in this country are available out west or in areas of strong population growth. Nevada, Phoenix to name a few. There are a lot of things you can do with teaching, including counseling, atheltic coaching, administration, etc. The pay won't be as great as nursing but you get every weekend off and holidays, and 3 months every summer. You can't beat that.

Just follow your heart and do what you enjoy and you can't mess up.

Answer 10

I think, judging by what you say you excel at, you would be a good teacher or librarian. Nursing is pretty math related and, if you aren't good at it, things can be messed up. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but you probably want to get your Master's to be a teacher or librarian. Decent schools usually require teachers (especially English teachers) to have at least a Master's. My mom has a Master's in Library Science and it helps her get the job she wants that's available in the feild. Jobs in the library are hard to come by and are being cut down so it might not be the best choice.

Answer 11

Well, you should try to transfer your credits to a college that offers a B.S. or B.A. Two extra years, better degree! The A.A. would probably be alright for your librarian career. Nursing, what kind? Teacher.....you'll need the B.S. or B.A. Didn't you research before you just hopped off to college!?