School.

[Betheny]

I'm kind of confused right now.

I've never done the college thing really, and I"m not sure what I should plan on doing with my future. At this point, I know I'm going to be going to college, I guess the real question is what am I going to go for.

I guess there's a few options for me. Either way it's going to involve saving money and whatknot before enrolling.

So... I can go for what I've always thought I wanted to do.... and that would be EMT/paramedic. But it's always been a toss-up for me between that and criminal justice.

So... I could go for criminal justice. Or I could go to be a paramedic -- which is going to take a lot longer, a lot more money, and it's going to generally be more difficult, not education wise, but... the closest school would be 40 miles one way, and cost a LOT more.

I could go for something with more short-term benefits, so I can get into a job that pays more and then I could decide from there.

Or, (this was suggested by a friend) I could just go for some gen ed courses at the local comunnity college.

I really don't know, and I'm assuming you guys probably have more experience than me with this.

Anyone care to weigh in?

[HarmNone]

Seems to me like it would make sense to go for something that would help you get a good-paying job relatively quickly. Once that is achieved, you could then continue to go to school in your spare time to get the Paramedic credential. :)

HarmNone

[Betheny]

Any ideas on what to do for short-term?

[Bobmuhthol]

Accounting.

[Betheny]

Originally posted by Bobmuhthol
Accounting.

Scary...

I was thinking office admin or something...

[HarmNone]

How long is the paramedic program? What about the Criminal Justice program? That will give me a little better idea of what you might look at for interim employment.

HarmNone

[HarmNone]

I am mostly familiar with the health care industry. There are many students, who wish to attain a nursing degree, who get enough training to apply to a hospital as a nurse's aide and complete their nursing degree through scholarships provided to them by the hospital with which they are employed. Many of these continue on for post graduate degrees after they achieve their nursing degrees. They get where they are going in baby steps, but they get there! :)

HarmNone

[pennywise]

I would suggest getting your Gen ed classes at a community college or something. Will save you couple thousand a year, easily. You can usually take care of most all of your freshman and sophmore classes in community college. Just make sure all the classes are accepted at the university you plan to attend and will be acceptable to the particular college in the university you wish to enter. You can usually talk to admissions at the community college or the university and they will tell you what works and what doesnt.

[Bobmuhthol]

I'd be more impressed by a degree in accounting.

[Betheny]

I believe it is two years for criminal justice, and between 4 - 6 for paramedic.

[Soulpieced]

Criminal Justice is an "athlete's major", otherwise it's bogus. I'd say go with the EMT stuff. But do what Pennywise said. Find general education courses that will guaranteed transfer to any school.

[HarmNone]

Okay. Then you should be able to get the criminal justice degree at a local community college. Once you have that, you can parlay it into some paramedic training. You'll have an income to support your dreams! :)

In the meantime, what skills do you have that might be marketable to help support you while you're getting the criminal justice training?

HarmNone

[Betheny]

Heh... I'd go into criminal justice because it's a prerequisite to forensic investigation.

[Betheny]

heh... You name it, I've done it.

Security, office work, medical records, customer service, medical reception...

[Latrinsorm]

Originally posted by Maimara
Heh... I'd go into criminal justice because it's a prerequisite to forensic investigation. Are you going to be like that CSI show? That'd be cool, if a little intimidating.

[Betheny]

Maybe.

I've always found forensic detection very interesting. I'm not really sure if I'm going to go as far as... uh... whatever that TV show is. I"m assuming they're ph.D's or something.

[HarmNone]

Sounds like the community college is a good place for you to start, Beth. They can probably help find you a job (maybe, at the school) while you are going to school, and the criminal justice degree might just get you where you really wanna go! :D

I wish you nothing but the best. It is not easy to go back to school. I watched my mother do it at nearly 50. But, I have never seen anybody who has enjoyed the fruits of her labor more than my mother has.

HarmNone

[Betheny]

I"m kind of glad I waited, even though I didn't get much of a choice. This way I'm not going to take it for granted. ;)

But it kind of sucks not having ANY idea what I'm in for, what I should plan for, how to go about it...

Until it was explained to me earlier, I didn't even know you could take classes and not be in a degree program, or that you coudl take some classes at one school for a degree at another.

...Yeah... dont' make fun of me.

[TheEschaton]

Does forensics require a medical background?


For the short term, go with stripping. Obviously. It's definately put a few girls I know through college. As long as your "skills" are "marketable" as HN so eloquently put them.

Or, worse comes to worse, take out a loan to go to college. Or find someone to give you the money.

-TheE-

[Betheny]

What is with the stripping obsession? I'm not a stripper, I never was a stripper, I'll never BE a stripper!

[peam]

If you're going for a four year degree in Virginia, definately go the community college route. All four year schools are going to require general studies stuff. You may not get to pretend like you're better than everyone else (/glance certain token) but you'll save something in the neighborhood of $8000 a year, compared to a four year school.

Don't know much about two year programs.

Edited to add that if you get an associate's degree from a Virginia CC in one of the accepted transfer focuses, a lot of schools have guaranteed admissions, provided you graduate with a certain GPA. My school has a 2.0 minimum, JMU (<3Soupy) has a 3.0, so on.. so forth.

[Edited on 3-4-2004 by peam]

[TheEschaton]

Errrr, the stripper suggestion was not Maimara-specific. As you well know, I've only been on this board for like a month, and don't recall you ever being called one.

Hell, if HarmNone had said the same thing, I woulda suggested stripping.

Heck, if Tijay needed money to get through college, I'd suggest stripping.

-TheE-

[Shari]

I'd suggest going for your gen ed first, and take one or two classes that correspond with either criminal justice or paramedics. You can talk to an advisor at the college you're interested and they can suggest classes you can take that don't need requirments.

Most classes you take that end up not being related to the degree learning you decide on will usually be counted as an elective or something along those lines.

I had no idea what I wanted to do so I got all my general studies out of the way while taking some art courses on the side. I ended up with some of the FUNKIEST electives ever...woman's studies, anthropology, american history..but they managed to count for my degree.

[Mint]

Originally posted by Maimara
Heh... I'd go into criminal justice because it's a prerequisite to forensic investigation.

I have never met you but I can totally see you as a cop for some reason. And you'd get to carry a gun.

[Nakiro]

If you're thinking about forensic investigation, I'd quit now. I know a few people who've taken up that major and have gone insane trying to keep up with the course load. It is nearly impossible.

[Mint]

Originally posted by Nakiro
If you're thinking about forensic investigation, I'd quit now. I know a few people who've taken up that major and have gone insane trying to keep up with the course load. It is nearly impossible.

Well, arent we just a little ray of sunshine? Don't pay attention to the naysayers Maimara or youll never accomplish anything.

[Nakiro]

I'm just being blunt and realistic.

[Mint]

Originally posted by Nakiro
I'm just being blunt and realistic.

If by 'blunt and realistic' you mean 'DOOM AND GLOOM AND OMIGOD THE SKY IS FALLING' then yes, yes you are.


Edited because I am tired.


[Edited on 3-4-2004 by Mint]

[longshot]

Originally posted by pennywise
I would suggest getting your Gen ed classes at a community college or something. Will save you couple thousand a year, easily. You can usually take care of most all of your freshman and sophmore classes in community college. Just make sure all the classes are accepted at the university you plan to attend and will be acceptable to the particular college in the university you wish to enter. You can usually talk to admissions at the community college or the university and they will tell you what works and what doesnt.

This is really excellent advice.

Be sure to contact the universities that you are thinking of applying to and make sure tha t the classes transfer over, and the minimum grade you would need (if there is one). You don't want to take a class, do really well, and then have it not transfer.

Community college is much, much cheaper per credit hour.

At a university, you usallly take two years worth of very general courses. These are the ones to get out of the way. Math would be a big one, as you might have a chance of landing an English speaking teacher. This is a rare commodity at a big university.

As far as a major goes, you should go for a marketable skill. While history might be a lot of fun, it might not open many doors career wise.

Criminal justice is good if you want to be a public defendant (law school-- not a good investment!) or a police officer. It is not good for much else.

I know very little about becoming a paramedic. You need to take a paramedic class to become a EMT-basic. Then you work/train for a bit, and you can take a class/exam to become a full paramedic. This varies from state to state though. Many times the classes are offered at community colleges though.

If you want to work crime scene, or be an EMT, you will need to take a lot of science classes, especially biology. These would probably include labs. Don't shy away from it if it's what you really want to do though.

Don't listen to negativity either.

I've decided that I'm going back to school. Even though I already graduated, I will need to take classes to gear up for grad school. I'm asking alot of the same questions... where I should take the classes, how much will it cost, etc.

Don't worry about sounding dumb. The dumbest question is the one you don't ask... unless it's asked by Hulkein...

edited because I can't spell anymore...

[Edited on 3-4-2004 by longshot]

[Myshel]

Beth, I've posted this advice before on another thread, but as a person who started over later in life, I think its valid. Do what will make you happy in the long run. Don't end up at 40 in a job you hate, just for the money. No matter how long it takes in school, just go for it. My brother is a emt/fireman and he started as a volunteer. While he got his training, some of it free as a volunteer, he saw what his future could be and stuck with it. Taking classes at night. He applied to a fire department and was hired, they paid for a lot of his training.

[TheEschaton]

As far as a major goes, you should go for a marketable skill. While history might be a lot of fun, it might not open many doors career wise.

This is why I have a Bachelor's in Computer Science and plan on never using it ever in my life.

And law school is not a bad investment, that's my plan for right after the PC.

Edited to add: Law school and/or PP school, and/or Divinity school. I'm still choosing.

-TheE-

[Edited on 3-4-2004 by TheEschaton]