Graduated with a design and fabrication degree (think product design)

But focused on print due to in person jobs I had- although I really like stationary so it was fitting.

After feeling misplaced, I moved to Japan. I loved the design aspect of my job but the rest has me struggling to stay alive tbh.

I always wanted to work in the medical field. I entertained being a phlebotomist to get my foot in after my bachelors Liz Medical illustration seems like a pipe dream especially considering advancements in ai technology.

Any ideas on how to merge the two? I like being creative but I tend to be creative if there’s a purpose for it. The consumerist aspect of former jobs really burnt me out. I also love hearing people’s stories and personalizing things. I’m a huge advocate of change, inclusion and trying to improve things (including myself). I’m nearing 30 and feel like my options are withering away. I’m not sure how to go back to school, it’s been so long.

I’ve spent too much time searching and not applying, not sure what and how to do it. Some logistics make it a bit harder considering my current situation.

Sources or direction from personal experience would be much appreciated

I graduated college in 2018 with a BA in Theatre Performance to explore a career in film/stage. Once COVID hit, I pivoted to a full time position at a debt relief company doing sales, but recently transitioned to a Payments Specialist due to the burnout from sales.

I’ve been looking to get out of this company for over a year due to bad benefits and low wages, but it doesn’t seem like my experience is wanted because of my current and previous jobs and degree for performing. With that being said, I’ve been thinking a lot of exploring going back to school, or entering some form of certificate program. The only problem is, I’m really unsure of what to do with my life or what career would be an easier transition that I can apply some of the skills I’ve learned through my experiences

I don’t want to take a class for something I have no interest in and waste money and time, but I know I need to do something in order to make a better living. I’m about to get married in a month and I want to be able to start a family soon with a job that can provide better financial stability.

Has anyone else been in a similar position, or have any tips on where to search? I have anxiety so it’s a bit hard for me to not get immediately frustrated and impatient with these kind of things. So any guidance is extremely helpful and appreciated

Im 25M and after a years of fighting myself Im attempting to enroll back to school with an horrible gpa. I have already contacted a consoler on starting the process, but have been stuck on my Readmit Application because of a few question.

"What were the extenuating or mitigating circumstances that adversely contributed to your prior academic performance?"

I understand to be truthful and straight up, but I don't understand how not to come off whiny or trying to sell a story. This was my first year of a four year college after transferring from a CC with only one year spent there. There wasn't no life altering problem or medical issue that contributed to my performance, but just allowing stress of school/life decision and work getting in the way. I didn't want to do anything but stay in bed at the time and this allowed all these constant negative thoughts in my head at the time. Theres nothing I can think to write in a response to that question without making it sound like an excuse?

Just looking for any advise/opinion?

Hey, everyone. I, 24F, have a Bachelor’s in English Lit. I very obviously made this decision without any thought of my future.

Since being out of college for two years the only jobs I have been even remotely qualified for have been in customer service. I have thought about going back to college for a while, but I don’t even know what I could do let alone afford. I’m horrible at math, hence the English degree. I don’t have any real skills or experience. I really feel like there’s nothing that I can do. Even if I were to go back to college I don’t think I would be able to handle that and working full time. I just feel very helpless and most of all broke.

I guess I am looking for any advice from others who have struggled with the idea of going back to college and what degrees are even worth the time, energy, and money. Is going back to college even worth it?

Graduated HS back in 18’ went to college 2 years after. I dropped out due to personal/family and covid moving classes online. I re-applied to my school and got accepted to go back full-time in the fall to finish the rest of my degree. My plan is to constantly be in classes till I graduate. It seems like a mountain in my eyes and makes me anxious to fail. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to qualify for any Fasfa. I can take the debt (should be less than $20k) but want to minimize it if I can. Any advice or resources I can use to help me through this process of going back?

Edit: I once qualified for the pell grants and still have not used my full 600% usage per FASFA am I entitled to still get the grant?

So I just recently chose to go back to school, I already have my associates in Criminal Justice, but because I want a more science-based career in the field I’m going back for Biology, but I’ve been feeling like I’m making a mistake.

I currently work a 7-3:30 Mon-Fri, and our boss makes us work one weekend a month as well. I’m scared I won’t have time to focus on school like I want to but I can’t quit my job because I’m living away from my family. I’ve also never been the best at math and I’m scared I’ll fail massively because of it. Classes start May 13 but I’m so terrified that I’m going to fail. The only plus is that I can transfer some of my credits over so I won’t have to take as many classes and can graduate a bit earlier than usual. I really just want advice on if this is the best course of action to go for my bachelor’s or if I should just wait/find a job in my field with what I have?

Pretty much the title. I'm 36 and am having a hard time making myself apply for school. I had to drop out of last school I went to due to health reasons, so my sister suggested I do online schooling and gave me the information. It's a school I applied to years ago after high school so I'm familiar with it and it has the program I'm interested in. The problem is, I'm scared. Not so much of failing, but of the future job market and whether or not I'll be able to find a halfway decent job afterwards given how the economy has tanked. Especially if they're saying a single person has to make almost six figures to live comfortably. I'm not married nor do I have kids, but I do have my medical issues and I take care of my elderly father, so adding school to that pile of stress just makes me feel hopeless. Anybody have any advice or words of encouragement for me? The fall deadline is fast approaching, so I know I need to get a move on it soon.

Hi everyone, this is my first reddit post so please bear with me.

My boyfriend is about to earn his associates 5 years out of high school- no gap year- just a full time employee/part time student. We are both very motivated for him to earn his bachelors due to the importance of his future roles and the opportunities he would be losing if he didn't have a full 4 year degree. However, he can only manage 1-2 courses per semester due to his full time schedule. The challenge is finding a school that will accommodate that, as well as only charging $ per class, not a flat out tuition fee per semester (as that will become insanely expensive)

We know this will take him a long time to complete, but were up for the challenge- given we can find the right school. We only know of SNHU that might be good for him, but were hoping for more options. Personally, i did the full 4 year degree at Cal State San Marcos straight out of HS and graduated early- so I have no personal experience working with part-time school/full time work etc.

His associates degree will be with courses from both Palomar cc and Mira Mar cc(both in Southern CA). Any ideas on schools that would help him in this process and allow for the transfer???

Thank you all in advance- any advice is much appreciated!!!!!

full-time job + full-time school in 30s is hell. from work then straight to school work, cognitive nightmare. like the grind is ok... but then you're also dealing with everything else in life outside of work and school. lost two relationships due to being too busy.

Hello all, I’m new to Reddit. So please bare with me and my minimal knowledge of this platform. I’m here in hopes of seeking guidance with getting back into college. Besides my transcripts, what do I need to do to begin this journey?

Some info: Residing in CA, Graduated HS 2001, AS Degree in Pharmacology 2008

My goal is to get my BS in Healthcare Admin.

In the US, the community college > decent university path is very common and works well for high achieving mature students who decided to pursue other pathways after high school (such as entrepreneurship).

In Canada, it seems the only path to a good university program is to have done well in school growing up. There are few college to university pathways, and the ones that do exist are only to select arts or nursing/public health degrees. The only pathway in Canada I can think of is the college > UBC, but then again you would have to move to BC to pursue it.

Why is community college only really a pathway to the trades and not a stepping stone to higher education? The higher ranked universities in Canada barely consider many transfer credits from colleges.

I first attended college right out of high school, but took a “gap year” that ended up being about 3 years. I am finally finishing my degree online at a different university. The University is 3 hours from my house, and I now have two kids under two. Will I regret my decision if I decide not to make the drive and walk across the stage at graduation? Is it worth it? Any advice would be appreciated!

Hello! I'm conducting research for my English Comp class and I'm trying to learn how US college students view the future of the US. I'm currently going to a community college, and am interested in hearing from the demographic of folks on this forum. If you have time, I'd love to hear what you have to say on this subject. This survey should take no more than five minutes.

Imagined Ideal Future for the US

To start with I have severe aspergers/social anxiety/ptsd. I have an associates degree in welding however I cannot drive yet(I’m almost 27. I was homeschooled for most of my life and got the welding degree but am not sure if that is what I want to do…..I know many people have this same background and I would really like to be able to beat my anxiety disorder but I don’t know how….what do I do….i need to discover a field that plays to my strengths but i need advice to do that. Any and all would be appreciated….thank you all.

Hanging in there?

Ready for finals / final projects?

Have something to brag about?

Tell me, I want to know.

Long story short about 5 years ago I graduated w/my associates from community college. Then I started university for my bachelors, went for almost 2 years then quit going.

Who do I talk to first to go back to school to finish my bachelors? Do I just started applying to new schools using fasfa? Do I talk to a guidance counselor at my old university? Do I need to get transcripts from both schools first?

Any advice helps I’m just not sure where to start so tysm !! I’m 31 now btw

Hello everyone. My gap year turned into multiple gap years as I pursued a trade and procrastinated making a move on the future I wanted, but I'm finally back at it and attending school full-time while also holding down a full-time job. I'm starting my final English project of the semester and I'm choosing to focus on people in my position or similar as a topic. If you are (or were) in my position, I would love to hear about your feedback/experience/recommendations. Thanks!

So i live in the US, my situation is unique in the fact that it is pretty set in stone that i atleast have to take my bachelors at a online university. I just have some family that i have to help take care of and cant put that much time into travel. So Regarding Online Uni, i have came across a few options as a want a degree in Mathematics. There are A few Universities such as Indiana East, and LSU online who have most of my attention, but i am also aware of Open University in the UK. I was looking at that as a option and it seems pretty promising but i would like some guidance on what people would think would be better if i wished to then continue onto a good masters program in the US then possibly grad school. Thanks

I pursued an undergraduate Bachelor of Arts and realized it wasn't the right career path for me. I want to go back to school for something like computer science but I am unsure of whether I need to pursue another bachelor's degree or a master's degree (especially since my GPA wasn't the greatest due to my first year). Any thoughts?

Title. With the economy right now we’re all fearing that dreaded call. I work in a cyclical industry and can’t afford to be laid off else my schooling would also have to be put on hold again to look for a job (living alone, no SO). Are you guys hedging against potential layoffs while doing your degree?

I’m 25f who currently works as an ophthalmic technician for the last 2 years. I have a Bachelors in Women’s and Gender Studies (BA) so if I want to go to optometry school, I need to complete the prerequisite science courses first. I’m a bit overwhelmed deciding if I should pursue a bachelors in science from a college/university, or if I should complete the prerequisites at my local community college for an associates in biology. I think a bachelors would look better on applications however optometry school isn’t cheap, I’ve already got student loan debt and am trying to be financially wise. Does anyone have experience with a similar situation?

For further context, I am a Certified Ophthalmic Assistant, at held in high regard at my job and could easily obtain multiple letters of recommendation from some of the best ophthalmologists in my area. Im not sure if this would be enough to make up for lacking a BS.

A course I am taking requires an interview with a professional of a specific ethnicity in a particular field. I lined up an interview when the semester began, but we couldn’t find a time that mutually worked. Eventually that person gave me a suitable colleague’s contact info and we were able to agree on a time next week for the interview. The assignment is due at the end of the following week. The colleague emailed me yesterday to say they would not be able to do the interview. I scrambled around and found someone that I knew years ago who fits the criteria, but I haven’t spoken to since before the pandemic. I’m worried it will look flaky to ask them to interview me so close to the due date and insulting to explain they were my third choice. Which looks worse?

I went to a 4 year school in 2014 and wasn’t not focused or driven to be in school. I probably got one passing grade, as I never showed up to any classes. Then, after being asked to leave I went to a tech college to try and save my money and work through it but still wasn’t motivated. I again didn’t show up to classes and I don’t think I passed any. Now, after working my up to a good job, I will need a degree to help me move up more in my new company, and they will help pay for it. I have a kid now and I’m way more focused on succeeding at school.

Where do I start? Looking at some local online schools they will all want transcripts and other than my high school ones they don’t paint a good picture.

I'm 25 years old and have been a severe underachiever for my whole life. I began working to change that at 19, got my GED, and had started taking college classes by 2020, but I had a massive mental breakdown around the time the lockdowns began and relapsed hard. I'm only now beginning to fully realize that this can't continue and I need to make a change, for my sake and for those who care about me, but I feel like going back to college is going to be awful for me.

Usually adult learners have life experience that the younger students lack. If their delay in entering wasn't because they were working or in the military, it was because they were taking care of a dying family member or trapped in an abusive household or some other external factor, but none of those apply to me. My failure to launch is just because I'm dysfunctional. Aside from being relatively in shape and self-aware, I'm basically a stereotypical basement dweller. I feel like that's going to color my college experience for the worse.

I want to put myself out there, especially romantically, but I can't imagine someone in my situation having any opportunities to do that in college. Standard-aged college students obviously won't have anything in common with me, and I doubt other adult learners will either since I'm basically still a teenager life experience wise (assuming they're even interested in socializing with other students to begin with). Even if they don't look down on me, per se, I can't imagine they'd be very interested in forming relationships of any sort with me. I don't have my shit together and it's going to be years at least before I can credibly claim otherwise.

I just feel like college is going to be so lonely and miserable for me. Any advice for someone in my situation?

34M, married, three kids. Last week I completed 4 year BS mathematics program with honours.

It was a difficult journey, I rarely got 8h sleep between fulltime school, fulltime job and family these past 4 years.

I'm a citizen but have lived my whole life in Brazil. I moved to America about 3 years ago and have been working hard every day. I have already worked in a car wash, renting chairs on the beach, made food deliveries on my scooter, worked as a host at Benihana, and now I'm working at a remodeling company, managing projects. I was never the smartest guy in school or super excited to go to college, but this whole time working 12- to 10-hour days has been enough for me to see that it's not worth selling my daily hours without pursuing a career that I can grow in the future.

I'm planning to study Computer Science either at FIU, FAU, Broward College, or any place that accepts me. I'm also still working full-time as I pay for all of my expenses. It's been a while since I did any studying, but I believe I will make it if I put in the necessary effort. The study corner is ready to rock and roll!! I'm currently studying for the SAT and need to translate my high school diploma and GPA since it was obtained in Brazil.

I would just like to hear some experiences with balancing college and full-time jobs simultaneously, any experiences with Computer Science course, and any programs that can help me pay for tuition. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I decided to give school a 3rd try after dropping out twice 10 years ago. But I'm wondering if I should give up again after getting a D in one of my classes. Currently I'm taking 6 credit hours of 2 classes split into 8 week sessions. I thought that I would get by on a B-or C, but found out that because I overlooked a couple of assignments in the online textbook, it brought my grade down. This was already a tough class to take but sadly it was a required class that has nothing to do with what I'm going to school for.

The next class starts in a couple of weeks, and hopefully it will be a bit easier. But I'm afraid that even if I pass the second class w/ a B, my GPA will still be low enough to put me on academic suspension.

This has been a real struggle with doing this, dealing with shitty mental health, family health issues, and working full time? Has anyone else been in this situation and made it out ok?

Hey everybody, I’m going back to school. I’m 28, currently serving on Active Duty orders in the Army National Guard (so I work full time) married to a firefighter who works 24 hour shifts & a mom of 2 boys under 2. What can I say, I live for chaos. I’m trying to figure out which program is the best fit. Firstly, I’m open to any and all program recommendations & if I’m wrong about any of these program details PLEASE correct me. So, here goes; I’m considering SNHU from my understanding, they have 8 week long terms, and you pretty much work at your own pace, save for a weekly discussion due every Thursday, all assignments are due by the end of the term. This is appealing because as you can imagine I have my hands FULL. BUT I have had a tendency to procrastinate severely in the past. My other consideration is ASU, they too have shorter terms, but it’s more traditional in the sense that each assignment has a deadline and assignments are weekly. I thrive on structure but with kids, life is so unpredictable and the thought of keeping up with multiple deadlines with not much wiggle room for life to happen is VERY daunting. So, what do y’all think? Which program seems the better fit?

I am a 28(F) who dropped out of university 5 years ago after, funnily enough, going for 5 years. I dropped out for a flurry of reasons, from financial to emotional but I am finally ready to return. I looked through my transcripts recently with a friend of mine who works as an academic counseling assistant at a community college and she told me that I essentially had all the makings of getting my associates and nearly a bachelor’s if I played my cards right. When I was back in college, I was majoring first in English and then switched to Biology as I originally wanted to go into Vet Med. The intensity of the science classes is honestly one of the reasons I dropped out, I felt so overwhelmed and like there was nothing I could do to pass those classes. Since leaving school 5 years ago I got my real estate license and sold a couple of houses, worked as a veterinarian receptionist for a bit and now am an assistant commercial property manager(which I am not mad about but wish I could be paid a bit more for the work load I take on). Through these jobs I’ve learned a couple of things; I would still love an animal centered career, I really enjoy selling homes, I am currently working with my dad to buy his first investment property and I am very much enjoying the experience, I would love to learn more about mental health and maybe go into psychology, I don’t have the money to look into a degree that I can’t start working with pretty quickly, as I am still working on paying off the student debt that I accumulated last time I was in college and I don’t think I can go into another STEM field without a significant amount of help as it damaged my psyche pretty significantly. I know that science classes expire after 5 years when it comes to college so going into a major that doesn’t require many might actually be to my benefit. I am meeting with an academic advisor tomorrow and I just wanted to see if anyone with a similar story might be able to offer some guidance or words of advice because I want to be able to confidently tell her the major that I want to go into to and honestly I still feel at a loss. For reference, I live in Southern California and attended a CalState University.