Going back to school...

How do you choose and attain a college degree?
Part 2 in a series

 

Summary of Part 1:  In the first section we discussed the reasons you may have for wanting to earn a college degree be it that you never started or one that has been delayed.  We also discussed the differences between your college options: community or 4 year college or distance learning/online classes. 

 

The question for this article is what do you want to study – and what do you expect to do with that degree?  Let’s first discuss the types of degrees.

 

Types of Degrees - almost as many as the stars in the sky

 

The bachelor's degree, also called the baccalaureate, is traditionally a four year full time program that many people now finish in five full years (or longer, if not full time). There are several types of bachelor's degrees: The Bachelor of Arts (BA) is awarded to most liberal arts students; the Bachelor of Science (BS) is awarded to students who have taken most of their hours in hard sciences like math, chemistry, biology, or physics; the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is given to those who have specialized in performance or visual arts, like music or painting; and the Bachelor of Science in Education (BSEd) is awarded to some students heading into the teaching profession.

 

Bachelor's degrees are awarded by colleges and universities, and are usually sufficient to land an entry level job. Some bachelor's degrees are also professional degrees. For example, there are two types of nursing degrees: The RN (Registered Nurse) degree is usually a four year BS degree.  In most states you can also earn an RN degree from a 2 year community college.  They tend to spend more time in "practice" but less time in the theory of science and medicine.  So there is less "book work" but that in itself may have it's drawbacks for your future advancement.  The bachelors program is probably best if you plan to "climb the nursing ladder" so to speak and work your way into management.   Licensed Practicing Nurse (LPN) degrees are a shorter program and LPNs are not able to do some of the things that an RN can. Other bachelor's degree programs that are also professional degrees include, accounting, sports training (though these are now master's programs), or engineering. There are a couple other professions, like architecture or criminal justice, which usually require 3-2 programs, in which the first three years are spent in a bachelor's degree program, and then the other two years are spent in a specialized professional school.

 

Beyond the bachelor's degree, there are post-baccalaureate, or graduate, degrees. The first level of graduate degrees are known as master's degrees. Master's degrees usually take between 2 and 3 years of full time work and sometimes require writing a significant research paper, known as a thesis and usually consisting of between 100 and 150 pages. The most common types of master's degrees are continuances of the bachelor's degrees: The Master of Arts (MA); Master of Science (MS); Master of Fine Arts (MFA); Master of Education (Med); and the Master of Business Administration (MBA).

 

Students who receive master's degrees and want to continue studying beyond that generally enter a doctorate program. The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is awarded to those who have mastered a field of the liberal arts, social sciences (which doesn't always include those studying to be psychologists, which is an applied science profession, to which the doctorate is sometimes known as the PsychD), or hard sciences (which doesn't include medicine, which is also an applied science). Doctorates who study education receive the EdD and usually use it to be principals or high schools, college professors, or college presidents.

 

There are also professional graduate degrees. These usually take between 2 and 5 years and include components of traditional memorization style education as well as practical applications of that knowledge. These degrees are usually earned in professional graduate schools which are attached to colleges or universities – for example, the University of Michigan Medical School, Harvard Law School, or Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (now known as Trinity International University (independent of but on the same campus of Trinity College in the Chicago area). Examples of professional graduate degrees include the Juris Doctor (JD), a law degree; the Doctor of Medicine (MD) and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO); Doctor of Dentistry (DDS or DMD) or cleric degrees (for religious leaders) like the Master of Divinity (Mdiv) Master or Doctorate of Theology (ThM; ThD), or the designation of Rabbi. 

 

Once you earned a degree, what do people do with them?

 

What can you do with a bachelor's degree? Or a master's degree? Or a doctorate? Well, there is good news available for those who put in their time effort and money to earn a college degree at any level:  even though studies show that 10 years out of school after a bachelor's degree program most people are working in fields not directly related to their major (statistics are somewhat different for folks graduating from professional schools or graduate schools), those with earned degrees do see an increase in their average salary.  Salary.com's calculations for 2003 show that with just a high school diploma, the average salary is $26,000 whereas those who earn a bachelor's degree average salary is $43,000, and with a master's degree, they average $53,000. 

 

But what can you do with each of these degrees?  Basically, if you have an associate's or bachelor's degree that isn't in a professional program like nursing, engineering, or teaching, your degree equally qualifies you for a variety of entry level jobs. What sort of jobs you can get may depend greatly on your previous work experience and especially on internships that you held during school. Unless you have significant research experience, a BA in psychology is pretty similar to a BA in sociology or philosophy – meaning the degree will open doors in general, because it shows that you did what it took to earn a degree, but the degree itself does not allow for a specific career. 

 

What these liberal arts degrees do prepare you well for is graduate school. With a master's degree, you can do a number of more jobs than with a bachelor's. You can teach at either the high school or community college level – most states don't require folks with master's degrees to get teaching certificates. With an MA or MFA in English writing or journalism you can definitely get writing jobs of various sorts – like editing or writing for a local newspaper. With an MBA you're ready to enter in at the middle management level or help a local business step it up. And with an MA in theology, like the program I completed several years ago, you can work in various ministry positions and of course teach. 

 

If you move up to the doctorate level, you will be able to teach at a college or university, write books (often too academic for most people to be really interested in), or lead research teams. Actually, there are a fair number of things that require doctorates in our current society. In part that is due to there being many more students who have earned a PhD today than there were 50 years ago, and with that there are additional specialized information and research jobs than there used to be.

 

Professional graduate degrees are considered the "shoe-in" when it comes to landing a good career -- careers that are useful to society – and careers that will land you solid consistent work and the income that goes with it. Doctors, lawyers, dentists, engineers, architects – and a fairly new one in the mix is a DPT – doctor of physical therapy (previously, they normally held a masters degree).  Aren't these what we all dreamed of becoming one day?  Go for it, why can't you be what you want to be? Too old to be a doctor?  You would be surprised at how old some students are.  In fact with the inception of online programs -- which you can find at nearly every major and minor university or college in the country as well as a number of excellent private colleges that do nothing but online studies -- it has never been easier to go back to school, and it’s never too late.

 

What is it that motivates you to go to school – especially those who have sat out for several years?  We’ll begin discussing that process and more in parts 3 and 4 of this series. 

 

About the Author:
Mark Whyte has taught Sociology for the last 7 years as an online college professor.  He also owns and operates a website at http://www.packupthehouse.com, where he assists you to find the just the right moving boxes, shipping company, rental trucks, supplies to get organized, and of course bubble wrap, moving tape and moving supplies when you move from your homes or businesses.