Career Options?

[dfrecore]

Ok I have been really thinking this through carefully the past few days. I have been trying to figure out what I truly want to do. I have decided I am interested in either teaching or senior level management... The teaching route is easy I already know how to get there but if I want to move up in management where do I even start? Like what kind of management do people usually go into to work there way up? Do I need any certs? I currently will have a Bachelors in Liberal Studies, AA in Liberal Studies and a AA in Business Administration Management. I am 7 courses from a Bachelors in Business Administration that I plan on finishing after my degree is conferred. I realize I will need a Masters eventually but do I start in retail management now? Or supervisor positions in warehouses?? There is a wide range available ... but I don’t want to waste time in the wrong position.

This is just my opinion, so take it for what it's worth.  I'm sure others will chime in here with other thoughts and experiences.

First, you probably won't get to senior level management without a BSBA, and possibly even an MBA.

Second, you definitely won't get there without many years of work experience in the field.  So even if you had a BSBA and MBA, if you have no experience, you're going to start pretty low on the food chain.  Not entry-level, certainly, but maybe mid-level type stuff where other recent college grads will start out.

Third, you really need to narrow it down.  Retail management is completely different than warehouse supervisor, which is different than any other type of work.  You have to spend some time seeing what's available in your area, what sounds interesting, really researching different jobs/careers.  THEN, you can go to work with your BSBA and see what the environment is like.

Fourth, I'm guessing it would take at LEAST 10 years to work up to a more senior management level position wherever you end up.  Depending on the size of the company, it could be faster or slower - big companies will take longer, but have more opportunities to learn new things, cross-train, or move laterally for different experience.  Smaller companies usually need you to take on additional responsibilities outside of a normal large company because they don't have the headcount to have a specialist in everything.

There is no single path to the career you're talking about, there are a million ways to get to where you want to go, and no one here can tell you the perfect steps to take to get you there.

[cali86]

Ok I have been really thinking this through carefully the past few days. I have been trying to figure out what I truly want to do. I have decided I am interested in either teaching or senior level management... The teaching route is easy I already know how to get there but if I want to move up in management where do I even start? Like what kind of management do people usually go into to work there way up? Do I need any certs? I currently will have a Bachelors in Liberal Studies, AA in Liberal Studies and a AA in Business Administration Management. I am 7 courses from a Bachelors in Business Administration that I plan on finishing after my degree is conferred. I realize I will need a Masters eventually but do I start in retail management now? Or supervisor positions in warehouses?? There is a wide range available ... but I don’t want to waste time in the wrong position.

This is just my opinion, so take it for what it's worth.  I'm sure others will chime in here with other thoughts and experiences.

First, you probably won't get to senior level management without a BSBA, and possibly even an MBA.

Second, you definitely won't get there without many years of work experience in the field.  So even if you had a BSBA and MBA, if you have no experience, you're going to start pretty low on the food chain.  Not entry-level, certainly, but maybe mid-level type stuff where other recent college grads will start out.

Third, you really need to narrow it down.  Retail management is completely different than warehouse supervisor, which is different than any other type of work.  You have to spend some time seeing what's available in your area, what sounds interesting, really researching different jobs/careers.  THEN, you can go to work with your BSBA and see what the environment is like.

Fourth, I'm guessing it would take at LEAST 10 years to work up to a more senior management level position wherever you end up.  Depending on the size of the company, it could be faster or slower - big companies will take longer, but have more opportunities to learn new things, cross-train, or move laterally for different experience.  Smaller companies usually need you to take on additional responsibilities outside of a normal large company because they don't have the headcount to have a specialist in everything.

There is no single path to the career you're talking about, there are a million ways to get to where you want to go, and no one here can tell you the perfect steps to take to get you there.

I know it will take time and is a long shot but I don't see it as impossible. I have an uncle who worked his way up and is a district manager running some of the foster farms. He started from the bottom`

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Ok I have been really thinking this through carefully the past few days. I have been trying to figure out what I truly want to do. I have decided I am interested in either teaching or senior level management... The teaching route is easy I already know how to get there but if I want to move up in management where do I even start? Like what kind of management do people usually go into to work there way up? Do I need any certs? I currently will have a Bachelors in Liberal Studies, AA in Liberal Studies and a AA in Business Administration Management. I am 7 courses from a Bachelors in Business Administration that I plan on finishing after my degree is conferred. I realize I will need a Masters eventually but do I start in retail management now? Or supervisor positions in warehouses?? There is a wide range available ... but I don’t want to waste time in the wrong position.

This is just my opinion, so take it for what it's worth.  I'm sure others will chime in here with other thoughts and experiences.

First, you probably won't get to senior level management without a BSBA, and possibly even an MBA.

Second, you definitely won't get there without many years of work experience in the field.  So even if you had a BSBA and MBA, if you have no experience, you're going to start pretty low on the food chain.  Not entry-level, certainly, but maybe mid-level type stuff where other recent college grads will start out.

Third, you really need to narrow it down.  Retail management is completely different than warehouse supervisor, which is different than any other type of work.  You have to spend some time seeing what's available in your area, what sounds interesting, really researching different jobs/careers.  THEN, you can go to work with your BSBA and see what the environment is like.

Fourth, I'm guessing it would take at LEAST 10 years to work up to a more senior management level position wherever you end up.  Depending on the size of the company, it could be faster or slower - big companies will take longer, but have more opportunities to learn new things, cross-train, or move laterally for different experience.  Smaller companies usually need you to take on additional responsibilities outside of a normal large company because they don't have the headcount to have a specialist in everything.

There is no single path to the career you're talking about, there are a million ways to get to where you want to go, and no one here can tell you the perfect steps to take to get you there.

I know it will take time and is a long shot but I don't see it as impossible. I have an uncle who worked his way up and is a district manager running some of the foster farms. He started from the bottom where everyone starts and he moved up fast. I have my self employment experience and 4 years of retail experience so that definitely will not hurt me when trying to find a job starting off. I agree no one can tell me I just cannot decide on one area so far! Ok I will continue researching and try to narrow it down more.

[bjcheung77]

Cali86, you're still young at roughly 30 years of age, you've got time on your hands... if you were my age, 40+, I would get you to skip the BSBA and go directly into an MBA. I recommend the following 3 things: 1) Experience, work a few years in your desired profession to get the experience your future employers seek. 2) Education, get that BSBA if you're wanting to get into upper echelon management, it'll prepare you for the MBA 3) Network/Research, find out what is required for your future career and get the required certs/skills, for example, a Project+ and PMP for Project Management, SPHR for Human Resources, whatever "upper management" you're looking for.

[Ideas]

I agree, go straight for the MBA if you're not trying to do education administration. (Get an Education Administration degree if you're sure you want to do that type.)

Since you mentioned some IT topics in your original post, you might consider going for IT management jobs. I think that it's possible to move up quicker in that field, but it's probably slower to complete the Masters degree, for anyone who isn't already experienced in IT.

[cardiacclep]

I would suggest to first finish your business degree. I do not see any downside to this and a business degree could be an asset in any field whether it be tech or teaching. Sounds like you need to really figure out what you want to do. You mentioned you taught preschool for a bit so with that experience you should know if teaching is your passion or not. Maybe shadow a teacher for a bit if they allow. Everything sounds great from an outside perspective. As far as tech goes, you may not have to do another bachelors. You can do certs and network in local cyber meetups instead. I can relate to what you are going through as I still battle what to do with myself as well. No matter what you decide, the one thing I have learned is jobs often come from referrals and networking with education being a secondary or check in the box. Good luck.