Former Biology Major working adult- finish online or change majors?

[daboywonder2002]

biology major. 101 credits. didnt finish senior year.my situation is tougher because it sounds difficult to complete a biology degree online. i went to school in virginia (94-97) but now i live in minnesota for work. how should i handle this. i want to go to a school that will accept most of my credits. i know some have a time frame. but if i have a chance to get them accepted, i have to take it. My ultimate goal is to either be a PA, NP, OR go to pharmacy school. right now i do tech support and i want to get out this field so bad. i just dont have a passion for it. Even if i went to school online, im willing to major in something science or healthcare related if need be. what should be my plan of action? i mainly wanna change careers from IT TO healthcare.

[cookderosa]

Gosh, so many different options- these aren't all "kinda the same" in any respect....so the advice really depends on where your passion is. I mean if you want to get into PA school, that's a whole different game than heading into nursing...or pharmacy. Of course none of your target goals is the ideal end for a degree through any of the big 3 and distance learning (not saying it can't be done- it's just harder than what most members here are doing- which is checking the box). If you had to pick one path as the one you're MOST passionate about, which one would it be?

[daboywonder2002]

Gosh, so many different options- these aren't all "kinda the same" in any respect....so the advice really depends on where your passion is. I mean if you want to get into PA school, that's a whole different game than heading into nursing...or pharmacy. Of course none of your target goals is the ideal end for a degree through any of the big 3 and distance learning (not saying it can't be done- it's just harder than what most members here are doing- which is checking the box). If you had to pick one path as the one you're MOST passionate about, which one would it be?

honestly im not sure. i miss school and learning but i need a real career as well. np schools can be finished in 2 years. that would be the fastest. i would love pharmacy but with kids and a family that would be hard. other than that, i dont mind just taking my bachelors and going with that. with biology you can do so many things. thats what i love about it.

[sanantone]

honestly im not sure. i miss school and learning but i need a real career as well. np schools can be finished in 2 years. that would be the fastest. i would love pharmacy but with kids and a family that would be hard. other than that, i dont mind just taking my bachelors and going with that. with biology you can do so many things. thats what i love about it.

NP programs aren't necessarily the fastest. For the overwhelming majority of programs, you'll need to be a BSN first. Some will take you as an RN with a non-nursing bachelor's. There are a few that are direct entry where you don't need to be a registered nurse. From what I've seen, direct entry and RN to NP programs are longer than two years. The fastest would actually be PA school.

[sweetcrabhoney]

Aim for the biology degree and determine after what kind of medical school you want.

I'm doing the same thing -- it's easier than getting overwhelmed and stressing about it. I've been spending hours online just "looking" at health careers.

There are tons of options -- some take longer than others.. but like you said -- biology is the way into it all.

OH.. some medical schools for master's only require 60 credits with the science requirements met so consider those too.

My mother was an RN then an NP then a OB/GYN -- it's a long ride for sure.

[ajs1976]

biology major. 101 credits. didnt finish senior year.my situation is tougher because it sounds difficult to complete a biology degree online.

I have a similar background but with a chemistry major. Depending on how many upper level credits you have, you may be able to finish up a Bio degree online. Its hard because there are not a not of upper level testing options and some programs have lab requirements. Not sure how well that would work into your career goals.

Biology - Charter Oak State College Catalog
Thomas Edison State College: Biology

Other possibilities:
Health Studies - Charter Oak State College Catalog
Thomas Edison State College: Natural Sciences/Mathematics

As a Bio major did you have to take a lot of suppport classes like stats, chem, o-chem, and physics? You may want to look into the NS/M at TESC.

[Lindagerr]

I started off with very old (some over 30 years) science credits I was originally thinking I would go for a chemistry degree using PLA to finish up, I had worked in a chemistry lab for over 25 years. Once I started I realized how much harder and more time consuming the chemistry would be. I ended up going for the TESC natural science/ Mathematics BA. The degree did open some doors, but I was in my late 50's so ageism closed a lot of those doors. If you just want some kind of science degree this might be the quickest. Are your previous credits from a CC or 4 year school? If 4 year TESC may give some UL credits.

[daboywonder2002]

I started off with very old (some over 30 years) science credits I was originally thinking I would go for a chemistry degree using PLA to finish up, I had worked in a chemistry lab for over 25 years. Once I started I realized how much harder and more time consuming the chemistry would be. I ended up going for the TESC natural science/ Mathematics BA. The degree did open some doors, but I was in my late 50's so ageism closed a lot of those doors. If you just want some kind of science degree this might be the quickest. Are your previous credits from a CC or 4 year school? If 4 year TESC may give some UL credits.

4 year school

[daboywonder2002]

here is a list of classes i took already.

freshman- reading 101 (i didnt need the class but those placement tests said otherwise)

english- 101 and 102, spanish 101 and 102, speech 103

history(world civ and african american history)

health, physical education( i took archery and advanced bowling)

university 101, math 117- pre calculus, intro to biology

sophmore year

humanities 201 and 202, intermediate spanish 201 and 202

intro to psychology, intro to sociology

biology classes- botany and zoology(got a d in zoology)

general chemistry 201 and 202

junior year

biology classes- mircobiology, genetics, vertebrate morphogenesis

american history

edu 200 foundations of education. edu 208- educational psychology

statistics

physics 201 and 202

[ajs1976]

what are the course numbers for the bio electives? Any 300s or 400s?