Please help me talk some sense into my sister!

[ironheadjack]

I know you said she isn't interested in criminal justice, but if that should change the TDCJ is in desperate need of people. Many of the prisons in Texas are severely understaffed and that includes probation and parole officers.

[sanantone]

Why not talk her into looking at counseling. (like as a career although maybe she needs some too). I know she doesn't like social services but if she looked at counseling maybe she'd change her mind. It's not as scary as it sounds.

The problem with BA and AA degrees in psychology is a lot of people just do them because they think they're easy. This is not the best paying field and you really need to have your heart in it.
If not tell her to go get an MBA although without dedication to set her apart even that may not help much.

I just stopped making suggestions to her. She is hellbent on entering human resources since she thinks it'll provide her with some autonomy.

I know you said she isn't interested in criminal justice, but if that should change the TDCJ is in desperate need of people. Many of the prisons in Texas are severely understaffed and that includes probation and parole officers.

I mentioned probation and parole to her. She has made up her mind about human resources, but has applied to some insurance jobs with no luck so far. I can't figure out why she's so against graduate school. She'll get a better ROI than with earning a second bachelor's.

[mrs.b]

There are a few undergraduate degrees available for I/O Psychology. She took a course; did she have any interest there? It's a happy medium between her current degree and the field she wants to enter. Since she's already got a Psych undergrad, the additional courses needed should be minimal...though there would be additional courses. If an undergrad is wasteful, there are a very small number of graduate certificates available.

Even without that, she might honestly get a job with no direct HR experience. She has management experience, which is typically a plus. That, combined with a degree should get her in the door some place eventually.

If she just goes direct into HR, the pay ceiling is not that high. If she goes the I/O Psych route, she can still go the HR route but will have a bit more sale value to demand a slightly higher rate or can go the self-employed consulting route.

[sanantone]

There are a few undergraduate degrees available for I/O Psychology. She took a course; did she have any interest there? It's a happy medium between her current degree and the field she wants to enter. Since she's already got a Psych undergrad, the additional courses needed should be minimal...though there would be additional courses. If an undergrad is wasteful, there are a very small number of graduate certificates available.

I don't know what we have locally. In the past, she did express an interest in an online masters program in forensic psychology, but has mostly been skeptical of distance education. I don't know what happened since then. I'm thinking all of the psychology courses she took showed her she didn't really have an interest.

If she just goes direct into HR, the pay ceiling is not that high. If she goes the I/O Psych route, she can still go the HR route but will have a bit more sale value to demand a slightly higher rate or can go the self-employed consulting route.

Don't most I/O psych jobs require at least a masters degree and the consulting jobs a PhD?

[Jonathan Whatley]

Could something like this get her more interested in a distance MBA?

[sanantone]

Could something like this get her more interested in a distance MBA?

I'll mention it to her. Thanks.

[mrs.b]

Don't most I/O psych jobs require at least a masters degree and the consulting jobs a PhD?

Consulting requires whatever you can sell, but yes, generally a PhD.

Employers demand education level comparable with what they can afford. Most will demand a graduate degree, but smaller employers may go with an undergrad (if you can find one that knows what I/O Psych is, or work it into a cover letter without sounding condescending). If she goes with an undergrad and does not proceed to graduate work of some time, she would just sell it like any HR-oriented undergraduate, just with a little more explanation since it's not a field that is well-known.

[karenc3]

Now, she's telling me that she's just going to get another degree, but doesn't want to go to graduate school. I know that an MBA or masters in human resources would be a bad idea for someone without related experience, but I think getting a second bachelors is a horrible idea, especially if it's going to be in business. She could cheaply test out of another degree at TESC, but she's never been open to testing out. I just think it would be stupid of her to take out more student loans for a second bachelor's, and she turn down all of my ideas for certifications.

I faced a similar situation, and I am going for a second bachelors. Depending on the school you just have to finish the courses for the major, so it's usually about 30 credits. I did look into going for a masters but found I needed most of the coursework anyway that I would need for the second major before applying for a masters. I am now almost done with the second bachelor's and will probably go for a master's after finishing. I feel that I would need the foundation of the undergraduate courses before going for a master's.

[sanantone]

I faced a similar situation, and I am going for a second bachelors. Depending on the school you just have to finish the courses for the major, so it's usually about 30 credits. I did look into going for a masters but found I needed most of the coursework anyway that I would need for the second major before applying for a masters. I am now almost done with the second bachelor's and will probably go for a master's after finishing. I feel that I would need the foundation of the undergraduate courses before going for a master's.

If someone is getting a graduate degree in engineering, computer science, a natural science, or something similar, I could understand getting a second bachelor's. The amount of prerequisites needed for an MBA varies widely, so it depends. I doubt many prerequisites are needed for a masters in human resources.