Seeking advice - should I switch degrees?

[impasta]

Hello everyone,

I’m having a bad case of choice paralysis and I was hoping I could get some advice here.
I’m a little less than 30 credit hours away from getting a BS in Psychology from Excelsior, but I’m regretting my degree choice. I didn’t really know what I was doing when I first enrolled there (…and then I found degreeforum, haha). At this point in my life, I’m confident that I won’t pursue a career or any further education in psychology. I’m also not too happy with my experience with Excelsior, and I dread the thought of taking (and paying for) my Capstone and the required “Research & Writing” class.

I was thinking about transferring to WGU and getting either a BS in Business or IT (Software Development). I’m both interested in business and IT. I have a few years of management experience, but only limited experience in tech (no work experience, but I’ve been studying web development as a “hobby” for a few months). For the business degree I could hypothetically transfer in about 60 credit hours, and I know many people complete degrees there in 1-2 terms with lots of hard work. For the IT degree, I would not be able to transfer nearly as many credit hours. Now I’m really in no hurry to graduate since I have a well-paying job (in the completely unrelated field of Emergency Communications), but I also don’t want to be in school forever.

My main goal is to eventually get a location-independent job. I’m actually a dual-citizen; most of my family lives in Europe. I’m also a travel enthusiast. I know I won’t be truly fulfilled unless I can get a job that allows me to travel while working remotely. From my research, IT seems to be the best option, but  I’m also a little intimidated because there is so much to learn (not saying that I’m not willing to work hard!). It seems like there are also some opportunities for remote work in business, though not as many.

Basically, I’m wondering if I should really switch my degree or just “suck it up” and finish my psych BS and then get an MBA from WGU while studying and obtaining IT certifications on the side. I do feel like a business or IT degree holds more weight than a psychology degree, considering the fact that I’m not actually going for a career in psychology.

I’m just feeling a little lost, so any advice is greatly appreciated.

And thanks to anyone who is taking the time to read this!

[dfrecore]

List your credits, and let's see if you're close to getting a BALS at TESU or COSC. You could quickly get your BALS, so as not to lose any credits (or as few as possible), and then you have the choice of a BS or MS in IT at WGU, with a block transfer if you choose a BS. In the meantime, you can study for the IT certs you want, and will have a degree already (because chances are with either a BSBA or BSIT at WGU, not many credits will transfer to the major; I'm guessing you haven't taken much of either in the major).

[cookderosa]

Hello everyone,

I’m having a bad case of choice paralysis and I was hoping I could get some advice here.
I’m a little less than 30 credit hours away from getting a BS in Psychology from Excelsior, but I’m regretting my degree choice. I didn’t really know what I was doing when I first enrolled there (…and then I found degreeforum, haha). At this point in my life, I’m confident that I won’t pursue a career or any further education in psychology. I’m also not too happy with my experience with Excelsior, and I dread the thought of taking (and paying for) my Capstone and the required “Research & Writing” class.

I was thinking about transferring to WGU and getting either a BS in Business or IT (Software Development). I’m both interested in business and IT. I have a few years of management experience, but only limited experience in tech (no work experience, but I’ve been studying web development as a “hobby” for a few months). For the business degree I could hypothetically transfer in about 60 credit hours, and I know many people complete degrees there in 1-2 terms with lots of hard work. For the IT degree, I would not be able to transfer nearly as many credit hours. Now I’m really in no hurry to graduate since I have a well-paying job (in the completely unrelated field of Emergency Communications), but I also don’t want to be in school forever.

My main goal is to eventually get a location-independent job. I’m actually a dual-citizen; most of my family lives in Europe. I’m also a travel enthusiast. I know I won’t be truly fulfilled unless I can get a job that allows me to travel while working remotely. From my research, IT seems to be the best option, but  I’m also a little intimidated because there is so much to learn (not saying that I’m not willing to work hard!). It seems like there are also some opportunities for remote work in business, though not as many.

Basically, I’m wondering if I should really switch my degree or just “suck it up” and finish my psych BS and then get an MBA from WGU while studying and obtaining IT certifications on the side. I do feel like a business or IT degree holds more weight than a psychology degree, considering the fact that I’m not actually going for a career in psychology.

I’m just feeling a little lost, so any advice is greatly appreciated.

And thanks to anyone who is taking the time to read this!

"suck it up" is good advice when you have to get a through something that's good for you and you know the ends justify the means. This is not that. You're an adult making a career change, the degree should match. After you list your credits, Dfrecore will do an eval, and you'll still have to decide, but based on what you explained in your post, I can't see Psychology as fitting in to the picture at all. Even if you did "suck it up" and then did IT / MBA in grad school, you're wasting your time earning expensive upper level psychology credits that won't be useful or helpful.
My advice is to pick the degree that gets you the job. Kids/teens get degrees to find themselves and find their passion - adults get degrees to get better jobs. You can do this!!

[sanantone]

Does WGU have an MS in IT? I only see an MS in IT Management. It's not a technical degree, and it's not a general business degree. It's useful for those who have the experience to get a job in IT management.

These are the admissions requirements for WGU's more technical graduate degrees. A BALS, alone, will not gain you admission.

https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/cy...ogram.html

https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/da...ogram.html

[impasta]

Thanks for your reply!

I'm at work right now but I'll pull up my transcript and make a list of my credits as soon as possible.

I know I have way too many Shmoop credits (over 60) that TESU won't take; I actually have excess general ed LL credits and barely any UL. I spoke to an enrollment counselor at WGU who said they will take any applicable Shmoop credits but I saw some people on here and on Reddit claim that WGU does NOT take Shmoop, so I'm in the process of confirming that with their transcript department (though I haven't applied yet). I'll report back when I have an answer.

I am planning on enrolling at Eastern Gateway Community College soon to get my AAB Business MGMT - Information Systems because it's free through my union, so I'll be able to get some extra LL business and IT credits that WGU would take.

Regardless of what I do, I'll still have to get a bunch of UL courses and as far as I know COSC requires just as many as Excelsior does. TESU would've been nice because they require fewer UL courses but the whole Shmoop debacle ruined that for me.

Plus, I'm not sure about COSC's admission requirements but I had to get my HS diploma translated for Excelsior (I went to HS in Austria) and it was an expensive pain in the butt. WGU says they wouldn't need me to submit my HS diploma since I was already enrolled at Excelsior.

[sanantone]

I don't think you should finish the degree in psychology if you have no interest in it, but since we're on the subject of IT and psychology...Psychology does have a place in IT, and it's, ironically, related to web development.

Qualifications:

A degree in design or a design-related discipline (industrial design, user-centered design, visual design, design strategy, design management, human factors, psychology, human-computer interaction, etc.)

https://www.indeed.com/cmp/TD-Bank/jobs/...7806&vjs=3

Requirements
2+ years' experience working in a firm where product/service strategies and innovation were a significant percentage of your time and focus.
Bachelor's degree in HCI, or visual design, or psychology a plus.
Exceptional analytical, conceptual, and problem-solving abilities.
Experience with applying Design Thinking methodologies
Excellent oral and written communication skills, and comfortable presenting (and interacting with) everyone from entry-level employees to vice presidents.
Collaborative working style, willingness to flex roles and responsibilities when needed to support larger team goals and outcomes.
Can demonstrate proficiency in prototyping tools like Sketch, invision and other Adobe tools

https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=d0398c...serp&vjs=3

[Kima]

Hello everyone,

I’m having a bad case of choice paralysis and I was hoping I could get some advice here.
I’m a little less than 30 credit hours away from getting a BS in Psychology from Excelsior, but I’m regretting my degree choice. I didn’t really know what I was doing when I first enrolled there (…and then I found degreeforum, haha). At this point in my life, I’m confident that I won’t pursue a career or any further education in psychology. I’m also not too happy with my experience with Excelsior, and I dread the thought of taking (and paying for) my Capstone and the required “Research & Writing” class.

I was thinking about transferring to WGU and getting either a BS in Business or IT (Software Development). I’m both interested in business and IT. I have a few years of management experience, but only limited experience in tech (no work experience, but I’ve been studying web development as a “hobby” for a few months). For the business degree I could hypothetically transfer in about 60 credit hours, and I know many people complete degrees there in 1-2 terms with lots of hard work. For the IT degree, I would not be able to transfer nearly as many credit hours. Now I’m really in no hurry to graduate since I have a well-paying job (in the completely unrelated field of Emergency Communications), but I also don’t want to be in school forever.

My main goal is to eventually get a location-independent job. I’m actually a dual-citizen; most of my family lives in Europe. I’m also a travel enthusiast. I know I won’t be truly fulfilled unless I can get a job that allows me to travel while working remotely. From my research, IT seems to be the best option, but  I’m also a little intimidated because there is so much to learn (not saying that I’m not willing to work hard!). It seems like there are also some opportunities for remote work in business, though not as many.

Basically, I’m wondering if I should really switch my degree or just “suck it up” and finish my psych BS and then get an MBA from WGU while studying and obtaining IT certifications on the side. I do feel like a business or IT degree holds more weight than a psychology degree, considering the fact that I’m not actually going for a career in psychology.

I’m just feeling a little lost, so any advice is greatly appreciated.

And thanks to anyone who is taking the time to read this!

Hi!

I don’t really have any specific advice for you.  But I can offer a few observations from my own experience with both Excelsior (BSLA) and WGU (Currently enrolled in the MBA IT Management program). 

Excelsior courses can definitely be hit or miss.  And student support is quite insufficient.  However, the capstone course was a great preparation for the amount and level of writing required in the MBA program at WGU.  The course instructor was amazing! And that really made the course worthwhile.

As for WGU, I’ve found the student support there to be outstanding.  I’m on my fifth course with WGU and each one of them has been interesting and challenging.   Deciding to get my MBA was absolutely the right choice for me.

I wish you the best of luck in making the decision that's right for you!

[davewill]

"suck it up" is good advice when you have to get a through something that's good for you and you know the ends justify the means.  This is not that.  You're an adult making a career change, the degree should match.  After you list your credits, Dfrecore will do an eval, and you'll still have to decide, but based on what you explained in your post, I can't see Psychology as fitting in to the picture at all.  Even if you did "suck it up" and then did IT / MBA in grad school, you're wasting your time earning expensive upper level psychology credits that won't be useful or helpful.  
My advice is to pick the degree that gets you the job.  Kids/teens get degrees to find themselves and find their passion - adults get degrees to get better jobs.  You can do this!!

I most heartily agree. Get a degree that allows you to move your career forward. However, don't choose IT or Software Development if you don't have an affinity or passion for it. If you think you might, but aren't sure, take a few inexpensive courses, whether for credit or not, and find out. If you REALLY don't know what degree to get, but know that any bachelor's will let you get a better job or work overseas, then consider going the shortest route, (depends on your current credits, perhaps liberal studies) and just get that initial degree under your belt. THEN you can earn money while you look for further opportunities.

[allvia]

I am planning on enrolling at Eastern Gateway Community College soon to get my AAB Business MGMT - Information Systems because it's free through my union, so I'll be able to get some extra LL business and IT credits that WGU would take.

Keep in mind that any course credit to WGU need to be complete and transfer in before enrolling (which is not the same as applying to the school).  Once you're enrolled at WGU you can no longer transfer in anything to them.

[Johmford]

Finish the psych degree, go to WGU to do MS Cybersecurity or similar.