Which degree route would be best?

[originalamyj]

When I was 18 and headed off to college many moons ago I majored in Finance because that's what my father told me to do to be the most successful. I h a t e d it and was terrible at those courses but I managed to rack up some business classes above a C. Then I was fortunate enough to take a psych class and I loved it so much that I changed my major. I never finished because I got married and moved (hence why I am now working on this) but for years after I represented my college experience in job interviews as the perfect choice for sales, as someone who is knowledgeable about business and "people".

My advice to my teenage kids is to pursue the degree you love. The advice you have here is correct, most jobs just want the degree.

[Supermind]

Why not take both degrees for a bit more money and time?  You can use the BSBA as your "fall back" plan and use your BA Psychology as the degree of choice.  You can have both in the resume when you graduate at the same time for one graduation/residency waiver/cornerstone fee...the only catch is to graduate/finish requirements at the same time.

If you just want one of the degrees, guess what, you can get exactly 90 credits from the BSBA transferred into your BA Psych, or vice versa, the other way around, haha... it just depends what courses you take.  You can prolong your decision by taking the exact courses required.  But my suggestion is, do both as the BSBA is the cheapest/easiest/fastest ACBSP accredited degree!

If I was younger like my cousin, I would have gone with two degrees at the same time, especially when it would cost $1098 for the capstone, $200/2 Study.com courses, $70/extra Study.com exam.   5 Study.com courses would equate to $410 and in total, that second degree would be roughly $1500 (that is if the requirements can all be matched with Study.com, I haven't fully looked into it yet)!

Could you please elaborate a little more on how this double degree process works? Can the same credits be used to fulfill the requirements for two degrees? Are there common subjects for BSBA & BA-Psych.? And do we work on two different capstone projects? How much in excess would I be paying if I opted for the BSBA degree as well?

For a second bachelors you need 24 additional credits. 
For capstones it would likely be 1 business capstone and 1 liberal arts capstone.

Ok Thank you. I don't think I can opt for a WGU MBA as I believe WGU does not serve International students currently.

[hsfamfun]

When I was 18 and headed off to college many moons ago I majored in Finance because that's what my father told me to do to be the most successful. I   h a t e d   it and was terrible at those courses but I managed to rack up some business classes above a C.  

My advice to my teenage kids is to pursue the degree you love. The advice you have here is correct, most jobs just want the degree.

This was MY experience, too.  My dad was an accountant and was sure that was the path for me, so off I went to college in 1987 with a declared major of accounting.  That lasted until my first class in accounting.  I was and am a musician and I wanted to be a music major.  I played in the Orchestra and was on a scholarship that paid my tuition if I played in the Orchestra each semester.  I did finish, due to that.  However, my degree ended up being Business Admin and French double major and a music minor.  The thing is, I have only ever needed to check the box that I have a degree.

[a2jc4life]

I would also ask yourself how much it matters to you to get a job that's related to your degree. My sister majored in Psych. She's spent her entire adult life managing a shoe store -- and she loves it and is good at it. But it isn't directly related to psychology. (Well, I guess you have to understand people in order to sell them things, but it isn't related in the traditional sense.) If that is going to BOTHER you, it's probably a bigger deal to be picky about which degree you pursue than if you don't care.

[eriehiker]

I think that the most important thing is to have a plan and minimize risk. There are many people in the world who pick unhappy careers, make a lot of money and then retire happily. If you can take it, this might be a good option. Taking on a lot of debt for a degree with poor job prospects is probably an unacceptable risk, but if you keep costs low, you can make it work. Just save money and invest in low-cost index funds.

[dfrecore]

I think that the most important thing is to have a plan and minimize risk.  There are many people in the world who pick unhappy careers, make a lot of money and then retire happily.  If you can take it, this might be a good option.  Taking on a lot of debt for a degree with poor job prospects is probably an unacceptable risk, but if you keep costs low, you can make it work.  Just save money and invest in low-cost index funds.

There is no way in hell I would pick a career that made me unhappy.  That's nuts.  You have 20-30-40 years, 8+ hours a day, 5 days a week doing something you hate?  No thank you.

There is a TON of space in between choosing a low-paying career that you love, and a high-paying one that you hate.  Find something between those 2 things and you're fine.

[sanantone]

I think that the most important thing is to have a plan and minimize risk.  There are many people in the world who pick unhappy careers, make a lot of money and then retire happily.  If you can take it, this might be a good option.  Taking on a lot of debt for a degree with poor job prospects is probably an unacceptable risk, but if you keep costs low, you can make it work.  Just save money and invest in low-cost index funds.

There is no way in hell I would pick a career that made me unhappy.  That's nuts.  You have 20-30-40 years, 8+ hours a day, 5 days a week doing something you hate?  No thank you.

There is a TON of space in between choosing a low-paying career that you love, and a high-paying one that you hate.  Find something between those 2 things and you're fine.

Especially since most people won't retire until they're 70 in the future. I'd hate for my happiest years to be when I'm close to death. 

I always tell people to figure out what they enjoy doing and find jobs that use those skills. Do you like art? Look into graphic design, game design, or web design. Do you like writing? Look into technical or grant writing.