my ultimate goal is Ed.D HELP FROM THE BEGINNING

[izzyfizzy850]

Hello, 
I'm at a loss. I'm late in the game. I'm almost 32 yrs old. I've been taking courses at community College as long as I can remember I think starting on and off in 2012 then again 2018 and steady from 2018-2024 one or 2 classes at a time because I was working full-time 40/50 hrs a week. I wanted to take all the classes I needed to transfer to a 4 year college like CSUN for my BA in liberal arts studies and teacher preparation program. I would be done this semester by spring at comm. College officially. Csun that's about 4/5 years. But Csun doesn't offer online classes. I can not physically go into the campus because I am still working temp jobs to help me get by in LA as I live alone and it's expensive. But yesterday I broke down crying because idk what to do anymore. I don't have a BA I don't want to waste anymore time in my life. I don't want to be a teacher. The only reason I wanted that path is I wanted to work in higher education.

My ultimate goal: I see myself in administrative roles or leadership roles. I want to get EdD, I want some sort of administrative job or director position in higher education in university. So I thought BA, then master's in education or teaching then a doctorate in education. But that could take 10 years and I also need experience in schools and in administrative roles for doctorate programs. I did some research and found some creditable schools that have dual combined Bachelor's and Master's 
Programs here: 
https://www.mydegreeguide.com/dual-degre...rs-degree/


Are there credible dual programs were I can get a BA and master's at the same time online that you know of?  Also if I don't want to be a teacher at all what other options do I have ? The future is all online and remote so I want a career path that has those options. And ultimately do I need to waste 4 years getting a BA  I hate taking classes that have nothing to do with the actual career fields or majors. Is it possible I can apply to a master's program without a BA?  A counselor at Community College said I can do Bachelor's in Education and Master's in Business or a Bachelor's in Business and Master's in Education but cant find anything with those combined.  

I was thinking business as well but I am not sure what jobs/career that would be good for me. I really never had the support or right direction. Counseling office is always just trying to get you to stay with them as long as possible and take classes you don't need. They are trying to get me to take classes I don't need for my transfer so I can get an associates degree, which is useless. Just so they have higher graduation rates in their community College. They already set my back twice because I was listening to them and trusted them. Please Help I need some guidance please. Side note I've worked with children and students for 12 years as a tutor/nursery school and Nanny that's why I thought I should go the teaching route but I'm exhausted from watching children and do not have the passion to teach. -THANKS 

[Vle045]

What kind of work are you currently doing? It seems like you are on the wrong path if you aren’t interested in teaching. What do you mean by administrative? Many leadership roles in education are filled by those who worked their way up the ranks through teaching. That being said, there are a lot of non-teaching roles, but that wouldn’t require an Education degree at all. There’s marketing, Human Resources, technology, psychology, counseling, just to name a few. Many will be things where you start at an entry level position and work your way up. If you want to work in higher ed, get a job in admissions, enrollment, finance, etc. Then you can use tuition benefits and gain experience to lead whatever department you work in. I work in K-12 education. I started 12 years ago as an administrative assistant. I gained experience in a lot of areas. Now I am working in data & compliance mostly because that’s where my interests and abilities led me.

[RachelB]

Why do you specifically want to be in higher ed if you don't want to teach? What turned you to that direction? Have you just thought for a long time that was what you wanted and now feel like you can't change direction?

If you let us know what classes you've taken, that would help. It's likely that you're a good way toward a degree at UMPI if you're nearing an associates at CC. UMPI has a BLS degree with minors in Management or Project Management that might work for you. TESU also has some degrees that might fit better with admin positions.

I highly suggest doing some more reading on here and also reevaluating what job you actually want, and if getting an Ed.D. is actually worth it. Quite frankly, I doubt it is. Doctorate programs just aren't all that helpful for most people.

[bjcheung77]

@izzyfizzy850, Welcome to the board, nice initial post... I've always wanted to go into 'Education', and a few other industries... Anyways... Please fill us in with the addendum and template here, so we get an even bigger picture of your scenario. Link: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

[Duneranger]

I would LOVE to be a teacher and have a "leader"/admin who has never been in the trenches tell me what to do. It's the same thing with "healthcare admin leaders" who have 0 idea what they are talking about since they aren't clinical.

You know what I do? Ignore them.

Rethink your career path if teaching isn't for you.

[LevelUP]

You could do Business undergrad and then WGU's Educational Leadership Master's.
https://www.wgu.edu/online-teaching-degr...ogram.html

If you do UMPI YourPace, you could be done this year with undergrad.

A lot of people can do a WGU master's in one or two terms.

[bjcheung77]

Yeah, there are so many different pathways just like the one I mentioned to this person here, again, with more details, we'll get you to that destination: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid417200

[Jonathan Whatley]

I don't have a BA I don't want to waste anymore time in my life. I don't want to be a teacher. The only reason I wanted that path is I wanted to work in higher education.

My ultimate goal: I see myself in administrative roles or leadership roles. I want to get EdD, I want some sort of administrative job or director position in higher education in university.

So I thought BA, then master's in education or teaching then a doctorate in education. But that could take 10 years and I also need experience in schools and in administrative roles for doctorate programs. I did some research and found some creditable schools that have dual combined Bachelor's and Master's. […]

Are there credible dual programs were I can get a BA and master's at the same time online that you know of?

It will take years to become a higher education administrator, and it's unlikely a dual bachelor's-master's will reduce that number of years. Further, there's a good chance a dual bachelor's-master's would lock you in both to a bachelor's that wouldn't be as good a fit for you as you could find in the larger market, and to a master's that wouldn't be as good a fit for you as what you could enter in the larger market after completing your bachelor's. (There are a few exceptions, very specific to school and discipline. If you end up at degreeforum favorite UMPI, they have an unusually thrifty option to take courses during the bachelor's that can apply towards an MAOL.)

Also if I don't want to be a teacher at all what other options do I have ? The future is all online and remote so I want a career path that has those options.

That's a big question. You have more of the information needed to answer it than we do.

And ultimately do I need to waste 4 years getting a BA  I hate taking classes that have nothing to do with the actual career fields or majors. Is it possible I can apply to a master's program without a BA?

You're over-focusing on this. You've probably already completed most or all general education and free elective credits at community college. The degreeforum community can also help you accelerate any more gen eds and free electives you need. It's likely the large majority of the rest of your bachelor's will be in your major.

[rachel83az]

What about UMPI? You could do the BLS Educational Studies or something else: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:UMPI

Then make sure you complete 3 classes that count toward the MAOL and you're 25% of the way to that degree. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Un...L)_at_UMPI