Online Degrees and CLEP and DSST Exam Prep Discussion
Midlife Career Change - Printable Version

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Midlife Career Change - hallowoptimism - 05-11-2023

I am currently a Stay at Home Mom, and have been researching the cheapest way to help my six children get affordable college education. Then I started daydreaming about possibly going back for a different degree myself. 

Current degrees:
BS Anatomy
BS Health & Wellness 
Doctorate of Chiropractic 

Healthcare is no longer my passion, and I think it'd be nice to have something that would allow me to easily get back into the workplace while working remotely as my children get older. Also, to make a good amount of money to make it worth my time & effort.  Cybersecurity, maybe? I'm certainly open to anything that would make finding a good job easy.

I see restrictions on second bachelor's degrees ... this would be my third. Is that a problem? Or is there a Masters that I should go for? I also see comments about not being able to get a degree "under" what is currently had (ie no associates when you already have a bachelors) ... would I even be able to get another Bachelors or Masters since I have a doctorate? 

What would you do if you were me? Which degree and from where? 

Help a 40 year old woman out!

RE: Midlife Career Change - dfrecore - 05-11-2023

Yes, you can get another bachelor's degree, especially if it's one where you are changing career fields. That wouldn't be a problem.

I don't think a check-the-box degree will help at all, since you already have that. So you need to focus on getting a degree that will give you the career that you want. Unfortunately, you don't really know what you want to do.

My suggestion is to spend a LOT of time trying to figure out what you want for a career. None of us can really help you with that, as it's very personal.

I would say that if you THINK you're interested in cybersec, then you should start doing the free stuff that might get you going in that direction. Go to TADA and start there. Do everything - and I imagine that you'll have to start at the bottom and work your way up. https://theamericandreamacademy.org/

Then, see what you think after you've spent 6+ months doing this stuff. You will probably either love it or hate it - I don't imagine there's a lot in between. You'll have spend some time but no money figuring some things out. And you will have a few certs along the way. And then you can make more decisions after that.

RE: Midlife Career Change - natshar - 05-11-2023

I don't if a degree will do you much good. Honestly I think certifications, experience would do more than a degree at this point given your prior degrees.

Maybe try shadowing or interviewing people in cyber security and see if its for you.

RE: Midlife Career Change - bjcheung77 - 05-11-2023

natshar Wrote:I don't if a degree will do you much good. Honestly I think certifications, experience would do more than a degree at this point given your prior degrees.

Maybe try shadowing or interviewing people in cyber security and see if its for you.

Basically, I usually recommend 3 things: Certs, Degree, Experience. I agree with what natshar mentioned... Since you haven't completed the template/addendum, it's somewhat hard to provide you a concrete answer. You've given a great introduction post, but doesn't indicate your budget, commitments, study habits, etc that is in the template/last post addendum. With a bigger picture of details, we'll have a more complete overview of your scenario, and when we understand your situation, it'll be easier for us to point you in a better direction. Here's the thread, you should copy/paste any relevant information you would like to provide us: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-New-to-DegreeForum-How-this-Area-works

RE: Midlife Career Change - ss20ts - 05-12-2023

(05-11-2023, 06:15 PM)dfrecore Wrote: Yes, you can get another bachelor's degree, especially if it's one where you are changing career fields.  That wouldn't be a problem.

Some schools won't let the OP get another bachelor's degree. EU won't. They're a PITA when it comes to multiple degrees. Not sure if UMPI would since they have been so picky over completing a second bachelor's there. Going for a third bachelor's may not be beneficial at all in a field such as cybersecurity. It's definitely a field you have to love. Getting certifications and and internship may be a better path to investigate. Network on LinkedIn. Whatever the OP does, this needs to be a field they're generally interested in and not just because they can work remotely. The work will get old fast if you aren't interested in it.

RE: Midlife Career Change - rachel83az - 05-12-2023

I agree that a third Bachelor's degree is probably not going to help you here.

  1. Do all of the Coursera certificates that you can in this field. They're free or very cheap. If you find out you hate it, you're only out of pocket a little bit of money and a relatively small amount of time.
  2. If you like the Coursera certs, start looking into relevant CompTIA certs. These are a little more spendy than the Coursera versions, but they're still good for entry-level jobs. 
  3. Try to land a job that will pay for your certification, even if it doesn't actually have tuition reimbursement. This is common in jobs; some won't pay for university, but they'll pay for certificates. Sometimes, I think they'll only pay for specific certificates. Still better than nothing! This will allow you to pursue more expensive/relevant certificates, such as the "Certified Ethical Hacker" exam. The CEH costs over $1k. Get your employer to pay for it, if at all possible.
  4. Consider getting a Master's in Cybersecurity instead of a Bachelor's. If you can get your employer to pay for it, so much the better. But don't even start looking for a Master's until you've spent at least a year on points 1-3 above.


RE: Midlife Career Change - allvia - 05-12-2023

With your background you might want to consider Data Analytics (for example, all those pandemic number reporting were just that), it may be an easier transition (your background could help you'd find work in the 'medical industry' without being limited to being a healthcare worker). Once you get work under your belt (and on your resume) as a data analyst you could use that to move to an industry outside healthcare. I would suggest the certificates/certification route as well. If you find you really enjoy the topic then maybe look at a master in the field - Eastern has a good and affordable program for non-CS degree holders - https://www.eastern.edu/academics/graduate-programs/ms-data-science  This would seem to be an easier transition into a technology related field than starting from scratch (which something like cybersecurity would be, that would require entry level work at best).

RE: Midlife Career Change - lisarox - 05-12-2023

Easy free cert in Cybersecurity:

https://www.isc2.org/1mcc

RE: Midlife Career Change - origamishuttle - 05-13-2023

(05-12-2023, 07:55 PM)lisarox Wrote: Easy free cert in Cybersecurity:

https://www.isc2.org/1mcc

I'm not sure how it works, but there appears to be an annual fee to maintain this certification. However, it's worth credit toward the master's degree at WGU if you decide to go that route: MSCSIA (wgu.edu)

RE: Midlife Career Change - dfrecore - 05-13-2023

(05-12-2023, 09:50 AM)ss20ts Wrote:
(05-11-2023, 06:15 PM)dfrecore Wrote: Yes, you can get another bachelor's degree, especially if it's one where you are changing career fields.  That wouldn't be a problem.

Some schools won't let the OP get another bachelor's degree.

So you choose a school which will let you get this.  Many will allow it when someone is completely changing careers.  Choose one of those schools if this is the direction you want to go (and obviously you wouldn't choose EU since it's way too expensive, or UMPI, since they don't have a Cybersec degree - so those weren't really in the running I don't think).

Also, it's not a great career, but working at a company which will pay for schooling is also an option, especially if you can go very quickly through the degree.  Walmart, Target, Papa John's, Verizon, Chipotle, Starbucks - all will pay for a degree.  Since you'll just need to do the major, this is not a 4-yr commitment, so might be doable.