I think I just might stay in school for the rest of my life....

[sanantone]

I have a lot of interests too and am keeping my options wide open. I settled on a BA in Social Science because it was the easiest degree for me to complete with my existing credits and the courses available online at a local community college. My social science degree has allowed me the flexibility to apply for criminal justice and social services jobs. I'm close to finishing a master's degree in Security Studies because it's a sought after degree in the intelligence community. In the future, I just might earn some IT certifications or complete an IT-related certificate at TESC or a CC. I figured that having a degree in an IT-related field wouldn't be as important for IT employment as the degrees I have completed for other fields. With the exception of law enforcement, criminal justice and social services jobs are pretty strict about having a degree in a social science. In intelligence, since I don't want to work on the technical side of it, a political science, international relations, national security, or related degree is strongly preferred. I'm also interested in getting a certificate in human resources, accounting, and maybe even operations management. This can all be done cheaply. I might even get an associates in biology.

So, here are my backup plans. I did not do well enough on the fire fighter exam this year to make it to the next step in the hiring process. (Darn you behavioral assessment!) Sorry. I hate personality and behavioral tests. Now, I'm waiting to see if I'll be accepted to the ASEE SMART program which will pay for my PhD. The SMART scholarship is only for science degrees, but cognitive/neural/behavioral science is included. However, I went the biological science route since there is so much competition for PhD in Psychology programs and neuroscience programs are normally strict about having a certain academic background or prerequisites. I applied to a PhD program in public health that doesn't seem to care that I don't have a science or health background because my master's degree aligns with the concentration in biosecurity and disaster preparedness. I also applied to George Mason University's PhD in Biodefense. It's open to people with science or social science backgrounds. If I am not accepted to any of these programs or the Presidential Management Fellows program, I have yet another backup plan! I plan to try out for a local police department. If I don't get in there, I plan to study for the science TEXES exam and get an alternative teacher certification. I won't even need a degree in a science as long as I can pass the content exam and science teachers are in high demand. I still want to work in the intelligence field, but I know it can take a long time to get a job with the federal government. The certificates in the IT and business fields would be for when I'm not picked up by any school.

I guess what I'm saying is to choose the bachelor's program that will allow you to do the most of what you want to do and supplement with certificates and associates degrees in areas where a bachelor's is not as important. I think this would be the BA in Natural Sciences and Mathematics. I don't quite know what you would do with a BA in Psychology or Social Science given your goals. There are a few things to consider with the graduate degrees you're considering. The PA and MD/OD programs will require a lot of time. You won't be able to work full-time and you'll have to take out a lot of student loans. Getting an ADN or BSN will allow you to get an MSN online and become a nurse practitioner, which is on the same level as a PA. Depending on the state, NPs might even have more autonomy. The drug chemistry and toxicology degrees will pretty much only lead to jobs in research with non-profit or for-profit companies unless you want to teach at a CC. You have to decide if you'll be happy working in a lab for the rest of your life. On the other hand, these might be the best degrees to get before getting a PhD and becoming a professor. Unless you really have a passion for teaching, it should be your backup plan if you don't get into those graduate degree programs or if you figure out that the medical field is not for you. The medical field can be stressful and requires working with gross conditions. If you settle for teaching first, you might start wishing you had at least tried to do something more. A lot of people burn out of the education field too. At least you can work on the nursing or toxicology/drug chemistry degrees while teaching.