Need Bachelors in 6 Months...Options?

[Nodaclu]

Hi all,

I find myself in a bit of a unique situation, so I thought I'd ask the advice of the collective.

I have spent most of the past 17 years in HR , mostly with smaller companies, mostly as a Generalist and Analyst. I finish a short term contract at Intel in 2 weeks, and for the first time in many years, I will find myself unemployed.

I've been trying to find a permanent job for 7 months, and in that time, the only offer I've had was for less money than I made in 2011. This seems to be due to my lack of a degree, which increasingly, is become a major liability in my career, despite plenty of experience.

I have 65 semester units completed, all earned between 1988-1997 (completed at RA 2 and 4 year colleges). These units cover a lot of my General Ed (minus math and science), a lot of history/psychology, and a pair of upper-division History courses. I don't have my Associates Degree, and I also don't have any HR Certifications (PHR, SRHM-CP)

What I do have is 6 months of eligibility for UI benefits coming up. So this is starting to feel like the right time to dive in and get that degree that, more and more, is causing my career to stall out (or even go backwards).

I've read endlessly about the Big 3, and testing out of classes. But as much as I read, I just can't quite seem to put together a plan of how to use one of the Big 3 to complete a degree (Business or HR) within this 6 month window. I know it would largely need to be done via CLEP, DSST, UEXCEL etc., but I just don't quite get it how to put it all together.

I hate to ask, because I know it's plastered all over this forum, but can I ask for help with two questions?

1. Is there any particular advantage for one specific Big 3 school over the others, based on what I've described above?

2. In the simplest possible terms (I have my strengths, but figuring this stuff out isn't among them :o ), how can I use testing to complete those 55 units in 6 months?

I'm happy to provide any additional information that's needed.

Thanks!!