Decided to Get Edumacated!

[Gumbeaux]

Hey y'all! Zack here! I am a 41 y/o here in Washington State (originally from South Louisiana)

Tried college right out of high school and that was a big flop. In high school, I simply showed up and got solid grades. College was harder, and I didn't have the work ethic I have today - so I just stopped going. However, I did well applying myself in the workforce once I realized life is what you make of it. I've gotten opportunities that many folks without college degrees would never experience - including senior management positions in the Bulk Transportation, eCommerce, and Oil & Gas industries.

I moved to WA state to start a manufacturing business with one of my best friends in 2019, only to get our teeth kicked in during COVID. We struggled through, but then I experienced a soul crushing 2 years of trying to find a job that didn't involve serving fries or operating gas pumps.

College degrees are used as a gatekeeping mechanism in the job force now, something I had never experienced previously. I was in absolute despair when another close friend of mine told me about his recent experience getting a degree through Liberty University. He shared some of the research he did here and with outside consultants that helped him make it a reality. It gave me hope that I wouldn't have to spend 4-5 years going back to school to find work.

So, in mid-September I started taking Sophia classes. The pacing was good, and I found strangely enough that my varied life experiences & accumulated knowledge were helpful. As fate would have it, about 2 weeks later, I found a job as a Marketing Director for a restaurant group locally. However, since I had already started this journey - I'm damned if I am going to just stop. 

I am currently working on wrapping up an AAS through Pierpont so that I can at least lock in a degree for the work I have done so far (never a bad thing to hedge bets I figure!), with an eye towards pursuing a Bachelors through either UMPI or Liberty. If I can tackle the bachelors without going nuts - I am thinking of keeping the throttle pinned and going for a Masters (either UMPI's Masters of Organizational Leadership) or an MBA from an RA school.

I don't want to end up going through the hell of 2 years of job searching ever again, and I am almost certain that coupled with my work experience, a degree would help me level up considerably in today's workforce. (At least I hope!)

I look forward to learning what I can from you all!

Thanks!

Your Location: WA State
Your Age: 41.
What kind of degree do you want?: I am looking at a number of options, I am thinking Business or Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on business or marketing

Current Regional Accredited Credits: 

University of Louisiana-Lafayette (2001-2002)  Total: 10 Credits
AP Placement ENG 101 - 3 
CMCN 110 - Media & Society - 3 
HIST 221 - US History I - 3
HUMN 101 - Explorations in Liberal Arts - 1

Arizona State University Universal Learners (2024) Total: 4 Credits
CIS 194 - Business Technology Fundamentals - 1
SOC 101 - Intro to Sociology - 3

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: 

Sophia Credits (From September 2023 to Present): Total 87.0 

Essentials of Managing Conflict - 1 (97%)
Developing Effective Teams - 1 (96%)
College Algebra - 3 (89%)
Intro to Business - 3 (99%)
Visual Communications - 3 (95%)
Intro to IT - 3 (96%)
Project Management - 3 (93%)
Intro to Ethics - 3 (88%)
Art History I - 3 (91%)
Art History II - 3 (84%)
Environmental Science - 3 (89%)
Student Success - 1 (89%)
Macroeconomics - 3 (87%)
Intro to Web Development - 3 (88%)
IT Career Exploration - 1 (96%)
Conflict Resolution - 3 (88%)
Human Biology - 3 (87%)
College Readiness - 3 (94%)
Intro to Nutrition - 3 (88%)
Microeconomics - 3 (81%)
Intro to College Math - 3 (89%)
Career Readiness - 3 (93%)
Business Communication - 3 (95%)
Foundations of Statistics - 2 (87%)
Workplace Communication - 3 (96%)
Principles of Management - 3 (90%)
Lifespan Development - 3 (93%)
US History II - 3 (95%)
US Government - 3 (94%)
Critical Thinking - 3 (89%)
Public Speaking - 3 (91%)
Business Law - 3 (94%)

Budget: I will be paying as I go, probably can afford $1500/average a month in school costs  

Commitments: Not married. Have 2 full time jobs, still managing to tackle classwork. (I simply don't do much else other than work, school, sleep)

Dedicated time to study: Roughly 3 hours a day on weekdays, 4-5 a day on Saturdays, and 6-8 hours on Sunday.

Timeline: I want to have a bachelors in hand no later than May 2025. If I can do it faster, then sign me up.

Tuition assistance/reimbursement: Unfortunately, no.