Hello everyone! I have been lurking on the boards for a couple of months now. I am truly impressed by how much information you all have compiled on distance learning. A bit about me: I am a veteran of the US Air Force. 7 years, 9 months of active service. I was a Tactical Aircraft Maintenance Craftsman (fancy name for “aircraft mechanic”) on the F-117A and F-16 airframes. While I was in, I completed my AAS in Aviation Maintenance Technology from the Community College of the Air Force along with my AS in Professional Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Since I have been out, I have been a government contractor for an aircraft manufacturing company. I have been sent all over the war zones to work on airplanes. While it has been fun, I am ready to not deploy any more. I am looking for a career change, and looking for the “best” bang for my buck with the Post 9/11 GI Bill. I have just completed my BS in Management from Bellevue University. Here is what I am hoping you all can help me out with: I have narrowed my choices down to a few schools. All have different restrictions on what all I can complete with the limited GI Bill benefits that I have left. I currently have 21.5 months of full-time benefits with a one-time payment of $1,200 after those are exhausted. Scenario 1: I am leaning towards this scenario the most. Complete Villanova’s Graduate Certificate in Lean Six Sigma and become a certified Black Belt (this will use up 5 months of GI Bill benefits). Complete an MBA with a concentration in Project Management in 17 months at Liberty University. Liberty University offers a discounted tuition rate to all military and veterans of $250/credit. This would drastically reduce any out-of-pocket expenses I might incur. Scenario 2: Complete an MBA with a concentration in Project Management from Southern New Hampshire University in approximately 18 months. Scenario 3: Complete an MBA with a concentration in either Project Management or Supply Chain Management from Bellevue University in approximately 20 months. This program might have proctored exams, and I am not a fan of having to deal with those. Scenario 4: Complete a MS in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in approximately 18 months. Completing this degree plan would also earn a Certified Transportation and Logistics distinction from the American Society of Transportation & Logistics. I have absolutely no knowledge of this organization, or the benefits of being certified with them. There are the options that I have narrowed everything down into. I am looking forward to hearing everyone’s opinions. I am especially looking forward to any experiences that any of you have with any of these schools, especially the programs I have listed. Thank you all in advance, and thank you for the wealth of information you have all posted onto this forum.
I am an ERAU alum and a bit biased towards them but based on the options you presented, my vote is for Option 1 since it maximizes your GI Bill usage (degree plus cert and like LU's military tuition) I agree on the no more deploying, career change choice. I can't see me taking a job that involves deployments once my Active Duty career is over.
Technical certifications are probably worth as much as a graduate degree. Having a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt might be quite valuable depending on what kinds of jobs you want to apply to. There are a lot of consulting, engineering, IT firms and the like that look for that as much or more than they look for graduate education. At least in my experience. That being said, I have a "soft skills" background, so I may just be speaking out of frustration from applying for jobs with loosely defined roles as a candidate with a wide range of less tangible skills and experiences. Not that I'd change that, I'm not going to head out and become an engineer all of the sudden. I just envy the applicants who have to do less explaining in the job hunt process.
