Most portable DL degree?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by eilla05, Feb 26, 2011.

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  1. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    In your opinion what is the most portable degree one can have that would allow a person to travel with a spouses job while still maintaining their own career?

    Still investigating degrees so if you have any ideas can you please link? Degree must be almost completely completed online (a few weekend intensives or similar are fine).

    Absolutely nothing to do with math unless its soft math like personal financing or something similar...

    If anyone has any personal experience of making a degree work while moving around I would love to hear it!
     
  2. Fortunato

    Fortunato Member

    How often are we talking about changing cities here? If you were going in the same place for months to years at a time, my answer would be different than if you were traveling with a circus show.
     
  3. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    Sorry forgot that info!!!!

    Most of the time we stay in one place about a year to a year in a half but it really depends on my husband's contract! But Id say a year is the norm.
     
  4. Fortunato

    Fortunato Member

    Have you considered something like early childhood education / child development? Daycare / childcare places always need qualified staff, and their turnover is already high, so they probably wouldn't be afraid to take someone on for 12-18 months at a stretch.

    If you can do outside sales work, you can generally do that from anywhere, but then you would probably be doing some traveling of your own. A Business Admin degree, which you can earn darn near anywhere, would be a good fit there.

    You could do some online adjuncting, but we talk about that enough around here, so I'll leave it at that.

    Those are just a few ideas off the top of my head. If I was looking at a life where I was moving so frequently that I was unable to keep a regular job, I'd also seriously consider working on a book on a topic that interests me. But not everyone dreams of writing a book! Best of luck to you!
     
  5. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    It sounds like you need to learn a language and become an interpreter. Work is in great need in most major cities and even in most suburban areas. One of the great things about interpreting is that you can stop a job and start a job on a dime, quickly and painlessly, and can have a cluttered resume with lots of past employers and not seem out of the norm at all- in fact, that is exactly what they expect to see. Also, if one works with referral agencies, even when the times get rough, you are never truly unemployed since you can always pick up little jobs here and there to at least partially ease the pain.

    Not that there aren't a ton (a ton of a ton, in fact) of downsides, but since I have a sneaking feeling that you won't go that direction anyway, no need to list them here :smile:

    Realistically, I tend to think of an MBA as a degree that almost anyone could put on his or her resume. It's probably not a "guaranteed employment" degree, but a very versatile one, none the less. If I ever do a graduate degree myself, that's probably what I'd do, even though I don't plan on ever going back to the world of cubicles, offices and/or floor staff.
     
  6. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    The problem is that the pay is absolutely abysmal in that field, plus you don't really need a graduate degree. A graduate degree might help if you wanted to be the manager/director of a center, but this isn't really an option for shorter-term employment.
     
  7. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    Another problem is that it is very difficult to maintain any career when you are moving so frequently for your spouse's career. Anything entrepreneurial won't work very well, as your clientele will change so frequently. An exception can be made with an internet-based business, however.

    Any thing clinical or professional would also be hard. Counseling in this case wouldn't work, as you really need time to work with your client base and to meet state requirements.
     
  8. mark74

    mark74 New Member

    Nursing, or some other in-demand medical skill, would be something where quick employment would work. That said, while I know there are online degrees, I don't know how much of the degree would need to be done in person. On the bright side for that, there are a lot of night/part time B&M nursing programs making it easier to find local options, so that might be another way to go.
     
  9. b4cz28

    b4cz28 Active Member

    Moving ones license state to state would suck.....sounds like your DH needs to find a new job unless he makes a killing.
     
  10. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    I agree here with what someone posted below. This wouldn't require a graduate degree and the pay is seriously lousy!
     
  11. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    Yeah it kinda does honestly but he makes enough money that I really don't HAVE to work. I have no need to work right now or really anytime in the future as long as he has this job. He gets regular raises, bonus, health care 401k etc so yeah his job is a great job and one that he REALLY LOVES and that makes it harder to ask him to quit. It is much easier to do a job that you love than one you hate and I have to take this into consideration.

    We both have spoken about the possibility of him finding another job in 3-5 years but recently have decided to wait and see how the moving affects our son before we make the decision.

    So when I am talking a degree it needs to be portable for the time we are continuing to move but also something I can do something good with in one place. I really need something that I can have and travel with for awhile that offers the potential of settling down some place.

    This is a factor in my choice of becoming a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. There are actually BCBA's who do nothing but travel all over because there is such a shortage of BCBA's and long term this is something I could use to start up my own consulting firm.

    I appreciate the thoughts! Oh and to whoever said something about writing books... I WOULD LOVE LOVE LOVE to do that but wanting to do it and doing it is another thing. I considered becoming an editor and its still on my list.
     
  12. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    Manic- This could be a short term solution that I could use/do while traveling and pursuing studies in something else but I would have absolutely no idea of where to even start, what language to learn etc!
     
  13. nanoose

    nanoose New Member

    " There are actually BCBA's who do nothing but travel all over because there is such a shortage of BCBA's and long term this is something I could use to start up my own consulting firm. "

    Sounds like you already have your answer.
    :wink:
     
  14. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    No, it wouldn't work like that because it would take you much longer to learn the language to the level required of professional interpretation than to get just about any degree. The language depends on what areas you may find yourself traveling to. American Sign Language and Spanish are staples around much of the country. Arabic and Russian are very often needed, and if you find yourself in California, you could use [insert Asian language here].
     
  15. pheine78

    pheine78 New Member

    How about Hospitality Management? It might be a little more math than you like, but there are hotels everywhere, and people needed to run them.
     
  16. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    I like options ;) and I think there has got to be more portable degrees!
     
  17. nanoose

    nanoose New Member

    It sounds very portable and in demand. But I must have missed something.
    Have fun considering your options!
    From one "I like options!" person to another. :wink:
     
  18. b4cz28

    b4cz28 Active Member

    I heard pimping pays good and you can do that all over.
     
  19. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    I don't think I would make a good pimp.......lol
     
  20. b4cz28

    b4cz28 Active Member

    I heard all you need is a strong hand.....just an idea.
     

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