hi everyone i am generally a lurker but i was blown away when i found this board. i have been a corporate-sort of trainer for about 10 years. i now do mostly online training. i never earned a college degree, but it's bothered me for years and years..... this year i finally have received the kick in the arse i needed to push forward. it was very hard to select a study interest, but my goal has always been crystal clear: online adjunct work. imagine how amazed i was to see a board dedicated to just that! of course, to see how well established everyone is.....is also kind of heartbreaking. i'm now years away from having the education required to begin, and i'm afraid it'll be "too late" for one reason or another. the only thing i have going for me is the years of adult ed experience....but my degree will be in a completely different area. i currently teach IT courses, but it would be pointless to pursue that, imho. i plan to get my BA and MS/MA all via distance learning. in order to meet the general requirements for both of the areas i wish to teach, i may have to do a grad certificate and a masters, or 2 masters. i am doing a few CLEP exams to save time/$, but aside from that it'll be quite "traditional". i was so very tempted to go for an EC/TESC/ESC sort of degree, and my IT certifications may have held more weight, but i am afraid it would hurt my chances later on. i'm trying to resist the urge to "rush through". i have spent several days going through all of the posts, and there's truly a wealth of information here. so that's my story thus far...i've literally just begun, and have a very very long way to go. every step i take will be with my goal of teaching in mind, so i welcome all advice any of you wish to give.
Thanks. I've learned so much already. From this site, I was able to fine tune my grad school plan--I found a "dream" DL degree (great school name, ranking, cost, etc) but it wouldn't be the smartest choice given my career goal. With the information here, I've figured out which steps I can take *now* to ensure I am qualified in my fields. I'm trying not to think about the time it's gonna take too much (<--lie) , and just moving forward.
Actually, a degree from Excelsior College, TESC or Charter Oak would be perfect for someone like you. These schools were created from the beginning with the adult learner in mind. They are all regionally accredited and many of their graduates have gone on to earn grad degrees through some very prestigious universities. Since you already teach IT courses, is it safe to assume you have some IT certs already? You can obtain college credit for those IT certs. Also, definitely take as many CLEP/DANTES exams as you can. If it's a prestige thing that you're worried about, finish your BA/BS through one of the three assessment schools and then earn a grad degree through a big-name school. This is done all the time....and there are many degree holders from the assessment schools that adjunct online. I've never heard of it being a problem. I truly don't think it'll hurt your chances later on at all. What are the two subject areas you are interested in teaching?
thanks for your response! yes, i do have several major IT certs. i lost count around 30 exams or so. i respect those assessment programs, but i just don't think they are for me. in addition, my interests are math/statistics and economics, and none of those schools has anything significant in that area.....they support majors but the coursework still has to come from somewhere else. (please correct me if i've overlooked anything) i'd end up going to another school to take the majority of the math classes i'd need, and at that point, i'd have fulfilled all of the major requirements anyway. i *did* find some fantastic independent learning options for *some* of the coursework, and i will put together some sort of thread on those shortly. for me, at least as i see it now, i must stick with a traditional program and muddle through it. on the bright side, there are several grad options, fully online. i think i became more motivated to do this when i realized how many grad options there were! in researching the site for this reply, i came across another user identical to me who was on the same search. i do wish i could have found one school with both dl math/statistics *and* econ offerings at the grad level, but i'm still a few years from being ready for that anyway.....who knows what the future holds
Not sure why my posts are disappearing! They all say they're being submitted for approval, and then never come!
thanks for your response! i have not been able to reply sooner because every message i send ends up saying "thanks for posting, a moderator has to approve" but then the post never gets posted...ugh...i created a GREAT thread last night, and did it again today, and NOTHING! anyway here's the original reply: yes, i do have several major IT certs. i lost count around 30 exams or so. i respect those assessment programs, but i just don't think they are for me. in addition, my interests are math/statistics and economics, and none of those schools has anything significant in that area.....they support majors but the coursework still has to come from somewhere else. i'd end up going to another school to take the majority of the math classes i'd need, and at that point, i'd have fulfilled all of the major requirements anyway. i *did* find some fantastic independent learning options for *some* of the coursework, and i will put together some sort of thread on those shortly. [EDIT--i did put together the thread, its SUPER long, but it hasnt gone through! grr] for me, at least as i see it now, i must stick with a traditional program and muddle through it. on the bright side, there are several grad options, fully online. i think i became more motivated to do this when i realized how many grad options there were! in researching the site for this reply, i came across another user identical to me who was on the same search. i do wish i could have found one school with both dl math/statistics *and* econ offerings at the grad level, but i'm still a few years from being ready for that anyway.....who knows what the future holds
You have a good point about needing to take the majority of math courses from another source and then transferring them into one of the assessment school's programs. One great school you might want to look at is Chadron State College. Chadron is one of Nebraska's three state colleges and has an online degree program in math. It's a very affordable school.... Degree Programs - Mathematics - Chadron State College
Trying to respond again.... Thanks for the idea--I knew they had a grad program, but not ugrad. $190 flat rate tuition is nice...$238 for grad makes them a great 18 hour option. The post I was referring to above contains a directory of 30+ math DL programs.....I spent a lot of time researching this! I also like the UIS math program...downside to them is that they only allow upper division entry, which can be tricky for someone just starting out. Anyway, that's what CLEP is for, eh? Do any of you start your grad hours during undergrad? I saw a thread on that a while back.
Ray Kroc sold his first hamburger at age 54...or was it 52? It wasn't at 25. I'm changing careers too. For me, it wasn't that I didn't want to move in a new direction necessarily....it was more that I was afraid to let go of my prior accomplishments. My career was cut short and I went into teaching- so there was always a little voice that wondered what might have been... I'm in a path now where I'm a nobody- low man on the totem pole. I don't know anything about anything. It plays with my pride and ego no doubt. In any event, for me, I had to take small bites. I took a few CLEPs. I took a few classes. I was slow to enroll. I was slow to commit. I was slow to complete. (18 months for a bachelor's degree- which around here is a snail's pace). And, even then, I was still trying to re-engineer my career into something bigger rather than go in another direction. (ever read "Who Moved My Cheese?") All that said, getting an online teaching job can be hard - not because you can't meet the qualifications, but because a lot of times schools hire teachers to do both online and on campus. It's also pretty competitive since everyone wants to teach online -save the old fogies who don't think that the Internet will actually "catch on" and even if it does you couldn't possibly hold class there! So my advice, is to make a plan and be willing to change paths if something more interesting comes along. After all, how many more times do you want to change careers? LOL
hi cookderosa.....i think that ray kroc line is your sig elsewhere in the world, yes? i love reading your posts. thanks for the reality check. i won't quit my day job! just getting the degree will be major for me, and it'll eliminate the dark cloud over my head and the decade of regret. so it wont be a waste. if it takes time to get "in" the field, i'm fine with that. i can afford a slower entry. and WOW even if i try my hardest , i wont finish a BA in 18 months! so kudos for that... btw, i love "who moved my cheese" !
You never know...you might. It's certainly possible. Do you already have any college credits to transfer into a program?
Just fyi: penn state offers an online masters in statistics through the world campus. I am, like you, completing my bachelors in hopes of one day being a professor. I am attending penn state world campus and it has been a great investment!
