Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm graduating next spring with an International Studies major in a BA of Arts & Sciences.
I didn't take school seriously in high school so I went to a mediocre university.
My grades are average, however, I had the grand opportunity to study abroad last spring and it changed my life for the better. My attitudes on learning is more optimistic and for the first time, I am driven to live a better life for myself. I also want to mention that I'm an extremely hard worker, I try to be transparent and learn from others. I care about the value that I put into my work and I want to be recognized and respected. I want to make more, and better connections with others.. My childhood was very dark and abusive so going from one extreme to another is still very hard to me to grasp but I am willing to become better.
Now putting all of that personal preachy stuff out of the way.. I am thinking about pursing another bachelors in software engineering or some type of engineering major. I don't know if I can pursue a masters in computer (Whatever), due to my very-generalised major.. I was interested in data crunching, coding (I already know a few) and I'd be open to any other fields in this area that is going up in employment.
I don't know what I should do? My GPA is pretty mediocre but I'm willing to learn. I want to sharpen my skills and utilize more. I don't know who would help me or where I should even start.
This summer, I am doing an internship abroad in Barcelona, Spain for some company and the details is TBA since I need to go through another interview..
Please, if you can contribute or have any good suggestions, be my guest! Thank you.
My suggestion (and I really hope you listen to me) is this...
Take the next 2, 5, 10 years or however long it takes and work some jobs you think you might be interested in. Find out how the working world works and what you like and don't like about it. Do you like being in an office or do you hate it? Do you like the idea of climbing to the top of the corporate ladder and schmoozing people with office lingo or would you rather do something that really helps society?
Also. Find out what you like/need in life. How much of a salary do you need and how much are you willing to sacrifice what you actually do to make that salary? How many hours a week do you want to work? What kind of life/work balance do you want? Do you want a really nice condo in a metropolitan city with a dolled up wife? Or are you okay with living in a rural suburb with a more down to Earth wife?
These are all legit questions.
Once you have figured all of that out, THEN you can go and figure out what next degree you need to get you there.
If you go with the path that you're thinking of now, you either get a Masters degree in Public Policy, do that, decide you hate it, but are now stuck there because you have 2 relevant degrees. Or you get a bachelors in Mechanical Engineering thinking you'll make good money. You end up designing HVAC systems, hate it and are making the same amount of money as somebody who does something you'd really rather do and wonder why you did that.
Degrees are a means of getting your foot into the door of certain careers, not job contracts.
Treat them like that and your path will make a lot more sense.
Masters degree is better. If you do it full time you maybe able to finish in one year.
But the problem is the OP's mediocre grades. That will probably make it very difficult to get into grad school, even a mediocre program.
As jobaba suggests, I'd take at least a year or two off from school. See what kind of work you can get, and try to get a better sense of what you like.
With your grades, you might be better off getting a BS in computer science/engineering. It would be easier to get into, and much less expensive than grad school.
Do a master's degree, the IS degree will make you ready for a lot of fields in grad school. But standing by itself, IS degrees suck. I also went to a mediocre university for IS, but I left after 2 years cause I knew the degree wasn't going to do anything for me.
I recommend looking for employment with your current degree and then taking a night class in IT to see how you like it. No need to rush into full time study without some background first in what you want to study next.
I don't know how you're paying for this, but assuming that financing is no issue, get a bachelor's degree in computer science.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
