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So I'm 31 years old, have never graduated from a school with either an Associate's or Bachelor's, and I'm not happy with the direction my career path is headed. Don't get me wrong I've been holding a decent job with good ownership for the last four years and I even have an impressive internship in professional sports on my resume, but it's time for a change.
The catch is this: When I was in school it was a total disaster. I irresponsibly attended several colleges off-and-on while bouncing around and living in several states spanning from Florida to California and a few in between. This was at several points between 2003 and 2011. At this point I can't get accepted into a university to pursue a Bachelor's degree because of my previous grades and even the thought of attending a community college again is a little intimidating because it would result in having a hard time finding another job because this would require me to be free and available during the daytime (I also have a very difficult time working at night).
I've been thinking long and hard over the last few months about enrolling in a certificate program at UCLA, and the program is exactly what I want. Prestigious school and although it's open enrollment it's still a chance to take classes at a great university in the field I want to enter and it's even supported by a highly respected company in the industry. I can't be naive though and think this will solve many of my problems. I know a certificate is still only a certificate no matter where it's from and I don't want to commit money and essentially a weeknight job (since they're all weeknight classes) if this may not be worth it. I know there's no way to really know the answer to that last part, but am I selling the weight of a certificate like this short? Could it maybe be a little more beneficial than I'm thinking or will I likely always be beaten out by someone in the workforce who has a real degree, no matter the school it's from?
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