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1, I was a history major and was making over $100k by age 30. There are more career paths for history majors than teaching and law school.
2, OP- let me get this straight. You're currently a soph at jr college, planning to transfer to one school for your jr year AND then to UT - Tech - A&M for your senior year?! That makes ZERO sense and will probably tack on an additional 2-3 semesters to your undergrad as not all classes transfer from one program to another. You generally have to take your 300 and 400 level "major" classes at the uni you graduate from, so it's possible you'll lose most all your major classes when you transfer.
Junior year is about the last chance you get to transfer in and graduate relatively close to on time. Why didn't you go for the flagship schools this year? You've got great grades as in-state residency.
How did you make that amt of $$ with a history degree, if you don't mind me asking? family connections?
So i cant be a professor in junior college with a online masters?forgive me for being ignorant.
the answer to this question is almost without a doubt NO
1. there is a massive amount of un/under employed holders of masters degrees out there currently.......a community college or junior college almost without exception requires one to have 18 graduate credit hours in the subject matter you wish to teach......with so many holders of masters and even PhDs to choose from from regular brick and mortar degree granting institutions your competition will be FIERCE and more than likely anyone that did not take the traditional route and even more someone with a freshly printed non-traditional degree will have their application sent to the bottom of the stack immediately
2. gaining university employment at any level has some of the "who you know" involved.....so when you are getting a masters online you are not "getting to know" anyone.....you are for the most part another nameless faceless someone that may or may not meet some of your professors occasionally for brief periods of time and that is that.....unless the professors you meet have no other traditional graduate students or the ones they have are all horrible.....you will be at the bottom of the list for any recommendation
3. most online masters degrees are non-thesis.....they are more like a "professional" degree for someone that is already in that field of study that needs some additional education to advance at their current job or to become more attractive for a new job again with their industry experience in tow.....an example of this would be an Ag Extension Agent.....most of those positions require someone to obtain a masters within 6-8 years of first starting the job if they do not have one already....the reason for this is twofold.....one the advanced degree gives the employer a reason to bump pay.....and two the idea is if you are a plants and soils guy then while you are getting your online masters from Tech or TAMU or wherever you can gain some basic exposure to animal ag, precision ag, or whatever.....the idea is since you are a front line agent you do not need to be a true expert in any one area, you do not need to prove you can conduct in dept research, but you need a broad exposure to a number of areas and prove that you can read and understand in depth research in a number of areas.....another example would be an engineer that is looking to move into management.....you could either gain business management experience or advanced engineering training so you will be at or near the same level of the potentially broad number of engineers coming into your company to be under your supervision......you do not need the in dept thesis type degree because your years of employment prove you can perform and understand a specific area of engineering.....what you would need is the broader experience and training in some of the newer concepts in engineering......so "classroom" (or computer) time will fill this need
4. the purpose of an undergrad degree is basically to prove you can "learn" and repeat what you have learned....in a broad field of study, with a large number of different people asking you to prove this, and asking that you prove it in a broad number of ways (orally, written, through an actual project, and on and on).......the purpose of a masters with a thesis is to prove that under supervision you can conduct an in dept study of something, draw a conclusion from that study, and then report, and most importantly support, that conclusion......the purpose of a PhD is to prove that under very very limited supervision you can further the knowledge in your field of study through research, report that research in a way that most all can understand, and support your conclusions....most PhDs (good ones) would feel there are FEW if any areas of study they could not research, draw a conclusion based on that research, and support it regardless of the field of study they obtained their actual PhD in
the purpose of a masters without thesis is again really to broaden your education in the field of study that you wish to advance in or to sharpen your knowledge in the latest concepts in that field.....and again the vast majority of online masters will be non-thesis
so while many educators in Juco and CCs do conduct research......the vast majority don't or they do it on a limited basis.....so many would THINK that a non-thesis degree would be perfect for this......but the reality is that academia is a VERY VERY CLOSED SHOP.......academics are very closed minded towards "new" things and especially those that have gone against tradition in their path of education.....so again anyone without a thesis masters from a traditional program, that is looking to teach, no matter where they are looking to teach, will automatically be viewed with suspicion without a doubt.....and in a highly competitive job market with a large number of highly qualified if not over qualified applicants.....that suspicion of your choice of an online and most likely a non-thesis masters will almost automatically disqualify you especially with a freshly printed degree and little or no real world experience
if you are looking to teach at even a Juco or CC in ANY of the humanities, arts, liberal arts, business, or anything besides the "hard" or "physical" sciences then about the only way you will get a job currently with a freshly printed masters is to go to the BEST traditional thesis masters program (or MFA program for many arts fields) you can possibly get into and make top grades
and the "hard" or "physical" sciences (chem, bio, physics, math and similar) will have next to no online or non-thesis masters programs available and those that are available will be of questionable quality or they will specifically be for those looking not to teach if they are from a quality university
engineering, ag, business and some other fields that may have quality traditional non-thesis masters programs or online programs......you will still be facing extremely tough competition to teach ANYWHERE because there are a large number of retired or semi-retired people with years of industry experience that are wanting to teach because they enjoy it, they like the income, or it gives them something to do
in short the competition to teach in higher ed right now is brutal, outside the hard, physical, and life sciences the competition is even more brutal.....and packing a non-traditional degree will basically put you dead last and IMO non-employable in higher ed for now and the long term future
if you want to gain a further (and IMO very scary) look into what higher ed is like right now.....go to Home - The Chronicle of Higher Education and read their forums
and while you read the childishness, ignorance, lack of open mindedness, paranoia, inability to relate to others inter-personally, stereotyping, and overall stupidity exhibited on those forums......keep reminding yourself over and over that those participating in that forum are SUPPOSE to be the most educated, open minded, and intelligent amongst us......and remember further that many on that forum are TENURED......and yet those on that forum guard their personal identities as if it was gold.....they are more guarded, paranoid, and closed about who they are or even where the teach on that forum than any other web forum I have ever experienced.....and the reality is because academia is filled to the gills with closed minded, judgmental, juvenile, arrogant, asses that are for the most part are more concerned with being right and fitting in than actually pushing the limits
so if you come along, with your non-traditional path, or non-traditional ideas......you will be swimming against a massive stream.....right up and until you prove yourself right......at which time those that vilified you will hold you up and champion you all the while hating you in private because you had the balls to do what they did not
if you want to teach in higher ed you need to get a traditional masters from the best university you can possibly get into or you need years and years of proven industry experience and you will need to learn how to stomp on the face of those around you that are scared of you and loath you.....period
Quote:
Originally Posted by wehotex
How did you make that amt of $$ with a history degree, if you don't mind me asking? family connections?
with the exception of the hard or physical sciences or engineering an undergrad degree only proves you are capable of learning....and really in the hard and physical sciences and engineering it really still only proves that, but you have a better grasp of the sciences or in engineering you are capable of taking the EIT ect for professional certification......accounting can be the same where you need the specific knowledge to pass the test.....other than that in the liberal arts, humanities, and just about any field of study you are getting an undergrad degree to prove that you can laern in broad fields of study and repeat what you have learned in a number of ways....this is why top liberal arts college degrees are still valued.....because they are known for producing graduates that have proven in a number of ways, in a number of areas of study, that they can learn and understand the information......so if you hold one of those degrees....and it can get your foot in the door.....after that it is all up to you to PERFORM and prove your employer (and your university) was correct when they hired you or handed you a degree that stated you were prepared to go into the wide wide world and continue to learn and apply that knowledge to what ever it is you are employed doing
too many people think that an undergrad degree somehow proves you have some advanced knowledge in some specific area (your major) and you are ready to go out and blow the doors off the world of that field of study.....when the reality is (and should be) so much further from that
Last edited by TexasVines; 02-14-2011 at 06:56 PM..
i really appreciate all that effort put into that.....i guess ill pursue another career TexasVines
If I were you, no matter what career you decide on, I would do a lot of personal research. Talk to as many people as you can that already work in the field. Where possible, ask some of them to let you "shadow" them by actually being onsite at a place that you would typically work in with that particular degree (don't expect to be paid, volunteer if needed). You would be surprised at the great advice that professional people are often willing to give. I have a bachelor's and a master's degree from a traditional brick and mortar school and that's one of the biggest regrets I have. When I was working on my bachelor's degree I didn't do enough personal reaserch into the career I chose. My career choice would have been much more satisfying if I had done that. Frankly, if I had done enough reasearch on my own, I probably would have chosen a different career.
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