Looking for some college advice...

Gollnick said:
Your resume' will look better for the rest of your life and you will have an easier time getting better jobs for the rest of your life if you go four years at a state university. It is worth the investment.

And, as Mr. bdws1975 so wisely points out, if you decide to persue a graduate degree, you will have much more options with four years at a state university on your C.V.
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I second this. Emphatically.

And ... in addition to a number of graduate physics degrees ... I was an Associate Professor of Physics at a very reputable US university, where I served as the Head Academic Advisor for two years.

I also pioneered several academic programs and university/college relationships with federal agencies.

So when I second Mr. Gollnick's comments ... it comes from experience.
 
Not sure if I can help any, but I can sure cloud the waters some. At the age of 37 I becam a sheriff's deputy. Many people have told me that a CJ degree is very limited and they would have been better served by getting a psych degree or something in that area. All most all jobs require customer service (including LE, easier to talk someone into cuffs than to put them on after fighting,) a CJ degree is a bit more specialized, the other is not.

That being said, I have no degree as of yet, working on it at the local cc and will transfer to a 4 year school. Here is a quick link that may hep, or not, good luck. What ever you do, do it well.

http://www.collegegrad.com/press/what-employers-want.shtml
 
Join the Army and after a short 8 year comittment to one of our nations oldest and most reverred institutions you will know absulotely what you don't want to do anymore, which will be the Army;)
 
DaveH said:
No offense meant, but there are a bunch of criminal justice majors out there, and CJ is a very popular course of study at community colleges.

I think ESF is going to be not only challenging, but have great and interesting opportunities.

I knew some forestry science majors in school, they spent all their time on the agriculture side of campus, had great profs, cool trips, great hands on type of classes.

The most important thing is you do what you enjoy.
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CJ's are a dime a dozen. There is not much you can do with that degree. ESF has way more opportunities. Get the core course work done first at good solid school.
 
Something to consider: To you have a girlfriend who you think will end up your wife? Do you plan to have kids are get married anytime relatively soon? Sounds like you are not in a real committed relationship-I may be wrong. The reason I ask is because these things have a way of changing your perspective.

My advice would be to go with your passion. Whatever you are passionate about you will probably find success and happiness. My advice would be to not sacrifice your passions so early on--as life wears on it has a way of doing this naturally-no need to start now. One road you know where it will probably take you (and it probably will not be where you want to be a few years anyway). The other road will be different and probably more elusive but may be what your heart wants all along. Just go for it-do it with passion-and follow your heart or gut which ever is talking to you the most. Good luck!
 
I have decided to go to the Community College and major in criminal justice or investigation with a minor in psych or forensic sciences. I am going to do some more research into what I want to pursue before making any long term commitments. I just don't feel that going to ESF would be a good idea as I am not sure if I am ready to make that commitment yet.

Thank you all very much for your ideas, I greatly appreciate the help in deciding my future. :)
 
Good luck RedEdge. It is hard to figure out what you should do when you are so young (no offense). To build on what others have said, just don't sell yourself short and take an easy route out. That doesn't mean University is better, but just as a general guideline, don't sell yourself short and take an easy route. It is all to common to think, hey I got plenty of time so it doesn't matter. Believe it or not the decisions you make now set the course for the rest of your life and your life will begin to speed up now. That means you will be 35 before you know it. Hard to imagine but it is true...but hey no pressure. ;)

If nothing else, pick a degree that will actually pay as a career. Don't get something that will put you on the fast track to Assistant Night Manager at the local bookstore.
 
RedEdge77 said:
Yeah, now that I am thinking about I might go to ESF again.

Picking a future is hard :D
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...but you can always change your mind.

I'm not what anyone would call young or even middle-aged anymore.

And I still plan to return to grad school for another PhD/LittD/etc. Just haven't a) got the time now, b) figured out what I want to shoot for. Could be EE -- but that might just be too easy, too similar to my current academic background. Could be Medieval Literature, Astronomy (various specialty fields appeal to me), Archaeology, ... well, you see my problem. :o

If it doesn't seem right, then change course.
 
My only bit of advice is to pick what YOU LOVE as a major
Don't pick a major based on future potential income
I picked Business Economics because I love economics and wanted to learn more about it
If I made money afterwards from my degree, that was a bonus :cool:

I had friends who didn't like economics but picked it for a major since UC doesn't have Business Administration degrees
They didn't last long in that major

How would an employer know if you went 2 yrs at a CC first?
Just list the final degree on your resume

The good thing (at least in my experience) is that CC is a lot cheaper and EASIER than 4 year colleges
I transferred from my CC to UC with a 3.8 GPA
The CC I went to was easy IMHO
The semester system is cruise control vs the quarter system mostly

Criminal Justice sounds interesting
I would mind knowing a little more about that myself

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that UCSB has a world class ES (Environmental Studies) Dept
I have a few friends that graduated with that degree but most of them went into the computer field
One guy does water testing for future housing developments and makes "good" money..........
http://www.bren.ucsb.edu/about/About_history.html


Good luck
Keep us posted on your trials and tribulations with secondary education.............
 
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