What to do, what to do.....

Welcome to life!!!!

I know people who are much older than you who still are trying to figure out what they want to do. I actually have a 65 yr old neighbor who is going back to college.

The beauty of life is that you can change your mind on stuff. You are never going to find an undergrad degree program that doesn't have a fair amount of fluff, general classes, that's just part of the game. The whole reason employers like to see a Bachelors degree is so they know you can follow rules and apply yourself to do long, difficult tasks well. If you want a Bachelors degree, you are going to have to face the fact you need to do well in the general education classes (like math, science, writing, etc) in order to get the degree. Don't just settle for some generalized, nonsense degree like Interdisciplinary Studies. Find a degree with some meaning and go for it.

Since you are an active member here, you obviously have a liking for technology. Might I suggest sitting down with the course catalog from the University and just start at the beginning and go through the whole thing. Have a stack of post-it notes next to you and just throw a note in the book on programs or classes that are even remotely interesting to you. When you get through the whole book, hopefully you will have at least a dozen markers in there and you can go back through and consider the marked spots more carefully and go from there.

That's what I did when I was in college. I went in as an Engineering major but decided I really didn't like doing that much math. So I sat down with the catalog and did what I just described and stumbled on a new thing called GIS (Geographic Information Systems). I talked to a professor about the classes and the program, switched my major, graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Geography and a minor in Computer Science and haven't looked back since.

I found the GIS field to be very exciting and rewarding and my career keeps getting better with each new job in the GIS field. I never would have known about GIS without looking through that course catalog and seeing everything else that was out there.

Long story short, you're going to have to put up with fluff classes in order to graduate with a Bachelors degree of any kind, that's part of the whole deal. Just spread your class load out appropriately so you can focus on those more challenging classes individually and make it happen; I'm sure you'll be glad you did.

First ... write the vision down that you have.

EXPLE: I Need to have a higher income to buy what I need and have a better life etc. To do that I need to up my employability. To do that I need to upgrade my education. To do that I need to decide the value of that education and what it is when I am done. To do that I need more income.

Then tear apart the vision and rebuild it until it makes better sense.
Have your wife review it. Then rebuild the vision again.

Then find a better way to make money that is cashflow wise. Then rebuild the vision again with the new cashflow infusion as part of the vision.

Rework it a few more times with "outside the box" thinking ... then create a do list that accomplishes the vision ... follow the same rework process for the vision ... and finalize the task management until you reach you and your spouses goals.

Hey thanks for the comments guys. I don't know exactly what I'm doing yet, but by god I am doing it. It's time to stop wasting time.

Wife has the right idea. Most wives seem to have the right idea.

Looking at school and a career it is important, as in very important, to choose things you will enjoy. Otherwise you will just become miserable which I am sure you have seen sucks.

Decide what you want and go for it.

Ron

You're mind is at work Elmer, and that's the start! I'd like to quickly negate TechGeek's idea of income though. Not a factor at ALL. Along with that, forget fame or success. That's relative...and crap compared to enjoyment in employment. If I liked to dig ditches and thought I could do it for 40 years, I'd be the best ditch digger for minimum wage. Coming home happy is number one. Really. Seriously. That "outside the box" has made me some great and infamous products, and leaving on very bad terms each and every time. That might work on small incorporations, but not businesses striven for. They see it as "radical"...even if they benefit for decades from it.

I've got two degrees I no longer use for employment. Well, not as a central factor anyways. EE and Architecture has little to do with my current (and hopefully last) place of employment. My sister is a school super with a degree in Interior Decorating, my brother was a doctor for years (radiology) and now runs a gym...geeez, I only know one person in my life with a degree in use and that's a Construction Super back in Kansas. I use basic electronics and serial data in PLC's, but that doesn't take a degree; and I'll use architecture again on building a home...maybe...someday? Dunno. The floorplan and elevation is constantly toyed with though.

Look, I view school as education, not a certificate. You don't NEED anything from a school to make money and be happy. The trades are just as good, and often much better in all stages. I made a very low dollar figure using the EE. I've always made more money in the trades like machinist and such...high school education. Always have. Finding what makes you happy is first, and THEN expand upon what you can do to make money. It may not even be job related at all.

I joined the Navy and picked a job based on what I didn't know and that they'd school me on it. I was building cars and constantly mystified at what I now find basic wiring. While in DEP I had one last nudge, a fire that ruined a lot of hard mechanical work, and had enough. I'm going to learn WTF is going on and stop this nonsense!

Setting money and/or some level of glory is hard to get a return on. Near impossible for myself and my focal point here. I've aimed, dedicated, and achieved what I felt was the epitome of the past jobs. I shoulda known better, because they all left me feeling empty. Good ol' dad said it, but didn't hear it. Keep jobs and hobbies separate, and be employed in a career you want to do every day. Will you do it 20 hours a day if you could? If yes, that's it. If there's a hint that going to work is dull, it's not the place. This is an aim for retirement after all. Picking a field is also just a start, and don't get tied to just one sector...you can parallel just about anything and remain in a field. But if you want to be further educated in what you already basically know and understand, can be a waste in the end. I'll hide my degrees the best I can.

All said and done, I'm happy where I'm at. It was a trip to say the least. I always "knew" what was right, and hindsight shows I was full of donkey poo. I'm still young and have more to see. Heck, I may be full of poo currently, but I for sure know a degree is not needed to make good money, and more importantly be happy.

Really: simplify "be happy". it might take some time and jumping around to do this searching. Don't know until you try! Blair is striving to get into a line I hated going to, but have to give neutral in that he won't rock the boat. I can't say jack as he's not me, and I not you. Take it all with a grain of salt. Dude...just said I like where I'm at, but told ya before what I wanted to be all my life in a PM. I still get green with envy as a pair of Motorcyle riding Highway Patrol roll by with their mustaches and cool boots. If I weren't so criminal in intent...man...I'd have the coolest mustache out there!