Step Two: Make Your Degree Support Your Career Path
Choosing the right degree is important—sotake time to make the best decision. This guide can help you during theprocess.
As you thinkabout pursuing a degree, don’t just think about the “right now” or even thenext few years. Take the future into consideration as well. Here you’ll findquestions that you should answer as you begin to think about choosing the rightdegree for you.
- Areyou changing careers, or are you building on your current skill set?
- Whatdoes the market look like for your chosen career—now and in the future?
- Areyou looking for the quickest path to a degree, or do you want a broadereducational base?
- Doyou want to receive a degree for a specific occupation or one that leaves youroptions open within one or several fields?
- Whatlevel degree do you wish to attain—associate’s, bachelor’s, or master’s?
When you thinkabout degrees, most fall under the umbrella of one of the following categories:
- Computer Science
- Engineering
- Electronics
- Health Care or Medical
- Criminal Justice
- Business Administration
- Liberal Arts – Math, Science, English, etc.
- Education
- Psychology / Social and Human Services
Undereach of these broader categories, you’ll find more specific concentrations aswell. By having a career goal in mind, choosing a degree and concentration issimple.
Still narrowing yourcareer options? Takeadvantage of the free resources you have available as a servicemember. Byvisiting your local career counselor or Education Service officer, you can takea career assessment, which will highlight your strengths and interests. Activeduty and reserve servicemembers can contact their local education serviceoffice or career counselor, while veterans can get this type of assistancethrough the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Stickingto Your Current Career Path?
Ifyou are choosing to stay in the same field as your military occupation, youalready have many of the skills needed for a job in the civilian world.Selecting a degree will be simple for you. Plus, some of your military trainingmay be transferred into credits for your degree.
Thereare many great—and free—resources available to you including your educationservice office, the Department of Veteran Affairs and school admissionscounselors. The individuals found inthese offices can help you determine which degree is best as you make the jumpfrom your current military position to a rewarding career in the civilianworld. Remember to use our School Finder to locate military-friendly schools where you can accessinformation and request guidance from school counselors.
WhatAbout the Future?
Thedemands of most professions change over time. So take some time to think aboutthe future job growth of your chosen career path. You may decide to add moreclasses or an extra concentration to your educational plan, which will meanmore time and expense, but in the long run, it is worth the added effort.
Interested in joining a field that is predicted to boom in thenext decade? According to the U.S. Department of Labor these will be the topindustries:
- Computer Engineering, Network Management and Support
- Health Care Professions
- Education (Both K-12 and Higher Education).
- Human Resource and Social Work
- Environmental/Hazardous Material Management
Is Time of the Essence?
When the time it takes to complete your degree is more important than the focus, look into programs that allow you to transfer your military experience and your CLEPs (credit-by-exams) into degree credits. Typically science degrees, such as an Associate of Science or Bachelors of Science, are the most likely to accept these types of credit transfers.
Another option if you are looking to complete your degree sooner than later is Business Administration. At many schools, this is one of the most flexible and quickest degree options. Plus, a degree in Business Administration can either be extremely focused or quite broad. If this strikes you as an interesting field, you’re in luck because practically every school offers a Business Administration program.
Remember to visit our School Finder to search for speedy degree options.
Does Your Degree Level Matter?
Depending on your chosen career field, it might. Conduct a bit of research by browsing current classified ads—or you can ask a career or school counselor. But in most cases it just depends on your personal aspirations. Just know that it is not necessary to complete your associate’s degree before you move on to a bachelor’s. Actually, you can save time by getting on track for a bachelor’s degree from the beginning—if that is your goal.
Have a degree in mind? Now you need to find a school that offers your degree of choice and is military friendly, so that you can redeem the benefits you’ve earned through your service. Use our School Finder to search for the perfect school for you.
Continue onto Step Three: Find a Military-Friendly School that Matches Your Needs.
